About

This French and Peel Wide Beam barge/workboat represents a truly fantastic and very versatile craft.  Before I begin with my comments, after shooting the external video for this boat, the owner informed me that what I thought to be teak decks are actually laid with Iroko planks. Iroko is a hard wood timber used in boat building for centuries. It is known for its durability, high natural oil content and thus resistance to moisture. She has been fitted out by her current owner (who is a Master Mariner) with an array of electronics and equipment to make for a fantastic liveaboard, and/or working vessel. In fact this vessel was being used up until recently as a working vessel mapping and plotting the seas and estuaries for use in updating navigation charts. Stepping aboard, she has a very large and spacious wheelhouse which also accommodates the galley area with large work surfaces, large fridge and freezer along with oven, microwave and all the mod cons you would expect from a comfortable liveaboard. She is also fitted with an air conditioning system to keep the boat climate controlled to your personal requirements. Heading towards the stern, you take a few steps down into the saloon area. This again is extremely spacious with a wood burner as a very attractive feature along with carpets, curtains, storage units and a wide screen TV. A really nice touch as well is the large window/hatch that leads you out onto the swim platform which, when open, provides a really nice view out over the water when sitting in the saloon. Leaving the saloon, and a few steps up and over through the wheelhouse, you arrive at the beginning of a long passageway. Immediately to the left is the entrance to a very spacious heads/utility room. Here you will find a toilet, full size shower, large vanity unit and sink, plus a full size washing machine and dryer. Continuing down the passageway and again to the left you enter the Master's Cabin. It is an impressive space with a full size double bed which can easily be walked around. Next to the side of the bed and above the bed is an abundance of storage and hanging locker space. Then, stepping out into the passageway once more, the final door leads you into a forward cabin. Here there are two single crew berths with storage below the berths, and forward access to the anchor chain locker. As you will see from my external video for this boat, she has extensive and usable deck space all around. She has a particularly large foredeck finished with Iroko planking, which appears in good condition and feels like a nice area to relax and spend time. The side decks are wide and provide easy access to the vessel's wheelhouse along with access up onto the rear deck. This again is a very spacious area with high guard rails fitted with spray dodgers and a secondary helming position providing fantastic all round visibility. There is also a large frame situated over this area to allow a cover to be fitted to provide a good area of shade. This truly is a remarkably well kitted out vessel for all manor of uses and an awful lot of time and money has been invested in her by her current owner. So if this is the type of vessel you've been looking for, then please don't hesitate to contact me as she is a rare craft on the market. The owner of this vessel has also stated that they are happy to deliver her anywhere in the UK as part of the purchase. These boat details are subject to contract. Note: Offers on the asking price may be considered. Register with Boatshed to see 98 extra photos of this French & Peel Wide Beam Barge - Liveaboard/Distance Cruiser/Workboat . This French & Peel Wide Beam Barge - Liveaboard/Distance Cruiser/Workboat has been personally photographed and viewed by Jason Currie-Smith of Boatshed Torbay.