There are all sorts of beautiful boats in 91原创. But there鈥檚 probably only one Dutch canal boat made out of teak.
The Zomerland (Dutch for Summerland ) was built in 1934-35 by a famous Dutch shipbuilding company, DeVries Lentsch. It was commissioned by Herb Menten鈥檚 dad, a banker who loved to take his family boating on Lake Kaag, midway between Amsterdam and The Hague.
鈥淚t was delivered the year I was born, 1935,鈥� said Menten, 79. 鈥淚鈥檝e got pictures of me behind the wheel from my fourth birthday in 1939.鈥�
Menten left the Netherlands for Canada a quarter-century ago, and the Zomerland languished in a marina owned by his son.
鈥淢y kids didn鈥檛 want it 鈥� it鈥檚 too delicate a boat to run in the Dutch canals nowadays,鈥� said Menten, who lives in West 91原创. 鈥淚 live here, so I thought, What the hell, and shipped it here.鈥�
Three years ago, the 41-foot (12.5-metre) long boat was placed in a special cradle and loaded onto a freighter. When it arrived, it was in fairly rough shape: after years in storage, the wood had split in parts, and was looking its age.
But it retained its charm and beauty. The Zomerland is a floating work of art, brimming with details like four female caryatid sculptures that prop up the wheelhouse. The elegant curves of the roof are enough to make a hardened sailor weak in the knees.
So Menten hired Joe Kolbus to restore it. Four thousand hours later, the restoration is entering the home stretch, although it鈥檒l probably be another year before it s complete.
It s been a unique project.
鈥淲e had a steam-bending thing set up here [to bend the teak in the curved parts], with a burner and big tubes,鈥� explains Kolbus, who has restored several wooden boats over the last two decades.
听鈥淚t smelled great in here. All the decks on top have been redone. The entire ceiling was redone, caulked, everything.鈥�
The North Van warehouse where the restoration is being done has all sorts of nifty parts. Up on the mezzanine is a carving of the head of a cormorant bird which will become a decorative cornice on the wheelhouse. Neath the stairs is the original loo, which came with a pump to fill it up with water.
And of course, everything is teak.
鈥淵es, and it is Java teak,鈥� says Menten, who pronounces Java yaaa-vaaa.
鈥淚ndonesia was a Dutch colony before the war. They had the best teak available: it鈥檚 been watering in rivers there for years. In the olden days they called it djatti.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a completely different teak. Look at the shine of it, it鈥檚 really unbelievable.鈥�
The boat was state of the art, for 1935.
鈥淚t cost 11,500 Dutch guilders, which was $4,000,鈥� Menten says. 鈥淚t was a lot of money in the crisis time (of the depression) . . .听 my father could afford it, thank God."
Canal boats like this are built long and low to accommodate Holland鈥檚 old bridges.
鈥淚t鈥檚 built low so you can go under six-foot bridges,鈥� Menten explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 41 feet long and 12 feet wide, with a draught of only two feet.鈥�
Menten鈥檚 father moved in prominent circles; three Dutch queens have been on the boat: Wilhelmina, Juliana and Beatrix.
During the Second World War, Menten鈥檚 father feared the Germans would confiscate it, so he decided to make it look like a wreck.
鈥淎 friend of my father took some plugs out and they sank it,鈥� Menten says.
鈥淣ot completely, but up to here (he points halfway up the boat鈥檚 side). It wasn鈥檛 very deep in the boathouse. It sat there until June 1945, when we were liberated.鈥�
Postwar, the Zomerland was fixed up and became a family staple once again. It has a flat bottom, like a grundel sailboat, and Menten鈥檚 dad would let it sit on the sand at low tide while the family fished or swam.
When the tide came in, the boat lifted and was ready to sail down Holland鈥檚 numerous lakes, rivers and canals. It had a little butane stove and fridge, and was big enough to sleep on overnight.
But it hasn鈥檛 been taken out much since a big family outing about 25 years ago. Menten moved to Canada, where he helped found Anthem Properties, which has become one of Western Canada鈥檚 most successful developers.
Now retired, he decided it was time to resurrect the boat he loved as a child, although he jokes the restoration will probably continue until I鈥檓 broke.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a business object, it鈥檚 a hobby object,鈥澨� he said. A passion. 鈥淚 spent so many years on this boat, boating around, I couldn鈥檛 let it go in Holland.鈥�
He鈥檚 had health issues in recent years and isn鈥檛 sure he鈥檒l be able to get behind the wheel of the Zomerland once the restoration is done. But he鈥檚 just satisfied saving it.
鈥淚 think by the time it鈥檚 done I鈥檓 [too] old to boat it,鈥澨� said Menten.
鈥淪o I鈥檒l probably find a buyer, here, that is just as proud as I to have a thing like this, with such history.鈥�
听
