Shitik

Shitik (Russian: Шитик) is a small broad-bottomed vessel in which parts of the hull have been sewed with belts or juniper and fir-tree rods (named vinya Russian: Виня). There are two basic explanations for the origins of the name of these boats:

Overview

The term Shitik refers to two different vessel types:

Sea Cargo Ship

The Shitik was a keeled vessel, powered by sail and oars. It was used as a sea trade and transport ship. The ship has a rounded off bottom and therefore a considerable expansion of the hull and disorder of boards. This improved the ship's performance.

Shitik had a single mast with a direct sail, oars and a hinged wheel. The vessel had a canopy to protect cargo from the rain; below deck there was a bunkhouse.

The underwater contours of the vessel allowed it to navigate in ice: when compressed it was squeezed out onto the surface. When docking the ship and hauling the anchor, there was an assisting vessel, which helped the crew with these tasks, an osinovka boat.