Dilmun I - III

Since his early youth Dominique Görlitz was engaged with prehistoric reed boat construction. At first he built small test boats with class mates at the Thuringian creek Nesse. As a Student at the FSU Jena he began building sailing reed boats on the base of scientific models with his fellow students and his partner Cornelia Lorenz.

He manufactured the first big reed boat in 1990 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Atlantic crossing by the RA II. His goal was to test the floatability of the reed from middle Europe and the sailing ability of this prehistoric float. The reed boat Dilmun I was still built after the example of the old Egyptian temple images as Thor Heyerdahl used to do. After a construction period of 9 weeks the reed boat which measured 11 meters in lengths and weighted 8 tons was launched in Greifswald in the Baltic Sea. Due to the features of the Egypt rigging the Dilmun I was not maneuverable and could only be controlled on downwind courses. This experiment demonstrated to the explorer couple that Egypt rock images and the way Thor Heyerdahl implemented them could not contribute to the solution of the riddle about the maneuverability.

This is why Cornelia Lorenz and Dominique Görlitz went on a six week excursion in Egypt in 1992 in order to familiarize themselves with the old and pre-Egypt ship images. In the Wadi Hammamat they eventually found what they looked for: The discovery of a reed boat equipped with leeboards marked the final breakthrough.

With the Dilmun II the next test construction followed at the Wangenheimer water reservoir in 1993. For the first time a reed boat was provided with a pair of movable leeboards at the bow, the waist and the rear after the model of a pre Egypt rock image. With the help of the leeboards the so constructed boat, which had a total length of 6 meters, could easily sail lower than 90° on the wind.

A year later the Dilmun III, a modified version of the Dilmun II, was tested on her seaworthiness during the Kiel Week in 1994. After initial troubles the Dilmun III became weather helm and the leeway could be reduced. The measuring on the marine chart already attested sailing courses of 75° against the wind over ground. This prototype served as a base for the reed boats of the class of the “Abora” reed boats.