Fluyt

The Fluyt or Flute is a strong military ship that is similar to the Galleon and is featured in Age of Empires III.

Game Info
The Fluyt is a slow, but powerful military ship that is able to stock soldiers and is also a type of Treasure Ship. The Fluyt is also very resistant to enemy building fire and can also train units for your army.

Real Info
The Fluyt was a type of sailing vessel first designed as a good cargo vessel. The Fluyt came from the Dutch in the Netherlands during the 16th century and the ship was used to send transoceanic delivery with the maximum of space and crew efficiency. The Fluyt usually carried up to 12 or 15 cannons for protection because it was an easy target for pirates. Soon the standard design of the Fluyt minimized or completely eliminated the available cargo space.

The Fluyt was credited in enhancing Dutch competitiveness in international trade, and was widely employed by the Dutch East India Company in the 17th and 18th centuries. However it gained such popularity beyond its native waters that it was soon in use by other sea faring nations.

The design of the Fluyts were similar to the early Galleons. The ship generally weighed 200-300 tons and was 80 feet long. The pear-shaped vessel had a large cargo bay near the waterline and a relatively narrow deck above. This was a way to avoid high taxes collected by Denmark in the Oresund, which was assessed based on area of the main deck. The Fluyt was square rigged with two or three masts. Masts were much higher than those of galleons to allow for greater speed. At times fluyts were also armed and served as auxiliary