Tukker? Never heard about a…….
Sometimes you meet some special people in the world of boat builders. People or a yard with long-term experience in special areas. One such yard is Tukker. Not a brand very well known in the world of recreational boating yet every time we saw one we noticed that each one was different yet with recognisable similarities. Where did they come from? That was the question.

We discovered the yard of Tukker in an environment that is know worldwide for ship building . The area around the big port of Rotterdam. In this area you can find lots of boat builders, most professional ships from very big to smaller sizes. The small Tukker yard is in the middle of this area in the little town of Gorinchem. Their specialty is building professional working ships serving in many ports as well as ferries for the many canals and rivers in the Netherlands and Belgium. But even in Africa you can find their boats, serving in open ports in rough situations. Of course this kind of ships need high standards in quality and operational reliability. In 2005 the yard celibrated its 50th birthday. On that occasion they published a book of stories about their history and a small story about every ship built up until that moment. This is a very sought after publication by Tukker owners and enthusiasts alike. However, a small group of enthusiasts have had Tukker build pleasure craft for them. In a history of building hundreds of professional ships, Tukker built for them recreational craft on which it’s possible to live under all circumstances. For these ships Tukker refused to make concessions on their professional standards. The results are all custom built ships with a professional appearance and very solid construction. Some of these ships were even built in “Corten” steel for reduced maintenance and increased life.
Today, with less demand for new private ships they are building almost only ferries and again and still some boats for African ports. This means that almost the only way to own one of these Tukker cruising ships is to find one of the rare second-hand vessels that occasionally come onto the market. High quality ship building standards and long-term living qualities are Tukker hallmarks plus head turning looks that leave people standing still to get a second view.
By Anton Wilhelm