Gozo boat

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Maltese postage stamp depicting a Gozo boat

The Gozo boat is a Maltese type of boat. The Maltese term for boat is Dgħajsa . Due to its island location and various cultural influences, it represents its own form of a boat type. Other boat forms on Malta are fregatina and gondla

history

Gozo boats were common for centuries and were mainly used for transport between the islands of Gozo and Malta . Their form evolved during the 18th century from the Speronara even Speronare called. The Speronare was a small, uncovered sailing boat with a spritsail attached to a mast well forward. Its origins go far back in time. In the 19th century there were still some of these primitive boats on the coasts of Malta and Sicily. Two- masted speronaries were also called drahisfas . Few Gozos were built before the Second World War, and some of the very last units were built in the post-war period. The few surviving specimens have only been used for fishing in recent times. There are efforts to preserve the last Gozo boats for posterity.

Variants and terms

The shape of the boat has been adapted for different uses, which can also be found conceptually: ferilla (ferry), dghajsa tat-taghbija (cargo sailor), tal-pass (speed sailor ) and tal-latini (with Latin). Other well-known names are tal-madia and tal-moghdija . Until the 18th century, the terms speronara del Gozod and barca del Gozo were also used.

Construction

The hull, around 13 to 14 meters long and around four meters wide, is made of wood with crawler planking . The fore stem is vertical and strongly raised, the tapering stern is also raised and ends vertically with the tiller-guided rudder. The bulwark at the side can be raised with clip-on risers that protect against splashing water or waves. The traditional painting of the boats is strikingly colorful and often has a painted eye in the stern area ( spallieri ( stem ) or makrunetti (stern stem )).

The rigging of the two-masted ships consists of large sails and is reminiscent of older types of ships in the Mediterranean. In aft winds, the aft sail was raised to port and the aft sail to starboard. Sprietsail is the other type of sails used.

literature

  • Bathe, BW: Ship Models, 4: Foreign Small Craft . Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London 1966.
  • Emanuel Magro Conti: The Malta Maritime Museum Vittoriosa . Midsea Books Ltd., Santa Venera 2006, ISBN 99932-7-075-X .

Web links