I have had five great years on my ship in Holland, Belgium and France but it is now time to say goodbye to my home. With my work and travel schedule I am just not able to keep up with maintaining a large houseboat, so I have decided it's time to sell.
The ship is a very large, recently renovated Dutch houseboat. It was built in 1930 and renovated several times over the years, most recently in 2010 and 2011 by myself. It was used as a beach side hotel in Northern Holland for a decade before I renovated it. It is extremely bright and sunny with 31 windows, portholes and skylights. It is a wonderful mix of modern design mixed with original antique and art deco accents.
The ship has all the amenities such as a home theater with 90 inch (228 cm) HD projection screen, stereo wired in the bedroom living room and kitchen, dvd player, English satellite HD television service, washer, dryer, heated tile bathroom floor, shower with steaming hot water, full kitchen with stove, microwave, refrigerator and everything you will need to cook and serve yourself and your guests. The heating system is fully green, eco wood burning pellet stove that runs on a thermostat. There is a Godin wood stove in the kitchen that has been refitted to burn bio-ethenol if extra heat is needed for the upper room. The upper room has a choice of a dining table or a guest/day bed that folds over the table if you would like to have guests join you.
The ship is designed as a houseboat and with its steel hull and flat bottom it is not prone to rocking. It is currently in a working shipyard but can be sailed to other ports or permanent moorings around France and Europe.
It is important to note that this is an old ship and requires a lot of time and maintenance. If you are handy you can probably do most of the work yourself, if not you must budget to have maintenance done on a yearly basis both outside and inside the ship. There are a few known issues with the ship that are listed on the website. Living on a houseboat in Europe is an extremely unique opportunity with many benefits (monthly costs can be as low as €200, living on the water is amazing etc) but it also takes a lot more effort to keep things running smoothly compared to living in an apartment.
I am really sad to let go of my floating home, but also happy to know that someone else can now experience life on the waters of Europe in this amazing, classic houseboat.
If you would like more details and photos please visit my Houseboat For Sale Website
The living room is large and bright. I built the couch high so that it looks out the large strip of windows on the other side (there is a wonderful view across the river as long as another boat is not tied alongside.) There is an eco wood pellet burning fireplace which heats the entire ship on a thermostat. You can also view the home theater from the couch and the room is wired for stereo sound. The couch can also sleep one or two people, so the ship can accommodate six people in total.
The bed is raised and looks out a strip of six large windows on one side, two on the other and a skylight fills in extra light. There is a desk (computer not included in rental.) A pull down screen above the desk turns into the home theater. The bathroom is directly next to the bedroom.
There is a daybed/guest bedroom in the upper part of the boat/kitchen area. The bed is formed by placing the wood platform and mattress over the kitchen breakfast nook. If you prefer to have the kitchen table/breakfast nook area the bed and platform fit in storage under the floor.
The large home theater screen is 720p HD and there is a satellite HD television service from the UK which offers all english service with numerous channels and satellite radio stations.
This is the kitchen table/breakfast nook. You can also place the bed/daybed setup here (see photo above) if you wish to accommodate two more guests.
The kitchen is large for a boat and extremely bright with windows on all sides. There is a four burner gas stove, fridge and freezer, toaster oven, microwave etc. The living room, bedroom and bathroom are down the stairs and there is a door that separates this area for when it is used as a guest room.
The large bathroom with full shower, heated tile floors, standard toilette etc
The bathroom with washer and dryer, sink etc.
The front door which opens to the kitchen/guest room area.
The side of the ship with the placard, name and year it was built
Moored in Northern France
The front of the ship seen when it was moored in Holland
