De Jong Joure

At shipyard De Jong Joure they know there is no bond like the one between an owner and his boat – especially when it is a wooden boat. “The boat becomes part of the family. So people want it to be taken care of like it is one of their own. That is what we do here: we nurture them with love,” explains Aaldert de Jonge, ‘hellingbaas’ at De Jong Joure. The shipyard has a long history in the northern town of Joure. Ships have been built here since 1653. From day one it has been wooden boats: sailboats, sloops and barges. Nowadays they still build wooden ones, almost the same way as back then – by hand.