Used in Bolivia and Peru, the BALSA is a general term applied to several models of reed boats used on Lake Titicaca and nearby lakes. The lengths are between 1.8 to 8 meter.
Vary from 1-man craft composed of 2-cigar-shaped bundles to sturdy 5-bundles balsas; the largest are produced by the Uru of the Bay of Puno in the northwestern part of the lake. When large loads must be transported, 2 boats may be lashed together with a platform between to form a catamaran, or very long boats are used to provide extra buoyancy. Large BALSAS may have a mat shelter. The bundles, all of the giant totora sedge, may be 30cm in diameter; bound into shape with braided rope of ichu grass. On some, a thin tubular roll wedged between the 2 large rolls creates a “keel” and a small tube on top of each large roll forms “gunwales”. The Uru peoples lash the 2 main bundles to a thinner “keel” and not to each other.
Bow and stern designs vary with tribal custom and the number of bundles that make up the boat; some ends blunt, others rake up smartly to a point; some turn up sharply and are then cut off blunt, and still others turn up and recurve slightly. Curvature achieved solely by gradual shaping and lacing.
Propelled by double bladed paddles, a trident-ended pole, or sail. The multipiece mast is usually an inverted “V”, with the lower ends resting on the top bundles secured by lashings, and stayed by another pole; some masts rake sharply forward. The lugsails are of reeds, with top and bottom yards, and may be rectangular, trapezoidal, or hexagonal; the thicker bottom ends of the reeds are aligned to form the leech. Many now use cloth sails. A short oar, tucked under the helmsman’s leg, serves as a rudder when sailing.
A 5.5 meter long BALSA has a beam of 1.32 meter and a depth of 0.66 meter.
Peru 1994 2s sg1855, scott1108.
Copied from Aak to Zumbra, A Dictionary of the World’s Watercraft.