Fragments of the world’s earliest sailing craft, a reed boat, were found along the coastal area near the Kuwaiti city of Subiya. It is estimated to be 7,000 years old. The boat was made of reeds held together by rope and made water resistant through the application of a coating of bitumen, a substance derived from petroleum tar.
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The origin of the dhow stems from India and China, but it was used extensively throughout history as a means of transporting heavy loads along the trade routes of the Persian Gulf and the East African coast. The size of the dhow varied according to use, but they each had lateen sails, a triangular sail arrangement. They also differed from most other vessels by featuring a method of stitched construction. The hull boards were laced together with rope fiber as opposed to being fastened by nails, dowels or pegs.
