Solvay 70

Solvay 70, registration NY3052F, was built at Villeneuve la Garenne in 1930 with a 25 hp Deutz engine.  All information on this page was taken from Vagus-Vagrant.fr unless otherwise specified.

The Solvay 70 was put up for sale by Solvay in 1985, when Denis AMAND was transferred to the factory. A restaurateur from Chelles acquired it in 1986 and transformed it into a restaurant under the name "La Peniche" until 1997, when it sank following a fire. In 1999, it was refloated and bought to be transformed into a houseboat in Meudon, opposite Île Seguin, Paris (75), under the name "King Kong of Neptune". Then, Mr. Franck Boclet (Fashion Designer) became its new owner until 2023, still under the name "King Kong". Since 2023, it has been awaiting demolition in the old Port-Villez lock: Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer (78).

Solvay 70 at Chauny on the Saint-Quentin canal:

Coming under the bridge at Chagnis-Saint-Jean on the Marne: 

In the lock at Chauny on the Saint-Quentin canal:

A photo taken in Dombasle:

With a couple of other Solvays in Noyelles-Godault on the canal de la Deûle:

With Solvay 103 in Brussels during the 1978 strikes:

In the ice on the Oise-Aine canal:

A wedding day in Dombasle; from left to right: Solvay 70, captain Denis Amand; Jacques Amand's second ARMUDA; the TD; Walbrecq's KITA; Pascal Walbrecq's MA. From Facebook group Voies navigables du Nord-Est:

In the Denis archives, a very nice photo of the Fontenoy-sur-Moselle lock, long before it became the Claude lock: Solvay 79 (left) and Solvay 70 (right) going downstream.  From Facebook group Voies navigables du Nord-Est:

Here are a couple of shots with Solvay 123 at Malmy in 1984 or 1985:

An undated photo of Solvay 70 at an unknown location:

In the Vanne-Alcorps pound on the Meuse in 1963:

Some photos of King Kong:

This business card is advertising the restaurant, La Peniche, that King Kong became in Chelles on the Marne: 

This photo was taken at Meudon on the Seine on June 4 2011:

 

Some boats in Sèvres, on the right bank of the Seine, have put up small signs to present their vessels. A good initiative, as they feel threatened, being in a so-called "sensitive" area.  In any case, here's the one for the King Kong: it's a shame it doesn't mention Solvay: 

At Issy on the Seine on May 21 2017:

King Kong during Franck Boclet's time in Meudon, March 2011:

The sad end of King Kong: