Saint Louis (hotel barge)
 Hotel barge Saint Louis on the Canal de Garonne. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name: | Saint Louis |
| Owner: | SARL AB Barging (a French company owned by A & B Wyllie) |
| Operator: | Owner operated |
| Port of registry: | Lyon |
| Route: |
|
| Builder: | Gebr. Boot, Alphen a/d Rijn |
| Launched: | 1923 |
| Status: | in active service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Commercial passenger vessel |
| Tonnage: | 127 |
| Length: | 29.2 m (96 ft) |
| Beam: | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Height: | 3.2 m (10 ft) |
| Draught: | 1.2 m (3.9 ft) |
| Decks: | 2 |
| Installed power: | 2 x generators – Lister Petter Diesel 380Volt 14 KVA and Honda 220Volt 4.5 KVA |
| Propulsion: | GM 6V72 diesel motor, 180 H.P |
| Speed: | Canal cruising speed 3 knots, Maximum speed 8 knots |
| Capacity: | 6 passengers |
| Crew: | 4 crew |
| Notes: |
|
The Saint Louis (named for Louis IX of France, later canonised) is a Luxemotor hotel barge, built in 1923 by Gebroeders Boot in Alphen aan den Rijn in the Netherlands. She was built as a bulk carrier and served in the Dutch seas and inland waterways carrying cargoes of grain and gravel until around 1985. At that time she was converted for use as a supply vessel in the port of Amsterdam, using the name Supplier 2. In 1994 she was sold and then converted into a hotel barge. She spent the first ten years of her new life as a hotel barge in the canal systems of Burgundy, in north west France. The Saint Louis was then bought by her present owners in 2004, when she was taken down the river and canal system of France to arrive on the Canal de Garonne, in south west France.
The Saint Louis has three double cabins for guests and separate accommodation for her crew of four. The guest cabins all have en-suite bathrooms. The boat has full air conditioning and central heating. The Saint Louis carries a crew of four and is owner-operated. The owners themselves fulfill the key roles of Pilot / Tour Guide and Chef / Head Housekeeper.
The owners of Saint Louis, Barbara and Alasdair Wyllie, are both 'Grande Plaisance' qualified passenger barge skippers. Alasdair is also a Yachtmaster (with full Commercial Endorsement). He is the great grandson of the renowned marine artist W L Wyllie and many of that artist’s works are to be found in the guest areas of the boat.
 The sundeck on hotel barge Saint Louis |  Guests enjoying the sundeck on Saint Louis |
References
- W L Wyllie – Marine Artist 1851 – 1931.
Roger Quarm and John Wyllie ISBN 0-09-146220-7 Barrie and Jenkins 1981 - We Were One. M A Wyllie, G. Bell & Sons, London 1935
- Norway and its Fjords. M A Wyllie, Methuen & Co, London 1907
- Cowes Yachting “Tailored to Please” pp 32 – 34 Spring 2010
- Cruise International “Lazy Days” pp 62 – 64 October / November 2010
External links
- Saint Louis hotel barge website
- Guide to the Canal de Garonne Places and ports on the Canal de Garonne
- Guide to the Canal de Montech Places and ports on the Canal de Montech-Montauban