Since 2011, Jack and Elise van Bekhoven live aboard the tug boat Jacoba which has her berth in Woudrichem. The Jacoba was built in 1918 as the steam tug Leiden by Piet Smit jr. in Rotterdam and since 1954 a Deutz VM 145 of 100 hp from 1923 stands in the engine room. How is sailing with such a two cylinder engine? ‘A bit of pounding, but relaxed,’ says Jack. ‘It’s a beautiful sound here inside. You can keep up with it all day long. A fast revver makes you a bit nervous. What’s also nice, is that people ashore start dancing to the sound of the engine.’ How does Elise like the Deutz? ‘I think it’s fantastic. I get tears in my eyes when I see it starting.’

00:00 Intro
00:24 Mooring in Gorinchem
01:38 About the engine
03:27 About cranking and starting
04:13 Cranking the flywheel
05:32 About the boat (Jack)
06:55 About the boat (Elise)
07:52 Starting the engine
09:49 Sailing away
12:23 Stopping the engine