Wicker Vessels

Abstract

The coracle is over-emphasised. In the time of the Romans, Venetian planked boats may have traded to Britain. However, the locals, as Pliny remarks, used hide-covered osier-framed sea-going boats rather like the umiak, that can hold over twenty Eskimos.   The Irish, oared, sea-fishing curragh is a survivor of the type still in ordinary use in the 17c.   Capt. Phillips’s drawings of the large open curragh show the framing, sailing, rigging and the killick-anchor.   Pagan figureheads, mast-head talismans and saintly hut and cross are illustrated.   Light-weight robustness would make portage in tidal waters easier.

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Filed under: Atlantic | Antiquity | English Channel | Medieval | Irish Sea | Other (Early Modern) | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Leisure & Small Craft | Merchant Marines | Ocean Liners & Passenger Craft | Shipbuilding & Design