User:Gloverepp/Palinurus (barge)

The Palinurus was built in 1926 as a cargo barge. She was the first barge to be modified to become a hotel barge.

History
The Palinurus was built in 1926 at Dunquerque as a mule-drawn cargo barge. In 1966, she was converted as the first hotel barge. She was converted from carrying coal and captained by Richard Parsons on the canals of the Burgundy region of France. At the time the barge was equipped to take 20 passengers, with only one bath, two showers and two toilets shared between them, cruising on the River Yonne and the Burgundy Canal.

In May 1966, the first hotel barge in France, the Palinurus, made its way from Paris to Dijon with 20 passengers on board. They shared one bathroom, chipped in for the chef's daily shopping forays and helped tow the barge when the going was slow.

In 1969 Richard Parsons teamed up with Guy Bardet to launch Continental Waterways, a company that eventually ran 15 hotel barges.

In 1985, she was aquired John Liley and renamed Luciole (Firefly). She had her saloon roof raised and the interior completely rebuilt with larger and fewer cabins and private bathrooms throughout.

She presently sails as the Luciole.