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KON TIKI

The Kon Tiki raft was built as a copy of a prehistoric South American vessel. The raft left Callao in Peru on 28th of April 1947 and landed on the island of Raroia in Polynesia after 101 days. This successful voyage of 4,300 miles proved that the islands in Polynesia were within the range of this type of prehistoric South American vessel.

Kon Tiki

The expedition was a result of the theory that Thor Heyerdahl had been pondering ever since his stay on Fatu Hiva: this group of islands in the South Pacific could not have been populated solely by peoples from the west. It must also have been populated by indigenous South Americans. Among the circumstantial evidence Heyerdahl pointed to, was the story of Kon-Tiki Viracocha, a native chief who, legend has it, sailed west from Peru into the sunset on a large balsawood raft.

Heyerdahl recruited a crew of five well-qualified men. Thor’s criteria in choosing crew members were that they all possess unwavering courage as well as one unique qualification, indispensable for the expedition. They are Knut Haugland, Bengt Danielsson, Erik Hesselberg, Torstein Raaby and Herman Watzinger. Together they traveled to Ecuador to procure balsa timber for the raft and then on to Peru to build it.  They constructed the raft out of balsa logs and other native materials in an indigenous style as recorded in illustrations by Spanish conquistadores. 

Kon Tiki model

Hesselberg had navigational skills, but no one in the group could sail, and they had even less idea how to steer a balsawood raft. Such knowledge had been lost for hundreds of years. Leading experts in anthropology and seamanship considered it highly unlikely that the raft would reach its destination. Some even warned that it would disintegrate within the first two weeks and that the expedition was pure suicide. After 101 days at sea the Kon-Tiki arrived on a coral reef by the Raroia atoll in Polynesia. Thor Heyerdahl and his crew had demonstrated that South American peoples could in fact have journeyed to the islands of the South Pacific by balsa raft.

Heyerdahl’s book, The Kon-Tiki Expedition published in 1948, has been translated into more than 70 languages, and tens of millions of copies have been sold to date. The film—of the same title, shot by the crew during the journey—won the Academy Award for best documentary film in 1951. It is screened continuously at The Kon-Tiki Museum.

Kon Tiki raft

This model of the Kon Tiki is fully built (not a kit.) It is 24"L x 22"W x 14"T  Clearane $950   Shipping and insurance in the contiguous USA included. Other places: $300 flat rate. This model is in stock and can be shipped within 5 business days.

Learn more about the Kon Tiki here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon-Tiki_expedition

Learn more about the Kon Tiki here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon-Tiki_expedition