We enter Aleau through the wheelhouse. From either side.
Steering can be done from the wheelhouse or from the aft deck.
Climbing down the stairs from the wheelhouse, we pass through the galley to the living room – or saloon as British bargees call it.
In the galley, the stove is induction. Quicker than gas and never gets hot! The appliances are all Miele – ovens, fridge, dishwasher, washing machine…
The black box on the far wall is an ethanol fireplace. The skylight is electric and slides open. The vertical pipes to the left of the doorway are an aluminum radiator. There are smaller ones at the foot of each bed.
On the right, three ovens: microwave, convection, and a warming oven. Looking out the porthole, we can see other barges passing by.
There is plenty of storage including a pantry that pulls out. The white door to the left of it is the fridge. Lighting throughout Aleau is all LED.
The TV has a 6-speaker surround-sound audio system. We have Apple TV so we can watch Netflix in HD – and, of course, we watch CBC’s The National each morning (four hours after it airs live back home). There is a satellite dish that automatically finds a British satellite that gives us way too many channels – including BBC, ITV, CNN, and NBC. (We can record and then watch NBC Nightly News each morning.) Talk about taking your home with you. In fact, what we have on Aleau is better than what we have at home.
The washing machine and, to the right of it, a large freezer are in the passageway that joins the galley and the aft cabin. Highly unusual in a barge is the full-size door that opens into the engine room. (It’s not visible but is to the right and just before the stairs.) In most barges, the engine room is accessed through a hatch and requires climbing down a ladder. This door makes life much easier.
There is a built-in Miele Nespresso machine along with a two-temperature wine cooler. As I said, way fancier than at home.
There are two cabins – one fore and one aft. Both are “ensuite” – having their own head with toilet and shower.
The forward cabin has a king-size bed.
The shower is massive – too large to fit in one photo. It is enclosed with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall.
The heads in both cabins have heated towel racks and heated floors.
As with the forward cabin, the doors above the bed in the aft cabin swing open to expose a large window. While there is air conditioning throughout Aleau, the windows above the beds can be opened to bring in fresh air. The portholes do not open. Round bungs can be put in the portholes to shut out light and afford privacy. There are full-length closets on either side of the bed – and ample storage space throughout both cabins.
Bungs for the portholes are visible on top of the dresser. They are 100 per cent effective and shut out all light. The door to the head and a full-length mirror are on the right.
The aft-cabin head – with shower.
