looking for something elegant

[fredfrog]

If you've seen any of my posts elsewhere, you'll see that we are hoping to buy something to keep on the Ouse, but also to end up living on for a few years whilst we 'do' european waterways. The sensible choice would be either a dutch barge type affair or maybe a dutch steel displacement job, maybe something around 11m X 4m. Trouble is, beautiful boats seemed to stop being built around 1945!
We would be very happy to have something that age, but have no experience of just how much that would cost to run and maintain... there will only be a small pot once the boat is done up. A steel hull would seem sensible, wooden or part wooden superstructure desirable, looks wise. I was wondering therefore about older Dutch steel craft?
Any advice or thoughts most welcome on wether, or if, this makes sense at all?

John

 

[Mirelle]

There is an incredibly elegant boat of just those dimensions, just arrived on the Ouse; not however for sale, the boat I am thinking of is a 1928 Miller Fifer called LINNHE SHIELE and she's owned by a friend who is doing a wonderful job of restoring her. In fact she could not be in better hands.

You might look out something similar in the Scots motor sailer vein. They are very practical for living aboard - Millers and Inchcapes are two names to look out for.

The mst elegant pure motor boats IMHO, also very practical liveaboards, are the Silvers, but these are the Vintage Bentleys of the motorboat world and are seldom cheap.