For more than fifty years there was a goat in a garden at Jan Wintersdijkje in Hollandscheveld. Not a male goat, but an old boat. Now that the owner wants to get rid of it, the Drentse Praam foundation can take over the boat. However, it still had to be hoisted over a hedge. An ‘exciting operation’, says Albert Wolting.
A trestle is a small boat that was previously used as a means of transport, including for the transport of peat and milk cans. The shape is characteristic. The front has the same shape as the back. “That was necessary, because the canals were so narrow that you could not turn,” says Wolting, chairman of the Drentse Praam.
He continues: “For me, this is a valuable, historic vessel that is typically Hoogeveen. There is another one on two different private grounds, and it has such emotional value that the Drentse Praam is not allowed to touch it.”
De Drentse Praam organizes boat trips and tells about Hoogeveen’s rich skippering past. In the future, the plan is to open a museum at Bentickspark-Noord, where there should also be a new swimming pool, a school and a residential area.
The former owner wanted to get rid of the goat and therefore contacted Wolting. “Otherwise the boat would have disappeared on the scrap heap,” said the owner.
Wolting is happy with the acquisition because of its historical value. The only obstacle was the high hedge over which the colossus had to be hoisted. Exciting, because the trestle is hardly maintained.
