La Dolce Vita (barge)

The La Dolce Vita (English: The sweet life) was built in 1897 in Groningen, Netherlands. She originally served as a cargo barge in the Netherlands. She presently serves as a hotel barge, owned by Giampaolo Friso.

La Dolce Vita
History
Italy
Name: La Dolce Vita
Owner: Giampaolo Friso
Route: The lagoons surrounding Venice, the Venice Lido beach, and the Brenta River
Launched: 1897
Christened: Unknown
Status: In service
General characteristics
Class and type: Commercial passenger vessel
Length: 21 m (69 ft)
Beam: 4.9 m (16 ft)
Decks: 1
Installed power: 2 Generators
Propulsion: Deutz, 6000 cc 150 Hp
Speed: Maximum 5 knots
Capacity: 6 passengers
Crew: 3 crew
Notes: Holds 6,000 litres water; 3,000 litres fuel

History

The original barge was powered by sail. She was first motorized in the 1950s and in the 1960s was lengthened by 10m (with square chines).

In 1975, she was purchased by Peter Mastenbroeks. She was shortened back to her original length of 23m (x5m) and her name was changed to Lobbes. In 1979, she was transformed into a sailing barge.

She was sold in 1983 and continued to be operated as a sailing barge by a French couple. Around 1988, she was sold to a new owner in Venice and converted to a hotel barge in 1990. She continues her life as a hotel barge there today.

She has worked in the Netherlands, throughout Scandinavia, France, and Italy. She has also sailed under the names of "Hoop en Vertrouwen" (English: Hope and Confidence), "Gerris", and "Lobbes".

La Dolce Vita currently has 3 passenger cabins, allowing her to carry up to 6 passengers. She also has separate crew quarters which house the crew of three.[1] The crew consists of the captain, tour guide/deck-hand, and chef. The crew is generally Italian with one crew-member who speaks English.[2][3][4] [5]

References
  1. Deck plan
  2. Steven B. Stern (2004). Stern's Guide to the Cruise Vacation 2005. Pelican Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-58980-240-7.
  3. Kay Showker; Bob Sehlinger (2007). The Unofficial Guide to Cruises. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-08791-6.
  4. Shirley Slater; Harry Basch (1997). Fielding's Worldwide Cruises 1998. Fielding Worldwide. ISBN 978-1-56952-156-4.
  5. Peter Greenberg (2007). The Complete Travel Detective Bible: The Consummate Insider Tells You What You Need to Know in an Increasingly Complex World!. Rodale. ISBN 978-1-59486-708-8.
  • Passengers on deck.
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