Two centuries-old fishing boats from Hoorn – the Hoorn 1 and the Hoorn 20 – will receive two brand new masts. The original masts have been on the boats for more than thirty years, but because they now have too many wind cracks, they need to be replaced. “We occasionally sail with guests, so wind cracks can be dangerous,” says Niek de Wilde, board member at Varend Erfgoed Hoorn.
If a mast has too many wind cracks, it can pose a danger to the skippers and guests on board. According to De Wilde, “in the worst case” there is a possibility that the masts will break. “That is certainly not yet an issue, but we would like to avoid any danger.”
“When I’m planing I always have the feeling that my grandfather is looking over my shoulder”
Old style
The new masts for the boats are being built “exactly as they used to do,” says volunteer and furniture maker Jan de Graaf. “We want to do things as traditionally as possible here, so we use all the old-fashioned tools. We also use this plane, which I got from my grandfather. I think it is a hundred years old, because my grandfather also got it from got someone.” And that feels “very special”, he says. “When I’m planing, I always have the feeling that my grandfather is looking over my shoulder.”
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