Traditionelle Boote in Deutschland. T. 1, Die Ruhrfähre von Oefte

Abstract

"In 1979, as part of the research project 'Pre-industrial watercraft in the Rhine river basin' the Ruhr ferry of Oefte was measured and documented. At that time this vessel was the last surviving example of the once large number of local passenger ferries on the Ruhr. It was not until the twentieth century that ferrying facilities such as this one were rendered unprofitable and superfluous by the construction of bridges. Only once - following the Second World War, when numerous bridges had been destroyed - did the ferries experience a temporary revival before disappearing from the scene altogether. Operation of the Oefte ferry was discontinued in 1980 when the vessel was deemed unsafe and the acquisition of a new boat would have been too great an expense for the owner. Until its lay-up the ferry of Oefte had been used by schools to demonstrate historic means of transportation and by strollers. Like its predecessor, the wooden ferryboat was built in the boatyard of Dorsten on basin. More specifically, it is to be classified as a Nachen of the Lower Rhine. The Nachen is a flat-bottomed vessel whose side planks are joined by a special method of nailing. Because of its utilization as a ferry the two ends of this particular boat differ from the typical Nachen form: the bow and the stern are wider than usual. The building material used was oak. The Oefte ferry was operated by rowing. The boat's equipment consisted of four oars (two of them carried as spares), a boathook, a wooden bailer and a life buoy with a throwing line. Aside from the boat itself the facility included a landing stage, a ferry bell and a shed serving the passengers as a shelter." (author's abstract)