The Fluitschip

The expansive Dutch economy has put large demands on our merchant marine. The very shallow Dutch waters also mean that common merchant ships such as caravels are unable to approach many of the Dutch ports. So far this has been handled by the use of smaller boeiers but with financial backing from Pieter Jansz Liorne, a Dutch merchant from Hoorn, a new type of ship has been developed.\nThe fluitship or fluyt is longer and has a very characteristic pear-shaped stern and is built to be effectively manned by a small crew. As it is able to carry larger cargoes while still handling the shallow Dutch waters and behaving very well in the open sea this ship is a godsend for our merchants.