Page 79 - Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters
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pendently. They were reported in the logs of early Dutch fleets sent out by the Voorcompagni- eën (Keuning , p. LXII). Afbreekboots provided the VOC with the ability to use small yachts as surveyors, without the problem of having them undertake the whole voyage on their own keel. In addition, they could be assembled in places where no shipbuilding facilities were avail- able to the Dutch. These vessels were first built and then dismantled in a ‘construction kit’ form. Initially, the newly built vessel was cut into parts, but reassembling turned out to be difficult. A Pinasse was transported in sections on the voyage of Mahu en de Cordes in but it took the crew days and a good deal of worry to fit the parts together. The result was not satisfactory as the vessel was not watertight (Wieder , pp. , ). In the years that fol- lowed there were many arguments about the best design for this type of vessel. Eventually the VOC chose to take the various construction elements apart, rather than cutting the completed vessels into sections, and had them shipped as real ‘do-it-yourself’ kits. It is surprising that later on, when better shipbuilding facilities for small vessels were avail- able to the VOC in many places in Asia, the Company still sent prefabricated yachts to Asia. A possible explanation is that the Dutch shipbuilders in Asia were already fully employed with the repair and maintenance of the VOC ships and perhaps it was cheaper to do this instead of acquiring local materials and organising construction in Asia. In the Netherlands, shipbuilding was cheap and easy, with all requisite materials to hand, while there were numerous com- plaints about the problems of shipbuilding under tropical conditions. The economic benefits from shipbuilding for the VOC directors in the Netherlands might also be relevant. In total, small yachts operating in Asia were identified as afbreekboots. Normally they were used for survey and discovery in and around the Indonesian Archipelago. On some occasions, these vessels were also employed on voyages of exploration into uncharted regions. However, dur- ing the expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north of Australia in , the prefabricated Cleen Amsterdam (ID:) and Cleen Wesel (ID:) turned out to be too narrow in the beam for use on such rough seas (Colenbrander , --; Coolhaas , p. ). The printed travelogues give the dimensions for some of the prefabricated boats of the earlier period because apparently it was thought that there was little familiarity with these vessels (Wieder , pp. , ). They were of about last. After , some had a fully covered hold, with accommodation for the crew above this deck and could carry a cargo of about last (Coolhaas , p. ). Their length was comparable to the smallest yachts sailing inde- pendently to Asia: from to slightly over feet. (see also figure -) The Nieuwicheyt (ID:) is a good example of the confusing contemporary use of type- names and also of the multifarious functions of the prefabricated vessels. The vessel in part form was transported on the ships of the Nassausche fleet sent out by the Dutch Admiralties to South America. It was assembled in on the western coast of that continent, and it sailed with the fleet on its own keel over the Great Ocean to the Spice Islands. In the journals of this voyage the vessel is called roeychaloupe opgeboeide sloup (built up sloop). The vessel was apparently defensible enough to be used to patrol in the Strait of Malacca and in , it even sailed with the fleet going to the Arabian Sea, this time simply as a chaloupe. After returning to Batavia, the Nieuwicheyt patrolled the coast of Java under the type-name fregat and in an emergency situation was selected to take a letter to the Coast of Coromandel. In this last activity it was called a jacht and even adviesjacht. When the Nieuwicheyt arrived back in Batavia, it was dispatched to load pepper on the river of Banjermassin on Kalimantan with instructions to be careful there because ‘de sloep van boven open en gants niet defencibel’ (the sloop was completely open above and not defensible) (Colen- brander , p. ). If the name was not so unusual and the evidence from the dates of arrival and departure so convincing, it could be that a number of different vessels named Nieuwicheyt existed at the same time. . After reaching Batavia, the Nieuwicheyt was called a The policy relating to prefabricated yachts changed abruptly in . After this date, no af- breekboots were sent to Asia. The Heren XVII had already discussed this change in and decided to send one small yacht to Asia as an experiment. The Roemerswaal (ID:) with crewmembers and of about last arrived safe and sound in Batavia (Coolhaas , p. ). In , two even smaller vessels were bought by the VOC in the Netherlands and sailed on their own keel to Batavia. They were recorded as quel or galjot (galliot) with a capacity of only Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters
