HISTORY OF BONAVENTURA

It all began four years ago. We were canoing on the Körös river, where the water is slow but our fairly old age and weak condition got to us. In the evening – for the record: we were almost dead - we had a newspaper with an advertisement about the sale of a small motorboat. Heureka! Let's admit our limits and make a change! We were offered another demolished ark, imported from the Netherlands, but we had no trust in it. Luckily we got to know Captain Leitner, who was an expert of the Dutch shipping market. We browsed the Dutch merchants' offers until we found the ship we own today. Two days later we were sat on a plane flying to Amsterdam, to meet the ship of our secret desires in person, which was swaying on a fresh water lake a long time ago despite being a sea ship. It was a love at first sight, but we did not know that the "bride" had some really old body parts. But love is all about this! After a little negotiation with the merchant the deal was made, and we headed to drink more dry spritzer than our dear Dutch waiter had ever seen before. We could include two new batteries and an engine revision (with two 105 horsepower Iveco) into the deal, to be able to carry home the 20 tons of beauty in 3 weeks on the Amsterdam canal, through the Rhine, the Main, the Main-Danube canal and on the Danube until Esztergom.

Two hard years followed when the "bride" had to be renovated thoroughly. If we knew before, we wouldn’t have given it a go. It looked like it would be a never-ending story. First, the whole electrical wire system had to be replaced (several kilometers of wires) at the Ship Renovating Center in Újpest, which was followed by the hoist of the ship. The compulsory plate thickness measurement at 90 points yielded a very reassuring result. 40 years in the life of a steel boat is peanut. Only a 40x60-centimeter corroded plate – caused by the leaky exhaust - had to be replaced. Two new exhaust system were place both sides. The saltwater rust-preventing anodes had to be changed to fresh water ones. It was followed by the renewal of the worn shafts, the rudder and the steering, and the multi layered painting of the hull of the ship.

Back on the water, the sea mast was replaced with a chrome plated steel bridge, which was built for the instruments, antennas and lighting. Most of the windows had to be sealed, and then the mahogany cover was replaced and completely renewed. New carpet, leather upholstery and new mattresses into the beds were placed in.

We managed to put an air conditioning in the back cabin, a large refrigerator in the small storage room, and radio, CD players, DVD players, and 1-1 televisons in the saloon. There were all kinds of gadgets on this ship, but most of them were outdated. We installed a new radar, a new TV antenna, a new plotter for the lower and upper steering, which show a map, and combined with GPS, a depth meter and ship recognition system and a radar image. We installed an automatic fire extinguisher system gently in the engine compartment too. From the old boat, the kitchen proved to take the most time: we used the grilling-micro-coffeemaker-sink-special refrigerator-gas stove combo. The relatively modern aggregator works fine, just as the Vebasto stove and the ship's water supply system, which pumps up the water from the Danube for deck washing, and shower. The upper wheelhouse has a new tarpaulin on the top, with a shiny bimini which drops a shadow on the rear deck. The comfort of passengers is ensured by teak benches and beanbags placed on the front deck.

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• Bonaventura
  CREW: 2 PEOPLE

  Eight people comfortably, four more people less comfortably can sleep on the boat. We feel that the recently completed teak deck renovation was worth it. We’re proud to say that our ship is unique in it’s category on the Danube boat rental market. Businessmen, diplomats, honeymooners, comfort lover adventurers, top priority guests of Budapest or the most spoiled celebrities from around the world can spend a peaceful and unforgettable time on the deck.

  • Lenght: 14.80 meters
  • Width: 4.20 meters
  • Maximum number of passengers: 12