Facilities

The college building and its facilities

The Enkhuizen Nautical College is housed in its own building. Originally a ULO (MAVO) secondary school from 1952, it has been a nautical college since 1992. The college has various facilities:

7 classrooms
Canteen
Library with more than 6,000 nautical titles
Garden housing the square-rigged training ship ‘Kaatje’
Several practical training areas for fire and evacuation drills
Simulators for radar and ECDIS
Engine technology practical workshop

In addition, there are a limited number of parking spaces. However, these are by no means sufficient for all students. Fortunately, the railway station is a short walk away (+/- 6 minutes) and there is a large parking lot with free parking next to the station.

The Library

The ‘John Jepma’ library contains more than 6,000 nautical books. Most of these books were obtained through donations and bequests. The library is a wonderful place to study; the room is often used by students as a quiet spot to read or study. It is also a pleasant venue for meetings.

You are always welcome to walk in and read a book. We also lend out books under certain conditions.

Here is a list of all our books.

Tip: looking for a specific book on this list? You can search the list using Ctrl-F/Cmd-F.

Canteen

The nautical college has its own cozy canteen. Coffee, tea, and treats are sold in the canteen. Additionally, a simple but tasty and sustainable lunch is available. If you are at school on a day other than Friday or Saturday, please bring your own lunch.

If you have classes on other days, coffee and tea are available.

The school canteen is open:

Friday 08:30 AM – 5:00 PM

Saturday 08:30 AM – 5:00 PM

Sunday – Thursday closed (the Albert Heijn supermarket is a 4-minute walk away)

Simulator Room

The Maritime School has its own simulator room. In this room, situations are practiced on simulators for Radar courses, ECDIS, and Marcom.

About Kaatje and her history, on the website of the former students’ association

A training ship in the garden: Kaatje

In the garden of our college there is a unique ship used for training purposes: Kaatje. Kaatje is square-rigged and is used to provide training in handling sail configurations on a square-rigged sailing vessel. She is also regularly used during practical exercises for deckhands.

History of Kaatje

The Kaatje (actually Kaatje III) was built in 1935 and has a fascinating and long history before then, dating back to 1785. For a long time, she lay in the courtyard of the Maritime Training School (Kweekschool voor de Zeevaart) on the Prins Hendrikkade in Amsterdam. Generations of trainee officers climbed into her rigging there. A major renovation of the school almost led to the demise of the ship, which for a while lay there partially dismantled and rotting. A great shame of course.
But fortunately a group of people deeply involved in maritime education saved Kaatje and transported her to Enkhuizen in 2001.

Kaatje is full scale school ship model in Europe and is therefore unique. In the past all major maritime schools in Europe had a ship model at a scale of 1:2 or 1:3 for practical lessons on dry land. Kaatje I was built in 1785: the opening of the maritime training school in Amsterdam. When Kaatje I needed to be replaced, her rigging was used for Kaatje II. And in 1935, the rigging was again re-used for Kaatje III. For this reason, it is the oldest training rigging that is still in use.

But old does not mean bad. Kaatje is excellently maintained. And she must be, because as long as we use her for education, she—just like all ships in the water—must meet all modern, strict inspection requirements.

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Engine technology practical workshop

The college has an engine technology practical workshop. Here students have the opportunity to practice with engines and engine components.

The scale models of the Cape Horners

When you walk through the school, you see nautical objects and beautiful ship models everywhere. A large part of this comes from the legacy of the disbanded Dutch Cape Horn Sailors Foundation. Since 2025, the Enkhuizen Nautical College has officially inherited this collection.

The Cape Horners Foundation aimed to keep the memory of the great age of sail alive, particularly sailing around Cape Horn as a historical pinnacle of seamanship. For years, the collection was exhibited in the Westfries Museum (Oudheidkamer) in Hoorn. However, as of July 2025, the foundation was disbanded, and the nautical college received both the collection and funds to continue this tradition.

The Enkhuizen Nautical College now manages part of the collection and contributes to keeping the history of the great age of sail alive. We regularly look back at the past as part of our own maritime history. There is no better place where old and modern sailing come together than at the nautical college in Enkhuizen.