Cargo vessel; Bohatja

Scale: Unknown. A full hull model, which has a natural wood finish, of a bohatja or cargo vessel used on the River Indus (Pakistan, Asia). The hull is built plank-on-frame in a carvel style and is flat bottomed amidships with the bow and stern tapering and rising up towards the flat square ended deck. At the bow is a stepped foredeck with two vertical notched posts mounted on shallow wooden tapering baseboards. The cargo space is supported and protected by a raised rail on wooden and removable posts and a large single beam athwartships at its widest point. Access to the cargo hold is by a stepped gangplank and the framing consists of tall parallel floors with grown timber knees supporting the side planks. There is a substantial gunwale running the full length of the hull at deck level. On the aft bulkhead of the cargo hatch is rigged a double block, and together with a loose treble block is probably used for rigging the main halyard to raise the mainsail. At the stern is a split level deck with raised timber for supporting the tiller and the helmsman. The rudder is mounted on an extended skeg frame with a near vertical stern post which has been drilled with circular holes through which the rudder blade is lashed. The top of the stem head is notched to receive a rope lashing to control the height and angle of the rudder when rigged. There are also a pair of oars comprising of circular section shafts to which are lashed two flat rectangular blades through two sets of holes cut through in the top section. The rig consists of a single mast mounted on the deck and is supported by a pair of shrouds and a forestay. It is circular in section tapering towards the base and the top is completed with two sheaves supported by a cheek block on either side. The settee sail is lashed to a wooden yard which is circular in section and tapers towards its ends. The luff is complete with a bolt rope and rigging. The foot is loose and with the help of a wooden boom sets the sheet outboard over the stern.
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