Part 10

The English had at their disposal docks for the construction of their ships (~Witsen~, p. 206, column I.); they used neither ribands nor shores. Before laying down their ships, says ~Van Yk~ (p. 19), they so prepared the models as to give them the shape desired. For this purpose, and before starting construction, they laid out the frames at full size on a floor. This process was, therefore, born in England.

The laying out of the full scale drawings was only adopted with us at the middle of the XVIIIth century. Before this time, only models and ribands were used in our country, as is still the present practice for building the smaller wooden vessels and many fishing boats.

This new method, however, was not introduced without trouble; and the more so as there was doubt of success in applying it to the Dutch ships, which, as ~Van Yk~ says (p. 19), “had rounded sides, _to allow them to glide over the water_, and _sharper angles_ than the English ships” which had a more regular contour.

The Swedes and Danes followed the Dutch method in the main. (~Van Yk~, p. 20.) Their navy was copied after ours (~De Jonge~), but their ships were not so full and drew more.

The honor of having endowed the shipbuilding art with scientific principles belongs wholly to the French. All the nations, even the Dutch and the English borrowed these principles from them about the middle of the XVIIIth century. It was however only at the end of this century that the French method for calculating and designing ships forced its way everywhere.

The Netherlands, in addition to their war fleet proper, had a very large merchant marine. (~Koenen~, p. 90.) This latter it is said, included, at the beginning of the XVIIth century, 20,000 vessels which had all been built in Holland and, flying the Dutch colors, furrowed the seas in all directions. At the end of this century, when we must have already lost many of our over-seas possessions, the total tonnage of the English merchant marine amounted to 500,000 tons; that of our country was 900,000 tons, and all other nations together had 2,000,000 tons. (~Groen van Pinsteren~, _Handboek_, § 303.--~Koenen~, p. 160.)

Our merchantmen obtained quickly a great perfection. Full proof of this can be found in the observations made by Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) about the Dutch ships, in which, as he remarks, a large amount of freight could be stowed while, at the same time, they required a smaller crew than that found necessary for the English ships. (~Koenen~, p. 86.)

Our merchant vessels, among which especially “flutes” were met with, were copied by the English and French.

Flutes were used preferentially as freight carriers. The following, for example, is found in _Le Musée de Marine du Louvre_: “The navy has always had transports for supplying squadrons; they were called at first flutes or transports and later were known as ‹corvettes de charge›”.

In order to give an idea of the number of vessels in use at the end of the XVIIth century, I have given below a few figures taken from Mr ~Koenen’s~ work, p. 160, which he, in his turn, has borrowed from “~Van Hoogendorp~.--_Bijdragen tot de huishouding van den Staat_”. (Vol. I, p. 183.)

In 1783, there were in the provinces of North Holland and Friesland: 50 flutes of 400, 450 and 500 lasts (1 last = 2 tons) sailing to Norway and the Baltic Sea, as well as for France and Spain; 30 flutes of 250 to 280 lasts; 18 flutes of 160 to 180 lasts frequenting the port of Archangel, the Mediterranean and the West Indies and having served originally for the Greenland fisheries; then 16 craft of 160 to 180 lasts and 80 howkers or galliots, of which 13 were of 300 to 350 lasts, 18 from 240 to 280, 12 from 200 to 220, 17 from 160 to 180 and 20 from ___ to 150, which sailed to Archangel, the Baltic, the Mediterranean and the West Indies. There were also, 60 frigates “snauwen” and brigantines, of which 10 of 150 to 200 lasts; 30 from 100 to 140 and 20 from 70 to 90 lasts; 5 “hekbootschepen” of 200 to 300 lasts and 140 vessels including howkers, frigates “snauwen” and brigantines varying from 60 to 300 lasts. Finally there were still 36 vessels frequenting the East and West Indies, 150 “kuffs” and smacks of 50 to 70 lasts, 90 “kuffs” and galliots of 70 to 100 lasts and, at the end, 120 galliots, (howkers) and “kuffs” of 100 to 150 lasts; in all, 819 vessels.

There should be added to this number, for Leeuwarden: 20 “kuffs” and “smacks” varying from 50 to 100 lasts and over; for Groningen, 30 vessels of 50 to 70 lasts; for Harlingen, 9 vessels of 100 to 150 lasts, 1 of 180, and 3 from 200 to 300 lasts; for Makkum, 14 ships of 60 to 100 lasts and over; for Workum, 2 of 60 to 70, 24 of 80 to 100 and 23 of 100 lasts and more.

Bolsward, Woudsend, Drylst, Dokkum, Sneek, Grouwsloten, etc., counted together 30 ships of 50 to 70 lasts; 40 of 70 to 100 and 50 of 100 lasts and above. Finally, Lemmer had 40 vessels of 50 to 100 lasts and upward.

There were also a large number of vessels of less importance, such as hoys, etc. having a carrying capacity of 20 to 30 lasts, and a not smaller quantity of fishing boats, which were not included in the above figures.

There is found thus a total of about 1105 vessels exclusive of small boats.

But it was not the mere number of ships which was large; there existed at the same time, as could be seen by the different denominations, a great variety of types of ships.

Merchant vessels, in particular, will be taken up in the next chapter. But, before leaving the ships of war, let it be once more remarked that, from the beginning of the XVIIth century, our country had its frigates. This type of ship was unknown among us before this time, but circumstances had forced its use in the end.

The inhabitants of Dunkirk had caused us heavy losses; from 1631 to 1637, they had captured at Maassluis more than two-hundred fishing vessels valued at over a million florins. (~De Jonge~, Vol. I. p. 373.) In order to carry on their piracies with greater impunity, they had obtained from the Mediterranean a ship of fine lines which, although not large (it carried only 6 to 12 guns), was none the less a fine sailer; it was the frigate.

In order to struggle more effectively against the inhabitants of Dunkirk, we too began to build the vessel in question and their number increased rapidly under the urgent advice of our great Admiral Tromp. (~De Jonge~, Vol. I, pp. 388 and 389.) Later on they were built of larger size.

[Sidenote: III 18]

As has just been said the frigate was imported into France by the inhabitants of Dunkirk; thence it passed into England, in 1741, (~Holmes~, p. 121); all the same, this latter country had already had some of smaller size in 1646.

The frigates played an important part in the Anglo-American war.

Fire was one of the greatest enemies of wooden ships. Hence recourse was had to this element from the earliest times, in order to destroy an enemy’s fleet. It was not enough to throw burning pitch; more effective means were invented and the Ancients were already using fireboats to set fire to the hostile fleet.

Time will not be wasted in conjectures about the fireships of the Ancients, which could only have been ordinary vessels. A summary description will rather be given of those used in the XVIIth century they being the only ones mentioned in Witsen’s well known work, pp. 166 and 167.

Vessels of rather small size acted as fireboats, preferentially flutes or pinnaces. Later, “spiegelschepen” of 70 or 80 lasts were used. These vessels had a smooth continuous deck in which were made holes having an area of about 1.5 square feet. A trough starting from the poop ran forward for the entire length of the vessel, with side troughs leading athwartships, in a word, a train was formed which would let the fire run easily and quickly throughout the ship. For this purpose, the troughs were filled with a mixture composed half of gunpowder by volume, quarter of saltpetre and the remaining quarter made up of equal parts of resin and sulphur, the whole mixed with a little linseed oil.

The troughs thus filled were covered with shavings which, in their turn, disappeared under faggots of light branches soaked in a mixture of resin, cod-liver oil, powder and saltpetre. In addition to this, the vessel was filled with other inflammable materials; the deck and the inside walls were smeared with grease and covered with a layer of finely powdered resin.

Sometimes the fireships were loaded with open barrels filled with shavings soaked in tar. Special care was also taken that all ports and hatches should be left open so as to give plenty of draught.

In order more surely to have the fireship catch the enemy’s vessel, strong grapnels were attached to the end of the bowsprit and to the ends of the yards; these grapnels could be detached by means of ropes laid along the ship.

In order to deceive the enemy and to save appearances, quaker guns were stationed in the ports. Two iron guns only were placed aft for defence against attacks.

A large trap was made in the poop to allow the crew to quit the vessel, after having lighted the fire and let go the grapnels, and to get away in a launch attached to the fireship underneath the trap.

The service with fireships was naturally a perilous task, so only the bravest men were selected for this duty and they, on account of the great danger incurred, received double pay.

In case of need, the fireships were started straight at the enemy, so that the latter’s ship was taken face on and not by the side. Under these conditions, the rigging of the two vessels became entangled at once and it became impossible then to separate them.

The fireships were only old ships as a rule, yet new vessels were sometimes employed, for the construction of which, as Witsen says, “a very ordinary, very light and very inflammable wood was used.”

Externally the fireships did not differ from ordinary vessels; anything else would not have been practical, because the enemy would have recognized them at once under these conditions. Their crew was as few in numbers as possible and every precaution was taken to allow it to leave the vessel as soon as the latter was well on fire and had reached the desired point.

[Sidenote: II 158]

[Sidenote: II 101]

The changes made in our war ships during the XIXth century are sufficiently well known; consequently it will not be necessary to dwell on them. Nothing more will be said than this: that the sheer of these vessels became less, that the stem and the sternpost approached more nearly the vertical and that the old ornaments disappeared almost entirely.

[Sidenote: II 165]

Toward the end of the XVIIIth century, the rounded shape of the stern was adopted, according to the English fashion. It was the death blow to the old square stern ship, but already, long before that, it had been called _ship of war_. This new denomination changed nothing in its construction.

Our shipbuilding had gone to pieces under the French occupation, and the continental blockade completed the ruin. Still, toward the end of the first half of the XIXth century it succeeded in reviving. It is true that in 1824 only three ships, measuring in all 1440 tons, were built; but, in 1827, this number had already gone up to 59 vessels with a total tonnage of 19,758 tons. These data relate only to vessels of more than 100 tons. (~Koenen~, p. 101.)

In 1853, says M. Koenen, there were in the province of Groningen 89 shipyards for both inland and ocean navigation. In Friesland, there were large yards at Harlingen and at Lemmen devoted exclusively to the construction of sea-going vessels. In North Holland, ocean shipping was under construction at Amsterdam, Medenblik, Monnickendam, Muiden and Nieuwendam. Shipbuilding was flourishing at Rotterdam, Schiedam, Alblasserdam and Dordrecht.

In this same year, 1853, adds the author above named, 125 ships built in our country were registered, and our merchant marine included 1971 vessels with a total tonnage of 224,432 lasts (= 448,864 tons).

Steam, too, had appeared among us during the first half of the XIXth century and sailing vessels for this reason were relegated to the background. The adoption of iron for the frames of ships also brought about great changes; but the importance of this new material was not everywhere sufficiently taken into account, and many shipyards which continued to hold to building in wood underwent a rapid decline. Others, on the contrary, which had taken up iron construction from the moment of its appearance, became largely prosperous and contributed greatly toward maintaining the ancient fame of our naval architecture.

The first iron ship turned out in the Netherlands was built by Fop Smit, who appears also to have been the inventor of iron masts. The first Dutch steamboats were built at Feyenoord (1834-1835) in the yard which now belongs to the Society of Naval and Mechanical Constructions. (See _Gedenkboek Kon, Instituut van Ingenieurs_, p. 209, etc.)

The revolution wrought by the introduction of steel in the construction of war ships is sufficiently well known; but these vessels have lost all character of their own and they can no longer be recognized except by the flag which they fly. Such is the present situation for ocean navigation, and such will also be the situation for inland navigation. Here too steel has been adopted for the construction of the frames of vessels, and the old forms are passing away to give place to types which will soon be in general use.

But, when that time comes, river boats will also have lost all national character and search will be made in vain to know what were the characteristics of the past. And yet, in spite of the uniformity which even now exists, the vessels which Holland has turned out can still always be recognized by their solid and elegant forms.

And may it thus ever be; may our builders ever carry higher the fair fame of Dutch naval construction; and may Dutch capital also continue to second them and to understand that the strength of our land lies in a flourishing marine. But the latter needs in its turn excellent lines of communication; the XIXth century, as we all know, has seen the rise of new communications by water and the improvement of the old lines; the obstacles, arising from insufficient depth in the channels leading to our commercial centres, have disappeared, and it has become possible for us to compete with foreign nations in the arena of the construction of large ships.

FOOTNOTES:

[4] The Dutch marine owes its prosperity not to the beauty of form of its ships, but to the value of its limited personnel, to the sobriety of its seamen and to the innate cleanliness of the Dutch people.

[5] On this point, they (the English) openly defy all other nations and believe themselves to be unequaled on the ground of shipbuilding.

[6] _Western Influence on the Cultivation, Mode of living and Agriculture of the Children of the North (Norwegians and other Scandinavians) in the Time of the “Vikings”_, by ~Alexander Bugge~.

[7] It is the opinion of most authors that the Frisians have the honor of having made shipbuilding flourish again in the Netherlands.

[8] “How _cogs_ were built in the past, and how much they have changed with the passage of time, just as in our day (the time of the writer) furthermore, the shape of ships is seen to be undergoing constant modifications.” (P. 364.)

[9] The _statie_ was a sort of secondary bulwark at the stern, rising quite high above the rail. The tiller swung from side to side in an opening made in the bottom plank of the _statie_ and above the rail at the stern.

[10] The “arcasse” includes the sternpost and the transoms. It belongs to square-sterned vessels only.

[11] The best and surest means of avoiding a too great draught of water consists in widening the ships. An endeavor should be made to realize this programme, seeing how shallow our passes are. According to the opinion of experienced pilots who have sounded the passes conscientiously, it is not possible to bring ships drawing more than 20 feet through the “Goeree” pass, or ships drawing about an equal amount through the Texel, or more than 13 feet through the Meuse. This is why it has happened more than once that war vessels of the State, of fine lines and deeply ballasted so as to facilitate manœuvering under sail, could not gain the open sea at low tide or in calm weather, to the great detriment of the country, while outside, the lowest tier of guns could not be used because it was too near the water.

[12] Several years ago, by reason of the shallowness of our rivers and passes, an attempt was made, so far as it was possible, to raise our large, deep draught ships by means of empty casks, so that they could reach the open sea. But this process required an infinite time and great labor just to put the casks into place.

[13] “The vessel which sails to the West or the South shall have the bow covered with copper to protect it against the teredo”.

It was seen in the preceding chapter that it was not until the second half of the XVIIth century that the construction of vessels of war, as such, was begun in Holland. Up to that moment merchant ships were equipped and used for military purposes. In proportion as commerce developed and as dangers from enemies at sea increased, the armament of merchant ships became more and more important. So, personal interest was the cause of partially equipping merchantmen as men of war. It was for this reason that the East India Company built ships which may be considered as types of the kind.

Consequently it was just the largest merchant vessels which were most changed as time rolled by. The old types are, therefore, no longer found in this category of vessels; it is among the small craft that they are best preserved.

The oldest type of Dutch ship is the “Koggeschip” (Cog) from which are descended the “Krayers” and “Hulken”. These vessels are all clinker built. The “Barges”, “Baertsen”, etc. appeared in the XVth century. Their planking was smooth. They gradually drove out the “Krayers” and “Hulken”, from which they really differed little in form.

At the end of the XVth century are found the “Kraak” (carack or galleon) which came to us from the nations of the South, just as we took from them the “Spiegelschip” (a square-sterned vessel) at the close of the XVIth century. The names of “Barges”, etc. now give place to the “Koffen” (koffs) and “Smakken” (smacks); but the old forms do not disappear by reason of this fact; the same types of vessels merely change their name as the result of a few changes in details. It is thus that of the “Tjalken” (tialks), which are not mentioned by Witsen although they existed in his day and were then called “Smalschepen” or “Wijdschepen”. Several other examples of this sort could be given. The likeness of form is even so striking that, at the beginning of the XIXth century, our fleet still showed perfectly the types of Witsen’s time. The changes introduced were merely those of detail.

In examining the old types, which are now still in use, it is well not to lose sight of the fact that our ships have, during the XIXth century, increased greatly their length and beam and proportionally also their draught as the result of the improvements of our navigable highways and the digging of new channels.

The result of this has been the falling off of certain types, to which the appearance of iron in shipbuilding has also largely contributed.

For other types, the improvement of the navigable highways and the creation of ports have brought about their complete disappearance. Thus the construction of the “Bommenhaven” will soon have, as its consequence, the total disappearance of the old “Bommen” of which more will be said further on (fishing boats).

The smaller boats will give, under these conditions, the best idea of the old forms, and, as has been seen in what precedes, the most beautiful specimens will be found among the fishing boats. The fishing vessels best reveal the origin of the forms of our ships, so a special chapter will be devoted to this kind of craft.

It has been seen that the essential difference between merchant ships and men-of-war was marked by the narrow deck of the former which allowed the size of the crew to be reduced (~Witsen~, pp. 54, 263, 266), and it has been told that the Dutch were always quoted as examples in this matter. It is thus that the “Vliebooten” (flyboats) appeared, the precursors of the “Fluiten” (flutes), which are known in England by the name of the “Dutch Flight”.

Trips both to northern and southern countries give rise to changes from which are developed a great number of types of boats all of which are derived, however, from a same fundamental type. ~Witsen~ writes on this subject (page 53).

“Noortsche deelhaelders laeden het meest wanneer na den vierkante hellen, kooren schepen en die op stukgoederen aenleggen, als ze rondtachtig zijn en veel springen. Oost en Noortsvaerders die grove waeren laeden zijn grooter in ’t gemeen als die stukgoederen wijnen en diergelijke laeden gelijk ook de zouthaelders”[14].

These are all variations of a same type of vessel.

When the size of ships increased, it was necessary to make them still more bulging on account of the limited depth of the arms of the sea, and this brought about the disappearance of differences in the fundamental forms.

Thus we read in ~Van Yk~ (page 348).

“Maar als men hiertegen aanmerkt dat wegens de doorgaans ondiepe gronden en lastvoerens wil alle schepen van tijd tot tijd vierkanter werden gebouwd sulks dat heden desen aangaande niet so veel onderscheid tusschen d’een en d’andere soort van schepen als wel voor dezen gevonden werd. Want een hedendaags welgebouwde kaag sal in Lasten te voeren ’t Smalschip dat in Lengte, Wijdte en Holte daaraan gelijk is, weinig wijken willen. En de Damschuit die wel gemaakt is sal den Damlooper bijna ook evenaren konnen.”[15]

The narrow deck of merchant vessels had still another origin which referred to the way of gauging vessels and gave rise to the construction of strongly bulging ships.

~Witsen~ says (p. 160) on this point:

“Het uitbreecken deser schepen (Noortsvaerders) voor en achter bracht hier in den schipper profijt aan dat ze vele goederen meer stouden als de maat der schepen hielt.”[16]

This applies especially to boats going to load wood or grain at the Baltic ports, on account of the tolls which had to be paid to the King of Denmark, tolls of which the amount was determined by the treaty of 1647, by calculating the capacity of the vessel in terms of the length, the beam on deck and the depth of hold. But, when this treaty was modified in 1666, this unsightly way of building and this exaggerated bulging gradually disappeared (werd dit mismaekt bouwen en geweldigh uitspringen achterwege gelaten). (~Witsen~, p. 160.)

[Sidenote: III 16]

Nevertheless, the construction of large numbers of merchant ships with narrow decks was still persisted in and, even at the beginning of the XIXth century, “Fluitschepen” (flutes) are still met with. A beautiful model of one of these “Dutch Flights” exists at the museum of antiquities at Dordrecht.

The greater bulging of merchant vessels kept pace with the straightening of the sternpost and stem. On another side, the idea that the volume of the submerged part of a vessel should be reduced to a minimum, was abandoned toward the end of the XVIIth century.

[Sidenote: II 149]

[Sidenote: II 153]