Introducing me and my boat (Thom301)

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Thom301

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2016
Messages
39
Location
The Netherlands
Vessel Name
Opa Hein
Vessel Make
Ex-workboat
Hi all!

I'm new on this forum so I thought it would only be fair if I'd introduce myself.
I'm Thom, I'm 23 years old, Dutch and own a 27 feet long 'trawler'.

Why the quotes around trawler you ask? Well, My boat is technically not qlassified as a trawler. It's an old fishing vessel. Build in the 1930's in Nieuwebrug ( the Netherlands ) by the wharf 'J.Langenberg & Zn.' It was build as a so called 'Robbenjager' which meant that it's main objective was to hunt seals and transport them back to shore where they would be used for to make lamp oil and where they would gather their fur. A quite cruel history but history nonetheless. In 1957 hunting seals became illigal and the boat was disused.

A few years passed and around 1960-1965 the boat was bought by 'Rijkswaterstaat' a goverment agency in charge of most of the waterways here in Holland. The wheelhouse was added around 1970 and the boat was painted black/yellow as most of Rijkswaterstaat's vessels were. From here on the boat was used to inspect bridges, locks, quays and to measure the depth of the canals. In this period the original 'Kromhout' engine was replaced by the current Samofa engine. A 2 cilinder engine creating 20 HP at 1000 RPM and has to be started by hand. The engine was originally build in 1950 for use in a pumpstation and was used in combination with a pump to keep the land behind our dutch 'dikes' dry. It did this for around 5 - 7 years before it was placed in 'my' boat.

Around 1975 the boat was replaced by Rijkswaterstaat for a new-build one. The boat switched owners for a while and finally ended up somewhere in a canal. Half-sunk, rusted, and with more birdpoo than paint on it it was bought by farmer here in the north of Holland. He threw some buckets of paint against it and used it to trasport his barges with hay, cowes and milk around. When he got to old he decided to list the boat for sale by a broker.

Which is where I come in.. :lol:

Two or three years ago after browsing some of the 'for sale' ads in a local boat magazine I came across this boat. It was a beautiful model, unfortunatly it was for sale for 21.000,- euro (22.800,- US dollar). Which was way to expensive for me. However this was, as you've all probably experienced one of those boats I could not let go of. So I took a second job and started saving. One year passed and the price was reduced to 17.500,- (19.000,- Dollar) Still too much but I eagerly continued saving. A few months passed and again the price was again reduced twice. This time to a price I could afford! A phonecall to the seller unfortunatly learned that the boat was already sold. A few months passed again and suddenly I came across this boat again. Again it ended up in a canal being disused. So I've put a note on the window saying I would be interested in buying it if the current owner was 'up for it'. :lol:

A few days later I recieved a phonecall and I finally got to pick up my 'new' boat. And so I spend previous year fixing up the boat. It has still a long way to go but it's coming along nicely. Underneath some information about the boat and a picture how she looked and looks now.

Hull type: Rondspant ( Roundbilge )
Length: 8,5 meters ( 27 feet )
Draft: 1,0 meter ( +/- 3 feet )
Air draught: 3.6 m ( 11.8 feet ), 2.4 m ( 7.9 feet ) with mast lowered
Fuel capacity: 400 L ( 105 US Gallon )
Fresh water: 150L ( 39.5 US Gallon )
Weight: 8,5 ton ( 18740 lbs )
Year of build hull: +/- 1930
Year of build wheelhouse: +/- 1970
Propshaft: 40 mm ( 1,6 inch )
Propellor: 70 cm ( 27,5 inch ) 3 blades.
Engine: Samofa 2s108
HP: 20
Max. RPM: 1000, 1250 without load.
Engine weight: 0.514 ton ( 1133 lbs )
Flywheel weight: 0.25 ton ( 551 lbs )
Steering: 2 cm ( .7 inch ) cables and chains.
Rudder dimensions: 95 * 70 cm ( 37.4 x 27.5 inch )
Maximum rudder angle: 90 degrees port, 85 degrees starboard.

Underneath the before and 'after' pictures. I have a lot more ( around 3000 photo's ) and stories about the process of 'fixing her up'. which I'll post in the apropriate section.

Before


And after


And one of the engine after the rebuild I did.


Regards,

Thom

( Also, my apologies for my 'bad' English. It's not my first language. )
 
Welcome...great job!
 
Welcome. You have done a great job! I am somewhat in disbelief a 20hp engine weighs 1133 pounds.
 
Love the story. You will know everything about the boat when your ready to start cruising. Welcome
 
Welcome Thom. I am impressed at your energy in taking on such a project. I am looking forward to hearing more.
 
Thank you all very much! :socool:

Welcome. You have done a great job! I am somewhat in disbelief a 20hp engine weighs 1133 pounds.

Don't be mistaken by the low HP output. It's quite the large engine.
This picture, I pulled from the big google, for instance shows the size very well.
( Please note that this engine looks different because it has the flywheel mounted on the rear. )


Regards,

Thom
 
Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Your English is just fine. Much better than my Dutch. I guess your pictures did not show up. Perhaps one of the moderators can post them for you until you have enough posts to do so yourself. NOW my curiosity is aroused! What material is your vessel made of? Steel, I'm guessing.
 
Hi RT Firefly,

The boat is indeed made out of steel. The hull is made of 6 millimeter steel and was doubled by another 4 millimeter which makes it in total 25/64 ″ thick.

That's also what makes the boat quite heavy.

As for the photo's do they not show? I'm able to see them. I've uploaded them to Photobucket and placed the IMG url in. Perhaps I should upload the pictures to this threat?

Regards,

Thom
 
Welcome, Thom. Nice boat, and great story! I suspect probably not many who've started with really older boats have as clear a picture of their boat's history as you do...


You may notice over time that many of us put the word "trawler" in quotes.

Your English is better than wifey's Dutch... but at least we mostly didn't get lost too often when we enjoyed our early-'80s visits to the Nertherlands... :)


-Chris
 
Thanks Chris! Took me some time to find out the history. ;)

Also not much 'getting lost' in Holland. Walk 2 hours north and you've reached the border with Germany, walk 2 hours south again and you're in Belgium. Walk west until you've got wet feet and you've found the North Sea. :lol:

Regards,

Thom
 
Project ex-workboat ( 27 feet )

I'll be trying to upload pictures regulary and although some might not be in the right order ( I work at a lot of aspects on the boat at the same time ) I'll try to keep this threat as chronologic as possible. :lol:

So here are some pictures of how the boat looked when I bought her. The paint was bad, interior and woodwork was beginning to rot. Engine would not crank properly and had difficulties starting but it floated and was mine! :socool:
 

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Great looking boat, Thom! Welcome! The pics look fine. There was a period today when Photobucket's website appeared to be down. That's when your photos were not visible, but they're there now.

Your English is great! Better, in fact, than some of our own American citizens who speak "English" as their only language! Welcome aboard! Looking forward to many more pics of your fine vessel! Hard to believe it's a 1930/1970 build! It looks modern.
 
Thanks al!

The wheelhouse was added in 1970. By that time most wheelhouse's on (dutch) boats looked a bit similar. The hull and the most forward cabin ( with the porthole's ) are 'original' and were made in the 30's.

For those who'd like to hear the engine I have attached a video of the engine running on half-ahead. ;)

Regards,

Thom
 
Welcome Thom
Great story and I'm sure you will fit in well here on TF
 
Thanks! there's a story behind that name. Which I'm obviously going to share. :lol:

When I was 12 I often went into the countryside with my grandfather by bicycle. One day we were cyclin past the house of the forester who had a little speedboat for sale. It needed a bit of work, a new paintjob, new window, new interior and an engine but it was a nice model for not to much money. Me not having enought to pay for it my grandfather bought it so we'd be able to fix her up together, which we did.

The plan was take it on holiday to London. My grandfather never left his country ( the Netherlands ) and always wanted to visit England by boat. Unfortunatly my grandfather died before we could realise 'our' plan. So a few other speedboats passed before I found this one. My grandfather was always a fan of the old styled tug and workboats, as did I. So after this boat was ready to finally see some water again I named her after my grandfather. The boat now proudly displays the name 'Opa Hein' ( Which means grandfather Hein ( Hein beeing the name of my grandfather. ) This year most of my time will be spend on the interior of the boat, preparing it to finally leave for London. Hopefully next year she'll be ready and I will take my 'grandfather' to London. ( Well sort of. ) ;)

Regards,

Thom
 
Thom: Welkom to the Trawler Form, and congratulations on your Opa Hein project. She is beautiful, and seems well-suited for the sort of waterways cruising that many on TF do. Your accomplishments are inspiring!

What cruising plans do you have so far?
 
The main plan is to prepare her for a crossing over the English channel. I want to sail her ( when she's ( and I ) are ready ) from Rotterdam to London. Follow the coast from Rotterdam to Calais and cross over to Dover and follow the coast again to the Thames Estuary.

Before I'm able to do that however I want to become a bit more familliar with the boat. Take her a few times out to sea in good and bad weather.

Other than that I mainly use her for inland cruising. Mostly sailing on canals, lakes and sometimes the 'Ijsselmeer', 'Waddenzee' and the North sea.

Regards,

Thom
 
Great story,
Thanks for sharing.
 
One of the first things I noticed were the electronics in the boat. The wiper wouldn't work, the horn sometimes would but mostly wouldn't. So I removed the dashboard and found out how the wiring was done. One side of the battery was connected to the steel hull of the boat. Which meant that there was always a current running through the hull. There were no fuses and most of the wires did not have any protective sleeves anymore. So I removed the complete system, battery, wire's, all switches and gauges and started from 'scratch'.

Below the 'old' and 'new' system. Geuss which one is the before picture. :lol:

Regards,

Thom
 

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Welcome, that is a very good looking boat, congratulations! Before I retired our company had a sales office in Lelystad, on the map it looks like not to far from you I visited there often.
I heard the video of your engine, it reminded me of the Fairbanks/Morse engines that were used here in Louisiana, years ago, also on pumps but mainly on oil wells.
Good luck and happy cruising!
 
Greeting,
Mr. T. Wonderful tribute to your grandfather. He will surely be with you on the crossing of the channel.
 
Thom: You have told an amazing story. And you should be proud of carrying your vision (with your Grandfather) to fruition.

I am impressed!

Keep pictures coming.

Is the engine direct drive? Does it have a reverse? Or do you have to shut it down and reverse the rotation? Very interesting...
 
Very nice work Thom! What a wonderful way to honor your grandfather.

Thanks for posting.
 
Thom: I was glad to get much of your story from over at Livingaboard Forum, but it looks as if you've improved the boat even more since you were posting over there. Can't wait to hear how she handles the trials of the Channel. She looks like a great candidate for paravane stabilizers though.
 
Thom,

I love your story of not giving up on a dream of owning this boat.
You've done a great job of bringing the boat back to life. Your slow revving engine sounds so reassuring.
Best of luck on the rest of your preparations for the crossing.
 
Thom, what a wonderful refreshing story. Great boat, pictures and workmanship. May you have many enjoyable adventures at sea with your grandfather. Welcome to the forum.
 
Thom, Your boat is more of a trawler than most any on this site. Plus it is a beauty. It's obviously a labor of love. Before Eric (Manyboats) gets a chance I will ask you to post pictures of her bottom. Eric likes bottoms; especially from the rear quarter. I will be looking forward to your posts.
 

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