The Painting shows a Shipyard & Boat House off the River Thames at Deptford. The 17th century Private Yacht or Admiralty Yacht depicted in the foreground was mainly used for the river , it is gaff-rigged and a sloop since single masted. The barge in the foreground has the long rudder characteristic of Thames upstream barges as well. The Yard has a lot of stacked Wood in various lengths arranged in the vicinity a phenomena you would expect to see in any busy shipyard of this period.
The ensign might be a St George cross or an white ensign with the red St George in the upper quadrant (which would technically imply 'Royal Naval') this is unlikely since the standard naval form was red unless the vessel was part of a white squadron- which this is not; however if it was a personal property of a flag officer 'of the White' at the time then this may show a Private boathouse of a Flag Officer of the White on the banks of the River Thames.
Jacob Knijff (January 1, 1639, Haarlem – 1681, London), also written Jacob Knyff, was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
According to Houbraken he was the teacher of Johannes Gottlieb Glauber in Paris in 1671, where he attended the funeral of Nicolaes Berchem II on January 4, 1672. He was the son of the painter Wouter Knijff and the older brother of painter Leendert Knijff, and is known for painting landscapes and seascapes.