Maria · built 1931 · still travelling

Our travelling home. A story reaching back to 1931.

We begin with Maria as she is today, then follow her story backwards through every pair of hands that helped her survive.

Maria moored broadside beneath a blue sky, showing the complete historic hull

2019–todayMike and Karen—Kaz to friends

Our chapter · 2019 to today

Our chapter began.

We bought Maria from Don and Patty at Saint-Jean-de-Losne. A hull survey and fresh blacking were the practical beginning; champagne and croissants marked the handover.

Maria is now our home on Europe’s rivers and canals. We are caring for her, travelling with Oscar and adding our own memories to a much longer story.

Mike and Karen, known as Kaz to friends, with Maria behind them — Mike and Karen—Kaz to friends—with Maria.

Mike, Karen, Don and Patty celebrating Maria’s handover — The handover · 2019.

Maria’s historic wooden wheel and brass fittings — Taking the wheel.

See the conversion as it lives on today

The engine, wheelhouse and saloon show how the 1990s rebuilding still shapes everyday life aboard.

Maria’s Mercedes-Benz V6 engine — The Mercedes-Benz V6.

Maria’s timber wheelhouse and historic wheel — The timber wheelhouse.

Maria’s saloon and dining space — The saloon and dining space.

Before us

Follow Maria back.

Four earlier chapters explain how a working cargo barge became the home we know today. Continue in order, or choose a date to go straight there.

Before us2002–2019Don & Patty · home and journeys
Earlier2001–2002Dick & Debbie · south to France
Further back1991–2001The restorers · a second life
The beginning1931–1991The Kok family · working barge

2002–2019Don and Patty Garni

Before us · 2002 to 2019

Seventeen years aboard.

Don and Patty cruised through Burgundy, Champagne, Alsace and Lorraine. Maria was their home and, for several years, a private-hire hotel boat welcoming guests aboard before returning to family cruising.

Newspaper feature showing Don and Patty aboard Maria — Don and Patty aboard Maria · 2012.

Maria on the cover of Fluvial magazine — Maria on the cover of *Fluvial* · 2011.

Open the newspaper and magazine records

Read the newspaper story →Open the complete Fluvial cover →

2001–2002Dick and Debbie van Hasselt

Before Don and Patty · 2001 to 2002

Setting out.

Dick and Debbie bought Maria from Günter and Lore Prahm in 2001. They were later owners, rather than members of the original four-person partnership. They prepared Maria for life aboard, adding skylights, a bow thruster, laundry equipment and navigation gear, then travelled through the Netherlands and Belgium to Épinal for the winter.

Dick and Debbie van Hasselt’s illustrated account with photographs and a route map — Their illustrated account preserves two photographs aboard, a route map and their own words.

Open Dick and Debbie’s complete illustrated account (PDF) →

1991–2001Prahm · Wehner · Toben

Before that · 1991 to 2001

The people who gave Maria a second life.

In autumn 1991, Günter Prahm and Albert Wehner rushed to Friesland after barely finishing a conversation about finding a Luxe Motor. They found Maria sitting quietly in a meadow. The following week Lore Prahm and Ursula Toben—Uschi—climbed aboard too.

For company, Maria had only a horse tied nearby.

At Kötter’s yard in Haren, Maria was cut open and shortened from 31 metres back to her original 25 metres. By spring 1992 she was sailing again.

Maria’s original Kromhout engine was donated in October 1991 and is preserved at Haren’s Mühlen- und Schifffahrtsmuseum — the town’s Mill and Shipping Museum.

Maria in a Friesland meadow before her 1991 reconstruction — Friesland · 1991 · Maria in the meadow where the group found her.

Lore and Günter Prahm together in their Christmas message — Lore and Günter Prahm.

Maria’s hull cut open during shortening — Cut open. Shortened. A new beginning.

Open the reconstruction photographs and original records

The complete archive shows the working hull they found, the scale of the reconstruction, the former engine and the surviving written evidence.

Maria ashore during reconstruction — Maria ashore in the yard.

Steel fabrication during Maria’s reconstruction — Substantial steel fabrication.

Maria’s stripped interior with structure exposed — The scale of the internal rebuilding.

Maria’s earlier wheelhouse with wooden wheel, water pump, sink and cooker — The earlier wheelhouse — wheel, water pump, sink and cooker.

Looking through Maria’s large open cargo hold — The open cargo hold.

An unidentified person at Maria’s traditional wheel — Another earlier wheelhouse view.

Maria’s original Kromhout engine with a large flywheel — Maria’s original Kromhout — preserved at Haren’s Mühlen- und Schifffahrtsmuseum.

1991 Kromhout engine donation record — 26 October 1991 · Kromhout donation record.

The Prahms’ 2004 history letter — “Maria survived the operation.” · 2004.

Prahms’ Christmas message →History letter →1995 measurement certificate →1995 museum correspondence →1995 ownership register →1996 ownership change →

See how the aft cabin changed across the years

Maria’s aft cabin in an earlier arrangement — Earlier aft cabin · stained glass.

Maria’s aft cabin in its later bedroom arrangement — The later bedroom arrangement.

Earlier dining arrangement in Maria’s aft cabin — Earlier dining arrangement.

Earlier range and cabinetry aboard Maria — Earlier range and cabinetry.

1931–1991The Kok family · Rotterdam

At the beginning · 1931 to 1991

Sixty years carrying cargo.

Maria was built at Coops in Hoogezand in 1931. The Kok family owned and worked her for around sixty years. Her riveted-steel hull and practical proportions belong to this longest chapter of her life.

The surviving records identify her as Maria and record her 1931 build at Coops. By 1991 she had been lengthened to 31 metres; the restoration returned her to her original 25-metre length.

Historic-vessel register entry identifying Maria and her 1931 build at Coops — The surviving register records Maria’s name and her 1931 build at Coops in Hoogezand.

Open the early records and research image

These records establish Maria’s official identity. The Heerenveen postcard is kept separately because Maria’s presence in it has never been proven.

Maria’s 1995 German Schiffsbrief recording her official identity — 1995 · German Schiffsbrief · BSR 1670.

Historical postcard of vessels at Heerenveen; none confirmed as Maria — Heerenveen · possible sighting, not confirmed.

Open the original Schiffsbrief →

Continue exploring

Maria, seen through a lens.

The next chapter brings together the places, weather and everyday moments recorded along the way.

Continue to Photography