During the 18th and 19th century there were fleets of boats in the Aegean sea. In my hometown, Plomari, we had at the beginning of the century over 200 boats, karavoskara peramata, trehantiria, sakoleves, alamanes tsernikia etc., that sailed the seas in Romania and Rusia as deep as the Eastern Black Sea, and parts of the Greek Pontus, Ampsounta, Trebizond and elsewhere in the Mediterranean.
The boats were made by worthy craftsmen in the famous throughout the Aegean shipyards of Plomari, the Tarsanatou where captains arrived from other islands such as Samos to devise the boats. Tarsanas is today the largest in area and population district of Plomari, named after Tarsanas, the shipyards which until 1940 was still rising. It is also known that captains from Oinouses cobbled together their first ships in the shipyards of Plomari, like other captains from Chios and from Evvoia.To Plomari had suitable timber (pine and cypress ) and a unique Aegean way of construction with sala and misomodelo made with frames instead waterline.
By 1874 – 1890 Plomari numbered 120 sailboats (Taxis) and later, in the early 20th century, more than 200 (G.Gianoullelis).
Memories of Emmanuel Peter PITSILADI (owner-captain, On ships and seamanship of Plomari.
Shipyards: Period until 1940
a. Georgeiou (1870) and Emmanuel Giamougianni and after 1940 Em. Giamougiannis.
b. Dimitriou 1888 – John Giamougianni and after 1940 John Giamougiannis (Psari). Today the shipyard belongs to Duke Giamougianni, the only longer active.
c. John Panagiotis Lioliou and after the war Andreas Lioliou (until 2000)
Trehantiria – Beyond – Karavoskara
A) Trechantiri. Small boat oxyploro and oxyprymno with characteristic circular curve podostamatos bow (ship “Pergamos”). Square cloth, had armor sakoleves.
B) Perama. Small boat oxyploro and oxyprymnou for passenger and goods ferry. With two masts (tissues) each had a trapezoidal cloth – rigging bratseres cloth and straw, crisscross (ships “Theologos” and “Lesvos”).
C) Karavoskaro. Small boat with main characteristic protruding stern. By rigging gampia (square cloth) that when the cloth was double gampia. They were named “gampialidika” or “latinia”, depending on their sail (“Anthony” of “Tragaki”).
D) Sakoleva. Besides rigging in Plomari they ment a hull with block.
E) Tserniki. Type of fast sailing boat with a pointed stern and bow.
F) Scoona. Type double sail boat.
Z) Bomparda. Sailboats with two masts, originally for battle and later for trading.
H) Bratsera. Sailboats with two masts, each has a trapezoidal cloth.