THE KOFTJALK.
Finally, the “Koftjalk” must be mentioned again; it being a boat which is intermediate between the “Kof” and the “Hoy”. This kind of boat is originally from Groningen and resembles strongly the “Buitenmotten” of East Friesland. The “Koftjalk” is the precursor of the “Koffs” which later on replaced the “Cats and the Flutes”.
The “Koffs” therefore are not a spontaneous production, but were developed gradually as trade and industry extended or as navigable highways reached further and became improved. Thus the dimensions of the “Koffs” increased at the beginning of the XIXth century as the result of the creation of the Damsterdiep in 1791.
If Hogendorp (Bijdrage tot de huishouding van den Staat, Vol. I, p. 183), still speaks, at the end of the XVIIIth century, of “Koffs” of 70 to 100 lasts, on the other hand, LE COMTE (p. 16) mentions, at the beginning of the XIXth, “Koffs” of 100 to 150 “lasts”.
The name of “Koftjalk” shows, on the other hand, that there is only a slight difference existing between the “Koff” and the “Hoy”.