History of Sailing & Boat Types

It has been determined that the first sea-worthy ships were not even built by humans but by their evolutionary predecessors, Homo Erectus, nearly 800,000 years ago. This explains how they were able to spread across the planet. The mega sailing ships and cutting edge boats of today are direct descendants of those ships built by an extinct species so long ago. It is stunning to think of how far we have come while remaining tied to the water.

Since then, ships have been made of every conceivable material, and they were used to spread people around the globe before other types of transportation like airplanes came into use. These trusty vehicles are still valued and used for warfare, commerce, and recreational sports.

They are testaments to human ingenuity and perseverance. Over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, there have been many significant changes made to the way in which boats are made, sailed, and appreciated by the general public. This article will go over the different kinds of boats, historical events, and ships of significance and also a brief glimpse of current 21st-century sailing.

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Types of Boats and When They Originated

There have been many kinds of ships and floating transportation used throughout mankind's history. With so many years and different civilizations traveling by water to explore, trade, and wage wars, there have been a large number of boats for every conceivable purpose. As building materials improved through the ages, so have the designs of seaworthy ships.

Below is a timeline of the history of various types of boats and the advent of any significant shipping features.

Rafts

Most of the earliest boats were lashed together rafts of anything that would float (e.g., reeds, bamboo, balsa, and other woods, etc.). All of these types of rafts and small boats are still in use today around the world. There is no single geographical location that can be narrowed down for when and where rafts started as a means of water transportation.

Sailing Boats

The first sailing boats recognized by historians were those used by Egyptians in 4000 BCE. They were made of reeds and traveled the Nile using masts and sails.

Invention of Planks

It was not until around 3000 BCE, the Metal Age when tools were invented that allowed for the creation of planks that could be used in boat building. Planks made it possible to construct very large ships for war and trading. The first civilizations to use these types of larger ships were the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Egyptians. Egyptians at around 2500 BCE were starting to use larger ships to travel across the ocean.

Galley Ships

A galley ship is propelled by rowing and sails. These were quite common starting in 1550 BCE until the early 19th century. Originally, they were employed most notably by the Phoenicians. War galleys were quite popular until the late 16th century, after which they began to be phased out. These ships are most known for being warships but were also used for trade and piracy. The battle of Lepanto in 1571 is history's largest naval battle involving rowing ships and involved over 400 galley ships.

Long Boats

Common among the Vikings, these ships also used sails and rowers but were built to be much narrower and longer. They started being constructed for long-distance travel around 1000 AD. These amazing ships were created for exploration and conquest. Made with long overlapping planks and a single large mainsail, they were easily identified and were used to travel between Scandinavia and the coasts of France, Britain, and Spain.

Junks

The Chinese junk ships employed sails reinforced with bamboo for better aerodynamics, bulkheads to separate sections, and rudders. They came into common use around 1100 AD. In 1405 and until 1433 there were many trips across the Indian Ocean made by Zheng He who worked for the Ming emperor of China. These were exceptional craft for their time. The most massive junk ship was 150 meters long and had nine different masts.

Yachts

Invented in the 14th century by the Dutch, the yachts were mostly used by rich ship merchants who used these as personal celebratory vehicles. They were also used for a time by the Dutch navy.

Spanish Galleon

Unlike the galley ships that were mainly propelled forward using oars, the Spanish Galleon used enormous sails. They were so big that it took multiple people to take them in and out using thick ropes. They were used in the 16th century to transport goods to and from the Americas. These were also used by pirates and have become the iconic historical sailing ship in the media.

Steam Powered Ships

The world's first steam-powered ships were built in 1819 and were mostly used for transporting people and goods across the Atlantic Ocean.