Chaika (boat)

Chaika

Chaika boat (Beauplan's book "Description of Ukraine", 1660)
Development
Year	1500s
Role	Marine warfare/transportation
Boat
Crew	50 or 60
Draft	4 m (13 ft) (board down)
Hull
Type	Monohull
Construction	Wood
LOA	20 m (66 ft)
Beam	3.5 m (11 ft)

17th century woodcut showingZaporozhian Cossacksin chaikas, destroying the Turkish fleet and capturingCaffain 1616.

Achaika(Ukrainian:чайка,chayka,Hungarian:csajka,Polish:czajka,Serbian:шајка/šajka,Slovene:šajkaorplitka) was a wooden boat that could have amastandsail,a type ofgalley,used in early modern warfare and cargo transport by the:

• Zaporozhian Cossacksin the 16th–17th centuries inUkraineon theDnipro Riverand theBlack Sea.
• Serbsin the 16th-19th centuries on theDanube,known asŠajkaši,under theKingdom of Hungary,Austrian EmpireandHabsburgs.
• Slovenesfrom the 16th to the early 20th century on theDravaRiver.

Types

Austrian

Tschaika were either 24 m (79 ft) (Ganz ( "Full" ) Tschaika) or 12 m (39 ft) (Halb ( "Half" ) Tschaika) in length, operated bysailoroars.Between 30 and 50 men were in service, commanded by an officer, with a helmsman, an armourer, a drummer, two bowsmen, and up to 36 oarsmen.

Zaporizhian Host (Ukraine)

Presviata Pokrova,replica Ukrainian chaika in the Solent

Chaikas were between 18–20 m (59–66 ft) in length, 3–3.5 m (9.8–11.5 ft) in width, and 3.5–4 m (11–13 ft) in depth. The bottom of a chaika was carved out of a singletree trunk,with sides built out of wooden planks. To protect the boat from enemy guns or from sinking,reedbales were tied to thegunwalesof the boat. One such boat could carry around 50 to 60 men and up to 6falconets(small cannon). Some chaikas also had twosteering oars,so that the boat never needed turning around in order to switch direction.

A similar, but larger boat used by the Zaporozhian Cossacks for both transport and warfare was called abaidak.

External links

• The Viking "drakkar" and the Kozak "chaika"Archived2020-11-01 at theWayback Machine
• Media related toChaika (boat)at Wikimedia Commons