17th Century Dutch Merchant Ships

[flying_dutchman2]

I have decided to do a serious review on this book and the plans and here it is. (avsjerome2003) just mentioned the book and nothing else.

 

17th century Dutch Merchant Ships

Text, Photos and Plans for the Ship Modeler.

 

By A. J. Hoving

Plans by C. Emke

Models by H. Tomesn

Graphics by E. Hoving

Publisher: SeaWatch Books, LLC

Case Bound, Full Color, Dust Jacket

Year: 2014

Large 8.5x11 format

 

Pages: 152 and 24 sets of plans from 10 merchant ship types in the scale of 1-48 and 1-96.

ISBN: 978-0-9904041-1-8

 

With this book all the plans modelers may need to recreate a whole range of vessels from the Dutch Golden Age. The plans are on thick stock (paper) and the ships areas follows”

 

Seagoing Vessels:

Pinas Witsen – scale 1-96 – 4 sheets of plans.

Fluit “Langewijk” – scale 1-96 – 3 sheets of plans.

Fluit “Zeehaen” (Able Tasman) – scale 1-96 – 3 sheets of plans.

Fluit “Roode Leeuw” – scale 1-96 – 2 sheets of plans.

Cat “Peacock” – scale 1-96 – 1 sheet of plans.

 

Coastal Trade:

Boyer 86ft – scale 1-48 – 3 sheets of plans.

Galliot – scale 1-48 – 2 sheets of plans.

 

Inshore:

The Narrow- & Wide-ship – scale 1-48 – 2 sheets of plans.

Kaag – scale- 1-48 – 1 sheet of plans.

 

Fishermen as Traders:

Buss 1598 – scale 1-96 – 1 sheets of plans.

Hooker – scale 1-96 – 1 sheets of plans.

Pink – scale 1-48 – 1 sheet of plans.

 

ISBN: 978-0-9904041-2-5

Note: Three Fluits is one ship type.

 

Summary of the people that created this book.

 

Ab Hoving: Worked as the chief model restorer in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Studied the technique of Dutch ship building in the 17th and 18th century. He has written numerous books, articles in several magazines and given lectures. He has been involved in major replica building projects, such as Duyfken (West Australia, Statenjacht (Utrecht) and others.

 

Cor Emke: After he retired as a manager from an American Co. in forklifts Cor dedicated his life in building ship models of Dutch vessels from the 17th century. In cooperation with Ab Hoving he produced many AutoCAD drawings of ships, thus filling the gap in the availability of such draughts. Together with Ab he has been involved in several replica projects, like the Statenjacht Utrecht and De 7 Provincien.

 

Herbert Tomesen: Herbert runs a company in Amsterdam, Holland, Artitec (www.artitec.nl), which produces architectural models. He produced large scenery models of ancient cities in many museums in Holland. He built a huge diorama of Roadstead of Texel in the 17th century containing over a hundred ships. The models in this book are by him.

 

Emiel Hoving: Ab’s son Emiel studied art in Groningen and has been a graphic designer for almost 20 years. He works for Artitec and did the design for Ab’s first book, Message in a model and Statenjacht Utrecht. For the pictures in this book he took photgraphs of Herberts models and used PhotShop to create images of what Dutch maritime world looked like in the 17th century.

 

Summary:

The book is well written with numerous pictures, beautiful maritime paintings, copies of old building plans, hull renderings and many ship models. Well documented historical information to give the reader a good picture of what type of ships were used in the 17th century Dutch trade.

 

There is a detailed chapter of what items the Dutch traded in Europe and Russia and one can see that their wealth was first of all connected with their trading position Europe and that is what created their prosperity. The Dutch were Europe’s main freighters.

 

Another detailed chapter discusses how the ships were built. What measurements and ratios were used to produce a type of ship. In the back of the book there is a comparison chart of Witsen and Van Yk’s shipbuilding Formula’s. Several detailed renderings how the Dutch build there ships, “shell first”.

 

The chapters after that gives the reader detailed descriptions of the type of ship described which include close-ups from ship models, paintings and realistic Photoshop images.

 

 

 

 

It is too bad the book does not include a CD-Rom with the plans on it like the book from Abel Tasman. The advantage of this would be that you could view, zoom and pan the drawings on the computer monitor and print them to scale different from those that are supplied with the book.

[flying_dutchman2]

 

The bottom picture is what all the boats look like if you build them.

Also, the three Fluits go from Large, medium and small. The largest being used for Oceans and the smaller ones for European waters. The Zeehaen - fluit

(A. Tasman) which is also in the book of Abel Tasman has 16 plans. Very elaborate.

The folder that holds the plans is about 3 times thicker than the book itself and the 1:48 plans make for a substantial size boat, so many details can be added.

Marc

Edited November 25, 2014 by Marcus Botanicus

[Richard Griffith]

Hey Marc, ooooooh, nice outline of this book.  Me thinkin' I gotta get this........

 

Duff

[trippwj]

Hi, Still no answer where to get book by Able Tausman. Don

 

Don - it is called The Ships of Abel Tasman by Ab Hoving and Cor Emke.  Published in 2000, ISBN 9789065500878.

 

I could not find any on Amazon, but I did find one on Abe Books http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=14953170974&searchurl=tn%3DThe+ships+of+Abel+Tasman+With+an+introduction+by+Peter+Sigmond%26an%3DHOVING%2C+Ab+

 

I also find it on the publisher's website here:

http://www.verloren.nl/boeken/2086/253/168/maritiem-en-waterstaat/the-ships-of-abel-tasman

 

Hope that helps!

[apell]

Hello,

I am trying to find a kit (preferably) or plans for a scratch build for an ocean-traversing mid-17th Century Dutch merchant ship.   My ancestors we Huguenot who sailed to the New Netherlands from Holland on De Vergulde Otter.   A fluit would've been not sea-worthy enough.  Can anyone direct me to lines drawings/offset tables, etc. that have this information?   Or a kit that I could hack into a facsimile Gilded Otter?

Thanks in advance .

[amateur]

Hi apell,

 

That's a rather difficult questionto answer. As long as you don't know what type of ship the "vergulde otter" was, there is quite a range of ships that would fit the bill. Even a fluit would do. On one of his journeys to Australia, ABel Tasman had both a jacht, and a fluit to his disposal. Nothing wrong with the seaworthiness of a fluit.

 

 

In some other respect, it is an easy question to answer: no kits available for Dutch ships from that period. corel's Prins Willem is closest. A rather heavy armed merchant. As she is a rather large ship, i guess otter would have been smaller. , and less heavily armed that the Corel-version of the PW (which overgunned by any standard btw).prins Willem is a 1651-ship, he kit is based on a contemporary model.

 

Other kits are ships of an earlier period (eg half moon, also by Corel, and a very nice version by Billing boats). Theseare ships of around 1600, so way too early for you.

 

That's the kits available. For the drawings, the ones with the book describedabove are top.youcould also check the internet. There are some nice drawings available on a university site, for which I always forget the name. Something with naut arch and tamu(?), I'llcheck. Those give the reconstruction of a ship as described by a famous Dutch writer of the period (nicolaes Witsen.)

 

Again, some more info onthe ship would be usefull....

 

Jan

[amateur]

Crackers was quicker

 

Btw Derflinger is a very, very bad reconstruction of a Dutch fluit....

Al,ost correct with respect tothesite: http://nautarch.tamu.edu

The exact link that takes you to the drawings:

http://nautarch.tamu.edu/shiplab/AbHoving.htm

 

Jan

Edited November 5, 2015 by amateur

[apell]

To all,

I appreciate the responses, and I did not mean to disparage the seaworthiness of the fluit.   It was just in my, albeit cursory, research (i.e. reading on the web before posting the query) that it was my understanding that the fluit was built primarily for European coastal trade.   Thank you for the corrections.    And it does broaden the build choices a bit.   

I am surprised, that given the importance of the Dutch East and West India Companies, that there are limited (if any) kit choices.  Dutch merchant ships (obviously fluits) brought hundreds, if not thousands, of colonists to the "New World."   Maybe a kit in the wings for someone far more talented than I to develop?

 

re: more information on the ship?  I don't have any, other than it made several voyages between the Netherlands and New Netherlands, landing in New Amsterdam.   Here is a link that list 81 passenger manifests between 1624 and 1664.  

well, if you go to www.olivetreegeneology.com/nn/ships/      you'll see the list.   The names of the vessels are given , but no illustration or information about the ships, per se.  

 

Thanks again...  And thank you for the links to the drawings, "amateur" .

a

ps avsjerome  beautiful ship

Edited November 6, 2015 by apell

[amateur]

To all,

I appreciate the responses, and I did not mean to disparage the seaworthiness of the fluit.   It was just in my, albeit cursory, research (i.e. reading on the web before posting the query) that it was my understanding that the fluit was built primarily for European coastal trade.   Thank you for the corrections.    And it does broaden the build choices a bit.   

I am surprised, that given the importance of the Dutch East and West India Companies, that there are limited (if any) kit choices.  Dutch merchant ships (obviously fluits) brought hundreds, if not thousands, of colonists to the "New World."   Maybe a kit in the wings for someone far more talented than I to develop?

 

re: more information on the ship?  I don't have any, other than it made several voyages between the Netherlands and New Netherlands, landing in New Amsterdam.   Here is a link that list 81 passenger manifests between 1624 and 1664.  

well, if you go to www.olivetreegeneology.com/nn/ships/      you'll see the list.   The names of the vessels are given , but no illustration or information about the ships, per se.  

 

Thanks again...  And thank you for the links to the drawings, "amateur" .

a

ps avsjerome  beautiful ship

It's not that strange. These ships were build by the thousands, so none of them had any fame orname for itself. Also, the builders worked 'by the eye'. So no drawings exist. The model crackers showed is based ona reconstruction by Hoving (indeed, the same), and is based on a few rukes of thumb, and a written description of the ship stating lenght, width, and number of decks.

Next to taht, as theseships were just objects tobe used, and easily discarded when their economic life was over, thereare virtually no contemporary models.

Take all thattogether, and you seewhy kitmakers do not go into dutchshipbuilding: no examples to copy, no famous ships.

The only two execptions are the twoships i mentioned abobe: both have an example that could be copied.

 

A third model that was loosely based on a dutch ship (albeit with grave errors) was the Friesland by Mamoli. Firm doesn't exist, but that modelwas based on an model that was destroyed inthe war: a dutch warship of around 1670. The history that Mamoli gives of the ship is utter nonsense, but apparently ships without history (especially the latrger ones) do not sell.

 

While writing, I realize that there is a third alternative. One of the forummembers (Hans) has made a kit of Batavia. Slightly tooearly for you, but a nice alternative to Prins Willem. (Can't comment on the quality of the kit, as I have never seen it real life)

 

Jan

[apell]

AVSJerome,

I actually saw the ONrust replica when it was part of a flotilla of boats that sailed up the Hudson River celebrating Hudson's voyage of exploration.   This was back in 2009, I believe, soon after the photo you included in your post.   I had forgotten about that.  I did NOT know it's history, however.  Thank you.

Amateur,

What you write makes perfect sense.   Tools to be used, then discarded.  I just looked up "Batavia" online and have discovered that Hans has made his scratch built model into a kit that is now available.   Now, I need to scrape up the funds.  Thank you.  

Thanks to you both.

a

Edited November 9, 2015 by apell

[rpeteru]

My brother just came back from a trip to Holland to visit with family. Whilst there picked up for me 17th Century Dutch merchant Ships by Ab Hovig. Very nice too only problem is there was no plans kit as stated attached, Question then is How can I obtain these? The Book was purchased from the bookstore in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. What to do?

[*Hans*]

As far as I know the first editions of the book where with plans, but they skipped these plans in the later versions.

[amateur]

That's strange, the book is not readily available in the Netherlands (there is no Dutch edition).

In stead, it is sold by seawatchbooks in the USA, and they still advertise on their website that is is sold WITH the plan-set.

No idea what the bookstore in Amsterdam sold you.(and at what price...)

 

Jan

Edited November 12, 2015 by amateur

[rpeteru]

reply to amateur the bookasI understand it was purchased at the rijks musuem in amsterdam price was Euro 78.95. Text is in English and is a Seawatch Publication. Sorry for the delay in replying.

[bobcat]

Hello,

 

ALL copies of the Dutch Merchantmen by Ab Hoving contain a plans portfolio along with the book. If the book was bought at the Rijksmuseum book store they owe you the plans set. They now know this. Write to them and they will send you the set.

There has been only one printing of this fabulous publication and it includes the book and plans set for the price of $75.

 

Thanks,

 

Bob Friedman, Publisher

SeaWatchBooks

[flying_dutchman2]

It is a great investment. So many plans and so many possible builds. If you have an interest in 17th Century Dutch Ships. Purchase the book and the plans.

Marcus

[prmitch]

Hi Mark, I have been following your posts GREAT info, where do you get the book of Abel Tasman, I am thinking about a Dutch build for a while just do not know which, I am an intermediate modeler 76 years about to be 77 so I would like to build something that is not going to take years looking at a 4 to 6mos build. Thanks Don

Don,

 

I have a copy of the Abel Tasman book/CD/plans set that I am willing to part with. All in very good/excellent condition.

 

Paul

[flying_dutchman2]

Don,

 

I have a copy of the Abel Tasman book/CD/plans set that I am willing to part with. All in very good/excellent condition.

 

Paul

That is a good book and a set of plans as well. The CD has many plans and every picture in the book is in PDF form.

Marc

[Jack H]

Books Consists cd mailed to China seems to be some trouble,My new book"LEGACY OF A SHIP MODEL" has not yet received from SeaWatch,probably because this book contains a CD-ROM?

[Landlubber Mike]

I bought the Dutch ships book along with some other books from Seawatch that were on sale, and I have to say that it's a fantastic book.  Lots of pictures of models and artists rendering, and the plans (for which there are a number of them!) are really great.  

 

These Dutch ships have a lot of character, and are a nice change from the typical warship you see built over and over.  The ships are also smaller, so using a similar scale, you can scratch build the ships in the plans and have models that are about 2' or less in length.  

 

Anyway, just thought i'd say that I'm really happy with the purchase and would recommend the book/plans if you like Dutch ships

Edited August 26, 2016 by Landlubber Mike

[Guest]

 

[uss frolick]

Just got this book. Fantastic!

[Guest]

17th century Dutch Shipbuilding

 

 

 

[uss frolick]

Olha, I thoroughly enjoy both your, and your husband's Youtube channels! Your video on planking the Confederacy was quite informative, and with the music, rather soothing.