The same origin must be attributed to the Utrecht pram and to the Kromme Rijnaak, but the length of these boats is proportionately greater when compared with the beam.
Outside of the preceding types, there are still found the “Snik” or the Gondel of North Holland, which very much resembles the “Oude Kinderdijksche Hoogars”, as well as the “Oude Vischschuit van Aalsmeer” (very old fishing boat from Aalsmeer).
Setting aside a very considerable number of small Schouwen which are nothing but covered and flat ferry boats, which already appear in the old engravings, there are still to be met in Holland the “Schiedamsche schouwen” or the “Melk en Spoelingschuiten” (boats used to carry milk and the residuum of fruits from which the juice has been pressed out). They are long flat-bottomed boats with flat bow and stern.
A special family of boats is made up of the “Barges” and “Trekschuitjen” (literally “boats hauled from the shore”) which exist all through the Netherlands. Almost all these boats are alike; they came originally from Holland and spread all through the rest of the country as fast as the canals were built.
The “Trekschuiten” are still particularly in vogue in the province of Drenthe, but the construction of railways and tram lines is slowly driving them out.
There are still other vessels, the Baggeraken (dredging lighters) which are very common in the Netherlands.
The special conformation of our rivers and arms of the sea required constant dredging to maintain the depth of the ports and navigable passes; but they were far from possessing such perfected machinery as have the modern dredges: the “Hand-” or “Hijschbeugel” (hand dredge) was the only apparatus used for dredging in former times.
The boats used for this purpose went under the general name of “Baggeraken”. The best known type was the flat (“Vlet”), or the “Baggeraak” still called the Sliedrechtsche Aak.
Even now, the “Boeieraken” are still often used for dredging. These vessels belong to the type of round bottomed craft. Other boats of a special kind used at Dordrecht for the same purpose were known by the names of: Vreeswijksche Zandlichter and Dortsche Zandschuit (boats used for dredging sand and having a great analogy with each other). They were used almost exclusively for dredging the ballast used by ships starting for sea. They have now almost wholly disappeared.
Bokken are used almost exclusively for dredging and for taking out sand from the downs in the West of the country and in the region of the Rhine. Their shape is almost identical with that of the “Westlanders” but there is no planking above the planksheer. In the province of Utrecht, the Slijkpramen are used for the same purpose. They correspond to the “Kromme Rijnaak”, the general type of the Utrecht boat. In the province of Groningen, mud is carried by the “Groninger Slijkpraam”, or “Vlotpraam”, a narrow boat with a rounded bottom which has nothing in common with the “Overijselsche praam” and which does not resemble it in any way.