From the magazine – Not all Dutch workboat builders were present at this year’s Seawork in Southampton this year. Tideman Boats from Hoorn, which specialises in the construction of high-density polyethylene workboats, stayed home after having been at Seawork for the fifteenth time in 2024. ‘We will be organising a wet Workboatshow in Marina Kaap Hoorn for the second time from 14 to 16 October, with six workboat builders from Hoorn and a number of other Dutch companies,’ says director and owner Bruno Tideman.
This article originally appeared in SWZ|Maritime’s May 2025 workboat special. It was written by Hans Heynen, freelance maritime journalist, hans.heynen@casema.nl.
Tideman adds: ‘Our Dutch and other European customers will no longer have to come to England to test the workboats on the water. Furthermore, there are no speed restrictions on the Marker Lake, such as around Southampton. With its location close to Amsterdam and Schiphol, it is also attractive for international professionals to come to our Workboatshow. And you do not need an ETA visa.’
Also read: SWZ|Maritime’s May 2025 issue: Handling all jobs, big and small
Dutch Workboatshow
The Workboatshow in Hoorn was held for the first time last October. ‘With 36 exhibitors, it had a good start,’ says Tideman. ‘We expect fifty exhibitors this year. It is a business-to-business fair that, like Seawork, focuses on professional users.’
Stormer Marine, based in Hoorn, went to Seawork again, but will also be present at the Workboatshow in Hoorn. ‘We have noticed that there is also a need for a workboatshow in the Netherlands,’ says owner Richard Gramser. ‘Dutch and foreign companies, governments and organisations that need a workboat or rescue boat can find excellent information at the Workboatshow in Hoorn. All boats are ready to sail in the water to be tested.’
Event manager Bas Pronk of the Workboatshow explains that the Dutch Yacht Building Industry (NJI) is cooperating with the fair and is bringing it to the attention of its members this year. ‘They are not doing this for no reason. You can see that yacht building is focusing more on workboats these days. Yacht builders are seeing that the private market for yachts is declining somewhat, while this is a growth market. That makes it interesting for the NJI as a trade association to focus on this. But companies really have to come with workboats, it is not a show for yachts.’
More information about the International Workboatshow can be found here.
Picture: Hans Heynen and Bruno Tideman testing a workboat near Amsterdam. It is a pilot boat for P&O. P&O uses it in the harbour of Maputo, Mozambique (photo Tideman Boats).
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