Are these supposed to have been simple fishing boats? The eye-catching Zeesboote with their typical red-brown sails, which glide across the water on sunny days on the Bodden shores between Dierhagen, Wustrow, Althagen or Zingst, look like the backdrop to a nostalgic commercial. It's hard to imagine that these magnificent boats, seemingly invented especially for the big show, were once used for hard fishing. But it is true: Today's prima donnas of the Mecklenburg Bodden harbors used to be really hard-working bees when they still fished with sails. Zeesboote are stable centerboard boats up to twelve meters long. The fact that they still dominate the maritime backdrop of the Boddenhaven on Fischland-Darß-Zingst with their nostalgic shape is not least thanks to the Eymael family.
Father Peter Eymael acquired one of the long-discarded boats for his own pleasure back in 1966. In the meantime, he and his son Jochen own not only the “Butt”, which was built in 1936 and is 11.50 meters long, but also the slightly older but equally sleek “Bill”. In the past, the oak-wood Zeesboote were used exclusively by fishermen for their work. They were popular on the Bodden because they had a relatively shallow draught and were therefore perfect for the shallow lagoon waters.
