Twin Boats & Trailers, the Vaal area-based boat building company, will debut its sensational new 9 metre houseboat at the
at Nasrec Expo Centre on August 24-26. It’s 9 metres so one can still use your normal skippers license to skip the boat. Appropriately enough, the houseboat is known as the “Sensation Living”.
“This houseboat is designed to take a cruise down the Vaal River for a week and never having to put onto shore”, says Andre van Helsdingen, owner of Twin Boats, along with his twin brother, Riaan.
“It is totally self-contained, thanks to exclusive solar-panel powering for lights and refrigeration. It’s ideal for that slow meander down the river, a past-time that is extremely popular overseas on some of the world’s great rivers, like the Rhine and the Thames.”
The R1,2-million craft is constructed from a glass fibre hull, with ultra-high-tech magnesium, vacuum-bonded cladding. Van Helsdingen says that the insulation factor on-board is of the highest quality available. “Think of it as a giant cooler box, in terms of its ability to insulate,” he says.
In addition, the Sensation Living craft uses grey Eclipse safety glass for all its windows, these items being noted for their insulation properties as well as their safety.
The twin deck layout of the Sensation Living houseboat offers living accommodation for six people, 2 bedrooms and sleeper couch with entertainment facilities for up to 12 people on the upper-deck patio area.
The patio is designed to resemble a high quality lapa area, similar to that found in up-market homes, and is equipped with weather-resistant high quality furniture, as well as a braai area with a high capacity Cadac braai.
The main cabin provides a queen-sized bed for two adults and the second cabin is equipped with double decked bunk beds for two children. There are two bathrooms, with the main bathroom and shower being en-suite.
Powering the Sensation Living craft are twin Mercury 80HP four-stroke outboard engines.
In addition to the houseboat, Twin Boats will also be exhibiting two of its sought-after smaller craft. These are the 6 metre Sensation 17DL, with a 115HP Mercury Optimax outboard engine which sells for R165 000 and the 7 metre Sensation 22SXi, with a 5.0-litre V8 Mercruiser inboard engine, a luxury craft suitable for water sports such as wakeboarding. This sells for R325 000.
The Sensation 24 Deck is a larger leisure craft with more of an entertainment specification, equipped with a fridge and porta potty and with a length of 8,1 metres. This craft is powered by the 5.7-litre Mercruiser V8 inboard engine, and sells for R515 000.
Twin Boats is owned by the twin brothers Andre and Riaan van Helsdingen and has been building boats since 1998. The company is highly successful, selling boats both locally and internationally, and currently employs 80 people at its premises near the Vaal, located just of the R59 highway.
