Luciole (barge)

Hotel barge Luciole moored at Mailly-le-Château on the Canal du Nivernais
History
France
Name: Luciole
Owner: Inland Voyages Ltd
Port of registry: Nevers
Route: Nivernais Canal: Auxerre to Clamecy
Builder: Chantiers de Petite-Synthe, Dunkerque
Launched: 1926
Christened: Ponctuel
Renamed: Palinurus (1966), Luciole (1985)
Status: In service
General characteristics
Class and type: Hotel barge
Tonnage: 180 tons
Length: 114 ft 0 in (34.75 m)
Beam: 16 ft 7 in (5.05 m)
Height: 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)
Draught: 3.25 ft 3 in (1.07 m)
Decks: 2
Installed power: 2 x 220 volt generators (32 + 16 KVA)
Propulsion: Perkins Sabre M130C diesel (95.68 kW (128.3 hp))
Speed: 3 knots canal, 7 knots maximum
Capacity: 12 passengers
Crew: 6 crew

The Luciole is a converted French barge, or péniche. She was built in 1926. In 1966 she became the first hotel barge on the French canal system. She now operates on the Canal du Nivernais.

History

The Luciole was constructed in 1926 at the Chantiers de Petite-Synthe in Dunkerque as the mule-drawn vessel Ponctuel. Later equipped with an engine, she carried 180 tons of cargo. In 1966 an Englishman, Richard Parsons, bought her and converted her to become the first hotel-barge plying the rivers and canals of France, under the name Palinurus, carrying 22 passengers.[1] She operated in the Burgundy region,[2][3] before moving southward to the Canal du Midi and Canal Latéral à la Garonne.

In 1985 she was purchased by the British company Inland Voyages Ltd and brought back to Burgundy. There she was rebuilt, with a raised superstructure, and with the interior remodeled to carry 14 passengers in six double or twin bedded cabins and two single cabins, all with air-conditioning and en-suite bathrooms.

Recent modifications include the lengthening of the vessel from the previous 30.75 metres to 34.75 metres (114 ft).

Current operation

The Luciole is now operated by John and Penny Liley, whose Inland Voyages company, formed in 1976, previously operated the hotel-barge Secunda.[4] John Liley is a noted waterway author, whose book France - the Quiet Way,[5] provides a guide to all inland waterways in France.

The Luciole has a crew of six and operates weekly voyages between Auxerre and the town of Clamecy, a scenic route with restricted dimensions in places, which the boat is specifically designed to pass.

References

  1. ↑ "Once Upon a French Canal". France Today (2007). Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  2. ↑ Kimbrough, Emily (1968). Floating Island. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 1299222595.
  3. ↑ Kroll, Jarrett and Stanley (1979). Cruising the Inland Waterways of Europe. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 0060124563.
  4. ↑ Liley, John (2009). Keeping afloat : up a French canal-- without a paddle. Chipping Campden: Loose Chippings. ISBN 0955421756.
  5. ↑ Liley, John (1975). France, the quiet way. London: Stanford Maritime. ISBN 0540071404.
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