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“Independence” is a 16.95 metre (55 ft) Dutch Barge built in the
style of a Lux Motor Barge. Independence
is unique and she has many features that are not often associated with Dutch
Barges. She was built in 2010 by Aqualine Marine Ltd, took eleven months to
complete and commission and she was handed over to me on 1st January
2011. Since this time she has only been used occasionally and has only 500
hours on her engine. Independence was delivered
by road to Tingdene Marina near Reading.
She had a brief trip down the Thames and into the Medway where she was kept on
the fresh water part of the Medway until 2014 when she was taken by a
professional pilot to Nieuwpoort in Belgium and onto the non tidal
waterways. Since 2015 she has been moored at Diksmuide, Belgium,
in a very attractive and friendly marina.
Whilst “Independence” looks very traditional, she is
a 21st century craft with all mod cons, both for boating and also
the sort of comfort that would be found in most homes.
“Independence” is built of very high quality
steel, the construction is very robust and unlike many boats of her type she is
very sea worthy as she has a full length box keel making her incredibly stable
when in rough water. She is a category “C” craft but has been ballasted to
category “B” standards, hence the stability. She also has seven automatic bilge
pumps which have never been used except for testing. Do not confuse this
magnificent craft with any other Dutch Barge; she is far better in many ways.
When I started looking for a
company to build me my dream boat I became very disillusioned as to the quality
that was on offer from boat builders, both in the UK
and also in mainland Europe. When I discovered
Aqualine it was like a breath of fresh air, here was a company that had the
attitude that I was looking for. Their answer was yes to everything I required
and the finished product is just totally superb. This is more like a floating
luxury apartment, rather than a boat, as it has everything that you would
expect from a city flat.
When I first decided to have
“Independence”
built I decided that I would only have the very best in both technical facilities
and also comfort, so the cost would be a secondary factor. Some of the things I
specified did, however, raise some eyebrows at Aqualine, but all that I asked
for were forthcoming and the final result could only be described as perfect.
My reason for selling “Independence” is very
simple and it is not a financial decision. I expected by now, to be having a
more relaxing life style and I wanted to go and explore the waterways of
central Europe, but I just do not have the time, due to a new business that
seems to be expanding rather fast and I want to see it through, rather than
retire as I had planned. I will probably have another “Independence” built by
Aqualine in about five year’s time when things have calmed down a bit This has
been a difficult decision, but to leave my beautiful boat just moored up for
occasional use, is a waste, as she deserves to be used and loved.
Mooring Location.
Independence is moored at Diksmuide, Belgium, in a fantastic marina with every facility you can imagine including an active social calendar. The wifi is also very good and included in the mooring fees. The mooring fees are around £900 (nine hundred Pounds per year). The only extras are electricity, which is on a meter and the river licence, about £250 per year. Diksmuide is just over an hour from Calais by car and is the perfect location to start a journey to explore the whole of the European Inland Waterways. If you wanted to go to The UK, the sea journey across the channel is easy.
VAT Status
Independence has full tax paid status for all countries in The EU. She also has UK VAT status for residential use.
Technical Features.
Engine and Propulsion.
Mitsubishi Sole 95hp non
turbo six cylinder diesel driving through a Python Drive Coupling to a solid
shaft with a 23 inch four blade machined phosphor bronze propeller.
The engine is cooled by a
self contained keel cooling system which has many advantages. It’s much
quieter, (many other boaters don’t hear us coming), you don’t have to empty any
cooling water filters (there aren’t any) and the engine is protected as all the
cooling water is closed loop freshwater with anti freeze in it.
The engine silencer, which
is dry, is of hospital quality and this also helps to make the boat very quiet.
Steering and Thrusters.
The steering is a closed
loop hydraulic system with an emergency override and external tiller if needed.
The steering is very light and very precise.
“Independence” has both Bow and Stern Thrusters, this means that you can moor in places
other large boats would not fit in, she can go sideways, she is very easy to
put in any small gap and you can also turn her through 180 degrees in her own
length. The stern thruster is also very useful for correcting those “slight
errors” when mooring in tight places.
Other Navigation Facilities.
“Independence” has, apart from radar, every
thing that could be required for coastal and inland boating. From an electric
anchor, through very wide gunwales, to safety handles in all of the right
places. There is also a very comprehensive array of instrumentation for both
navigation purposes and also for the domestic services on board. There is also
a new state of the art ships DST radio fitted in a cupboard to the side of the
steering wheel and a Garmin colour screen GPS unit.
Electrics and Heating.
Electrics.
The electrical system on “Independence” is advanced
to say the least and all safety features have been incorporated. When on shore
power an automatic galvanic transformer protects the boat and the domestic electrical
system is also protected by a reverse polarity sensor. There is also an
automatic overload sensor which resets, also automatically.
There is a 3kva inverter
charger and also a 3.5kva generator which is powered by the boat’s engine. When
this generator is turned on it will charge the batteries, run the dish washer
or washing machine, power the hot
water immersion heater as well as provide 230 volts around the boat.
In addition to the normal
electricity supplies there are also two 24 volt 250 watt solar panels fitted on
the wheelhouse roof. These are connected into the boats 24 volt domestic system
and will keep the batteries topped up even when not on shore power.
Lighting.
The lighting system on “Independence” is
fantastic, there are many different selectable lighting
moods, from overhead MR16 LED and halogen, to roof, gunwale
and floor strip LEDs. In addition there are strip LEDs around the roof line on
the outside of the wheelhouse. This looks very pretty but is very useful when
mooring at night.
Heating.
“Independence” has four diesel tanks, two for
propulsion and two separate ones for heating oil. Heating oil is about half the
price of propulsion diesel.
The heating and hot water
boiler is a Webasto 9500T with a timer unit like a standard home heating
system. It is very efficient and I was very warm and cosy during the winter of 2012, when
the temperature dropped to minus ten.
Wheelhouse Heating.
The wheelhouse as well as
the normal boat heating system, has an extra fan heater which takes the heat
from the engine and warms the wheelhouse. This is very useful in cold weather
when you are on the move as there is no need to have the main system turned on,
thus saving heating oil.
Comfort and Modern Living.
“Independence” is fully insulated. All the
external steel is spray foam insulated and even the floors have 100mm of high
quality compressed foam in a plywood sandwich. All of the wooden hardwood
windows are double glazed and this includes the wheelhouse, wheelhouse doors
and the pigeon box. Winter on this boat is warm, dry and cosy. The summers are
also pleasant as due to all the insulation she stays quite cool and there is a
very good flow of air from the hatches and the pigeon box.
Wheelhouse.
In addition to the
wheelhouse being used for piloting the boat it is also a very useful and
luxurious relaxing space. There is a split folding solid oak and sapele table,
this is surrounded by high quality leather seating with knee rolls. Eight
people can be accommodated very comfortably. The roof is covered with the same
pale yellow leather as the seating and trimmed with contrasting dark wood
sectioning.
Galley.
The boat term is a galley
but this “galley” must be described as a kitchen. The quality and facilities
would not be out of place in a city centre apartment. Granite worktops, twin
stainless steel sinks, full size gas four burner hob with twin fan assisted
ovens, over hob extractor system with lights, dishwasher, plus 230 volt fridge
and a 24 volt freezer. There are also lots of cupboards and storage space and
all of the draws in the galley and throughout the boat have soft close runners.
The flooring is high quality ceramic tiles. Cooking for eight people in this
kitchen is easy.
Saloon.
The spacious saloon has a
solid oak floating floor and fitted oak cupboards down each side, with a built
in high quality hifi system with a sub woofer. The furniture is of classic
modern style, a dark brown leather G Plan sofa along with two light cream
leather recliner swivel seats make relaxing very easy. There is a LCD TV, DVD player and a HD
satellite receiver. The signal for the satellite system come from a self
tracking dome, the dome will find the satellite quickly and automatically. This
satellite system is designed to work in most of northern Europe.
A Sky HD box can also be fitted to the satellite dome. In addition to the large
double glazed picture windows the galley and the saloon benefit from the large
pigeon box which make the whole area very light and airy.
Fore Bathroom.
The fore bathroom has “Jack
and Jill” doors, this means it can be accessed from the master cabin and also
from the companionway adjoining the saloon. The bathroom has granite worktops,
ceramic tiled flooring, a high quality ceramic round basin, a full size corner
thermostatic shower, electric WC, extractor fan, heated chrome towel rail, LED
concealed lighting and large fitted mirror. There is also a Bosch front loading
washing fitted under the worktop and inside a double folding door cabinet.
Main Cabin.
Like the rest of the boat
the fore cabin has an oak and cream theme. There is a full size double bed with
storage space underneath, twin wardrobes and bedside storage cupboards. There
is lots of cleaver storage space here and also through out the boat. The
lightning is a mixture of LED and halogen and the concealed reading lights are
controlled by switches on each side of the bed. The floor is covered with
fitted Wilton
carpet and the bed head is the same light yellow leather that is used in the
wheelhouse.
Rear Cabin.
There are two single beds;
these can be converted into one very large double. The headboard is the same
light yellow leather as used in the wheelhouse and the carpet is the same as
the fore cabin. There is a corner shower and in the opposite corner a loo with
wash basin, electric WC and heated towel rail.
There are three wardrobes,
two sets of draws and lots of concealed storage space.
Outside.
The gunwale which goes
totally around the boat is very wide and totally safe as there are many fixed
safety rails. The rear deck, which has a concealed built in step, is surrounded
by stainless steel railings with a hardwood top capping. There are two very
large concealed lockers; one is used as a gas locker, the other could be used
to store folding bicycles. On the foredeck there are two more concealed
lockers, these can be used as seats as well as storage space. The fore deck has
a very traditional Dutch Barge mast with a discrete communication aerial fitted
to it.
The hull sides are protected
by a 100mm rubber rubbing strip mounted on a 50mm x 100mm steel box section.
This not only protects the boat but it is a very useful step. There are many
hand made rope fenders around the hull, these are fixed to the boat using the
built in steel fender eyes. There are also several standard round and tube shaped fenders.
Paintwork.
The superstructure is a very
traditional Dutch Barge cream and the hull is dark blue. The quality of the
paint and the steelwork is so good that people ask if the boat is fibreglass,
it shines and still looks brand new. The underwater section was shot blasted
back to bare steel in June 2012 as I wanted to see how the steel was standing
up. There were no issues but she was repainted in Blake’s new, two pack
underwater paint. Three coats were applied and the paint is now about a quarter
of an inch thick.
In the winter of 2023 – 2024
the paintwork was fully refurbished at Ship Support, Nieuwpoort, using two pack
paint. The main superstructure, the hull and the underwater section of the boat
were stripped back and totally repainted at a cost of 38,000 euros. The quality
of the work is superb and this paint should last around fifteen years before
any more work is required.
External Woodwork.
All of the external woodwork
is high quality hardwood which is finished in Osma Oil. Osma Oil is very easy
to apply and also the old oil doesn’t have to be removed unlike a varnish
finish. The whole boat can be treated with Osma Oil in just a few hours of easy
work.
Independence is ready
for long distance boating.
During the winter of
2023-2024 the engine, engine cooling system, solar charging system, electrical
system, 12 volt, 24 volt and 320 AC mains were checked. The engine start batteries
x 2, the bow thruster batteries x 4 and the 10 domestic batteries were
replaced. The four diesel tanks have been cleaned out and the central heating
system was serviced. At the same time all the electrics, solar panel system and the electrical safety systems were checked. The engine had a full service, including changing the keel cooling anti freeze. All mechanical systems were checked.
Everything on Independence is ready to go and she could be sailed away
to Europe to start her adventure,
unfortunately, I won’t be with her, this will be the pleasure of her new very
discerning owners.
There is a full photographic record of the build from laying the keel to launching. There is also a full service record from day one along with a large file of receipts and documentation to show how she has been cared for.
Specifications
Length 16.95 metres 55 feet
Beam 3.75 metres 12
ft 4ins
Draft 0.90 metres 3
ft.
Air Draft 3 metres 10
feet.
Weight 35 tons
Tanks.
Propulsion Diesel 450 litres
Heating Oil 630 litres
Fresh Water 650 litres
Black Water 2
x Vetus Black Water Tanks (never used). There are diverting valves to send the
black water into the river or sea.
Construction.
All steel conforms to EN
S5235 JR and the whole construction process was over seen by The Polish
Shipping Register.
Keel Plate 20mm
Chine Plates 6mm
Hull sides 6mm
Bulkheads 6/8mm
Superstructure 4mm and 5mm
Internal Framing 6/8mm
Insulation Spray Foam all surfaces 100mm except floor which is 100mm foam.
Engine.
Mitsubshi Sole 95hp Diesel
Non Turbo.
Keel Cooled.
Three alternators, 24 volt
domestic, 12 volt engine start, 230 volts AC for mains when the engine is
running.
Location.
Independence is moored in a private marina in Diksmuide, Belgium.
The current mooring could be
transferred to the new owner but this would be with the agreement of the
marina’s management.
The mooring fees are fully paid for until January 2025.
A full set of bespoke winter covers are included in the sale price.
Viewing.
By appointment with the
owner, Alan Seal 0044 7970 134611 alanseal@gmail.com.
Current Price: £229000.00
This Aqualine Dutch Barge. Liveaboard, Houseboat, House Boat, Canal Boat, Widebeam. may be available on ebay