Flyboat

The flyboat (also spelled fly-boat or fly boat) was a European light vessel of Dutch origin developed primarily as a mercantile cargo carrier, although many served as warships in an auxiliary role because of their agility.

In 1588, the army of Alexander Farnese was blocked in Dunkirk by a fleet of 30 Dutch flyboats commanded by Lieutenant Admiral Justin of Nassau, preventing him from joining the Spanish Armada to invade England.

However, civilian Dutch vlieboten continued to be built and evolved during the 18th century into much larger cromsters (kromstevens), then flat coastal cargo ships up to 1200 tons.

Expecting the horse soon to tire, he hung on, but was amazed when the boat rose up onto its bow wave and shot off along the canal at high speed.

[9] Occurring a year after the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, this development sparked enormous interest in the canal world.

High-speed running of this kind is no longer permitted on UK canals, with a blanket speed limit of four miles per hour in the modern, leisure-dominated era.

[16] The design of the hull lines was finer and more streamlined than other narrowboats, limiting cargo capacity but increasing top speed.

[16] Time-sensitive cargoes such as cheese and other valuable produce paid a premium for the fast delivery,[16] which survived until the outbreak of World War I.