T he number of the Annales de Travaux Publics of Belgium for August 1901 contains a detailed study of the Inland Navigation floating stock circulating in Belgium. This study is the work of Mr. DEHEM, Principal Engineer of the Ponts et Chaussées. It contains a description of the types of boats in use on the French and Belgian canals. These types of boats, built especially for these canals, are of no historic value. As they are seen frequently, however, on the Zuid-Willemsvaart (the canal from Maastricht to Bois-le-Duc), a brief description of these boats, called “Ballanten” in Holland, will not be out of place.
They can be classified, as a rule, as follows[26]:
A) Baquets of Charleroi;
B) Walloon boats or “péniches”.
The boat of group A, called “Bak” in Flemish, is a parallelopipedon in shape. Its average length is 19.50 m.; its breadth, 2.60 to 2.65 m.; it draws from 0.35 m. to 0.40 m. when light and 1.80 m. when fully laden. With the latter draught its tonnage oscillates between 67 and 71 tons. This type of boat was introduced particularly for navigation on the Charleroi canal, of which the old small locks have a neat length of 19 metres and a breadth of 2.70 m. The clear height of the permanent bridges on this navigable highway varies from 2.65 m. to 3 metres.
These boats cost from 4500 to 7500 francs.
The boat of group B, called “Waal” in Flemish, is also a box having the shape of a parallelopipedon with a flat bottom and nearly plane sides. According to the differences in shape of the bow and stern, these boats are known by different names, such as: 1º Tournai boat; 2º chaland; 3º bélandre; 4º pointu.
It should be said, however, that the last two names should be assigned rather to old types and that the first two should be reserved for the large canal boats (péniches) generally built at present.