Kraak (Kraak)

[Anatol]

Sailing iron or steel cargo ship with a steep bow and a swept stern. The kraak is easy to recognize; the bow slopes backwards above the sheer strake. Furthermore, the model is quite variable. Usually between 20 and 25 m long, length-to-width ratio approx. 5:1. Kraken were mostly built with a low air draft; they were often pavilion ships and generally came from shipyards in South Holland.
Kraken appear to have been built somewhere between 1870 and 1905. Their numbers were not large and only a few have survived. The book 'Scheepen die blijven' contains a nice treatise on the kraak with a list of surviving examples. In my view, however, the author, in his zeal, may have lumped a bit too many indefinable 'ship types' together with the kraken.
Source: E. van Konijnenburg.
17th to 19th century ship type. Round shapes with a curved stem beam, pavilion, hardly any sheer, and a very low bulwark. It is said to have been built both clinker-built and plain-boarded. Approximately 45 tons in size. The sailing area extended mainly from the South Holland waters to Amsterdam and Zaandam.
See also text: Wooden kraаk:
THE WOODEN KRAAK
Many books on old Dutch inland vessels write about the Kraak.
Almost all quotations refer back to what naval officer Pieter Le Comte (1802-1849) noted in 1831 regarding the kraak:
This type of vessel navigates all our inland waterways, but they are most commonly found in Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Amsterdam, Utrecht, and a few in Zaandam. Their size is usually 40 to 50 tons. Their interior consists of the hold, a forecabin, and the deck below aft; there are also pavilion kraaks, which have an aft cabin beneath a slightly raised deck with two windows facing transversely; in this place, the accommodation for the skipper and family, fixed bunks, a fireplace, and other conveniences are built. Usually, these ships sail for cargo and also load top load; Their draft is 2.5 feet (77 cm) empty and 5 to 6 feet (1.42-1.7 meters) loaded. They are suitable for all inland waterways and are sailed by a skipper and one or two crew members.
The rigging consists of a mast with a mizzen sail, equipped with two reefs, a staysail, and a jib; there are also some that carry high-peak sails, which is a spritsail rig. They remain under sail as long as they can keep it going in front of the reefed mizzen sail; however, if the weather deteriorates, they drop anchor or tie up to the shore and remain moored. Carracks are found as cargo ships from Rotterdam and Utrecht.
Various sources describe the vessel as a long, narrow tjalk without any sheer and with flat, straight sides. It is possible that these ships were envisioned for what was intended to be called the 'Kaarselade'. According to engineer E. van Konijnenburg, however, these ships were called Haarlemmer ponten in Haarlem, although they would have been somewhat less full in the bow and stern. According to G.J. Schutten, the Zuid-Hollandse kraak would have been a slightly different type of ship.
To date, I have found no clear evidence for the existence of the clinker-built kraak. Perhaps this is based on a confusion with the Eiker. Аccording to some sources: vessel corresponding to a (peat) ferry. In fact, some advertisements mention a kraak or pontoon boat.
Le Comte already wrote that carracks sailed as cargo ships between Rotterdam and Utrecht. But they were also deployed to other destinations.

Nederland 2025; 1,0.
Sources: 1.https://www.binnenvaarttaal.nl/index.php?woord=kop.
2.https://www.binnenvaarttaal.nl/index.ph ... uten_kraak.