The first ever sailboat was probably accidentally made by someone sitting on a log in a river and using a canvas to catch the wind. But the first huge sailboat that we know about and could carry more than five people was the Egyptian sailboat from 3,200 B.C. This ship carried ten people in all and was used for fishing, trade, and hunting for crocodile and hippopotamus.
The ships were normally built from cedar wood imported from Lebanon, and long bolts were used through the wood to keep it in place. After that, they arranged a crosspiece of wood over the top and didn’t use any ribs for the side. They also used papyrus to cock the seams together.
The oars were not adhered in oarlocks, but held to the boat with ropes attached to a bronze top on the mast. The mast was usually built of conifer wood, and the rudder was built of juniper wood. The Egyptians used many different kinds of wood to build each sailing ship.
Some of the fishing boats where made out of papyrus because they where cheap to build and didn’t take a long time to construct. They built these ships out of papyrus by rolling them into long strands and tying them together. This is how they make the mast too. Papyrus is already watertight so they don’t need to cock it.
The largest of the Egyptian ships was the Royal Barge. It held 24 – 26 people. The king and queen of Egypt sailed on this ship when they went on voyages. When Egyptians saw the royal barge gliding down the river, they thought of the king and queen and they’re great influence and the blessings they brought to the earth.
The Egyptians kept crafting bigger and more improved ships until, in 30 B.C, Cleopatra died and there weren’t any more Pharaohs. Cleopatra married a Roman named Marc Anthony, and they committed suicide when the Romans attacked Egypt and succeeded in making it part of its Empire. There weren’t any more Egyptian Pharaohs after this.
– Captain Blog Beard
“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do then by the things you did do. So, throw off your bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain
