Our Schengen time was up. We had been able to make one cruise – to Dijon and back. Plus what was really a commute from St. Jean-de-Losne to Auxonne. We found a lovely home at Port Royal. Attended the DBA Rally in Den Bosch. And, most important, got Aleau registered and insured. It had been a successful and rewarding spring. We were now owners of our very own Dutch Barge. A few details about her…
Aleau is a 2014 Piper 65L. https://www.piperboats.com/boat/65l/
But she is not exactly a standard 65L. The previous owner had insisted on a number of features no other Piper had. The only other one that now has the same features is the one he bought to replace Gillan B. It’s called Leander and is 10-feet longer. Other than that, it’s pretty well identical. Everything inside is a tiny bit longer (but has the same width). The layout is identical. You’ll see a photo of Leander a little later on.
The main feature found on Aleau and no other Piper (except for Leander) is the garage – and hydraulic crane – in the bow. It has room for two scooters. But the previous owner took those with him. (Insert sad-face emoji here.)
The crane can be operated with a wireless remote control. If only he had left the scooters behind…
