[Sidenote: III 119]
The “sloop”, having at first one mast with a large boom sail and square
stern (~Hoogendijk~, p. 61), was put into use at Middelharnis, Zwarte
Waal and Pernis and hence is known generally as a _Pernissersloep_.
The heavy and unhandy rigging of the single mast was soon replaced
by the “lugger” rig, while the square stern disappeared from among
the more recent sloops, thus doing away with the principal difference
between the two types of vessels.
The sloop has a fish tank and is used for carrying live fish, but it
can also be employed for the herring fishery if it has a fore-mast
which can be unshipped.
The new types of sloops were not favorably received by the public, says
~Hoogendijk~ (p. 55), especially in regard to the deep sea herring
fishery. Their enormous tonnage gave rise to the fear that they would
be too heavy for this kind of work. This loading capacity reached 40
lasts while the ordinary load for a herring boat was but 25 to 30
lasts, to say nothing of the many boats which carried scarcely more
than 16 to 20 lasts.
This fear, however, was found to be groundless. The more slender shape
of the boat gave less hold for the wind than did the old types and so
made it superior for purposes of navigation. No one would think now of
preferring the old “bushes” and “howkers” to the modern “lugger” and
“sloop”.