The early years
The first documents recording members of the Balk family reveal they work as carpenters in an around the small fishing port of Elburg before moving to the shipping industry. One of them is Simon Janzen, who is listed as a ‘Stat tymmerman’, a city carpenter, in Elburg in 1693. Simons son, Jan Simonsen Balckholt, takes up the same profession, but soon after changes his mind and becomes
a sailor, same as his brother Hendrik Simons Balckholt, whose name is engraved on a pewter beaker
of the maritime St Josoph guild, dated 1706. Some time later, in the 18th century, the name of Balckholt changes to Balk.

The first shipyard Balk Shipyard sees light on the 8th of May 1802 when Sybrand Balk buys the existing yard in the harbour of Elburg, where the Balk family has been employed from its start in 1787. Sybrand (1774 – 1841) pays the sum of 1.220,- Dutch Guilders, quite some money in those days. Sybrand Balk builds a wooden fishing smack for the price of 812 guilders in that same year and another smack leaves the slipway in 1803. But the main business over the decades that follows is repair.   At the heart of the community In February 1838 Sijbrand sells the yard to his nephew Hartger Rensen Balk (1798-1883), who later passes it on to his oldest son Hendrik (1825-1891). In 1880 Hendrik’s son Hartger Balk, takes over the yard. The recession of the late 1800’s takes its toll, and Hartger is forced to sell to the yard. Another shipyard buy up the premises and sells it back to younger brother Cornelis Balk (1863-1933) Times are changing It all starts to change for the medieval seaport of Elburg as the 32-km Afsluitdijk (IJsselmeer Dam) is put in place in 1932, transferring the Zuiderzee into a lake. The construction protects the Netherlands from flooding. But it also has a disastrous impact on all marine industry in the northern part of Holland. This and the 1950’s land reclamation changed the little port of Elburg completely. Daan Balk (1904 -1986), who becomes the owner of the yard  in 1937, is an innovator and starts producing barges and small yachts in steel for private customers and steel constructions for other yards. Due to technical innovations introduced by Daan, the yard prospers, the horse is replaced by a winch and the sledge slipway by a trolley slipway. As the market for repair and maintenance seems more profitable than building new ships, Daan’s son Bart Balk changes the activities from building to refit and starts modernising the yard as well. Royal attention and moving to Urk In 2002, the Queen of the Netherlands awards Balk Shipyard with the exclusive quality mark ‘By Appointment to the Court of the Netherlands’. On top of that, Balk is presented with a unique opportunity to build a ship in honour of Queen Beatrix’s Silver Jubilee. As the amount of work offered to Balk Shipyard is now steadily growing, the yard needs to expand and moves from Elburg to the harbour town of Urk in 2004. The new premises are bought from the Metz family, a renowned shipbuilding company since the 1800’s. After three years of preparations and construction, the new shipyard opens in June 2007. In this same year Balk is nominated for the prestigious Superyacht award ‘Best Refit 2007’. The former Balk Shipyard in Elburg is however not forgotten, but has turned into a museum. This is in sharp contrast with the actual yard which is continously renewing and expanding. The second hall and new office space is taken in use and a brand new third hall for casco ships is under construction.