The Helderse turbine is scheduled to start operating as early as May.

De Goede Verwachting will be a major eye-catcher

Bringing a windmill to Den Helder by helicopter? Nice idea, but the Air Force sees you coming. The mill with a pontoon through the North Holland Canal and then transport by road? Also complicated. Then there must be on the Spoorgracht and Fabrieksgracht Lamp posts are being removed. The solution: the windmill is being placed in the naval city assembled on site like a construction kit. "That sounds "Simple, but it's still quite a puzzle," notes Pieter Kleijberg.

He is deputy director at construction company Jan Vet and received a last week extensive Helderse delegation in the Zaanstreek, the birthplace of the Dutch windmill construction. Representatives of Housing Foundation/Helder Real Estate BV, windmill foundation De Onderneming and construction company L. van der Wal & Zn listened to Kleijberg, the men who are going to build the mill and to Gijs van Reeuwijk. After twenty years at the National Service for Monument Preservation having earned his stripes as an expert on mills and hydraulic engineering structures, Van Reeuwijk currently has its own consultancy firm.

Lightning strike

Den Helder/Julianadorp once had at least seven grain and wood sawmills. Now zero. For now, at least. Because in a warehouse in Zaandijk, hard work is being done on the
return of one of those mills, the sawmill De Goede Verwachting. The The original mill burned down in 1897 after a lightning strike. A faithful replica
of it will rise next spring on practically the same spot on the former Vinkenterrein, now called Molenwerf. Housing Foundation/Helder Vastgoed BV
is currently developing a unique residential area around it with sixteen owner-occupied and eighteen rental homes. In a historic architectural style, but with the sustainability of
now.

Two of those rental homes will be located in the shed on which the windmill will soon be built. built up. And that building up is, as mentioned, still a complicated puzzle.
Kleijberg therefore considers himself fortunate to have a team of enthusiastic and driven individuals. can deploy skilled workers. Jasper de Graaf, Marco Brouwer, Rikus van Assema and
Remco Kramer is going all out. Both in the warehouse in Zaandijk and, from early December, on location at Den Helder.

Match

When is the mill supposed to start turning? Kleijberg looks thoughtful. "In May. That "It's going to be a huge race to meet the completion date." Remco
Kramer nods: "We try to work in parallel. What is finished here goes to Den." "Clear to be built up." Chairman Hans Verhoef of the Helderse
The windmill foundation is an optimistic person. "It would be nice if he during the National Windmill Days are running.'' When is that? ,,Uh… sometime in May,''’
Verhoef leaves that open. But it is therefore May 10 and 11, 2025. Hence the dubious look of Pieter Kleijweg. "I know that other mill builders
had to smile when they heard about it. But we have a super fun one Great team. So we're going for it.''’

A smile appears on Harco Slot's face. The former naval officer and The chairman of the Helderse Museum Harbour passed the last month.
miller's diploma. So next spring he can work with fellow miller Jans Boes Working hard.

Challenge

For a while, it was considered building the mill largely in the Zaan region and then to have it transported to Den Helder. But logistically that is a
complicated job. "You're easily talking about a weight of at least eighteen tons and a width of 8.5 meters. Especially the last three hundred meters to the
The construction site would be quite a challenge. "Then all sorts of things have to get past." the road will be removed.''’

Therefore, in early December, the first scaffolding will be placed on top of the mill base. be erected. After that, it is a matter of part by part into
putting them together. Mill expert Gijs van Reeuwijk: "A completely new one Building windmills doesn't happen that much in the Netherlands anymore. There are also in our country only about eighty millwrights left.'' Also the thatching of the cap, that will probably be done on the ground, is specialized work. "Not Any thatcher can do that. It is very different from a farmhouse roof, for example. to thatch.''’

Subsequently, a whole discussion unfolds regarding the various components of the Helderse grinder and the drive mechanism. Terms such as kingpin, sprout, English
Winding mechanisms and pivot winding mechanisms fly across the coffee table.

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