last revised 08/07/09

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Zuiderzee-Botter
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• A new
modelling
project under development •
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Botters
in the Zuderzeemuseum Enkhuizen
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History and context
Looking at old maps it is amazing to
see how land and water intertwined once in the northern part of the
Netherlands, Noord Holland and Friesland in particular. It is even more
so, when one drives through Noord Holland and reminds oneself that this
once was a patchwork of islands and shallow stretches of sea. The Dutch
fought - and continue to fight - the sea and at the same time a good part of
the populations lived off the sea. The
Zuiderzee once was a
vast bay of the North Sea, reaching deep into the country, nearly down to Amsterdam. It
served as throughfare for transport and as a rich fishing resource.
However, pressure on the scarce land was high and the sea was a
constant menace to the low-lying shores and islands. As part of their
struggle against the sea, the Dutch dammed up the bay by a large dike,
the
Afsluitdijk,
completed in 1933. This put an end to much of the fisheries. The
already in its southern part brackish Zuidezee finally turned into a
large freshwater lake, the Ijsselmeer.
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Botter
BU130
built 1875 in Spakenburg and registered at Bunschoten. Now preserved at the
Zuiderzeemuseum, Enkhuizen. Photographed in 2009
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Over the course of history there have been various types of sailing fishing vessels with numerous
local variants. The best-known is probably the Botter (and its larger variant
Kwak). At one stage it
was estimated that there were over 1000 in operation at the end
of the 19th century. The places around the Zuiderzee with the most
botters were Enkhuizen, Volendam/Edam, Monickendam, Marken, Bunschoten
and Urk. Spakenburg was an important building place.
Man's tools to win a lifelihood constantly change and are being adapted
to changing circumstances, new needs and fashions as well. Thus methods
of fishing evolved in order to increase efficiency and in response to
changes to the fishing grounds and other environmental circumstances
that influenced the availability of the resource 'fish'. The history of
the botter is not easy to trace as no artefacts have survived and
artistic renderings are not so reliable bevore say the late 18th
century. As with all small boats, they were built without any drawings
well into the 20th century. The botter or its somewhat larger version
the Kwak as we know it today developed over the past two hundred years.
Sizes vary, but a typical botter has a keel of about 34 feet long.
To be continued ...
Sources
There are quite a number of
comprehensive printed works on the botter and its history (see below).
These include also drawings. Some original drawings are preserved in
various museums in the Netherlands. However, like so many traditional
small boats, botters were usually built without any drawings. The
museums also preserve various model built from about the early 19th
century onward. There are also surviving quite a number of original
botters, the oldest being from the last quarter of the 19th century.
These boats survived because they have
been adapted as pleasure craft.
Obviously a lot of concessions had to be made in this case to
accomodate the modern leisure-boaters and therefore these boats are not
useful for a reconstruction. In more recent years some of these have
been reconverted into a state that is more like their original workday
appearance. Also, from the end of the 19th century onward some botters
had been built als pleasure craft for private owners. They usually
deviate somewhat from the work boats and are often fitted with a cabin,
as is found e.g. on boeiers.
The
Zuiderzeemuseum
in Enkhuizen preserves a late botter in its boathall. The
Zuiderzeemuseum
also has a large
collection of ship- and boatmodels,
including several botters. Some of the models appear to be
contemporary, while others have been built in more recent times.
The Model
The model is based on the resin kit produced
by
Artitec
in 1:90 (HO) scale.
This company has developed a real mastery in casting complex and large
resin parts. In addition to the hull, the kit contains castings for the
mast and spars, for rigging blocks and, somewhat strangely perhaps, the
taken-down sails. Of course, these kits are mainly meant as accessories
for model railway layouts and people not knowing a lot about these
craft. The kit also contains a small fret of etched parts, mainly for
the ironwork of the rigging. While the etched parts are well made as
such, they
are for the most part not really useful for representing the forged
ironwork. For instance, masthoops are, of course, flat in the
horizontal direction, while they should really be short tubes. Other
parts simply lack the needed plasticity. Hence most of the etched parts
will not be used. Similarly, the cast rigging blocks will be replaced
by
home-made ones and 'real' sails will be made. I bought the kit 'second
hand' and the at some stage the characteristic high stem head was
broken off and a new one will have to grafted on. Various other details
will be improved for better definition of the shapes. Although the
casting is well made, there are certain limitations due to the casting
process. A company policy of
Artitec
is to limit the number of parts and to cast-on as many details as
possible. Thus for instance the spill is cast onto the foredeck. There
are limitations to undercuts in the silicone rubber molds, hence the
barrel is not completely free. I shall have to remove the material
underneath the barrel using diamond burrs etc.
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The Artitec polyurethane resin castings (note that the stem head is broken off)
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Not only are Artitec masters in
casting kits, but also in painting them as is evidenced for instance by
the diorama of the Texel
Roadsted and models in various other museums around the Netherlands. Here is what they think the model could look like:
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Finisdhed model from the Artitec Web-site
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To be continued ...
Dioramic Setting
The kit is actually for a waterline model, which somewhat limits the
possibilities for dioramic displays. It was originally envisaged to
show the boat on a slip such as that preserved in the Zuiderzeemuseum
in Enkhuizen.
The area of Edam-Volendam and Marken has coined very much our mental
picture of the Netherlands, thanks to the numerous painters who came to
this area from the last quarter of the 19th century onwards. They were
attracted by the picturesque towns and villages as well as the locals
who still wore their traditional costumes. Thus we came to think that
the baggy trousers of Volendam and the culots of Marken were the Dutch men's costume.
Similarly the women's dresses with a striped apron and the peaked lace
bonnet became synonymous for the
Dutch women's costume. They are picturesque, without question and
somewhat exotic when seen together with the large wooden clogs. So,
some fisherfolk in these costumes will add greatly to the atmosphere.
Photographs and paintings are a source
of inspiration for a dioramic setting and below I provide the link to a
number of them together with an identification of the source, as the
material might be copyrighted:
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Kwak (J. Siewers)
| Volendam (J. Siewers) |
Volendam (J. Siewers) |
Volendam (J. Siewers) |
Volendam (J. Siewers) | unknown
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© www.geheugenvannederland.nl
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to be continued ...
Literature:
ANONYM (1935): Nederlandsch Historisch Sheepvaart
Museum, Platen Album.- 61 p., Amsterdam.
BEYLEN, J. VAN (1985): De botter.- p.
(Weesp)
CRONE, G.C.E. (1926): Nederlandsche Jachten,
Binnenschepen Visschersvaartuigen en daarmee Verwante kleine Zeeschepen
1650 -1900.- 309 p., 85 figs., Amsterdam (Swets & Zeitlinger,
reprint 1978 by Schiepers, Schiedam).
DORLEIJN, P. (2001): De Bouwgeschiedenis van de Botter.
Vierendertig voet in de kiel.- 168 p., Lelystad (Uitgeverij Van Wijnen).
HUITEMA, E. [Ed.] (19652): Ronde en platboden jachten.-
300 p., Amsterdam (P.N. Van Kampen & Zon).
NEDERLANDSCH HISTORISCH SCHEEPVAART
MUSEUM [Ed.] (1969): Descriptive Catalogue.- 104 p.,
Amsterdam (Nederlandsch Historisch Sheepvaart Museum).
NOOTEBOOM, C. (~1925): De inlandsche scheepvaart. Deel
11 van de gids in Het Volkenkundig Museum.- 79 p., Amsterdam
(Koninklijke Vereeniging ‘Koloniaal Instituut).
OSTROM, C. van (1988): Ronde en platbodems schepen en
jachten.- 144 p., Alkmaar (De Alk b.v.).
SOPERS, P.J.V.M. (196?): Schepen die verdwijnen
(bearbeitet von H.C.A. van Kampen).- 162 p., Amsterdam (P.N. Van Kampen
& Zon).
VOORBEIJTEL, W. (1943): Bechrijvende Catalogus der
Scheepsmodellen en Scheepsbouwkundige Tekeningen 1600-1900.- 191 p.
Amsterdam (Nederlandsch Scheepvartmuseum).
Selected botter-links
http://www.botters.nl/ -
Daysailing in botters
http://www.bottercompagnie.nl/
- Association of botter-owners that undertake tours etc. against payment
http://www.botteruitje.nl/ -
Daysailing in botters - Daysailing in botters
http://www.botterverhuur.com/De_BU39.htm
- History of the botter that is offered for daysailing.
http://www.fonv.nl/vbb/ - Association for the preservation of botters.
http://www.fonv.nl/vbb/botterwerf.html - Boatyard specialising in botters.
http://www.garnkwak.nl/ - Garn-Kwak VD172
Contact:
webmaster at wefalck dot eu