@frankieg Hi Frankie. It is GREAT to hear from you my friend - on my build logs you never have to apologize for "butting in" - you are most welcome. Thank you very much for the objective comments on Peter Fitzsimons's work as well as mentioning "Islands of Angry Ghosts", by Hugh Edwards as a further title. The one definitive book on a subject is always very difficult to find, so having more than one resource is always a good thing.
And then the pictures of the Batavia's longboat: They are simply INCREDIBLE!
These are by far the best pictures I have ever seen and will be an invaluable asset to anyone ever wishing to build the longboat.
Just as a means of clarification on the subject. Most of these Dutch ships came with two "small" boats. The smaller one of the two is accurately called a "chaloup" or "sloep" in Dutch. In English it is often referred to as a "skiff" but I am not sure how accurate or correct that is. The chaloup was stored onboard and was propelled by means of oars. The longboat on the other hand (the subject of your pictures) was towed behind the vessel and could also also use sails as means of motive power. Both these types of smaller boats were extremely hardy and on both the Batavia and the Haarlem they played major roles in providing a means for survival.
@Ab Hoving has researched both types extensively and has drawn beautiful and highly accurate plans of both types for the scratch-builder.
