Living afloat

The story of the Luxe Motor MS Watergeus, the bakdekkruiser Escapade and how to convert a Dutch barge into a houseboat.
Also containing one of world's largest house boat gallery

History

Thanks to Erik, a previous owner of the Escapde I have some information on her background. The Escapde was built in 1937 at the Van Lent shipyard in the Netherlands.

The engine is a Mercedes 4 cylinder from 1967. She had been moored in Ghent and Denderleeuw most of her career. As far as retrievable, she has been owned by several people

• ? - ?: Escapade, a car dealer from Hamme
• ? - 2000: Escapade, an owner from Denderleeuw
• 2001-2010: Escapade, a Dutch owner, but moored in Wachtebeke
• 2010 - present: Escapade, owned by me and moored in Bruges

Any more information is welcome. I hope, when converting her I might find some more stuff.

As she looked in the 90's

After 2010

As I bought here

The advertisement on the Internet mentioned it about a bakdekkruiser with some work and accommodation for four people. When I visited her, I realised the whole interior had to go.

What should become of her:

Once she was in Bruges and I started to remove some paneling, I realised most of her has to go, not just the interior. I want to keep er as she is, but with some comfort. This drawing is how she should be looking (more or less).

New windows will be placed, so don't bother looking at the current ones!

Project planning

This is the hardest bit, making a correct planning. First I wanted to start in april 2011, but the back accommodation of the Watergeus is just not getting finished. So I will probably start in May 2011. The whole renovation is about to take two years.

Metal work

Interior

Engine