Zeesenboot

A Zeesenboot (plural "Zeesenboote"), in plattdeutsch "Zeesboot" (pl: "Zeesboote") or "Zeeskahn" (pl.: "Zeeskähne"), is a usually 10-metre-long, wide-hulled sailing boat of a type known as a "Haffboot". The name is derived from the type of fishing gear used, known as a "zeese". The sailing boat is designed for relatively protected, shallow waters. Today "zeesenboote" are mainly used for leisure sailing.
History.
"Zeeskähne" were being used no later than end of the 15th century as fishing vessels, especially in the area of the Pomeranian "bodden" and the Stettin Lagoon. In the Stralsund Chronicle of 1449 Johannes Beckmann writes of "Zesekahn".
The technical development of the "Zeesboot" from the Western Pomeranian "Zeesekahn" was encouraged from the second half of the 19th century because many "Zeesen" fishermen had travelled abroad by sea in their youth and had been able to become familiar with the sailing practices of other regions.
For example, after 1880 Danish influences saw the use of a centreboard, fitted into a trunk in the middle of the boat. Previously a sideboard had been used, which was always attached to leeward side of the boat. Its carvel construction became common in the second half of the 19th century; hitherto clinker construction had been usual.
Originally the "zeesenboote" were small, single-masted boats with a square rigged sail. With the increasing size of "zeesenboote" in the early 19th century, the square rig gave way to a lug sail. From about 1870, the fore-and-aft rig was introduced (gaff rigged). Towards the end of the 19th century, a second mast became common which also carried a lugsail. The rig of the "zeesenboote" at this time is the one used today on those boats that are still sailing.
In the 19th century and early 20th century in the Stettin Lagoon there were even "Zeeskähne" up to 22 metres long; however they fell victim to a 1908 regulation.
Fishing with "zeesenboote" was still practised in East Germany until the end of the 1970s. Occasionally former "zeesboote" are used today as small motorised cutters by "bodden" fisherman.
There are very many "zeesenboote" today on the "bodden" waters behind the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula. These boats are lovingly maintained and preserved by their owners. They are used as private sailing boats or for sailing excursions by tourists.
In 1909 the first regatta took place, with 10 "zeesenboote". Annual competitions have been held since 1964. For example, on the Bodstedter Bodden on 6 September 2014 the 50th Zeesenboot Regatta took place (see illustration), after the new harbour complex had been opened that afternoon in Bodstedt. Fifty four boats took part in the regatta.