The 136ft Charter ships

The middle-sized ship built as part of the First Anglo-Dutch War building program was 136ft long. Their nominal dimensions were:

Length from stem to sternpost:  136ft
Beam:                            34ft
Hold:                            14ft
Length on the keel:             113ft
Height between decks:             7-1/2ft

Pieter Florissen's flagship Jozua was a prominent member of this charter. The Jozua was apparently completed in 1654 (or was it 1655?), and was mentioned obliquely in the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654, in July. Of the 64 ships included in the First Anglo-Dutch War building program, 15 ships were to be built to the 136ft Charter. Seven were to built in what Dr. Elias called increment III and eight were in increment IV. Rotterdam was to build some 134ft-long ships and no 136ft ships. The actual dimensions seem to have varied:

Adm Ship              Date  Dimensions 
N   Gelderland        1654  136ft x 36ft x 13-1/2ft
Z   Hof van Zeeland   1653  136ft x 34ft x 13-3/4ft
A   Huis Tijdverdrijf 1655  136ft x 34ft x 14ft
N   Jozua             1654  136ft x 34ft x 14ft
A   Stad en Lande     1653  136ft x 34ft x 14ft

Their armament varied considerably over time:

Date  Adm Ship          Guns
1654  N   Jozua         4-brass 24pdr,18-18pdr,10-12pdr,10-8pdr,4-6pdr,4-4pdr
1666  N   Jozua         18-brass 18pdr,8-brass 12pdr,10-brass 8pdr,2-6pdr,6-4pdr,2-3pdr,2-2pdr,4-unknown
1654  A   Stad en Lande 4-brass 18pdr,18-18pdr,4-brass 8pdr,16-8pdr,6-brass 6pdr drakes
1666  A   Stad en Lande 22-18pdr,22-8pdr,16-3pdr

The arming plan for the Stad en Lande in 1666 seems pretty strange, in that they got the number of guns up to 60 by putting on 16-3pdr guns of little weight and effect. Sources:

1. Johan E. Elias, De Vlootbouw in Nederland 1596-1655, 1933
2. H.A. van Foreest and R.E.J. Weber, De Vierdaagse Zeeslag 11-14 Juni 1666, 1984
3. Ron van Maanen, "De Dutch in Danish Waters", undated
4. Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654, 1654