This is how people in Amsterdam got the idea to create a facility for repairing ships without careening, like Rotterdam, Den Helder, Vlissingen and Hellevoetsluis had.

[3] This was and is quite effective, but it proved a shaky solution for the massive pressures that a graving dock faced.

The American dry dock drew the attention of Jan Daniel Diets,[4] ex-captain of ships to the West Indies.

He bought the plans of the American floating dry dock via Gilbert's agent John G. Cushman, commander of the ship Francia.

This company was (at least later on) known as Reederij van de Drijvende Droogdokken (shipping line of the floating drydocks).

Diets, acting on behalf of the board, convened a meeting of participating shipping line owners on 18 January 1847.

The meeting was to take place in the Doelen on Garnalenmarkt, and to name a replacement for the deceased Jonkheer Pieter Hartsen.

[9] On 24 February 1847 the Reederij der Drijvende Droogdokken obtained a prolongation of its license of 16 December 1841 till the end of 1849.

[10] In 1851 the two dry docks in the Oosterdok and the drydock in the Westerdok together serviced 148 ships, totaling 72,000 tons.

The second reason is that from the opening of the North Sea Canal in 1876, the ships that visited Amsterdam became bigger.

[22] On 6 January 1902 Reederij der Drijvende Droogdokken auctioned its three wooden dry docks moored in the Oosterdok.

[25] On 20 March 1902 he founded the public company De Droogdokken in het Oosterdok NV, with a capital of only 50,000 guilders.

[32] After the liquidation of Hera, the shareholders of Droogdokken in het Oosterdok NV, had to decide about their company.

The main difference is that wooden drydocks were basically rafts that were lowered by pumping water in and out of the superstructure on the sides.

Engineer van Oordt gave a description of the third floating dry dock in Amsterdam.

According to the plan it was to be made of pine planks that were 60 cm longer than the total beam of the dock, so they would not split from nails and bolts.

For this Narva beams of 28 by 30 cm were used (Dutch: Nerva Balken), obviously a special kind of wood.

[46] For contemporary frigates Oordt, thought that the water would stay 80–90 cm above the raft of a suitable wooden dry dock.

Depth of hold was 22 Amsterdam feet 6.228 m. The raft was 1.132 m high, making that the whole dock had a draft of 56.6 cm when empty.

[48] According to Van Oordt the dry dock was 48.10 m long, had a beam of 18.70 m and a depth of hold of 6.50 m. Still according to him it had a draft of 1.00 m and carried 160 lasts ballast.

[50] On 6 August the dry dock stoom-drijfdok was launched from the Oude Compagnie-werf,[51] probably meaning the old VOC shipyard at Oostenburg Island.

[49] The first ship serviced was the frigate Koning Willem II, belonging to J.P. Janette Walen.

They then ordered Diets to supply the wood for a floating dry dock of 212 Amsterdam feet (28.3133 cm) length (60 m).

It was made by Hendrik Vettewinkel (1809-1878), and is thought to show the visit of King William II of the Netherlands to the dry dock.

There was music, everything was decorated with flags, and the king was rowed to the dry dock in the Koningssloep (royal boat).

Jansen of the coppered Barque Ellida (394 ton), trading to the north, made a remarkable report.

What was remarkable, was that the captain stated that the seams closed up once the barque stood dry on the dock.

[58] Amsterdam Wooden Drydock II was the second dry dock built for Reederij der Drijvende Droogdokken, and was stationed in the Westerdok.

[59] It was the second dry dock that Reederij der Drijvende Droogdokken stationed at Dijksgracht in the Oosterdok.

The fourth dry dock of Reederij der Drijvende Droogdokken was completed in June 1857.