Staverse Jollen are small fishing vessels that were originally used on the Zuiderzee. They were developed by shipbuilder Roosjen in Stavoren from 1860, specifically for the local eel fishery. Only 8 jollen were built between 1860 and 1880, but from 1883 they were successfully used for herring and anchovy fishing. In the following thirty years, more than 200 fishing jollen appeared in the northern part of the Zuiderzee.
From 1896, the Wildschut brothers also started building these fishing jollen in Gaastmeer. They had lost their regular customers for the maintenance of eel barges and 'ielbûsen'. The Wildschut brothers successfully started building wooden fishing jollen and switched to iron ones in 1904. After the First World War no new fishing jollen were built.
In 1918 Mr. Ids Strikwerda sold his shipyard in Stavoren, while two of the Wildschut brothers of Gaastmeer emigrated. The third brother, Jetze, bought the yard in 1924 and, together with his son Lourens, switched to building yachts. They not only built BM-ers, but also many yacht jollen, that is, Staverse Jol with a cabin for pleasure craft.
Interestingly, these ships were later named “Staverse jol”. Roosjen and Strikwerda advertised (until 1917) the construction of "Stavorensche sloops and fischin jollen". These last ships meant the current Staverse jollen.
The shape of the jol was developed by Roosjen in consultation with the users, the fishermen in Stavoren, Molkwerum and Laaksum. They did not want an ordinary sloop as Roosjen was used to build in his yard in Hindeloopen, but a sturdy sailing ship that was optimally suited for use along the coast. The jol had completely smooth edges, so that the nets could be hauled in without risk of damage, without protruding parts or storage timbers. In addition, the edges bent inwards, similar to the buoys of flat-bottomed boats, which made working with the nets easier.
The jol has a shallow keel that runs the entire length of the ship. This ensures that the ship is stable on the rudder, has little draft and can easily be pulled onto dry land. In retrospect, we can conclude that the development of the Staverse jol by Roosjen was an exceptionally innovative project. The jol characteristic features, such as the completely smooth edges, inwardly curved edges and the long keel, were not found in any other regionally known vessel at the time.
DOEVE Brokers and Valuers is your dedicated yacht broker for Staverse Jollen. For further information about the sale of your Staverse Jol or if you wish to purchase a Staverse Jol, please contact us.
