The large Frisian Tjalk was mainly used for navigation on all Dutch waterways, although they were also specifically built for coastal navigation. Their load capacity was usually between 80 and 120 tons. In comparison to the Groninger Tjalken, the Frisian ones are more elegant. The bow and stern are more cut away, which makes the sailing properties generally better. However, it is not true that the Frisian Tjalk is faster by definition than the Groninger Tjalk. Depending on the shipyard, there are certainly differences in elegance and speed to be observed. Furthermore, the skipper who had a ship built determined whether the emphasis was on speed or load capacity.
A striking feature of Frisian tjalken is that the skin plates in front and back are very narrow, while the transoms are at an angle at the bow and stern. The rigging usually consisted, as usual for ships in the inland navigation, of one mast with a mainsail (with straight gaff), jib and yankee.
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