History

Sailmakerij De Vries Maritiem has a very rich history. In 1830 Marten Pieterz De Vries founded the De Vries Sail Making Company. Little did he know that in 200 years the company would grow into a leading sail making company that is still in the hands of the family.

1823

1823 Marten Pietersz De Vries settles in Lemmer after years of sailing around the world as a sailmaker on board a windjammer and is employed as a sailmaker's servant by Cornelis Rienksz Sleeswijk.

1830 Sailmaker De Vries in Lemmer was founded around 1830 by Marten Pietersz De Vries. The company mainly produced sails for the sails of mills, sails for fishing boats and tjalks. In addition, sails were trimmed and ropes were made. Finally, they supplied tar.

1851 Sailmaker De Vries supplied the sails for schooner "Bertha Victoria".

1901 Sailmaker De Vries moves to the Polderdijk

1916 Delivery for the sails for Logger IJmuiden 282. The ship which reportedly shot to the bottom after only a short time.

1930 Tjalks and fishing ships are gradually becoming motorized so Zeilmakerij De Vries has to focus on a different market. In addition, the Zuiderzee was closed off in 1932, resulting in a sharp decline in fishing activities.

1940 The first yacht sails were made for the De Rook family. During the war no new sails were made as no cloth was available. The sail making shop focused entirely on the repair of sails, cloths and rugs.

1954 The LE 50 (built 1901) is a historic Lemster Aak for which Zeilmakerij De Vries made the sails in 1954. In 2004 we were allowed to do this again.

In the early 1960s, the production of polyester sailing yachts began, making water sports recreation accessible to a larger public. Sailmakerij de Vries was one of the first companies to focus on recreational sailing by producing dacron sails for sailing yachts. In this period about 8 sailmakers were employed.

1970 Move to the current location at Vuurtorenweg 1 in Lemmer.

1972 A new time with a new logo

In the mid 1970s, M.F. De Vries started with the production of hoods for sailing yachts. This also turned out to be a resounding success.

1974 Zeilmakerij De Vries starts a sailmaking shop in Malta for serial production of sails for Ten Cate Surfboards and dinghies from Germany, Norway and Sweden. Up to 50 sailmakers worked here. After 4 years this establishment was closed again because of problems with the government in Malta.

1987 Sailmaker De Vries makes the sails for the largest sailing yacht, the `Collumbaio`. Because the sailmaker's shop had too small a floor area, the sails were assembled in the Lemmer sports hall.

An advertisement from the 1990s

1993 Sailmaker De Vries developed the adjustable grab handle. Many sail makers in the Netherlands copy this idea.

1996 A second branch is opened in Muiden as a sail-making shop.

In the early 2000s, the production of series ships increased explosively. Zeilmakerij Maritiem in Lemmer was founded and expanded rapidly.

2013 In 2013 the forces of Zeilmakerij Maritiem and De Vries were combined and Zeilmakerij De Vries Maritiem was created. The current owners are Ruben Hoekstra and Bouwe Gert De Vries. At the moment 15 people work at Zeilmakerij De Vries Maritiem. Durable and high quality sails are made for sailing yachts, classic ships and flat-bottomed boats. In addition, we make spray hoods, tents, winter covers, furling jib covers and main drop systems for sailing yachts. Caps and tents are made for motorboats.