RIVER BOATS

Many large boats were used in the river traffic which terminated in the lagoon. This river traffic brought all the goods from the neighbouring regions and returned with products bought in Venice.

The most famous of these boats is the bùrcio or bùrchio. It had no bow stem, but the flat bottom was raised at the bow to deck level with a curvature (levadùra). At the stern the sides joined vertically level with the rudder. The central body remained nearly parallel for the entire length of the two holds. The straght sides were slightly spànti, that is flared outwards. The extremeties of the boat not destined for cargo had decks which formed cabins reserved for the owner and his family (at the stern) and the crew (at the bow). In the centre, between the two bulkheads of the holds, an interspace served as access to the bilge and for other onboard work. The bùrcio had two masts which could be folded when passing under bridges, and each mast on which a sail al terzo was hoisted.
To return upriver, the alsàna was used, that is, the boat was pulled by horses,or - when there were no horses - by the crew.
The capacity varied from 800 to 2.500 hundredweight, while the maximum dimensions were: length 35 m, width 7 m, height 2/2.20 m and draught when fully loaded 1.80/2.10 m.

The rascóna was another large boat which was widely used on rivers and in the lagoon up until this century to transport grain and crops. The rascóna came in a number of types which varied in capacity from 15 to 200 tons. The largest had the following dimensions: length 30 m, width 7 m, immersion when empty 0.42 m, when fully loaded 1.80 m.
It had very high, pointed ends, straight very flared sides with two masts with sails al terzo. It was a very archaic-looking boat, similar to Egyptian river boats, especially due to the two lateral rudders manoeuvred with a pole by the helmsman who sat, as in a carriage, at the extremity of the stern so as to have an unrestricted view of the cargo. The last rascóne were used during the first years of this century.