Hi Jim,
Thanks. Would this book be useful in fitting out Dutch barges?
What prompted my original question was a boat that someone had started fitting out, but quit after the exterior, engine, and insulation was complete, but not the interior. It was small (hence, inexpensive) and my wife is currenly leaning towards buying a small one at first, then trading up to a larger one "after we know what we're doing." The more I read, the more I suspect that we're going to have to do some refitting of whatever we buy, so I was thinking "why not just fit out the whole thing?" But I'm not naive, I know it's a lot of work, and since I'm from the other side of the world, I'm trying to judge just how much work it would be and what my resources would be.
Obviously, being a native English speaker (albeit the American dialect of English) it would be easiest to pursue such a project in an English-speaking country. But I haven't ruled out doing it in Holland, either. I understand that they have the best chandlers for barges and most speak English. We'll eventually be cruising in France, but I my French is almost useless (I am working on it) and I understand that it's hard to get marine supplies in much of France, so I'm not really thinking about doing the work there.
In the end, we may not do this at all. There's the problem of tools (I have lots, but they are 120V) and do I do the work inside the hull (making lots of sawdust and mess) or do I also rent a workshop or shed? And so on.
If I had the boat hauled I suppose I could setup an outside work area next to it. I like that idea. I'd rather win the lottery and buy exactly what I want, but I'm too realistic to expect that - especially since I don't buy lottery tickets!
Thanks again