Dutch Canal Barge Sales

BARGE CRUISING IN FRANCE

            Cruising through the canals of France on you own barge is one of the most rewarding and satisfying ways for a couple to spend their retirement or vacation life. The scenery is gorgeous, the food and wine is wonderful, the medieval towns and buildings are magnificent and the people you meet are friendly and helpful. It is a relaxing life, cruising slowly through the canals and locks,  tying up wherever you like and staying as long as you like. You can be as self sufficient as you want to be, buying fresh produce at a local market or eating at some little café or bistro. For the past twelve years my wife and I have cruised in almost all of the canals of France, covering 9,000 kilometers and passing through 2500 locks, all in our converted Dutch sailing barge, VERTROUWEN.

            VERTROUWEN is the perfect barge for two persons, easy to handle and well enough equipped to live aboard in relative comfort. In addition, she is a beautiful traditional Dutch tjalk, one hundred years old but still in fine enough condition to continue cruising the canals of Europe for many more years. Her length of just under fifteen meters makes her easy to operate and able to be tied up in any marina. Her shallow draft, narrow beam and low profile enables her to operate in any canal, through any lock and under any bridge in the French canal system. Her 50-horsepower Perkins diesel engine is of adequate size, is economical (two liters of fuel/hour) and easy to maintain, and her bow thruster increases her maneuverability. She is well ventilated below, with sixteen screened traditional opening ports and three skylights, plus a wall of glass panes in the galley. She has a central diesel heating system and electric heaters for living aboard, year round. She is completely equipped with all cooking utensils, linens, bedding, tools and everything needed to move aboard and start cruising, immediately. She has a propane four-burner stove with oven, a propane instantaneous hot water heater, a combination propane and electric refrigerator, kitchen sink, storage cabinets, and a bath room with marine toilet, tub and lavatory. She has twin beds forward and a dining table that converts into a double bed.

            VERTROUWEN is steered from a tiller in the aft, canvas enclosed cockpit. The cockpit serves as an additional room, with seats and a table for outside dining. She can easily be moored along canal banks in beautiful rural areas and has mooring stakes, a walkboard and docking lines. She is self sufficient, operating with batteries when not plugged into shore power. She has storage for 50 gallons of diesel fuel and 150 gallons of water. She has a traditional anchor, chain and windlass. She has two fold-up bicycles.

            Her sloped and curved top deck and varnished wood trim have been admired by all of those who appreciate classic Dutch sailboats, and she is considered by many as one of the prettiest little tjalks in France.

            VERTROUWEN has been well maintained and is in exceptional condition.             

            The cruising season in France lasts from April through October, long enough to share the time aboard VERTROUWEN with more than one couple. Three couples have owned and shared the use and expenses for upkeep of VERTROUWEN and we have found this arrangement very satisfactory.

 (crusing the French canals)

 (diverse canal locks)