It is needless to say that the groups of boats I, II, III specified
above include also a large number of small craft, intended for local
use, which all come down from the same fundamental group; their
destination only varies.
Among the more important of these are the “Bokken” found as much
in Holland[20] as in Frisia. To this family also belong the
_Groningeraardappelpramen_ (prams used in Groningen for carrying
potatoes), the Frisian _Snikken_, with a raking stem and similar in
this respect to the _Haarlemmermeerplompertjes_ (small boats on Haarlem
Lake).
When the sternpost has a good deal of a rake the boat is called a
_Westlander_ and when vessels of this class have a strake less, like
the dredging boats of the Hague, they form the “Bokken”, which must not
be confounded with those which have been already mentioned.
Near Vollenhove, to the north of Overijssel, there is still to be
met a well known small boat, the _Punter_, descended probably from
the _Haaringschuitje_ (a small boat used for the herring fishery) of
the Zuiderzee. The _Groenteschuitje_ from Hoorn (for transporting
vegetables) is exactly like it. These vessels are narrow and have a
great deal of rake in the stem and the sternpost.
The same origin must be attributed to the Utrecht pram and to the
_Kromme Rijnaak_, but the length of these boats is proportionately
greater when compared with the beam.
Outside of the preceding types, there are still found the “Snik” or
the _Gondel_ of North Holland, which very much resembles the “Oude
Kinderdijksche Hoogars”, as well as the “Oude Vischschuit van Aalsmeer”
(very old fishing boat from Aalsmeer).
Setting aside a very considerable number of small _Schouwen_ which are
nothing but covered and flat ferry boats, which already appear in the
old engravings, there are still to be met in Holland the “Schiedamsche
schouwen” or the “Melk en Spoelingschuiten” (boats used to carry milk
and the residuum of fruits from which the juice has been pressed out).
They are long flat-bottomed boats with flat bow and stern.
A special family of boats is made up of the “Barges” and
“Trekschuitjen” (literally “boats hauled from the shore”) which exist
all through the Netherlands. Almost all these boats are alike; they
came originally from Holland and spread all through the rest of the
country as fast as the canals were built.
The “Trekschuiten” are still particularly in vogue in the province of
Drenthe, but the construction of railways and tram lines is slowly
driving them out.
There are still other vessels, the Baggeraken (dredging lighters) which
are very common in the Netherlands.
The special conformation of our rivers and arms of the sea required
constant dredging to maintain the depth of the ports and navigable
passes; but they were far from possessing such perfected machinery as
have the modern dredges: the “Hand-” or “Hijschbeugel” (hand dredge)
was the only apparatus used for dredging in former times.
The boats used for this purpose went under the general name of
“Baggeraken”. The best known type was the _flat_ (“Vlet”), or the
“Baggeraak” still called the _Sliedrechtsche Aak_.
Even now, the “Boeieraken” are still often used for dredging. These
vessels belong to the type of round bottomed craft. Other boats of a
special kind used at Dordrecht for the same purpose were known by the
names of: _Vreeswijksche Zandlichter_ and _Dortsche Zandschuit_ (boats
used for dredging sand and having a great analogy with each other).
They were used almost exclusively for dredging the ballast used by
ships starting for sea. They have now almost wholly disappeared.
_Bokken_ are used almost exclusively for dredging and for taking out
sand from the downs in the West of the country and in the region of the
Rhine. Their shape is almost identical with that of the “Westlanders”
but there is no planking above the planksheer. In the province of
Utrecht, the _Slijkpramen_ are used for the same purpose. They
correspond to the “Kromme Rijnaak”, the general type of the Utrecht
boat. In the province of Groningen, mud is carried by the “Groninger
Slijkpraam”, or “Vlotpraam”, a narrow boat with a rounded bottom which
has nothing in common with the “Overijselsche praam” and which does not
resemble it in any way.
The forerunner of our dredges is the old _Moddermolen_ (literally, mud
mill) or _Moddermolenschip_ used at Amsterdam since 1575.
The _Zolderschuiten_ and the _Schouwen_, now called “Bakken”, may be
mentioned as very old boats. Vessels of this sort were supplied, in
1829, with trap doors in the bottom, whence come _Klepschouwen_ or
_Onderlossers_ (literally: boats discharging through the bottom).
Finally, it is proper to mention also, in the class of vessels under
consideration, the pleasure boats, or sailing Yachts, for which the
_Boeierjacht_ (in South Holland) and the _Tjotter_ (in Friesland) are
used as Dutch types.
It is important to note here that pleasure boats are most generally
called “Yachts”, even though these vessels have frequently no
resemblance to the Yacht properly so called. Hence the name does not
always mark the type.