Waterland Marina in Monnickendam, the Netherlands, has been officially opened after a merger and renovation of two separate sites into one complete marina. A ceremony celebrating the completion of the works took place on Friday 28 August, with Waterland Marina’s Kees Wiersema and Nienke Zetzema giving a welcome speech before the local mayor, Marian van der Weele, conducted the official opening.
Known locally as Jachthaven Waterland, the business began in 1985 as Waterland Yacht Charter before expanding into marina operations and acquiring the neighbouring marina in January 2019, creating two adjoining sites, Waterland and Hemmeland.
The marina has more than 850 berths for vessels between seven and 15 metres in length, power connections and communal water points. Annual and seasonal contracts are also available, and a nautical service centre offers sailmaking, yacht service and engine maintenance.
The redevelopment replaced the marina’s ageing wooden pontoons and connects the two sites through a new layout. SF Marina’s work includes a 220-metre-long, six-metre-wide central pontoon, about 1.1 kilometres of total pontoon infrastructure and 224 finger piers, accommodating 392 berths across different vessel-size categories.
Construction took place over the winter after the existing marina was removed. The first pontoon sections arrived in early February, and installation of the main pontoon and other sections followed through the month. The first vessels were launched in mid-March, with further launches continuing into April.
Peter Santesson, project manager at SF Marina, said: “In close collaboration with the client, we designed a marina that delivers a significant upgrade in both comfort and accessibility compared to the previous fixed timber docks. A six-metre-wide main walkway combined with walkable finger pontoons creates a more user-friendly marina and provides boat owners with a substantially enhanced berthing experience.”
As part of the wider redevelopment, Waterland Marina also worked with Seijsener on power pedestals and wiring, i-Marina on marina management software, and Boat Lift on a replacement for the existing lift at the Hemmeland location. The new marina layout was designed by the Dutch engineering consultancy, Haskoning.
More details on the Waterland Marina redevelopment can be found in Monnickendam’s marina makeover, featured in Issue 153 of the Marina World magazine.
