Built in Franeker
Sadilé began life as Tijdgeest X. The ship was built in 1925 by the firm Brandsma & Zonen in Franeker, in Friesland.
It was commissioned by N.V. Rederij De Tijdgeest, formerly H.F.L. Reimus. At the time it was a well-known shipping company operating scheduled services and carrying freight, based at Nieuwe Kade 14 in Utrecht.
What is a beurtschip?
A beurtschip, or scheduled-service vessel, sailed to a fixed timetable between particular places. It left at set times, even when it was not full.
Such a ship carried goods and post, and often livestock and passengers too. It was once the most important form of public transport and freight transport by water, comparable to the lorry or the bus of today.
The word beurt does not refer to the order in which skippers took their turn to sail, but to a regularly recurring event. For centuries, scheduled services were subject to licences and regulations issued by the cities.
The measurement certificate
The ship has a measurement certificate: the document that records its dimensions and carrying capacity. It was registered on 6 June 1931 in the Utrecht measuring district, under number 710.
The certificate describes Tijdgeest X as a decked steel motor cargo vessel. The ship was launched in February 1925 by the firm R. Brandsma in Franeker. It is recorded as having a 30 hp Brons crude-oil engine.
- Maximum length: 26.18 metres
- Maximum width: 5.26 metres
- Draught of the empty ship: 0.63 metres
- Maximum carrying capacity: 111.798 tonnes
- Crew on board: two
These were the figures at the time. For the current dimensions of the ship, see the Sadilé page.
A second name
On the first page of the certificate, the name Tijdgeest X has been crossed out. Written below it in large letters is Het Eiland. The certificate does not say when that name was added.
A photograph from Vreeswijk
An old black-and-white photograph shows Tijdgeest X at the bridge of the Koninginnesluis lock in Vreeswijk. The bridge is open and the name can be read on the hull.
Sadilé in Maasbracht
Jacques and Nanja van de Runstraat sailed together for eleven years on the cargo ship Wijnanda. Alongside that, they spent ten years converting the ship into Sadilé. The conversion was finished in June 2026.
Sadilé is now moored in Maasbracht. You can stay overnight on board or take a trip on the ship.
What is still unknown
The documents we have do not say how Het Eiland later became Sadilé.