Reed boat with goat hair sail – Available now
This dream boat was constructed from plans on a clay tablet from 2100 B.C.E. that detailed the necessary building materials. “The clay tablet was discovered in the ancient site of Tello, southern Iraq.” “Written in Sumerian, one of the earliest known written languages, it depicts a shopping list of materials including four different types of wood, palm reeds, hides, goat hair, fish oil and bitumen (tar).” The researchers constructed the boat using traditional Bronze Age tools and techniques. To create the outer hull, they gathered 15 tons of locally sourced reeds. They then soaked the reeds, stripped away their leaves, and crushed and tied them together with date palm fiber rope. Finally, the builders attached the reed bundles to the internal wooden frames and coated them in bitumen, a viscous liquid made from crude oil that helped waterproof the vessel.
“I felt as though we were breathing life into history, bridging the gap between the distant past and the present,” says project manager Tayla Clelland in a statement. “Seeing the Magan Boat sail on the water for the first time actually took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes.” Thousands of years ago, “Magan” was the name of a region located in what is now the United Arab Emirates and parts of Oman. A nearly 60-foot replica of a 4,000-year-old boat—complete with a sail made from goat hair—recently launched off the coast of Abu Dhabi. It journeyed 50 nautical miles in the Arabian Gulf, reaching speeds of up to 5.6 knots (6.4 miles per hour). A team of archaeologists and engineers designed the boat as part of a partnership between Zayed University and Museum and New York University. The replica is modeled after a vessel, which once facilitated trade with destinations such as Mesopotamia and South Asia.
“We gained a much deeper knowledge of the materials used to build such boats to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of these revolutionary craft,” says a maritime historian at Zayed University. “We also gained a much deeper appreciation for the ingenuity and courage of the ancient shipbuilders and seafarers of the Bronze Age.” Once the ship was complete, there was no guarantee that it would stay afloat at sea. 20 people worked to lift the sail and rigging; they, like the Bronze Age builders, did not use pulleys. “When we first towed the boat out from the jetty, we were very careful.” “I was very aware it was made from only reeds, ropes and wood—there are no nails, no screws, no metal at all—and I was afraid of damaging her.”
The ship was constructed by a team of Indian shipwrights who specialize in sewn boats and were therefore familiar with many of the techniques used by ancient Magan Boat makers. Working closely with the researchers, these traditional craftspeople created a seaworthy vessel capable of carrying up to 36 tons, based on ancient illustrations. “The vast majority of the vessel was built by hand using traditional tools such as chisels, adzes and wooden mallets.” Because pulleys and other modern rigging system didn’t exist back in the Bronze Age, a crew of more than 20 people was required to help lift the sail, which was made of goat hair.
“Overall it was easier to sail than expected.”
Boat building bonanza
A French guy showed me his yachts.
French guy: “This is Un. This is Deux. This is Trois. This is Quatre. This is Six.”
Me: “Where’s the 5th one?”
French guy: “Cinq.”
A Ukrainian sailor was drilling holes in a Russian oligarch’s yacht…
A police officer approaches the sailor and asks him what he is doing.
The sailor puts down the drill and says, “Oh, me? Uhhhm… as a matter of fact, I am here to bless the ship.”
The police officer looks skeptical, “You’re here to bless the ship?”
“Yes, that’s right! I am making it very holy.”
With Putin’s government, what game have the Russian oligarchs stop playing?
Yacht see.
July 29th Birthdays
1992 – Paulina Goto, 1966 – Martina McBride, 1963 – Alexandra Paul, 1983 – Ashley McBryde
1953 – Ken Burns, 1975 – Josh Radnor, 1973 – Wil Wheaton, 1981 – Troy Perkins