The mailbox of Jetse Vos from Veen is filling up with responses and offers for a boat from the Efteling that is more than forty years old. The car dealer normally sells Volkswagens, Seats and Skodas, but now has an original Gondoletta boat on Marktplaats. “This is really something for the enthusiast.”
Those enthusiasts now know where to find Jetse Vos. He put the advertisement for the boat from 1980 online around ten o’clock on Wednesday morning. “I just checked my e-mail and there were already some serious bids and responses. There are a few who are really after it,” he says.
“They’re really rare these days.”
The car dealer bought the Gondoletta himself two years ago via Marktplaats from an enthusiast. “I thought it was a nice thing at the time, but they are really rare these days,” he says. The boat sailed from the opening in 1981 to 1994.
“The original number is still on it.”
Characteristic of the first generation of boats are the orange flags. The sticks for that are still on the roof of Fox’s Gondoletta. Nowadays there are gold ornaments on the Gondolettas. “The original number 28 from then is also still on it, just like the attachment for the chain with which it was pulled in the Efteling.”
According to Vos, the first generation of Efteling boats were often offered for sale in the past. “There were forty. Thirty years ago you sometimes saw them pass by, but not anymore.”
“He doesn’t go fast, but he is environmentally conscious.”
To be able to sail with it on the open water, Vos has built an electric motor on it. “It doesn’t go fast, but it is environmentally conscious.” The Gondoletta, now 43 years old, does need a lick of paint, but according to the trader it is ‘a future classic’.
Vos does not want to keep the boat himself. “You know how it goes. You collect a lot of stuff and at some point you have to get rid of things.” For 1,950 euros, the piece of Efteling history is waiting for a new owner in the marina in Veen. “I think I’ll lose him soon, he’s unique after all,” says the trader.
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