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Traditionally, many different kinds of boats have been used as
fishing boats A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to fishing, catch fish and other valuable nektonic aquatic animals (e.g. shrimps/prawns, krills, coleoids, etc.) in the sea, lake or river. Humans have used different kinds of surface vessels in commercial ...
to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Even today, many traditional fishing boats are still in use. According to the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...
(FAO), at the end of 2004, the world fishing fleet consisted of about 4 million vessels, of which 2.7 million were undecked (open) boats. While nearly all decked vessels were mechanised, only one-third of the undecked fishing boats were powered, usually with outboard engines. The remaining 1.8 million boats were traditional craft of various types, operated by sail and oars. This article is about the boats used for fishing that are or were built from designs that existed before engines became available. __TOC__


Overview

Early
fishing vessel A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to fishing, catch fish and other valuable nektonic aquatic animals (e.g. shrimps/prawns, krills, coleoids, etc.) in the sea, lake or river. Humans have used different kinds of surface vessels in commercial ...
s included
raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barre ...
s,
dugout canoes A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed-out tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (tr ...
,
reed boats 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 wit ...
, and boats constructed from a frame covered with
hide Hide or hides may refer to: Common uses * Hide (skin), the cured skin of an animal * Bird hide, a structure for observing birds and other wildlife without causing disturbance * Gamekeeper's hide or hunting hide or hunting blind, a structure to hi ...
or
tree bark Bark is the outermost layer of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines, and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consist ...
, such as
coracle A coracle is a small, rounded, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales, and also in parts of the west of Ireland and also particularly on the River Boyne, and in Scotland, particularly the River Spey. The word is also used for ...
s.McGrail 2004, page 431 The oldest boats found by archaeological excavation are dugout canoes dating back to the
Neolithic Period The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wid ...
around 7,000-9,000 years ago. These canoes were often cut from
coniferous tree Conifers () are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ex ...
logs, using simple
stone tool Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a ...
s. A 7000-year-old sea going boat made from reeds and tar has been found in Kuwait. These early vessels had limited capability; they could float and move on water, but were not suitable for use any great distance from the shoreline. They were used mainly for
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
and
hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
. The development of fishing boats took place in parallel with the development of boats built for trade and war. Early navigators began to use animal skins or woven fabrics for
sail A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...
s. Affixed to a pole set upright in the boat, these sails gave early boats more range, allowing voyages of exploration According to the FAO, at the end of 2004, the world fishing fleet included 1.8 million traditional craft of various types which were operated by sail and oars.FAO 2007 These figures for small fishing vessels are probably under reported. The FAO compiles these figures largely from national registers. These records often omit smaller boats where registration is not required or where fishing licences are granted by provincial or municipal authorities.
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
reportedly has about 700,000 current fishing boats, 25 percent of which are
dugout canoe A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed-out tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (tr ...
s, and half of which are without motors. The
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
have reported a similar number of small fishing boats. Traditional fishing boats are usually characteristic of the stretch of coast along which they operate. They evolve over time to meet the local conditions, such as the materials available locally for boat building, the type of sea conditions the boats will encounter, and the demands of the local
fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...
. File:Fishing boats at Pondicherry.jpg, These fishing boats in India conform to a local design. File:Vietnamese fishing boats.jpg, These fishing boats conform to a different local design in Vietnam File:Koh Tao Mae Haad longtails.jpg, Fishing boats in
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, at
Surat Thani Surat Thani (, ) is a city in Amphoe Mueang Surat Thani, Surat Thani Province, southern Thailand. It lies south of Bangkok. It is the capital of Surat Thani Province. The city has a population of 132,040 (2019), and an area of . The city's ...
, follow this style File:Thai fishing boats at the beach.jpg, Fishing boats in
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, at Bang Sen, follow another style
Artisan fishing Artisanal, subsistence, or traditional fishing consists of various small-scale, low-technology, fishing practices undertaken by individual fishermen (as opposed to commercial fishing). Many of these households are of coastal or island ethnic g ...
is small-scale
commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...
or
subsistence A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing and shelter) rather than to the market. Definition "Subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself and family at a minimum level. Basic subsiste ...
fishing, particularly practices involving coastal or island ethnic groups using traditional
fishing techniques Fishing techniques are methods for catching fish. The term may also be applied to methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs (shellfish, squid, octopus) and edible marine invertebrates. Fishing techniques include hand-gathering ...
and traditional boats. This may also include heritage groups involved in customary fishing practices. Artisan fishers usually use small traditional fishing boats that are open (undecked) and have sails; these boats use little to no mechanised or electronic gear. Large numbers of artisan fishing boats are still in use, particularly in developing countries with long productive marine coastlines.


Rafts

A
raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barre ...
is a structure with a flat top that floats. It is the most basic boat design, characterised by the absence of a
hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...
. The classic raft is constructed by lashing several logs, placed side by side, to two or more additional logs placed transverse to the others. In many Asian countries, the rafts are similarly constructed using bamboo. In shallow waters, rafts can be punted with a push pole. They can be used as stealthy platforms for fishing shallow waters around lakes. In sheltered coastal waters, anchored or drifting rafts can become effective
fish aggregating device A fish aggregating (or aggregation) device (FAD) is a man-made object used to attract pelagic fish such as marlin, tuna and mahi-mahi (dolphin fish). They usually consist of buoys or floats tethered to the ocean floor. Various types of FADs have be ...
s.
Payaos A payao is a traditional fish aggregating device from the Philippines. Payaos are traditionally floating rafts of bamboo anchored to the seafloor, with submerged weighted palm fronds beneath it. They were harvested using handline fishing, surface ...
were traditional bamboo rafts used in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
as aggregating device. Fishermen on the top of the raft used
handline Handline fishing, or handlining, is a fishing technique where a single fishing line is held in the hands, rather than with a fishing rod like the usual angling, of which handlining is a subtype. Handlining is not to be confused with handfishing, ...
s to catch
tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...
.
Pontoon boat A pleasure boat with two lengthwise pontoons A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on floats to remain buoyant. These pontoons (also called ''tubes'') contain much reserve buoyancy and allow designers to create large deck plans fitted w ...
s, and to some degree the punt, can be viewed as modern derivatives of rafts.


Reed boats

Boats, rafts and even small floating islands have been made from reeds. Reed rafts can be distinguished from reed boats, since the rafts are not made watertight. The earliest known boat made with reeds (and tar) is a 7000-year-old sea going boat found in Kuwait. The
Uros The Uru or Uros () are an indigenous people of Bolivia and Peru. They live on a still-growing group of about 120 self-fashioned floating islands in Lake Titicaca near Puno. They form three main groups: the Uru-Chipaya, Uru-Murato, and Uru ...
are an indigenous people pre-dating the
Incas The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The Inca civilisation rose fr ...
. They live, still today, on man-made floating islands scattered across
Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...
. These islands are constructed from totora reeds.
Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
Online
Lake Titicaca
Retrieved 12 July 2007.
Each floating island supports between three and ten houses, also built of reeds. The Uros also build their boats from bundled dried reeds. These days some Uros boats, used for fishing and hunting seabirds, have motors. Reed boats were constructed in
Easter Island Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...
with a markedly similar design to those used in Peru. Apart from Peru and Bolivia, reed boats are still used in
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
and were used until recently in
Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
.


Coracles

Coracles are light boats shaped like a bowl, typically with a frame of woven grass or reeds, or strong saplings covered with animal hides. The
keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...
-less, flat bottom evenly spreads the weight across the structure reducing the required depth of water often to only a few inches. Coracles have been used, and to a degree are still used, in India, Vietnam, Iraq, Tibet, North America and Britain. Coracles in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
are called "''
quffa A ''kuphar'' (also transliterated ''kufa, kuffah, quffa, quffah'', etc.) is a type of coracle or round boat traditionally used on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in ancient and modern Mesopotamia. Its circular shape means that it does not sail wel ...
''." Their history goes back to antiquity where they appear on Assyrian-era reliefs sculpted between 600 and 900 BC. These reliefs are now in the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
.
Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
visited Babylon in the 5th century BC, and wrote a long description of the coracles he encountered there. Traditionally, ''quffa'' were framed with
willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...
or
juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...
and covered with
hide Hide or hides may refer to: Common uses * Hide (skin), the cured skin of an animal * Bird hide, a structure for observing birds and other wildlife without causing disturbance * Gamekeeper's hide or hunting hide or hunting blind, a structure to hi ...
s or
reeds Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...
. The outside was then coated with hot
bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...
for waterproofing, although the inside could also be coated for larger vessels. These coracles have been in continuous use on the
Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...
and
Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...
rivers, particularly around
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, through the 1970s. Some of the Iraqi coracles are very large, with the largest reaching up to in diameter and being able to carry up to 5 tons. Coracles are known to have been in use in Britain in 49 BC when
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
encountered them. They are still used in
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, where they were traditionally framed with split and interwoven
willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...
rods, tied with willow bark. The outer layer was an animal skin, such as
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
or
bullock Bullock may refer to: Animals * Bullock (in British English), a castrated male cattle, bovine animal of any age * Bullock (in American English), a young bull (an uncastrated male bovine animal) * Bullock (in Australia, India and New Zealand), an o ...
hide, with a thin layer of
tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...
for waterproofing. Today tarred
calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...
or
canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...
, or simply
fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...
can be used. Different Welsh rivers have their own designs, tailored to the flow of the river. The Teifi coracle, for instance, is flat-bottomed, as it is designed to negotiate shallow rapids, common on the river in the summer, while the
Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...
coracle is rounder and deeper, because it is used in tidal waters on the
Tywi The River Towy (, ; also known as the River Tywi) is one of the longest rivers flowing entirely within Wales. Its total length is . It is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing. Route The Towy rises within of the source of the River Teifi ...
, where there are no rapids. Coracles can be effective fishing vessels. When operated skilfully, they hardly disturb the water or the fish. Welsh coracle fishing is performed by two men, each seated in his coracle and with one hand holding the net while with the other he plies his paddle. When a fish is caught, each hauls up his end of the net until the two coracles touch and the fish are secured. Many coracles are so light and portable that they can easily be carried on the fisherman's shoulders. File:Coracles River Teifi.jpg, Welsh coracle fishermen use a net to catch
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
on the
River Teifi The River Teifi ( ; , ), formerly anglicised as Tivy, forms the boundary for most of its length between the Welsh counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, and for the final of its total length of , the boundary between Ceredigion and Pembr ...
, 1972 File:Mandan Bull Boats and Lodges- George Catlin.jpg, Painting of North American coracles ( bull boats), c.a. 1832 File:India-TamilNadu-Hogenakkal-falls-Coracle-Cafeteria.jpg, Indian coracle on the
Kaveri river The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states o ...
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 135-BB-082-12, Tibetexpedition, Floß bei Chagsam.jpg,
Yak The yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox, hairy cattle, or domestic yak, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region, the Tibetan Plateau, Tajikistan, the Pamir Mountains ...
skin coracle in
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
, 1938
In North America, American Indians and frontiersmen made coracles, called bull boats, by covering a
willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...
frame with
buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...
hide. The buffalo hair was left on the hide because it inhibited the craft from spinning, and the tails were also left intact and used to tie bull boats together. Indian coracles commonly operate on the rivers
Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a Rivers of India, major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari River, Godavari and Krishna River, Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin i ...
and
Tungabhadra The Tungabhadra River () starts and flows through the state of Karnataka, India, for most of its course, then through Andhra Pradesh where it ultimately joins the Krishna River near Murvakonda. The Tungabhadra derives its name from two strea ...
in
Southern India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
. The smaller ones are about 6.2 feet (1.9 metres) in diameter, and are used primarily for fishing. Indian coracles have been used since prehistoric times. In
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
, coracles, used for fishing and ferrying people, are made by stretching yak hide over
juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...
frames, and fastened with leather thongs. They are shaped like the Iraq coracles. Yack butter is used for waterproofing. Again, different rivers have their own designs. Sometimes two coracles are strapped together for added stability. File:VIetnamese one-man fishing boat.jpg, Vietnamese one-man fishing coracle File:Vietnamese coracle fishing boat.jpg, Off to work File:Coracle fishing boats in Vietnam 02.jpg, Waiting for the tow at Mui Ne Beach File:Vietnamese fishing coracles 02.jpg, Being towed to the fishing ground. In
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, elegant coracles constructed with bamboo, are still used from many beaches, such as at
Nha Trang Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh District. The city had ...
, Phan Thiết and Mui Ne. The coracles are towed in a line behind a motor boat, like beads on a string, to their fishing ground. There the fisherman lay
fishing nets A fishing net or fish net is a net (device), net used for fishing. Fishing nets work by serving as an improvised fish trap, and some are indeed rigged as traps (e.g. #Fyke nets, fyke nets). They are usually wide open when deployed (e.g. by cast ...
in the sea. Later, another tow returns the coracle fishermen to the beach with their catch.


Canoes

A
canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...
is a small narrow boat, usually pointed at both bow and stern and normally open on top, though they can be covered. A dugout is a canoe hollowed from a tree trunk. The oldest known canoe is the
dugout Dugout may refer to: * Dugout (shelter), an underground shelter * Dugout (boat), a logboat * Dugout (smoking), a marijuana container Sports * In bat-and-ball sports, a dugout is one of two areas where players of the home or opposing teams sit whe ...
Pesse canoe The Pesse canoe is the world's List_of_surviving_ancient_ships , oldest-known boat. Carbon dating indicates that the boat was constructed during the early Mesolithic period between 8040 BC and 7510 BC. It is now in the Drents Museum in Assen, Ne ...
found in the Netherlands. According to C14 dating analysis it was constructed somewhere between 8200 and 7600 BC. This canoe is exhibited in the Drents Museum in
Assen Assen () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in ...
, Netherlands. Another dugout, almost as old, has been found at Noyen-sur-Seine. The oldest known canoe found in Africa is the
Dufuna canoe The Dufuna canoe is the world's second-oldest known boat. It is a dugout canoe discovered in 1987 by a Fulani cattle herdsman a few kilometers from the village of Dufuna in the Fune Local Government Area, not far from the Komadugu Gana River, ...
, constructed about 6000 BC. It was discovered by
Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...
herdsman in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
in 1987. During the
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
residents of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
used dugouts for fishing and transport. Two ancient dugouts discovered in
Newport, Shropshire Newport is a market town and Civil parishes in Shropshire, civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It lies north-east of Telford, west of Stafford, and is near the Shropshire-Staffordshire border. The 2001 Ce ...
are on display at
Harper Adams University Harper Adams University, founded in 1901 as Harper Adams College, is a public university located close to the village of Edgmond, near Newport, Shropshire, Newport, in Shropshire, England. Established in 1901, the college is a specialist provi ...
in Newport. In 1964, a dugout was uncovered in
Poole Harbour Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley ( ria) formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being th ...
,
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
. The
Poole Logboat The Poole Logboat is an ancient logboat made from a single oak tree. It was excavated in the town of Poole, Dorset, England. The boat is over 2,200 years old and is estimated through carbon dating to have been constructed around 200–300 BCE, ...
, dated to 300 BC, was large enough to accommodate 18 people and was constructed from a large
oak tree An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the Fagaceae, beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northe ...
. Best known are the canoes of the Eastern
North American Indians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...
. These, often elegant canoes, were not dugouts, but were made of a wooden frame covered with bark of a birch tree, pitched to make it waterproof. Typically canoes are propelled with
paddle A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened end (the ''blade'') used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered watercraft by p ...
s, often by two people. Paddlers face in the direction of travel, either seated on supports in the hull, or kneeling directly upon the hull. Paddles can be single-bladed or double-bladed. A
pirogue A pirogue ( or ), also called a piragua or piraga, is any of various small boats, particularly dugouts and canoes. The word is French and is derived from Spanish ''piragua'' , which comes from the Carib '. Description The term 'pirogue' ...
is a small, flat-bottomed boat of a design associated particularly with
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
n
fishermen A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...
and the
Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...
s of the
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
marsh. These are usually dugouts, and are light and small enough to be easily taken onto land. The design allows the pirogue to move through the very shallow water of marshes and be easily turned over to drain any water that may get into the boat. The pirogue is usually propelled by paddles with one blade. It can also be punted with a push pole in shallow water. Small
sail A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...
s can also be used. Outboard motors are increasingly being used in many regions. The log canoe of Chesapeake Bay is in the modern sense not a canoe at all, though it evolved through the enlargement of dugout (boat), dugout canoes. For stability in rougher waters, canoes can be fitted with outriggers. One or two small logs are mounted parallel to the main hull by long poles. In the case of two outriggers, one is mounted to either side of the hull. These are called outrigger canoes. Many of the fishing boats in Indonesia and the Philippines are double-outrigger craft, consisting of a narrow main hull with two attached outriggers, commonly known as ''jukung'' in Indonesia and ''banca'' in the Philippines. The jukung is of Balinese people, Balinese origin, one of many genre of Pacific/Asian outrigger canoes. The considerable stability provided by the outriggers means that the jukung copes well with a lateen (triangular) sail. While the lateen sail presents some difficulties in tacking (sailing), tacking into the wind, requiring a Jibe (sailing), jibe, the jukung is superb in its reaching ability and jybe-safe running. They are usually highly decorated and bear a marlin-like prow. A traditional catamaran consists of two canoes, or Vaka (sailing), vakas, joined by a frame, formed of Aka (sailing), akas. Catamarans were used by the ancient Tamil Chola dynasty as early as the 5th century AD for moving their invasion fleets. Since then, they have been widely used for fishing in South East Asia and Polynesia. Kayaks are generally differentiated from canoes by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. In a kayak the paddler faces forward, legs in front, using a double bladed paddle. In a canoe the paddler faces forward and sits or kneels in the boat, using a single bladed paddle. In some parts of the world, such as the United Kingdom, kayaks are considered a subtype of
canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...
. Continental European and United Kingdom, British canoeing clubs and associations of the 19th Century used craft similar to kayaks, but referred to them as canoes. File:0057-Ancient-British-Canoes-q75-500x225.jpg, Ancient British dugout canoe File:Great Andamanese - boats 1875.jpg, Andamanese
dugout canoes A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed-out tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (tr ...
, 1875 File:OjIBWE BIRCH BARK CANOE 1910 mINNESOTA.jpg, North American birch-bark canoe File:Catamaran india.jpg, Split log fishing canoe in India


Ropes and lines

The availability of reliable and durable ropes and lines has had many consequences for the development and utility of traditional fishing boats. They can be used to lash planks and frames together, as stay lines for masts, as anchor lines to secure the boat, and as fishing lines for making fishing nets. Ropes and lines are made of fibre lengths, twisted or braided together to provide Tension (physics), tensile strength. They are used for pulling, but not for pushing. Fossilised fragments of "probably two-ply laid rope of about 7 mm diameter" have been found in one of the caves at Lascaux, dated about 15,000 Before Christ, BC.J.C. Turner and P. van de Griend (ed.), ''The History and Science of Knots'' (Singapore: World Scientific, 1996), 14. Egyptian rope dates back to 4000 to 3500 BC and was generally made of water reed fibers. Other rope in antiquity was made from the fibers of date palms, flax, grass, papyrus, leather, or animal hair. Rope made of hemp fibres was in use in China from about 2800 BC.


Propulsion

Before engines became available, boats could be propelled manually or by the wind. Boats could be propelled by the wind by attaching
sail A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...
s to Mast (sailing), masts set upright in the boat. Manual propulsion could be done in shallow water by punt (boat)#Punting technique, punting with a push pole, and in deeper water by watercraft paddling, paddling with a
paddle A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened end (the ''blade'') used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered watercraft by p ...
or rowing (sports), rowing with oars. The difference between paddling and rowing is that when rowing the oars have a mechanical connection with the boat, while when paddling the paddles are hand-held with no mechanical connection. Canoes were traditionally paddled, with the paddler facing the bow of the boat. Small boats that use oars are called rowboats, and the rower typically faces the stern. Around 4000 BC, Ancient Egypt, Egyptians were building long narrow boats powered by many oarsmen. Over the next 1,000 years, they made a series of remarkable advances in boat design. They developed cotton-made sails to help their boats go faster with less work. Then they built boats large enough to cross the oceans. These boats had sails and oarsmen, and were used for war and trade. Some ancient vessels were propelled by either oars or sail, depending on the speed and direction of the wind (see trireme and bireme). The Chinese were using sails around 3000 BC, of a type that can still be seen on traditional fishing boats sailing off the coast of Vietnam in Ha Long Bay. A jangada is an elegant planked fishing boat used in northern Brazil. It has been claimed the jangada dates back to ancient Greek times. It uses a triangular (lateen) sail, which allows it to sail against the wind. A felucca is a traditional wood-planked sailing boat used in protected waters of the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean including Malta, and particularly along the Nile in Egypt. Its rigging, rig consists of one or two lateen
sail A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...
s. Image:Jangada-Tibau.jpg, Lateen-rigged jangada on the coast off Mossoró, Brazil Image:901 Felucca.JPG, Lateen-rigged feluccas at Luxor, Egypt Image:Madagascar - Traditional fishing pirogue.jpg, Traditional fishing lakana with distinctive Austronesian people, Austronesian Crab-claw sail from Madagascar File:Negombo 02.jpg, Square sail fishing boat from Negombo, Sri Lanka File:Vietnam junk.jpg, Small junk (ship), junk sailing in Halong Bay, Vietnam


Planking

Building boats from planks meant boats could be more precisely constructed along the line of large canoes than hollowing tree trunks allowed. It is possible that planked canoes were developed as early as 8,500 years ago in Southern California. By 30th century BC, 3000 BC, the Egyptians knew how to assemble lumber, planks of wood into a ship hull.Ward, Cheryl. "World's Oldest Planked Boats," in ''Archaeology (magazine), Archaeology'' (Volume 54, Number 3, May/June 2001). Archaeological Institute of America

They used woven straps to lash planks together, and Cyperus papyrus, reeds or grass stuffed between the planks to seal the seams. An example of their skill is the Khufu ship, a vessel in length entombed at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza around 2500 BC and found intact in 1954. File:African fishing boats.jpg, Fishing boats at Mbour, Senegal constructed along the lines of a large canoe using planks. File:Appikonda temple 07.jpg, Planked fishing boat on a beach near Visakhapatnam, India File:Uganda fishing boat.jpg, Planked fishing boat in Kasenyi, Uganda File:Fishing Boat BD1.JPG, Planked fishing boat on the beach of Narikel Zinzira, Bangladesh A further development was the use of Clinker (boat building)#Timbering or framing out, timber frames, to which the planks could be lashed, stitched or nailed. With the use of frames, it is possible to develop Carvel (boat building), carvel-style and Clinker (boat building), clinker-style planking (in the USA the term ''lapstrake'' is used instead of ''clinker''). Scandinavians were using clinker construction by at least 350 BC.Sawyer, Peter Hayes (2001
''The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings''
Page 183. Oxford University Press.
Carvel construction dates back even earlier. A luzzu is a double-ended carvel-built fishing boat from the Malta, Maltese islands. Traditionally, they are brightly painted in shades of yellow, red, green and blue, and the bow (ship), bow is normally painted with a pair of eyes. These eyes may be the modern survival of an ancient Phoenician custom (also practiced by the ancient Greeks); they are sometimes (and probably inaccurately) referred to as the Eye of Horus or of Osiris. The luzzu has survived because it tends to be a sturdy and stable boat even in bad weather. Originally, the luzzu was equipped with sails although nowadays almost all are motorised, with onboard diesel engines being the most common. File:Maltese fishing boats 02.jpg, Carvel built luzzu at Marsaxlokk, Malta File:Trenails.jpg, Building a carvel boat at Quee Ngon,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
File:Jantar.jpg, Clinker built fishing boats at Jantar, Poland, Jantar Beach File:Cambodian fishing boat.jpg, Decked fishing boat at Koh Rung Samleom, Cambodia


European boats

Boats in South East Asia and Polynesia centred on canoes, outriggers and multihull boats. By contrast, boats in Europe centred on framed and keeled monohulls. The Scandinavians were building innovative boats millennia ago, as shown by the many petroglyph images of Nordic Bronze Age boats. The oldest archaeological find of a wooden Nordic boat is the Hjortspring boat, built about 350 BC. This is the oldest known boat to use clinker (boat building), clinker planking, where the planks overlap one another. It was designed as a large canoe, 19 m long and crewed by 22–23 men using
paddle A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened end (the ''blade'') used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered watercraft by p ...
s. Scandinavians continued to develop better boats, incorporating iron and other metal into the design, adding
keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...
s, and developing oars for propulsion. Another Nordic shipfind is the Nydam Mose#Nydam Boat, Nydam boat, found preserved in the Nydam Mose bog in Sundeved, Denmark. It has been Dendrochronology, dendro dated to 310-320 AD. Built of oak, it is also clinker-built, is 23 metres long and was rowed by thirty men. By 1000 AD the Norsemen were pre-eminent on the oceans. They were skilled seamen and boat builders, with clinker-built boat designs that varied according to the type of boat. Trading boats, such as the knarrs, were wide to allow large cargo storage. Raiding boats, such as the longship, were long and narrow and very fast. The vessels they used for fishing were scaled down versions of their cargo boats. The Scandinavian innovations influenced fishing boat design long after the Viking period came to an end. For example, yoles from the Orkney Island of Stroma were built in the same way as the Norse boats, as were the Shetland yoals and the Sgoth Niseach, sgoths of the Outer Hebrides. In the 15th century, the Dutch developed a type of sea-going herring Drifter (fishing boat), drifter that became a blueprint for subsequent European fishing boats. This was the herring buss, used by Dutch herring fishermen until the early 19th centuries. The ship type herring buss, buss has a long history. It was known around 1000 AD in Scandinavia as a ''bǘza'', a robust variant of the Viking longship. The first herring buss was probably built in Hoorn around 1415. The last one was built in Vlaardingen in 1841. The ship was about 20 metres long and displaced between 60 and 100 tons. It was a massive round-bilged
keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...
ship with a bluff Bow (ship), bow and stern, the latter relatively high, and with a gallery. The busses used long drifting gill nets to catch the herring. The nets would be retrieved at night and the crews of eighteen to thirty menDe Vries & Woude (1977), pages 244–245 would set to gibbing, salting and barrelling the catch on the broad deck. The ships sailed in fleets of 400 to 500 ships to the Dogger Bank fishing grounds and the Shetland isles. They were usually escorted by naval vessels, because the English considered they were "poaching". The fleet would stay at sea for weeks at a time. The catch would sometimes be transferred to special ships (called ''ventjagers''), and taken home while the fleet would still be at sea (the picture shows a ''ventjager'' in the distance). During the 17th century, the British developed the Dogger (boat), dogger, an early type of sailing Fishing trawler, trawler or Longline fishing, longliner, which commonly operated in the North Sea. The dogger takes its name from the Dutch language, Dutch word ''dogger'', meaning a fishing vessel which tows a trawl. Dutch trawling boats were common in the North Sea, and the word ''dogger'' was given to the area where they often fished, which became known as the Dogger Bank.Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea, p. 256 Doggers were slow but sturdy, capable of fishing in the rough conditions of the North Sea.Fagan 2008 Like the herring buss, they were wide-beamed and bluff-bowed, but considerably smaller, about 15 metres long, a maximum beam of 4.5 m, a draught of 1.5 m, and displacing about 13 tonnes. They could carry a tonne of bait, three tonnes of salt, half a tonne each of food and firewood for the crew, and return with six tonnes of fish. Decked areas forward and aft probably provided accommodation, storage and a cooking area. An anchor would have allowed extended periods fishing in the same spot, in waters up to 18 m deep. The dogger would also have carried a small open boat for maintaining lines and rowing ashore. During the same period, small boats were also undergoing development. The France, French bateau type boat was a small flat bottom boat with straight sides used as early as 1671 on the Saint Lawrence River.Gardner 1987, page 18 The common coastal boat of the time was the wherry and the merging of the wherry design with the simplified flat bottom of the bateau resulted in the birth of the Dory (boat), dory. Anecdotal evidence exists of much older precursors throughout Europe. England, France, Italy, and Belgium have small boats from medieval periods that could reasonably be construed as predecessors of the dory.Gardner 1987, page 15 In Ireland, the Gandelow was used to fish for salmon in the River Shannon, Shannon estuary from the 1600s onwards. Dory (boat), Dories are small, shallow-draft (hull), draft boats, usually about five to seven metres (15 to 22 feet) long. They are lightweight versatile boats with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows, and are easy to build because of their simple lines. The dory first appeared in New England fishing towns sometime after the early 18th century.Chapelle, page 85 The Banks dory, Banks dories appeared in the 1830s. They were designed to be carried on mother ships and used for fishing cod at the Grand Banks. Adapted almost directly from the low freeboard, French river bateau, with their straight sides and removable thwarts, bank dories could be nested inside each other and stored on the decks of fishing schooners, such as the ''Gazela, Gazela Primeiro'', for their trip to the Grand Banks fishing grounds. In the 19th century, a more effective design for sailing Fishing trawler, trawlers was developed at the English fishing port, Brixham. These elegant wooden sailing boats spread across the world, influencing fishing fleets everywhere. Their distinctive sails inspired the song Red Sails in the Sunset (song), Red Sails in the Sunset, written aboard a Brixham sailing trawler called the ''Torbay Lass''. In the 1890s there were about 300 trawling vessels there, each usually owned by the skipper of the boat. Several of these old sailing trawlers have been preserved.Pilgrim's restoration under full sail
BBC. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
Throughout history, local conditions have led to the development of a wide range of types of fishing boats. The Nobby (boat)#Lancashire nobby, Lancashire nobby was used down the north west coast of England as a shrimp trawler from 1840 until World War II. The bawley and the Smack (ship), smack were used in the Thames Estuary and off East Anglia, while trawlers and drifters were used on the east coast. Herring fishing started in the Moray Firth in 1819. The Nobby (boat)#Manx nobby, Manx nobby was used as a herring Drifter (fishing boat), drifter around the Isle of Man, and the fifie were used as herring Drifter (fishing boat), drifters along the east coast of Scotland from the 1850s until well into the 20th century.


See also

* Boat * Fishing vessel * Maritime history of the United Kingdom * Ship


Notes


References

* Chapelle, Howard L. (1951) ''American Small Sailing Craft'' WW Norton Company, New York, * Fagan, Brian (2008) ''The Great Warming.'' Chapter 10:
''Bucking the trades''
Bloomsbury Press. * FAO: CWP Handbook of Fishery Statistical Standards
Section L: Fishery Fleet
* FAO (2007

State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. * Forman, Shepard (1970) ''The raft fishermen: Tradition & change in the Brazilian peasant economy'', Indiana University Press for International Affairs Center. * Gardner, John (1987) ''The Dory Book.'' Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic Connecticut. * Johnstone, Paul (1889
''The Sea-Craft of Prehistory''
Routledge. * McGrail, Sean (2004)
''Boats of the World: From the Stone Age to Medieval Times''
USA: Oxford University Press. . * (1997)
''The First Modern Economy. Success, Failure, and Perseverance of the Dutch Economy, 1500-1815''
Cambridge University Press,


Reading

* Adney ET, Chappelle HI and McPhee J (2007
''Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America''
Skyhorse Publishing. * Gerr, Dave (1995
''The Nature of Boats: Insights and Esoterica for the Nautically Obsessed''
McGraw-Hill Professional. * Smylie, Michael (1999) ''Traditional Fishing Boats of Britain & Ireland: Design, History and Evolution.'' Adlard Coles Nautical. * Smylie, Mike (2013
''Traditional Fishing Boats of Europe''
Amberley Publishing Limited. . * Traung, Jan-Olaf (1960
''Fishing Boats of the World 2''
Fishing News (Books) Ltd
Download PDF (99MB)
* Traung, Jan-Olaf (1967
''Fishing Boats of the World 3''
Kiefer Press.
Download PDF (56MB)
* Vigor, John (2004
''The Practical Encyclopedia of Boating: An A-Z Compendium of Seamanship, Boat Maintenance, Navigation, and Nautical Wisdom''
McGraw-Hill Professional. * Woodman, Richard (1998) ''The History of the Ship: The Comprehensive Story of Seafaring from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'', Lyons Press.


External links


The Uros People at GlobalAmity.net

Video tour of Uros floating fishing villages



Floating islands on Google Maps



Indigenous boats: Small craft outside the Western tradition





Indigenous sails
{{fisheries and fishing Reed boats Fishing vessels,