Louise

Unique ship model of the
Belgian otter "LOUISE"

Dimentions: 88 x 18 x 64 cm. (over all)
Scale: 1:33
Not an antique.

SOLD

The tjalk from Belgium

The name otter, as far as known, was mentioned the first time in registers from the city of Mechelen in the year 1711. This ship resembles the Dutch tjalk. But a remarkable difference is the wide high bow and the smaller and fine shaped stern. Just like the tjalk they where built with and without a so called “statie”. According to a register from the year 1906 at that time still 321 otters were sailing regularly to Antwerp. Often they sailed to the Ruhrarea for loading coal. However they were, in contrary to the tjalk, never constructed in iron. The last otter sailed until around 1951 and had the unedifying task to carry faeces for the city of Antwerp. After some years of lying unemployed in the Steendok in Antwerp, the ship was handed over to the National Maritime Museum in Antwerp. It was scheduled to be renovated but in the next winter she was unfortunately cracked in the ice and had to be demolished.

contact us for more information