A Pauzok
() is a flat-bottomed boat and is designed for travelling the rivers of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.
Aside from its flat bottom, another prominent feature of that is its lack of
deck. The boat has a single mast, usually in length, with a
sail and is steered by
oars
An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end.
The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...
.
There is a large space within the vessel, often used for storing cargo.
Pauzoks have a standard load-carrying capacity of , and tend to accompany large vessels as they are useful for cargo transportation in
shoals. Pauzoks are mainly built in the northern regions of Russia, such as the
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...
and
Lena River.
Pauzoks are also used to deliver cargo to the coast or in carrying cargo in sections where the river bed has a relatively steep slope, and can independently navigate rapids. If a pauzok beaches itself on a shore, the crew often uses a long, thick, and wide board which in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
is referred to as Opleukha (
Translate
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...
d: slap in the face). The oarsmen use this as a lever to move the vessel towards a current. A small
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
is formed, and small rising of water raises the pauzok and it can be pushed off from a bank on a deep-water place.
References
Sailboat types
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