Construction of the Biscaya

Kārlis Ploks building the Biscaya in Mannheim, 1947

The Biscaya was a boat that was built in Germany by Latvian Karlis Ploks, with his own hands, during the first post-war years. He and his family sailed from Germany to Brazil in this boat.

When the war was over, Kārlis Ploks settled down in Mannheim, where he got a job as a chauffeur with the Red Cross. Mannheim is located on the Rhine, and because of this, Ploks got the idea of building a boat, even though this was forbidden in Germany at that time. Ploks began to realize his dream during his free time, in the evenings and on Sundays. Despite the fact that Ploks had never studied construction, he developed the boat design, did the calculations, searched for the materials – obtaining them by trading food – and did the building work on his own. His son Haralds, who had returned from an Allied prison camp, helped him finish the boat. Within a year, it was complete – the boat, about 7 m long and with a diesel motor, was ready to be lowered into the waters of the Rhine. The boat was given the name Biscaya.

The "Biscaya" had many visitors during the journey

The "Biscaya" is lengthened

The "Biscaya" is rebuilt during the journey