Saved from the scrapyard.
Not much remained of the former glory of this koftjalk, a two-masted sailing ship, at the time of her return to the Netherlands. She was rotting away and rusty due to the lack of maintenance and because of the salty water she floated around in for years. Fortunately, with a lot of love and passion, she’s been restored to her former glory.
Built in 1912.
The koftjalk was built for Harmannus Schling from Groningen, and was originally named ‘Lammechiena II’. For years, she sailed to the Baltic Sea region to transport wood. It was a profitable era, but eventually, in 2000, she was declared unfit for use when she was moored in the port of Palermo, and she was dismissed as a sand dredging vessel.
Back to the Netherlands.
Fortunately, there were a few Dutch enthusiasts who couldn’t bear to leave one of the last remaining koftjalks to perish. So they arranged for a German yacht carrier to transport her to Rotterdam in 2002. Four years later she was bought by Jelle Talsma and André Hamstra, who later founded ‘Stichting Tromp’ (or the Tromp Foundation). They officially renamed the ship as ‘Tromp’, and she returned to her former port of call, Groningen.
The restoration.
The restoration took place in our own dry dock, and was part of a project to help people with limited job prospects. The goal was to restore the ship to her former glory, both outside and inside. For this, we used the detailed drawings that were made from 1912 to 1927. In 2016, the restoration was finished, and we can now say that our goal has been successfully achieved.
Want to learn more about the history of the Tromp? Click here.
