Line and Wash drawing of ships at sea.

Dutch merchant vessels called fluyts with smaller vessels at sea. The fluyt was a three-masted rounded stern merchant vessel. They were oddly designed, with a hull that was wide at the waterline, but that taped as it rose. This allowed the merchant to maximize cargo space while minimizing cargo duties (which were levied based on the width of the hull). They carried half the trade of Europe in the early 18th century.

Dutch merchant vessels were the most frequently seen shipping around Shetland in the early 19c.