Daniel Rösner's houseboat - An insight into life on the water.

Daniel Rösner says about his houseboat: Home Is Where My Boat Is.

The dream of a socially and locally detached houseboat living concept doesn't just have to remain a dream. The actor and environmental activist, known from the TV show “Alarm for Cobra 11,” has fulfilled this dream. He lives on his 15-meter long steel displacer in the middle of the Rhine metropolis of Cologne. There is nothing better for him. And after a visit aboard his rocking home, we can more than understand that...

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Daniel Rösner kneels on the stairs leading to the wheelhouse and fumbles a large piece of wood out of a ledge under the sitting area. Bob Marley dumbles through the boxes in the background. Daniel pushes a log of wood into the oven together with some crumpled pages from an old script. “The wood comes from my parents' farm. Whenever I'm there, I take a big bunch on board.” Pick up a match and the fire crackles. Cosy warmth spreads across the entire ship.

The current lead actor of the RTL series “Alarm für Cobra 11” likes to take it easy after work and has now been living on his 15-meter long steel displacer in the middle of Cologne. “I don't live on the boat because it's supposed to be a PR stunt or because I wanted to draw attention to myself in some way, but because it is my deepest wish. I used to live in my VW bus, but there was no connection to the water: I always had to drive to the water.

Now I've managed to live on water. For me, life on a boat is the absolute connection to the wet element. This allows me to authentically achieve my goal of protecting waters and oceans. I don't live on land and say from afar that we are littering our waters, but I see it every day how the dirt floats by here and later ends up in the ocean. I can communicate the importance of water protection more authentically and have more influence on positive development in the future! ”

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Nature conservation has always been part of Daniel Rösner's agenda and he uses his celebrity status to sensitize other people to the issue. He is also a regular guest on the waves of the world himself. Whether surfer, SUP or kite, Daniel Rösner makes no distinction here — the main thing is that it's fun and he's in the water.

Is it fun in the long run to live in limited space and to be content with what storage space and living space a boat has to offer?

“It's a huge upgrade for me: I lived in a VW bus before and suddenly I have almost 50 square meters of living space including a roof terrace. But I generally like living in limited spaces. First, you have to clean less, and secondly, you don't clutter yourself with unnecessary stuff. That is really liberating and a huge relief. The only luxury I have on board is my new projector [laughs] And my mixer, which I use all the time to make myself some kind of power drinks. Daniel Rösner came to the boat itself in the classic way via the Internet.

What should you buy for one, how big does it have to be, which hull shapes are the best, which engine is the most reliable and economical?

“It was a long research. I always wanted to have some kind of trawler, something on the high seas. This boat, built in 1984 like myself, is a 'One Off, 'in other words, a unique design by a Dutch shipyard with a powerful engine. It is not really suitable for the high seas, but it has the look. I've had ten others in the meantime houseboats Looked at, this one was convincing in the end, and not just because of the price. It has a steel hull, which was important to me. I despise plastic, so I wouldn't have come across a GRP fuselage, and steel is much more stable and you can also bite somewhere without causing major damage right away. Then it has an economical but powerful engine so that I can also fight the current of the Rhine with the 30 tons that the boat weighs.

What had also convinced me was that I was able to move in immediately. I urgently needed to find a place to stay at the time, as filming for 'Cobra 11' had begun. But it had enough potential to rebuild it the way I would like it to be. So I tore out the carpets, renewed the paneling and insulation, adapted a new kitchen, painted the entire ship anthracite and installed a new, cozy sofa and a wood stove. In summer, solar cells are added and then I am 100 percent self-sufficient. ”

Doesn't he still miss a “normal” apartment in the city from time to time?

Daniel Rösner: “My ship has everything you need to live in the city. From a functioning toilet and shower to the kitchen to the bathroom, guest room and living room, there is nothing missing and that was also important to me. I sometimes work 14 hours a day, so when you come home and can't take a warm shower, for example, that's annoying at some point. Still, it feels like camping. When you open the hammock on deck and swing back and forth under a starry sky. Do that at your home in the city...” [laughs]

The freedom to do what you want is Daniel Rösner's greatest asset. “My job is also super-unsteady. If RTL says tomorrow that the show is over, then my time in Cologne is also over. It feels really good to know that I can untie and remove the lines at any time. That is a feeling of complete lightheartedness. Even if, for whatever reason, I don't like it here anymore, I start the engine and move. You don't have the fear of loss that you have when you live in an apartment. If I want, I'll be in another city or in the middle of nature tomorrow and just have my house with me. ”

When asked how much it costs to anchor your boat in a German metropolis, Daniel Rösner says:

“It is much cheaper than a normal apartment. However, of course, a boat also costs money to buy and maintain. But in the end, it's really a fraction of what I'd pay for the same size of square footage in the city. To illustrate, the mooring and maintenance cost me about as much as a 30-square-meter apartment in the last corner of Cologne. “For a lot of people, life stays on one houseboat A romantic idea that is considered too exotic and rather abnormal as a concept of life. It is therefore an advantage if you can evade social norms and do your own thing. Being able to pee in the Rhine from your own terrace is just not for everyone and that's okay.

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steel displacer

Year of construction — 1984
Engine — DAF 575 diesel (120 hp) from old truck, not maritimized, with cooler under the ship Running time — approx. 2500 hours weight — 30 tons
Depth — 1.20 meters
Top speed — 13 km/h
Home port — Cologne
Fresh water tank — 800 liters
Waste water tank — 350 liters
Power — 12 V, 24 V, 220 V

by Lars Jacobsen http://larsjacobsen.com

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