Water ship (Waterschip)
Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2026 7:30 pm
A water ship is a historical type of ship of the Zuiderzee with a bun or kaar (a type of ship used for keeping fish alive), rigged with a spritsail and a jib, used to transport fish from fishermen at sea to shore and also as a tugboat to tow larger ships over shallows. Other ships with this name were used to transport fresh or salt water for industry or to transport water and food to fishermen at sea. "Waterschip" is a name for various ships. In this case, the name likely refers to the presence of a "bun" (a watertight compartment within the ship) connected, through small holes, to the water outside the ship. This compartment therefore contains water. Fish are kept alive and therefore fresh in this compartment.
The ship's approximate dimensions in 1614 were: length: 16.80m, breadth: 5.18m, and depth: 2.38m. Bow, gunwales, keel . The bow has a characteristic large stem spar, which is often straight, but also slightly curved. This rises quite steeply, creating the possibility of a large forepeak, which is not always found. The ship has a long keel, so leeboards are not necessary. The stern is peaked. The ship is in the later examples (from the 17th century) built as a caravel, but there are early finds that were built in clinker construction (The ship was built in a heavy way, which would make towing possible. Another characteristic is the beautiful sheer and the absence of inward-sloping bulwarks. The bow of the ship is higher than the stern, to make working with nets at the stern easier. Behind the mast there is a large, clinker-built cabin .
Rigging: The ship carried a jib and a mainsail in the form of a spritsail . The jib was supported by the so-called curtain. This was a set of ropes from the forestay to the rigging, running parallel to the deck, against which the main jib could rest. An example of such a curtain can be seen on the gable stone on the house at Kalkmarkt 13 in Amsterdam . The jib is a botterjib, that is, the clew extends past the mast. A square-rigged sail could also be used. A square- rigged sail is taller than wide and is used on downwind courses.
The water ship was primarily built on the western side of the Zuiderzee, in Hoorn, Muiden, and Edam. It was used from Enkhuizen, Hoorn, Zaandam, Spaarndam, Uitdam, Amsterdam, and Marken. It was used as a fishing vessel with trawls, but also as a buyer of fish at sea from other fishermen. This fish was brought ashore alive in a hold. In the 14th century, it was even forbidden for fishermen to have a ship with a hold or a kaar.
Another function, made possible by the ship's sturdy construction and large mass, was that of a tugboat. The water barges were used to tow ships across shallows, through the mud. They were also deployed to tow ships in camel-hauled vessels across Pampus, the shallows off the IJ River near Amsterdam. With the construction of the North Holland Canal, completed in 1824, the camel-hauled vessels were no longer needed. The water barges, which were then used only as tugs, were also no longer needed. The last water barge was scrapped in 1827.
The ships were also used as warships, armed with 2 to 4 cannons, in the Eighty Years' War, but also as defense for the IJ during the French period (1794 to 1814) .
Nederland 2025; 1,0.
Sourses: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterschip.
The ship's approximate dimensions in 1614 were: length: 16.80m, breadth: 5.18m, and depth: 2.38m. Bow, gunwales, keel . The bow has a characteristic large stem spar, which is often straight, but also slightly curved. This rises quite steeply, creating the possibility of a large forepeak, which is not always found. The ship has a long keel, so leeboards are not necessary. The stern is peaked. The ship is in the later examples (from the 17th century) built as a caravel, but there are early finds that were built in clinker construction (The ship was built in a heavy way, which would make towing possible. Another characteristic is the beautiful sheer and the absence of inward-sloping bulwarks. The bow of the ship is higher than the stern, to make working with nets at the stern easier. Behind the mast there is a large, clinker-built cabin .
Rigging: The ship carried a jib and a mainsail in the form of a spritsail . The jib was supported by the so-called curtain. This was a set of ropes from the forestay to the rigging, running parallel to the deck, against which the main jib could rest. An example of such a curtain can be seen on the gable stone on the house at Kalkmarkt 13 in Amsterdam . The jib is a botterjib, that is, the clew extends past the mast. A square-rigged sail could also be used. A square- rigged sail is taller than wide and is used on downwind courses.
The water ship was primarily built on the western side of the Zuiderzee, in Hoorn, Muiden, and Edam. It was used from Enkhuizen, Hoorn, Zaandam, Spaarndam, Uitdam, Amsterdam, and Marken. It was used as a fishing vessel with trawls, but also as a buyer of fish at sea from other fishermen. This fish was brought ashore alive in a hold. In the 14th century, it was even forbidden for fishermen to have a ship with a hold or a kaar.
Another function, made possible by the ship's sturdy construction and large mass, was that of a tugboat. The water barges were used to tow ships across shallows, through the mud. They were also deployed to tow ships in camel-hauled vessels across Pampus, the shallows off the IJ River near Amsterdam. With the construction of the North Holland Canal, completed in 1824, the camel-hauled vessels were no longer needed. The water barges, which were then used only as tugs, were also no longer needed. The last water barge was scrapped in 1827.
The ships were also used as warships, armed with 2 to 4 cannons, in the Eighty Years' War, but also as defense for the IJ during the French period (1794 to 1814) .
Nederland 2025; 1,0.
Sourses: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterschip.