Movement by land is restricted by the abundance of swamps and reservoirs in the area near the middle of the river Ob. The life of the Khanty people is so closely intertwined with water that it is difficult to imagine them without a light dugout boat called oblas, or oblasok.
An oblas boat was usually made of aspen, but if one was planning to drag it by land, then it was made of cedar, as it is lighter and water resistant. The sizes of such boats varied depending on the purpose. The Yugan Khanty made oblas boats from a single tree trunk and usually without the use of planks.
The boat kept its shape thanks to the spacers between the sides. Usually, the oblas boat is long and narrow. The stern is slightly lower than the bow. The top of the bow features a hole for a rope.
Very often, such a boat was treated with resin from the outside to prevent it from absorbing water and becoming heavy.
In the Yugan region, when hunting ducks and collecting reeds, several boats were connected by attaching two poles to spacers at the bow and stern.
Just like skis, oblas boats were made for a particular person, taking into account their height and weight. A women’s oblas boat was always smaller than the men’s. But there were also family oblas boats on which the spouses could travel together. Such a boat was propelled by the use of oars, with the man of the family steering the boat at the stern, while the women and children rowed.
The oar blade is usually curved and narrow with tapered edges. Sometimes the oar blade has a flat tip.
There are anecdotal mentions of birch bark boats made of two-layer birch bark. They were treated with disapproval: “Step on it with your foot and it’ll break.”
The Surgut Khanty used to make large cargo (“covered”) boats of cedar planks. Nowadays one can see a traditional cargo boat only near the Yugan River. It has an average length of 10–12 meters and an average width of 2–3 meters with a load capacity of more than 4 tons. The bottom of the boat is made of a single plank of wood and the inclined sides are made of two — with overlapping edges. Such a boat was almost completely covered with wooden planks or boiled birch bark. The top cover made of boards sometimes looked like a cabin with walls at the front and back, and a door. The light came through a door or a small hole in the “roof”. Previously, a mast was installed in the middle of the boat and secured with ropes. It was a boat and a dwelling at the same time, on which the whole family could go on long voyages.
