Toop (also known as toup, prauw toop or perahu toop) is a type of boat-ship produced in

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

. Appeared at the end of the 18th century, and built in local shipyards, this type of boat is one of the results of the incorporation of 'Western' and '

Nusantara Nusantara most commonly refers to: *Nusantara (archipelago), an Old Javanese term which initially referred to the conquered territories of the Majapahit empire, corresponding to present-day Indonesia *Nusantara (planned city), the future capital ci ...

n' technologies that began in the shipyards of the 17th and 18th European trading companies. This type of boat is commonly used for long-distance shipping. In the first half of the 19th century, this was the most common type of boat used by sailors and traders in Nusantara.Bruijn Kops, G.F. de (1854): 'Iets over de Zeevaart in den Indischen Archipel', Tijdschrift voor Nijverheid en Landbouw in Nederlandsch-Indië, 1, pp. 21-69. Majority of toop is owned by merchants from the western area of Nusantara.Liebner, Horst H. (2016). ''Beberapa Catatan Akan Sejarah Pembuatan Perahu Dan Pelayaran Nusantara''. Jakarta: Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.

Description

Java Amiral E Paris Pirogue de passage de Surabaya et Caboteur nomme Toup

Two to three masted, toop carries 2 similar trapezoid sail on the main mast and the fore mast; the sails are arranged in such a way that a toop can turn the bow towards the wind without lowering and moving the sail under the new wind, something very beneficial if beating to windward in a narrow place. The stern is equipped with European-style

fore-and-aft A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing vessel rigged mainly with sails set along the line of the keel, rather than perpendicular to it as on a square rigged vessel. Description Fore-and-aft rigged sails include staysails, Bermuda rigged sails, ga ...

sail, and there may be three or four small

headsail A sail plan is a description of the specific ways that a sailing craft is rigged. Also, the term "sail plan" is a graphic depiction of the arrangement of the sails for a given sailing craft.> In the English language, ships were usually describe ...

s attached to the bowsprit. The masts are not bipod or tripod, but only a single masts that was reinforced with shrouds similar to European masts attachments. Toop in general used for long-distance shipping and shows the much similarities with European design: The stern of many toop is quadrilateral ( transom), and the shape of the hull is more similar to European sailing vessels than Nusantaran boats. Most of these boats are made using the same technique with those used to build European ships: Attaching the framework to

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

first before the attaching the outer planking. The boat sometimes also carried

oar An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...

s, numbered between 16 and 20. Some of them also towed a sloop behind that could carry the entire crew. The presence of large sloop indicates that the toop is prepared to operate in areas without dock facilities that can facilitate loading and unloading activities. The hull of toop is decked at fore and aft. The square stern has ornamental carvings. At the aft there is a cabin which rises slightly above deck and covered with a roof inclined longitudinally. South Sulawesian toop had this cabin entirely below deck. In light loads, the upperworks at sides were raised with mats. A

cargo hatch 120px, View of the hold of a container ship A ship's hold or cargo hold is a space for carrying cargo in the ship's compartment. Description Cargo in holds may be either packaged in crates, bales, etc., or unpackaged (bulk cargo). Access to ho ...

is present abaft each mast. South Sulawesian prau toop only has 2 masts, the ones from Surabaya has taller masts. Détroit de Malacca Amiral E Paris Toup de Malacca

Détroit de Malacca Amiral E Paris Toup de Malacca

However, different illustrations and descriptions showed variations of toop's hull: There are European-type hulls, with rectangular sterns and middle (axial) steering; there are boats with bow similar to European ships, but using side steering (double quarter rudder) and stern decks similar to

padewakang Padewakang were traditional boats used by the Bugis, Mandar, and Makassar people, Makassar people of South Sulawesi. Padewakang were used for long distance voyages serving the south Sulawesi kingdoms. Etymology No-one quite seems to know the or ...

. The difference of hull forms suggests that the word 'toop' actually refer to the

sail plan A sail plan is a description of the specific ways that a sailing craft is rigged. Also, the term "sail plan" is a graphic depiction of the arrangement of the sails for a given sailing craft.> In the English language, ships were usually describe ...

, a combination of fore-and-aft 'Western' sails and two elevated rectangular sails that seems to be a variety of

tanja sail Tanja sail (Malay language, Malay: ''layar tanjak'') or tanja rig is a type of sail commonly used by the Austronesian peoples, Austronesian people, particularly in Maritime Southeast Asia. It is also known as the tilted square sail, canted rectan ...

s. The carrying capacity of toop is about 40–60 koyan (96.8–145 metric tons), the largest being 100 koyan (241,9 metric tons). There are toop which is favored by

Bugis The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawe ...

, the shape is look like a padewakang, but uses two to three masts whose rigging is European-styled, and carrying a kind of

spritsail The spritsail is a four-sided, fore-and-aft sail that is supported at its highest points by the mast and a diagonally running spar known as the sprit. The foot of the sail can be stretched by a boom or held loose-footed just by its sheets. A spr ...

. These boats are generally larger than padewakang, and only used for trading.Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië. v.16:no.2 1854. p. 364. Western hulled toop is favored by the Dutch to be armed in case of war. U.S. office of strategic service noted the dimensions of toop: A length of , breadth of , and depth of .

References

{{Indonesian traditional vessels Boats of Indonesia Boats Boat types Ships Sailing ships Ship types Indonesian inventions Sailboat types Merchant ships Two-masted ships Three-masted ships Four-masted ships

Description

See also

References