1.—The Dorstensche Aak, so called from the town of Dorsten where these boats were frequently built. It is a long and narrow “ake” of which the bottom was continued all the way to the tip of the bow; the length was 6 to 7 times the beam and the hull was clinker built. The bow was full, the stern slender at the water line. The after deck included a poop deck, with a much curved tiller resting on a solid “luierwagen” (prop). The rudder was large and heavy. These boats had two masts. The cabin on the small boats was by the after mast; on the larger, there was a free space between the cabin and the mast. A dwelling was placed aft of the main mast and in the bow was a cabin for the servant. The hold was decked over with plane inclined hatch covers, which, formerly, were round. The “Dorstensche Aak” with round hatch covers was a “Samoreus”. Alongside of these latter there used to be akes with open holds called “Dorstsche Koolhaelders”. Although these boats were no fuller than the other akes they appeared, like all clinker built boats, more massive. They generally carried square sails on the main mast and fore-and-aft sails on the smaller. As a general rule, these boats reached us unfinished and it was only when the cargo (pots and other household utensils) was sold, that they were finished in our country.
2.—The Neckaraak (ake from the Neckar) was a small “Dorstenche Aak” of which the length was about 6½ times the breadth. These vessels were long and narrow and worked well. They had a characteristic cabin which, compared with the height of the boat, rose a great deal above the deck. They had, in addition to a main mast, a small one near the rudder. They carried no lee boards, but their rudder was like that of “Dorstensche Aak”.
THE “STEVENSCHIP”.
The Stevenschip resembled the “Dorstensche Aak”. Like this latter, it was clinker built, carried the same rig and was built in the same way. It differed from it only in this that the planking did not end at the nose, but, on the contrary, was rabbetted into a strong and somewhat curved stem.
The preceding types were met with also in our country both clinker and carvel built. They were then called Hollandsche Aaken (Dutch akes) and Stevenschepen, whereas alongside of the latter there were found formerly a large number of smaller akes along the Rhine, the Waal and the Lek as far as the point where the tidal regimen begins, and along the Yssel and its tributaries. These “akes” were exact copies of the large akes but at the same time they had more elegant lines by reason of their less length. Those which are seen in our album are made from some old specimens which date, probably, from the XVIIIth century. The bow of the “Hollandsche aak” is rather flatter than that of the “Dorstensche aak”.
The “Bovenlanders” took on also rather fuller forms, as can be seen by comparing the drawing of a “Dorstensche aak” with that of a “Samoreus”. A few small Dutch akes carry a discontinuous false stem, whence their name of “Hollandsche Schechtaak”.