Ziet op U zelven

The ship was built in 1884 in Alblasserdam in the Netherlands. It belongs to the “tjalken” and is the smallest of this kind. Because the construction method differs somewhat from the larger tjalks, this ship belongs to the category of buoyers. Typical for this ship is the mountain wood (bumper) around the ship and the bow that falls slightly inwards. The shape still displays all the shapes typical of timber construction. The oldest recorded record dates from 1904.

In 1910 the ship was extended and the gangways were added, the ship was then owned by skipper Vanderzande from Made. In 1919 the ship was sold to the Boender family. Then she sailed for the reed and rush company “De Geus” in Puttershoek. There she acted as a mother ship in cutting reed and rush in the areas of the Biesbosch and Haringvliet, sugar beet and potatoes were also sailed during the season. In addition, it was also used for the transport of the dried rush from Puttershoek all over the Netherlands. In Lokeren and Mechelen, rushes were also unloaded for the chair manufacturers. The ship continued to carry cargo until 1969 when it was rescued from scrapping and used as a charter vessel.

The current owner bought the ship in 1996 and restored it between 1910 and 1923. The “Ziet op u zelven” is one of the oldest ships still sailing regularly in Belgium and is on the list of sailing heritage.