11/11/2025
YOO - at Pont des Arts 🌊⚓️✨
A Floating Piece of Parisian History
Moored gracefully along the Seine, beside the iconic Pont des Arts, YOO is a vessel of history, philosophy, and activism, a rare sanctuary in the heart of Paris.
Built in 1914 in Holland, this 24-meter barge has journeyed through more than a century of European waters. Today, she rests as a grandfathered floating establishment, a privilege that anchors her permanently in one of the city's most enchanting locations.
Over the decades, YOO has attracted remarkable custodians. She was once home to Frédéric Lenoir, the French philosopher and writer known for his humanist reflections. Recently, she belongs to Paul Watson, the legendary eco-activist and founder of Sea Shepherd, who devoted his life to protecting the oceans. With such guardians, YOO carries a soul shaped by ideas of justice, spirituality, and ecological defense.
With her elegant proportions - 24 meters long, 4.6 meters wide and a steel hull forged in Dutch tradition, YOO embodies both authenticity and resilience. Her freeboard of 1 meter and gentle draft of 0.75 meters lend her balance on the water, while her theoretical displacement of 65 tonnes gives her quiet strength.
Certified as a floating establishment under BO5A, and maintained under TRIN 2021 regulations, YOO successfully passed her most recent hull inspection in February 2024, ensuring her structure is sound and enduring.
Life aboard YOO is not about navigation, but about belonging to the Seine, to the rhythm of passing bateaux-mouches, to evenings under the lantern glow of the Pont des Arts. She offers a stage for Parisian dreams: a gallery, a salon, museum, a private retreat, or a gathering place for those who wish to live where water and city meet in their most romantic embrace.
With a legacy tied to both philosophy and ecological activism, YOO is not just a boat. She is Paris, afloat - and a witness to the ideas that shape our world.
