Vami péniche on the Sambre river in Namur (DSCF5450)

A péniche (or spits in Dutch) is a steel motorised inland waterway

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

of up to 350 tonnes' capacity. Péniche barges were built to fit the post-1880s French waterways and the locks of

Freycinet gauge The Freycinet gauge (french: gabarit Freycinet) is a standard governing the dimensions of the locks of some canals, put in place as a result of a law passed during the tenure of Charles de Freycinet as minister of public works of France, dating ...

. They are visually similar to a

Dutch barge A Dutch barge is a traditional flat-bottomed shoal-draught barge, originally used to carry cargo in the shallow ''Zuyder Zee'' and the waterways of Netherlands. There are very many types of Dutch barge, with characteristics determined by region ...

, but built to different specifications.

Dimensions

The critical detail for the péniche is the dimension, a maximum of 38.50m (126 ft) long, 1.60m draft and wide. They were especially designed for the Belgian and French canal locks, and as a result of the wish to maximise space for freight, the barges tend to be flat-sided, with short, rounded bows and sterns. Nowadays the specification is still applied for commercial navigation as Class I in the

Classification of European Inland Waterways The Classification of European Inland Waterways is a set of standards for interoperability of large navigable waterways forming part of the Trans-European Inland Waterway network within Continental Europe and Russia. It was created by the European ...

History

The péniche originated in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, as a wooden vessel for

inland navigation Inland navigation, inland barge transport or inland waterway transport (IWT) is a transport system allowing ships and barges to use inland waterways (such as canals, rivers and lakes). These waterways have inland ports, marinas, quays, and wharfs. ...

.Spits
vaartips.nl, retrieved 7 October 2015. A pointy bow was added and this version was also called a 'pointu' in

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...

, a 'spits' in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

and a 'péniche flamande' in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. When ships came to be built of steel this type became a 'dumb' barge that had to be towed by a

towboat A pusher, pusher craft, pusher boat, pusher tug, or towboat, is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. In the United States, the industries that use these vessels refer to them as towboats. These vessels are characterized by a squar ...

. In the 1910s this barge became a

motor ship A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by th ...

and a popular one at that. In the 1920s about 950 péniches were built in Belgium. In the early 1940s many Belgian péniches were claimed by the Germans to take part in the invasion of Great Britain. To make them

seaworthy Seakeeping ability or seaworthiness is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions when underway. A ship or boat which has good seakeeping ability is said to be very seaworthy and is able to operate effectively even in high sea stat ...

they were welded together in pairs, side by side. The last spits was built in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1973. Many former freight péniches have been converted into living, hotel or pleasure craft.

Types

The Belgian péniche is the standard version, built for the Belgian and French canal locks. Some of them have been lengthened by about 9 m or were originally built at or .Spits
entry at Inland Navigation Encyclopaedia on binnenvaarttaal.nl, retrieved 7 October 2015. These were constructed for transport on the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...

river, which has larger locks, especially between

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

and

Givet Givet () (german: Gibet Walloon: ''Djivet'') is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France surrounded on three sides by the Belgian border. It lies on the river Meuse where Emperor Charles V built the fortress of Charlemont. It ...

. A ''French péniche'' has even less sheer than a Belgian one and a very round

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Or ...

with the rudder attached to the rear end rather than under the stern. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

a great number of them were built in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and sent to France as

war reparation War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. R ...

. The ''Dutch péniche'' has a less round stern and a bit more sheer than the Belgian one.Hollandse spits
entry at Inland Navigation Encyclopaedia on binnenvaarttaal.nl, retrieved 7 October 2015. A ''wet péniche'' has to take on water as

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship ...

when navigating unladen. Especially in the Belgian and French types, the péniche's full stern provides a higher

buoyancy Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the ...

and insufficient water around the

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

when empty.

Trivia

* Because it is a displacement barge, a péniche is not a fast vessel. A popular saying among owners is that it will hardly move forward when laden or backwards when empty.

References

External links

Article on use of old Spits barges

Hotel barges (introduction to hotel barging in France)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peniche (barge) Barges