A financial windfall for the Association Behoud de Volendammer Botters. Rabobank has allocated 10,000 euros for the restoration of one of the last four Volendammer botters (old fishing vessels, also known as quacks). Chairman Carlo de Boer is obviously very happy with it and calls it great news: “This really helps us to get it off the ground.”
There used to be about 250 botters or quacks in the port of Volendam. Now there are only four left and the association manages them. The VD17 is now being refurbished at Botterwerf de Krommer in Volendam. When it is ready, it will be the turn of the VD84 and the 10,000 euros are intended for that botter. The total amount of the restoration costs on average more than 50,000 euros.
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“It is a very major restoration for us, which will take months,” says chairman De Boer. “We also hired a professional for it, ship carpenter Jeroen van Wijngaarden.” He gets to work with the volunteers of the association. “Without volunteers it would never work, otherwise it would be far too expensive and impossible to do.”
One of those volunteers is Dirk de Waart. He is – as Marker – proud of his ‘work’. “It is a wonderful feeling to maintain the Volendammer culture. This must be preserved for the future.”
Rotten wood
The VD17, which is now being refurbished, has suffered some delays due to additional necessary repairs. “It’s all wood, it all rots eventually,” De Boer sighs. “We are trying to complete this as quickly as possible, then it will go outside with a crane and then it will be the VD84’s turn.”
De Boer hopes that the botter will be ready around May, so that it can still be launched during the summer season. If there are people who would also like to participate in the project, they can join here to register.