The main body of the raft was composed of nine balsa tree trunks up to 13.7 metres (45 ft) long, 60 cm (2 ft) in diameter, lashed together with 3.175 cm (1¼ inch) hemp ropes. Cross-pieces of balsa logs 5.5 m (18 ft) long and 30 cm (1 ft) in diameter were lashed across the logs at 1 m (3 ft) intervals to give lateral support. Pine splashboards clad the bow, and lengths of pine 2.5 cm (1 inch) thick and 60 cm (2 ft) wide were wedged between the balsa logs and used as centerboards.
The main mast was made of lengths of mangrove wood lashed together to form an A-frame 8.8 m (29 ft) high. Behind the main-mast was a cabin of plaited bamboo 4.2 m (14 ft) long and 2.4 m (8 ft) wide was built about 1.21-1.51 m (4-5 feet) high, and roofed with banana leaf thatch. At the stern was a 5.8 m (19 ft) long steering oar of mangrove wood, with a blade of fir. The main sail was 4.6 m by 5.5 m (15 by 18 feet) on a yard of bamboo stems lashed together. Photographs also show a top-sail above the main sail, and also a mizzen-sail, mounted at the stern.
The raft was partially decked in split bamboo. The main spars were a laminate of wood and reeds and Heyerdahl tested more than twenty different composites before settling on one that proved an effective compromise between bulk and torsional rigidity. No metal was used in the construction. Berney t
A raft
Kon Tiki was a Norwegian raft that is made up of balsa wood and is extremely lightweight. It allowed for different expeditions into the Pacific in the 1900's.
Kon-Tiki
The Kon-Tiki.
Thor Heyerdahl's raft the Kon Tiki was made from nine balsa wood tree trunks. The trunks were up to 45 feet long. It proved that a primitive raft could cross a large expanse of ocean.
No. Heyerdahl sailed from Peru to Polynesia on the raft Kon-Tiki. Later he sailed from Egypt to the Caribbean on a raft called the Ra.
Thor Heyerdahl built the Kon-Tiki in 1947. He had a theory that a similarly built raft brought settlers from South America to the Polynesian islands. He wrote a book of the same name.
On his voyage from South America to Polynesia, his raft was called the Kon-Tiki. On his voyage from Egypt, he used a raft called the Ra.
balsa tree trunks
Thor Heyerdahl led the Kon-Tiki expedition. He and his crew set out in 1947 from Peru to sail across the Pacific Ocean on a balsa wood raft to prove that it was possible for ancient South Americans to reach Polynesia. The expedition was successful, and it provided evidence for Heyerdahl's theory.
Kon-Tiki Museum was created in 1949.
The famous Norwegian who sailed the raft Kon-Tiki was Thor Heyerdahl. Thor was an explorer and writer who sailed from South America to the Polynesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean in 1947.