Construction and Qualitative Analysis of a Sewn Boat of the Western Indian Ocean
Robert Adams
Thesis: December 1985
Chair: Bass
Nautical Archaeology Program
For thousands of years the boats that dominate coastal and international trade in the Western Indian Ocean were
built entirely without metal fasteners. These carvel, shell-first "sewn boats" were constructed with
only cordage for fastenings. When the Portuguese entered the Indian Ocean in the 15th century A.D., sewn-boat construction
gave way to western shipbuilding techniques. As a result very little information has been preserved to aid the
definition of the construction of these boats. A relic of these sewn boats of antiquity was the mtepe of
the East African littoral, which remained an oddity among the world's vessels until its extinction in the beginning
of the 20th century. The mtepe, with its matting sail and extensive decoration is regarded as one of the
last of the large sewn vessels of the Western Indian Ocean. Fortunately, nearly a dozen archival photographs and
several models of the mtepe have been preserved. These sources, along with previous publications, allowed
a comparative analysis to define the construction of the mtepe. After definition of the individual
construction features is accomplished a qualitative analysis of these components and the boat as a system is presented.
Results of the qualitative analysis show that in contrast to the rigidly constructed vessels built in the "western
boatbuilding tradition," the sewn hull was designed to be flexible.