Atypical boat ads can sometimes be found on bateaux.com ads. This is how we discovered dominique's Zeeschouw . This sailor-photographer bought this boat for his retirement. He's been sailing it for 16 years. But as the years went by, he could no longer maintain and sail his "Zeland" as he wished. So he decided to part with it.
A model from the Netherlands
Zeland is a flat-bottomed steel-hulled sailing yacht built in Holland in 1981. Two pivoting side daggerboards help her to sail upwind. These sailboats are copies of local fishing boats for the smallest models around 8m, the Chouw, or transport boats for models like Zeland over 10m, the Zeeschouw, literally the Chow for the sea. Originally, these boats were not decked, but gained a deckhouse to be fitted out as a cruising sailboat.
A sought-after model
Dominique had been tracking this model for some time and found his in the north of Holland. It was just as he had dreamed, in perfect condition and, above all, with all the original equipment for sailing in "traditional sail" mode.
For all these years, even though he has sailed a lot, Dominique has forced himself to keep his boat in the same contest condition: " On these boats, it's the spars that require the most work "he explains I redo the varnishes every 2 years with no less than 9 coats! I use the same varnish as the original, which I order from Holland. "
A new engine
On Zeland, the only bad surprise was the engine, an old Mitshubitshi 2-stroke twin that still worked, but for which it was very difficult to find spare parts, and above all was very noisy. In 2014, he decided to replace it with a 35hp Beta Marine. With it, cruising speed is 6.5 knots. Note that this type of boat has no bow thruster. Maneuvering in port or through locks requires a bit of skill.
Sea and river
In fact, Zeland is able to navigate the canals thanks to a goat-posted mast-rigging and dismasting system, using the winch at the front of the boat. As a result, this sailboat can go from the sea to the canals in less than half an hour.
In fact, this was the cruise Dominique took with his Zeland, leaving Northern Holland for Paris and then the canals of Burgundy. Finally, he found a ring in Redon, Brittany. Since then, he's been sailing the Gulf of Morbihan in particular.
A layout for a couple
Dominique decided to convert this yacht for couples. He transformed the forward cabin, which originally had 5 single berths. This cabin now boasts a beautiful double berth, a real bed. The saloon's table leg is telescopic, transforming it into a double berth for guests.
The deckhouse has a headroom of 1.85 m. Life on board is comfortable, even in winter, thanks to the Canadian Dickinson oil-fired stove that heats this well-insulated cabin. Before entering the forward cabin, there's a washroom with shower.
All that's left is to find the lover
Dominique knows that his boat is atypical. " People interested in the ad come to me as connoisseurs. They've already read or seen everything about this type of sailboat. You have to love traditional sailing to invest in a boat like Zeland. Using the 2 halyards to send the gaff sail across a deck without a track requires a certain agility. Likewise, if the wind picks up, there's no furler to reduce the sail. When the sea's beautiful and the woman's pretty, all's well, but then... That's why I'm reluctantly parting with her, and I hope her next owner will take as much care of her as I did. "
