Last summer Arie van Wijngaarden and his wife, from Alblasserdam, rented the Argus from us. A motor yacht of almost fifteen meters, which first had to be renovated. "That is something Arie Verkerk of Aquaship is well entrusted with: as a craftsman he is perfectionist and always delivers quality!"

Arie and his wife thought the Argus was one of the most beautiful ships they had sailed on.

Inland navigation

And they have a right to speak: since 1983 they have annually rented a motorboat, which they use to sail the inland waterways. "I used to be a captain in inland navigation. We had a motorboat ourselves, but that was no longer combinable when we started a store. Working on Saturdays and maintenance takes up a lot of time. Then renting a boat is the ideal solution: you don't have to worry about it!"

Rental companies

For years they were oriented towards Friesland: "We sailed on ships of different charter companies. More or less by chance, we found out last year that an employee of the last rental company works out of marina Liesveld in Streefkerk." His wife adds: "And the next coincidence was that we knew him from church. Arie Verkerk rents out various motor yachts from Streefkerk with Aquaship."

Experience

"After we got in touch, I went to see the marina several times," says Arie. "During the carpentry work on the Argus, I was even able to give some tips based on my experience." During one of those visits, Arie noticed the hydraulic crane on the aft deck. "Normally the dinghy is hoisted aboard with that. But after some experimentation, it turned out to be a good solution for my mobility scooter as well!"

Streefkerk

Arie is 77 years old and has difficulty walking longer distances. "On board this is no problem at all. The Argus is a fairly large motor yacht, but easy to maneuver compared to a pushboat! The fact that we could depart from Streefkerk was then again very pleasant." Arie and his wife left in May together with his brother-in-law and sister-in-law for an eleven-day sailing trip.

Gelderland IJssel

Arie: "We sailed from Streefkerk to Vianen, Wageningen, Doesburg, Hattem, Nijkerk, Spakenburg, Muiden, Utrecht, Heusden and via Dordrecht back to Streefkerk: a wonderful trip! The Gelderland IJssel is my favorite. The river is winding and there is a current, a top stretch to sail before current! We sailed on the Vecht, as far as Utrecht. On the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal it is very careful, because of the wave action of commercial shipping."

Beautiful ships

After refueling in Dordrecht, they returned to Streefkerk. Arie: "The Argus is a beautiful ship and I like beautiful ships. Beautiful, spacious cabins, a flying bridge and also my sister-in-law and brother-in-law were very enthusiastic. Meanwhile Arie Verkerk has sold the yacht, but also his other yachts are beautiful. And we are on the same 'wavelength', we understand each other and also our wives have a good click."

Arie, in conclusion: "Watersports is the finest thing we have done. And we can heartily recommend doing so with Aquaship's beautiful ships!"

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