= The Crayer (German: Kraier) =
The crayer, in German also known as Kreyer, Crayere or Kragere, is an ocean-going transport sailboat with friesian roots. This originally small mudflat ship came into being through developments in naval architecture and rigging to fill the gap between the still growing Cog and Holk and the smaller Snaikka and Schute. In the hanseatic charter there is a crayer from Stralsund recorded in the year 1407, which could carry 34 to 36 bales and had a single mast with a square sail. It also had a battlement cover, an aftercastle and a vaulted cabin. Therefore the ship could house four sailors besides the ship owner and a cabin boy.
In Wismar the first crayer is recorded in the year 1454. This ship had already two masts (foremast and mainmast) with square sails and a jib. The spanker had a gaff sail. From the 14th till the 16th century the crayer was mainly used in the Baltic Sea. In the 15th and 16th century there were also three-masted crayers sailing in the North Sea to Norway and the Netherlands. Advancements allowed capacities of 60 bales and a crew of 12 sailors. In the 'Baienfahrt' of the year 1411 a crayer was recorded to have 90 bales of salt loaded. This large variant often had a top and were referred to as 'Merskreier'. For the years 1421, 1458 till 1460 and 1475 there are recorded distinctions between the crayer with and without 'sonder mersse'.
Source: Günter Krause, Handelsschifffahrt der Hanse, 2010,  S. 150 f.