At Stavoren, there still exists the _Stavorensche Jol_ (Stavoren Yawl),
a small, short, bluff boat with a keel; it is exceedingly steady on the
water. It is also met with now at Enkhuizen and at Medenblik. It is a
clinker built boat (sometimes carvel built at the present time) which
is often compared to a “sabot” on account of its rounded forms. It
carries a fish tank and, as it has a keel, the lee boards are lacking.
It is spritsail rigged, and its tonnage is from 4 to 6 tons.
At the Helder, at Enkhuizen and at Medenblik a great deal of use is
made of flats, of which the length may be as much as 10 metres. The
stern has a sternframe; the quite long bow, on the contrary, rises high
with a slight rake. The vessel is clinker built and carries two bilge
keels and a bit of a false keel at the after end of the main keel. It
gauges generally from 2 to 5 tons.
As a rule, the tonnage of the “Botters” and “Schokkers” varies from
20 to 30 tons. The smaller types met with at Huizen run from 16 to 20
tons, and at Harderwijck and Elburg, from 13 to 18 tons.
The variations between the fundamental groups may be attributed to
the different ideas of builders, just as there are differences in the
costumes of various countries.
But the difference between the types of a same group is, on the
contrary, the result of the use made of the boat and hence of the
fishing apparatus employed on board.
In order to make this more easily understood, it will be well to give
a short description of the fishing apparatus used on the Zuiderzee,
this description being taken from the report published by the
_Zuiderzeevereeniging_ (1905, pp. 35 _et seq_), as well from the annual
reports on deep sea fishing.
The fishing outfit can be divided into movable apparatus and fixed
apparatus, the latter being the less important for our study.
Belonging to the former, there are:
_a_) The _Wonderkuil_ (_anglicé_: miraculous pocket) which, like the
_Kwakkuil_ and the _Dwarskuil_, is composed of a net, in the shape
of a pocket which has its mouth kept open by a square frame (made of
four pieces of wood called “juffers-oorstokken”). The net is moved
ahead while holding the frame vertical, all the apparatus touching the
bottom. The fish enters at the mouth and is captured in a convergent
bag. The movement through the water distends the net. The “Wonderkuil”
is hung between two “Botters”, which go ahead at the greatest possible
speed so as to entrap the quick swimming fish, such as the herring. The
large “Botters”, being good sailers, are very well suited to this work.
The “Wonderkuil” scarcely touches the bottom on account of the great
speed, but every fish which comes in front of the opening is taken,
necessarily. The narrowing of the meshes, caused by the great speed,
prevents any from escaping.
_b_) The _Kwakkuil_, used at Vollendam, is a small “Wonderkuil” drawn
by one boat which is generally a “Vollendammer Kwak”. The pocket
is then attached to two beams fastened together crosswise at the
stern of the boat. As the speed is less than that attained with the
“Wonderkuil”, the net drags along the bottom which enables eels, plaice
and sole to be taken.
_c_) The _Dwarskuil_ (transverse pocket), smaller than the “Kwakkuil”
but of the same shape, is fastened to the side of the boat by lines
which lead to the bow and stern. In order to work it, the boat must
move crossways and, naturally, its change of position is slow. The boat
should not be flat bottomed, and while fishing is going on the lee
boards should be raised.
The “Wonderkuil” is used in deep water and on hard sandy bottoms;
in shoaler water and on soft bottoms the “Kwakkuil” is brought into
play, and in the shallow waters of Utrecht and Gelderland it is the
“Dwarskuilen” which is employed.
The many complaints about the destruction of fish by the “Wonderkuil”
were not born of yesterday; for already, in 1559, an ordinance fixed
the size of the meshes of the “Aetkens of Steerten” (of the tails of
the nets).
There should certainly be mentioned as part of the movable outfit, the
drag nets used for catching herring, anchovy, sole and smelt. They are
used in all the large fishing ports of the Zuiderzee. These nets are
dragged between any two boats whatever.
Along the Frisian coast, fishing is carried on mainly with fixed
apparatus; this is particularly the case to the North of Makkum. This
way of fishing requires only small boats (24 to 30 traps per boat). Eel
and herring traps are used for this purpose. It is probable also that
the old _Kubboot_ owes its name to a fishing instrument called “Kub”,
a wicker basket shaped like a funnel, nearly closed at the lower end
where, however, a small opening is left. Following this opening is a
small silk net in which an opening allows the eels to pass which are
piled up in the basket.
Fishing in the Zuiderzee is of a special sort because a large number
of Zuiderzee fishermen frequent the North Sea while others devote
themselves to fishing in the rivers; those who spend the entire year
on the Zuiderzee itself, are the fewest in number. The first use large
“Blazers”, “Schokkers” and “Botters”; the second take the “Gondels”,
“Lemmeraken”, “Punters”, etc., and the last use “Kwakken”, “Kubbooten”
and “Haringschuiten”.
Besides those just mentioned, there are a whole series of chance
fishermen using all sorts of boats. Hence it is very difficult to give
the exact number of boats in use for fishing and the figures in the
above tables are only round totals in so far, at least, as they relate
to the Zuiderzee.