THE “BAGGERAAK”.
The “Baggeraak” (dredging ake) forms a special group. As has been said already, they can be classified in three groups. To the first group, belongs the “Vlet” (flat) or “Baggeraak” which is met with in Southern Holland, the West of the Betuwe, the West of Northern Brabant (the Biesbosch and Donge) and also in Zeeland, in a word, on all our tidal rivers. The “Flette” or “Baggeraak” (called also “Sliedrechtsche aak”) was a small stout boat which, save for a small cuddy in the bow, was wholly open. Its rig was the “Spritsail”, it was provided with lee boards and movable wash boards so as to facilitate the casting of hand dredges. These wash boards were placed only when the boat was partially loaded, that is when it was appreciably down in the water. The mast was set at one-fifth to one-fourth of the length of the vessel from the bow. The ratio of beam to length was as 1:4. The planking was continuous to the nose against which a false stem was fitted.
In Zeeland, a great many “Hoogaarsen” are used for dredging, and “Boeieraakjes” are employed in Brabant and Holland, as at the Biesbosch and on the Amer and the Donge. They are also used a great deal on the Meuse, although there, as on other upper rivers, the “Bovenlandsche Baggeraakjes” were formerly employed.
There belong to the Bovenlandsche baggeraakjes those vessels of the Meuse which stand midway between the “Keen” and the “Whalemajol”. They have a little sprit sail rig and a “Klaphekken” (a special kind of rudder). The largest, known especially by the name of “Hedelsche Aken” and which carry lee-boards, are used for all sorts of purposes. These boats belong neither to the true Meuse type nor to the Rhenish type above Bonn (The Keen, etc.). They form an isolated group, descended probably from the two types in question.
The Vreeswijksche zandschuit (sand boat of Vreeswijck) alone remains of the Rhine boats. It has the bow of a “Dorstensche Aak” and the stern resembles that of the “Dortsche Zandschuit” (sand boat of Dordrecht). This “Dortsche Zandschuit” is alike at bow and stern and the hull is smooth. Although it is more pointed, this boat resembles the “Westerling” a little, the latter being known as a very old boat of the lepper Scheldt (see DEHEM, p. 505). The old “Dortsche Zandschuit” was especially used for dredging ballast intended for sea-going vessels.
A large number of “Bokken”, already mentioned among the “Westlanders”, are used for levelling down the dunes in the West and in the Rhine country.
The “Slijkpraam”, which resembles the “Kromme Rijnaak” already mentioned, is used in the province of Utrecht, while finally, the “Vlotpraam” or “Slijkpraam” is still met with in Groningen.
From a certain standpoint, the “Hoogeveensche Pramen”, mentioned above, which are used in the peat bottoms, should be classified in this group.
THE “BAGGER- OR MODDERMOLEN” (The Dredge).
The “Moddermolen” (mud mill) or “Moddermolenschip” was already found in the first half of the XVIIth century, as the forerunner of the “Baggermolen” (bucket or ladder dredge). This dredge was worked by hand at first; later on horses were used for this purpose. (LE COMTE, p. 6, and WITSEN.) A horsepower and a stable were built on the deck. In the XVIIIth century, says LE COMTE, the old “Moddermolen” was already so perfected that it was imagined that there was nothing more to improve.
Navigation, however, kept calling for greater and greater depths, so that the Kater Brothers, dredge builders at Monnikendam, were led to build, in 1829, a boat which dredged down to a depth of 7 metres. From three to six horses were used, according to the depth and compactness of the materials to be dredged.
These same builders, says LE COMTE at another place, were the inventors of the “Klepschouwen”, for which they asked the concession on May 1, 1830. LE COMTE gives an engraving of these dredges in plate 12 of his work.
J. C. KERKMEIJER relates, in an article of the Eigenhaard Review (1906), entitled “De Diep-of Baggermolen, een merkwaardige ontdekking”, that he had found the model of the dredge built by its inventor in 1632, a model which is mentioned by C. A. ABBING, in his continuation of the Chronicle of Hoorn, by VELUIS (1841, p. 12), wherein it is stated:
“About this time (1632) Jan Jantz Nieng, a native-born citizen of this town (HOORN), invented the ‘diepmolens’. The first model, made by him, was 2 feet 6½ inches long, 9 inches broad and 6½ inches high; the measurements being taken over all.” This model was still to be seen at the city shops at Hoorn a few years ago. The model found by Mr. Kerkmeijer was carefully repaired by him and it is preserved at the city hall of the town.
Thanks to the kind assistance of this author, a few details can still be given in regard to the “Moddermolen” of Middelbourg, called “Dieplust”. These details were received from the chief of the Kool ship yard of this town.
The “Dieplust” extracted the mud by means of a trough with low straight sides, lined at its lower end with iron. When the boat was moved, by means of a cable attached to an anchor, the lower end of the trough entered into the mud as far as it could. The ladder of the dredge was suspended inside of the trough and to its endless chain were fastened pieces of plank of about the same width as that of the trough. These pieces of plank tumbling around a hexagonal or octagonal drum at the lower end worked down into the mud of which they brought up a certain quantity and discharged it through a hole at the top of the trough.
There was no question yet of buckets to bring up the dredged materials, these having only made their appearance with steam dredges.
The trough, with the ladder, could be lowered or raised by means of a windlass; it passed through an opening which was not in the axis of the boat. In the larger half of the vessel was placed the shaft which, by means of gearings, transmitted to the ladder the movement produced by the horses. These gearings were similar to those of the old wind mills. A horse power and a stable were constructed on the deck of the boat.
The Ghent paper Het Volksbelang published the Eigenhaard article in its issue of June 9, 1906. Some doubts are emitted, however, about 1632 being the authentic year of the invention, because the following annotation is found in the Resolutie boek van de Staten van Vlaanderen of 1628-1630, Fo 16 (Archives of the State, at Ghent.—No 553):
“Actum den XXII May 1628 wierd den Ingeniaris Adam Clippens, ghemaackt hebbende den slijckmeulen, gelicentieert en de gheordonneert hem te geven ordonnantie van betalijnghe den dach van merghen mitghaders hondert guldenen voor eene vereeringhe zoo ghedaen is geweest”[25].
From which it would appear that a mechanical dredge must have been built in Flanders in 1628. Hence the year given by Abbing cannot be correct, or else the same machine might have been invented at two different places at about the same period. The question is not yet settled, but, be that as it may, it must be granted that the first mechanical dredge was at work in the XVIIth century.