Mokshan (ship type)

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The Mokshan ( Russian and Moksha Мокшан ) was a single type of ship from the 19th century. It was mainly used on the Mokscha , a tributary of the Oka in central Russia .

Model of a mochan

history

The ships were named after the Mokscha River. In the linguistic usage of the crews at that time, who came from the simplest of backgrounds, they were divided into male ships, the Mokshan (Russian Мокшан ) and female, the Mokschana (Russian Мокшана ). The masculine term was used most often. There are no precise explanations for this. The uncovered ship, driven by a sail, was also used to transport people and cargo on the rivers of central Russia, along with the Mokscha, on its tributary Zna and on the Oka and Volga from the beginning of the 18th to the end of the 19th century. The rivers were almost the only traffic routes, especially for bulk goods such as grain, as the road and path network was insufficiently developed and the railway network was initially very wide-meshed. The ship had a removable mast and a small square sail that could only be used when the wind was favorable. Down the river the boats drifted with the current. In spring, after the ice had melted, real convoys gathered on the river to carry out the not harmless and arduous journey together. Agreed signals were exchanged among each other in order to be able to provide mutual help in emergency situations.

The ships

She had a length of 16 to 30 yarn (russ. Морская сажень ) (29 to 54 meters) and a draft 2-3 arshin (russ. Аршин ) (1.4 to 2.1 meters). The load capacity is specified with up to 5 loads (10 tons). However, it could vary widely. The vehicles, built from roughly worked wooden boards, predominantly from spruce wood , were often very elaborately decorated in the rear area with carved pictures of fantastic monsters. In the middle of the Mokshan was a residential hut with a gable roof.

The bread caravan

In the 1840s, the so-called driving grain caravan on the rivers Zna , Moksha , Oka and Volga to the Corn Exchange for Rybinsk . 800 to 900 ships were loaded with bread grain every year at the mocha berths. For this purpose, workers were recruited in the winter before the ice began to prepare the ships for wintering and travel.

Up to 80 men and a pilot were required for the smaller ships, and up to 180 men and two pilots for the larger ships . The oldest on board was called Aquarius . With the beginning of spring, the ships were re-tarred, the joints caulked and the ships equipped and loaded for the journey. As soon as the ice drift was over, the caravan set off. Various flag signals were agreed to facilitate communication among each other, so a black flag meant that a ship had been damaged and the ship's association then stayed with this ship until it was able to continue.

The journey downriver on the Moksha to the mouth of the ignition took around ten days, the journey to Nizhny Novgorod (340 km) around two weeks. There all ships were equipped for the onward journey with the masts, sails and rigging that were stored in Nizhny Novgorod. For the trip to Rybinsk, more people were hired to tow . The journey lasted 25 to 40 days. The total distance covered by the Mokshane to Rybinsk was around 1050 kilometers and lasted up to two months. Some of the ships were reloaded in Rybinsk and returned to the moksha. On the Oka, Moschka and Zna the ships were hauled upstream with horses.

literature

  • Alfred Dudszus: The great book of ship types: Ships, boats, rafts under oars and sails, steamers, motor ships, marine technology. Pietsch Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-613-50391-3

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dudszus, p 182
  2. ↑ Nicolaas Witsen: Aaloude en hedendaagsche scheeps-bouw en bestier (Dutch and Latin.)

Web links