Reed boat

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Anatol
Posts: 1037
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:13 pm

Reed boat

Post by Anatol » Sun Mar 08, 2015 2:49 pm

Reed boatbuilding is an occupation which has a long tradition and is found kept alive today by the Aymara and Uru boatbuilders on Lake Titicaca, high in the Andes of South America. Small vessels are also still built along the Pacific shores of Peru for coastal fishing. In Africa, reed boats are still in use upon Lake Chad whilst reed boats have a long tradition in what is now southern Iraq where in ancient times they reached giant proportions of some 495 feet according to Thor Heyerdahl. In the construction of reed boats it is important to note that this is a traditional craft handed down from generation to generation. Therefore there do not exist lines plans or drawings in the sense of constructing wooden boats or in modern materials such as fibreglass. The charm of the boat lies in the fact that it is constructed by traditional methods depending largely on the skills of the builder. The technique used for building a reed boat in the area of Lake Titicaca is the most ancient, and it is also very effective for navigation because it has remained constant and well defined in its operation resulting in a consistently stable craft. Totora reeds grow in South America, particularly around Lake Titicaca, and also on Easter Island. These reeds have been used by various pre-Columbian South American civilizations to build reed boats. The boats, called balsa, vary in size from small fishing canoes to thirty metres long. They are still used on Lake Titicaca, located on the border of Peru and Bolivia, 3810 m above sea level. The Uros are an indigenous people pre-dating the Incas. They live, still today, on man-madefloating islands scattered across Lake Titicaca. These islands are also constructed from totora reeds. Each floating island supports between three and ten houses, also built of reeds. The Uros still build totora reed boats, which they use for fishing and hunting seabirds.
Reed boats were also constructed using totora reeds on Easter Island. Intriguingly, the design of these boats closely matches the design used in Peru. The reed boat comprises two individual hulls or cylindrical cores which are bound together by attachment to a smaller central core using a single continuous rope in a spiral fashion thus forming a single united hull from the component reed cylinders. The boat is then equipped with accessories necessary for voyaging, like a sail, which can be made out of reed or fabric, two wooden (eucalyptus) masts which support the sail, and ropes or cords to manage the sail during use.The building of reed boats in totora on the island of Suriki is traditional, the technique used is thousands of years old and constitutes ancestral knowledge. Thor Heyerdahl gave this opinion on this technique of boatbuilding: "But they knew how to create boats from reeds and with a perfection which no engineer, naval architect or archaeologist of our modern world could emulate."
On the picture:Traditional reed boat on Lake Titicaca.
Uganda200…Ms(3x1000). Bolivia 2009;7,0bs;SG? Peru1973;SG198.
Source: http://www.atlantisbolivia.org/areedboathistory.htm. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_boat.
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Arturo
Posts: 723
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:11 pm

Re: Reed boat

Post by Arturo » Thu Mar 12, 2015 10:09 pm

Reed Boat

Reed Boats and Rafts, along with dugout canoes and other rafts, are among the oldest known types of boats. Often used as traditional fishing boats, they are still used in a few places around the world, though they have generally been replaced with planked boats. Reed boats can be distinguished from reed rafts, since reed boats are usually waterproofed with some form of tar. As well as boats and rafts, small floating islands have also been constructed from reeds.

The earliest discovered remains from a reed boat are 7000 years old, found in Kuwait. Reed boats are depicted in early petroglyphs and were common in Ancient Egypt. A famous example is the ark of bulrushes in which the baby Moses was set afloat. They were also constructed from early times in Peru and Bolivia, and boats with remarkedly similar design have been found in Easter Island. Reed boats are still used in Peru, Bolivia, Ethiopia, and until recently in Corfu.

Totora reeds grow in South America, particularly around Lake Titicaca, and also on Easter Island. These reeds have been used by various pre-Columbian South American civilizations to build reed boats. The boats, called balsa, vary in size from small fishing canoes to thirty metres long. They are still used on Lake Titicaca, located on the border of Peru and Bolivia, 3810 m above sea level.

The Uros are an indigenous people pre-dating the Incas. They live, still today, on man-made floating islands scattered across Lake Titicaca. These islands are also constructed from totora reeds. Each floating island supports between three and ten houses, also built of reeds. The Uros still build totora reed boats, which they use for fishing and hunting seabirds.

Near the south-eastern shore of Lake Titicaca lie the ruins of the ancient city state of Tiwanaku. Tiwanaku contains monumental architecture characterized by large stones of exceptional workmanship. Green andesite stones, that were used to create elaborate carvings and monoliths, originated from the Copacabana peninsula, located across Lake Titicaca. One theory is that these giant andesite stones, which weigh over 40 tons were transported some 90 kilometres across Lake Titicaca on reed boats

On the first stamp (Peru stamp) seen Lake Titicaca version of reed boat. On the second stamp (Iraqi stamp) seen Middleast version of reed boat (Chalabia).

For more info about Chalabia see topic: “Local Afloat Rafts of Iraq”.

Peru 1995, S.G.?, Scott: 1108.

Iraq 2002, S.G.?, Scott: 1673.

Source: Wikipedia.
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Arturo
Posts: 723
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:11 pm

Re: Reed boat

Post by Arturo » Sat Mar 14, 2015 9:13 pm

Reed Boat

Totora reed fishing boats on the beach at Huanchaco, Peru.

Peru 2002, S.G.?, Scott: ?
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Anatol
Posts: 1037
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:13 pm

Re: Reed boat

Post by Anatol » Sun Mar 15, 2015 1:00 pm

Re.Re: Reed boat
More info about the stamp of IRAQ see viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12950.

Arturo
Posts: 723
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:11 pm

Re: Reed boat

Post by Arturo » Wed Mar 18, 2015 10:20 pm

Reed Boat

More Reed Boat stamps

On the last picture an Urso man pulling his reed boat.

Bolivia 1916, S.G.?, Scott: 113.

Bolivia 1941, S.G.?, Scott: C83.

Peru 1986, S.G.?, Scott: 869.

Bolivia 1992, S.G.?, Scott: 865A.

Boilivia 1997, S.G.?, Scott: 1013.
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Arturo
Posts: 723
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:11 pm

Re: Reed boat

Post by Arturo » Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:07 pm

Reed Boat Ra II

See Topic: "Ra II (Thor Heyerdahl’s Reed Boat) 1970"

Barbados 1979, S.G.?, Scott: 489.
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aukepalmhof
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Re: Reed boat

Post by aukepalmhof » Wed Jan 27, 2016 10:11 pm

Mozambique 2009 175.000MT sg", scott?
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Anatol
Posts: 1037
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:13 pm

Re: Reed boat

Post by Anatol » Thu May 02, 2019 6:52 pm

Мicronesia 80c.
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