Despite dogged determination to escape death in the scrapyard, Amsterdam’s oldest houseboat, The Dogger, is set to be removed from the canal. ⛵️
The houseboat will disembark from its current home in the Prinsengracht, reports Het Parool.
Built in 1865, The Dogger was originally responsible for keeping Amsterdam’s breweries afloat by carrying water to them — before being moved to its current location in 1888.
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Although intended to be taken out of the water every seven years, The Dogger’s keel has not touched land for 134 years. The rust on its exterior speaks of sad years of neglect. 🤕
Wat jammer!
Too high to pass under the low bridges that surround it, The Dogger cannot sail out of the Prinsengracht for repairs. This, according to owner Jeroen Elsen, renders it uninsurable.
In fact, all offers of insurance would bring conversations to a halt harder than a cargo ship in the Suez Canal when Elsen mentioned the boat being 157 years old! 👨🏼🦳
He also explains that if the 96 ton boat were to sink, it’d likely block the channel entirely. This would disrupt all traffic up and down the canal, and result in a huge liability for Elsen. Talk about being caught between a rock and a…errr, heavy place! ⚓️
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To add insult to injury, some in the local community around the Prinsengracht have even labelled The Dogger an eyesore!
Thankfully, Elsen notes that many others see it as a beautiful boat, and will be sad to see it gone.
It seems the ship has sailed
The Dogger was actually saved from removal by public support once before. In 1996, the public rallied around the vessel after a radio message drummed up support for its salvation.
However, given the state of the boat, it doesn’t seem likely that this will happen a second time.
But don’t worry, history-lovers — archaeologically-important items from the vessel will be saved while it’s in the process of being dismantled.
Have you spotted The Dogger in your wanderings around Amsterdam? How do you feel about its removal? Tell us in the comments below!
