I know I already sort of covered this one, but I am starting out at the beginning. Sort of a history of the term and the development of what we know as a ship today. The first know boats were rough canoes dating from 10,000 BC. These were cut from coniferous tree logs, using simple stone tools. The amount of work required to make one of these must have been amazing. Any of us who have cut a tree down with a sharp steel axe can only imagine how hard it would be to carve out a canoe with a stone tool.

There are examples down through the ages of improvements in boat/ship design. Around 3000 BC Egyptian ship makers were using planks of wood lashed together and sealed with reeds or grass stuffed into their seams. The Greek historian and geographer Agatharchides had documented ship-faring among the early Egyptians: "During the prosperous period of the Old Kingdom, between the 30th and 25th centuries B. C., the river-routes were kept in order, and Egyptian ships sailed the Red Sea as far as the myrrh-country."

Oddly enough about the same people around Kongens Lyngby in Denmark developed the segmented hull. This allowed their boats to be built in many different sizes. Their boats allowed them to travel in both rivers and costal waters thus expanding their trade network. The first boats were powered by humans or simply floated on the currents of rivers. Adding sails to boats actually took a little longer than most people think. It is estimated this seemingly simple improvement took another 1000 years. Around 2000 BC sails made of animal skins or woven cloth was added to boats to allow them a greater range.

After this improvement human settlement expanded as well as trade. This allowed explorers to travel among the islands of Oceana around 1000 BC. It is even written by the Greek historian Herodotus, the Egyptians made the first circumnavigation of Africa around 600 BC. This is almost 2000 years before Vasco Da Gama was able to repeat this same feat.

Long before the magnetic compass navigation at sea was done by the stars at night and the sun during the day. Simply knowing the sun rises in the east and sets in the west can allow a navigator to travel along lines of latitude to reach their intended target. The Phoenicians and Greeks gradually mastered navigation at sea aboard triremes, exploring and colonizing the Mediterranean via ship. Around 340 BC, the Greek navigator Pytheas of Massalia ventured from Greece to Western Europe and Great Britain.

The trireme was one of the largest steps forward in ship development. We shall leave the story of the ship there for today and pick this back up tomorrow. There and many steps in development from Mesolithic canoes to today's powerful nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Ships and boats in their own way tell a history of humankind.