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The Zeester was built in 1903 as the Pilot Botter No. 2 at Croles in IJlst. She sailed as a sailing ship without an engine for the first twenty years and brought pilots on board seagoing vessels at Terschelling. Later she was a customs ship, buoyage vessel and training ship at the Royal Institute for the Navy (KIM). In 1949 she was sold by Domeinen to a fisherman in Goedereede and has had four different fishermen as owners. In 1961 the current engine, a two-cylinder Kromhout 2H3 from 1955, was installed in the engine room. In 1975 she was bought by a private individual, who turned her into a recreational vessel. Since 2001 the Zeester has been owned by Jan and Rita Drop, who have thoroughly renovated her. During a stopover in Nieuwendam Jan starts the engine and sails past the camera.