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For more than 60 years, we have been helping people enjoy being on water in Friesland.
And it is still something we do every day with a great deal of pleasure!
It is almost a matter of course for us now, but our company is located in a particularly beautiful part of the Netherlands. At least, that's what we think. And many of our customers agree!
Today, De Driesprong Yacht Charters is a renowned yacht charter company with a spacious marina, its own shipyard and a fleet of 26 boats, run by a motivated team of 7 people.
But this was not always the case
History
In 1961, Henk and Alie Stekelenburg (the grandfather and grandmother of Frans) started a coffee house in Langelille, right on the "Driesprong", the intersection of the roads to Echtenerbrug, Langelille and Wolvega. Within a short amount of time, many steel Frisian scow boats were being built and sold by Frans's grandfather. Shortly afterwards, the Forel was built, the first ship that could be hired from De Driesprong Yacht Charters. She was by current standards 'only' 8 metres long but at the time, she was a whole ship.
Growth and a second generation within the family business
Every year, new ships were built to further expand the rental fleet. First with a number of Aquanaut models and then later on, the Aquacrafts, a De Driesprong design. Daan and his brother Henk helped their parents build these ships from a very young age.
The port in the picture had one major drawback. It was located behind a fixed bridge with a limited sailing clearance of less than 3 metres. As the ships grew larger over time to provide more comfort to those on board, this became a problem.
Aquacraft, the birth of the De Driesprong line of ships
A completely new ship was designed and built in-house. The Sita was the first Aquacraft to be added to the fleet. She was christened in 1981, in the middle of winter.
After receiving a lot of positive feedback on the features of the Sita, many other Aquacrafts followed, such as the:
- Aquacrafts 1000: Belone & Tinka
- Aquacrafts 1250: Fenris & Andreas
- Aquacrafts 1400: Tjonger, Kuinder, Remora, Hendrik Wouter, Atherina, Lota & Splendens
At one point, almost the entire fleet of De Driesprong Yacht Charters consisted of these well-designed ships.
A new home port
After Daan and his sister Els took over the family business from their parents in 1996,
they built an Aquacraft 1400. This ship was named Hendrik Wouter, in honour of their father, who passed away on in February 2000.
Daan and Els wanted to give the Yacht Charter a modern home and started the expansion of the port on the other side of the fixed bridge in 2003. At the same time, construction began on the current company premises, including the warehouse for maintenance work. In addition, they also invested in their own boat lift, which makes servicing the boats even easier. All of this was completed in the spring of 2004, and in general, everything looks the same today as it did back then.
3rd generation water sports enthusiast
In 2019, Daan and Els were able to enjoy their well-deserved retirement. After more than 33 years together at the helm of the company, it was now time to hand it over to Frans.
At the time, Frans had been working in the offshore sector for 10 years and was therefore no stranger to turbulent waters. He took over the port, yacht charter and shipyard from his uncle and mother.
A fresh wind blew through the company, and there was room to further expand the fleet and the De Driesprong team.
De Driesprong Yacht Charters in 2024
This is what you can count on when you hire a boat from us:
- Decent motor yachts in different types and sizes, so that there is always one that is a good fit for your group
- A casual atmosphere that feels like coming home
- A good quality-price ratio
- Sailing from a unique departure point, where you have the choice of exploring Friesland and/or Overijssel
- Your own technical service that can be reached 24/7
- Cooperative in dealing with any issues; if unexpected damage occurs, we work together to resolve the problem in a reasonable way.
- A friendly and helpful team, who pull out all the stops to give you an unforgettable sailing holiday
Would you like to come and sail on one of our ships?
Which ship is right for you?
La Diege
La Diege has really lovely indoor and outdoor spaces for her size, and a luxurious look.
Corvina
The Vri-jon Corvina is a perfect 8-man boat for groups of friends or large families.
Copain
Copain is a modern Aquanaut, equipped with a luxury interior. Of course, she is equipped with a bow and stern thruster for ease of mooring.
Belone
With its size, powerful engine and powerful bow and stern thrusters, the Belone is one of the easiest boats to sail.
Alopia
The Alopia is a spacious Vri-Jon motor yacht with sleeping accommodation for 6 people. The boat has a cosy dinette and a spacious saloon. It is good to relax on the spacious aft deck.
Hendrik Wouter
Don't always want to visit marinas? With the Hendrik Wouter you are self-sufficient, thanks to her generator you always have power on board.
Kuinder
With motor yacht Kuinder, you can sail all over Friesland with a large group. The Kuinder is also suitable for sailing the IJsselmeer.
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