Oak & Iron Ship Review: Fluyt

Historical Background

Oak & Iron Fluyt Ship thumbnail — Fluyt Miniature

The Fluyt was a class of ship designed and built by the Dutch to be an inexpensive cargo vessel. The design has a wider, pear shape giving it a lower displacement. Built for shipping it originally eliminated many of the standard naval armaments to maximize. Cargo space. These vessels were roughly 80 ft long and weighed 200-300 tons. It quickly became the mainstay of the East and West Dutch Indies trading companies making it one of the most common vessels built in the 17th century.

Fluyt Ship Analysis

Ship Abilities
Attribute	#2	#3
Maneuverability		50%
Speed		50%
Durability		57%
Firepower	38%
Brawling		50%

Fluyt Ship Overview & Tactics

The Fluyt is the smallest ship that has the High Freeboard ability, which is helpful to keep your crew’s Fatigue low. It is also one of the smallest ships with a Fortitude of two. Combining those two attributes with the fact that the ship is fairly swift makes it viable for use in a boarding-focused squadron. The Fortitude will let you close on most ships of the line without as much risk of being crippled or sinking.

There are three ships in this bracket of ships: a Fluyt, Petite Frégate, and 6th Rate. Each has its own specialty. With its High Freeboard, the Fluyt better protects the crew from Fatigue. The Petite Frégate focuses on speed and maneuverability. And the 6th rate focuses on firepower and the options to increase its durability for ranged combat.

The wider shape and lower displacement of the ship give it a Shallow Draft allowing it to sail through shoals with only a 12.5% chance of running aground.

If you have one of the original boxed sets, you should note that the point cost of the Ship has been increased from 11 pts to 13 pts and the Additional Crew upgrade is increased from 2 to 4 in the v.1.01 rulebook.

Pros

Good durability for the point cost and it can take Stout and Additional Crew to push it even higher
For its size, it’s fairly maneuverable.
High Freeboard keeps your crew from taking Fatigue
This ship is excellent for use in a Dutch squadron and paired with the Lured into the Shoals Initiative Card
Good choice in 50 pt games as it has high all-around stats at that point level.
As the cheapest ship with a Fortitude of 2, it is also a good option for the Fire Ship upgrade in larger point games, as it has greater survivability when closing on the enemy.

Cons

It is kind of stuck in the middle of being a small ship and a light frigate.
It doesn’t excel at any one element so it is difficult to specialize its purpose in squadron building.
The ship doesn’t have many core upgrades available to the ship itself.
In 200 pt games, it lacks the firepower to make it effective against Ships of the Line.

Fluyt Miniature Gallery

Here is a collection of photos of the Fluyt miniature. You can visit our Oak & Iron gallery for more photos and user-painted minis for additional ideas on painting your own minis.