Analyse Dean was kind enough to forward a copy of her latest sailing creation to me, in the form of a popular type of Dutch barge called a skûtsje (which, I believe I’m correct in saying is pronounced skootshuh), a very unique sailing vessel with roughly 200 years of history and which today is prized as a houseboat, a unique sailing yacht and – perhaps most prominently – as a racing vessel.
The skûtsje was specifically a product of Dutch Frisia, first built in the 18th century (with construction of new vessels continuing through into the early 20th century), for the express purpose to hauling a wide range of goods designed to transport goods to and from what is now called the province of Friesland and major commercial centres such as Amsterdam and also to / from the Wadden Sea Islands.
To achieve this, skûtsje tended to have unique features: large forward cargo holds, cabins to the stern, a shallow draft, flat-bottomed and keelless hull, whilst being narrow of beam (no more that 4m) and with a maximum length of about 20m (the latter two being dictated by the inland waterways and locks they had to navigate.
All of this is very much captured within Analyse’s Bandit Skûtsje. At 23.5 metres, bow-to-stern and roughly 4.4 metres at the beam, it is scaled a little larger than an actual skûtsje – but is nevertheless properly proportioned and suitable for most SL avatar builds. It has the familiar bluff bow and stern, large rudder and paddle-like leeboards mounted on either beam, all found within the original. A capacious hold (potentially marking the skûtsje as ideal for participation in Get the Freight Out) occupies most of the length of the hull, with a low-slung, simple cabin to the stern.
As is typical with Bandit designs, the vessel offers a choice of control options – keyboard, local chat, HUD options – to give the widest choice and combination of controls to owners when sailing. It is powered by the latest generation BOSS5 Dynamic Sailing engine, developed by Analyse and Dutch Mainsail, which gives a pleasingly smooth ride, the vagaries of Second Life allowing. Also like its physical world namesake, the Bandit Skûtsje is propelled by two sails: a gaff-rigged main sail and a jib. Both may seem oversized for the vessel, but this is in keeping with the type, their large size allow the vessel to better handle the wide range of sailing conditions (inland waterways, coastal exposed coastal shallows and the Zuiderzee), with which it had to contend.
It terms of that sailing, the Bandit model acquits itself with aplomb; it is surprisingly responsive to the tiller (although those more familiar with directing a boat using a wheel may have to go through a period of adjustment) and does tend to handle region crossings with ease. It also includes a couple touches from the original which add to the experience of sailing it. The first of these is the pair of very prominent leeboards mentioned above.
Intended for use individually, and according to need, leeboards were once in common use with boats operating in shallow waters, where a conventional keel often could not be used and vessels needed to be flat-bottomed. In short, they are designed to act in a similar manner to the central keel on sailing boat to both minimise the lateral motion of the vessel under sail (i.e. having the wind push it sideways) and to counter the roll (heel) that lateral force might induce, and which might threaten to capsize it. With the Bandit version the leeboards can be deployed as the boat heels, helping to maintain headway and speed – although they can also induce additional drag if used incorrectly, so practice in their use may be required.
The second touch is that the Bandit Skûtsje relies solely on wind for its primary means of propulsion; there is no engine to fall back on. This is again in line with the vast majority of physical world skûtsje, and means that when the sails are furled, it must be literally manhandled – punted along in the required direction using a “skûtsje pole” – one of which is supplied with the boat and can be attached to an avatar for use when required. This can make trying to moor the boat a challenge – particularly given it again reflects its physical world counterpart in having inertia – but it also adds a new dimension of fun to manoeuvring it sans any use of the sails.
A further novel aspect to the skûtsje is that for a good part of its life the type has been used for racing. This appears to have started fairly early on in the boat’s history, and may have naturally sprung out of commerce-driven competition between working boat owners. However, by the 19th century, races offering prize pots were being organised.
These regatta – called Skûtsjesilen – have a long and colourful history of their own, and they continue to this day, formalised by the Sintrale Kommisje Skûtsjesilen (SKS) since 1945. More recently – since 1981 and thanks to the growing popularity of restored skûtsje as pleasure craft / houseboats – by the Iepen Fryske Kampioenskippen Skûtsjesilen (IFKS). Such is the nature of these races, enthusiasts have even been known to convert their vessels so that for most of the year they can be used as a sailing home, but come the regatta season, entire cabins and all unnecessary weight can simply be removed from the cargo hold space, leaving a lean, clean boat available for racing.
This aspect of the skûtsje is also available to the Bandit version, thanks to the inclusion of a No Modify version of the barge specifically designed by Analyse to be raced; it is supported by a racing pack, allowing owners to organise races among themselves and set-up courses – although it would be nice to think a group similar the one formed for racing Bandit Folkboats (and which I blogged about way back in 2015!) might come into being.
At L$3750 (and that the time of writing, only available in-world but this may yet change), the Bandit Skûtsje is well-priced given the overall package. As well as all of the items mentioned above – two versions of the boat, the HUD (which can be used with either), skûtsje pole, and racing kit, the package also includes a textures set for re-texturing and customising the boat (just download the required PNG files and modify them), a collection of national ensigns for re-texturing the boat’s flag, a 20 LI display model of a skûtsje in full sail (supplied No Mod), a stand for mounting the boat when it is out of the water and a very comprehensive user guide which also offers a concise history of the skûtsje.
My thanks to Analyse for her generosity in providing me with a copy of the Bandit Skûtsje. I’ve had fun learning to get to grips with it – even to the extent of blue water sailing around and round Blake Sea – and have found it to be a lot of fun! So, if you’re interested, hop along to Dutch Harbor and try-out the demo version there for yourself!
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 