It is assumed that the Vrbas boat originated when Banja Luka also. As there were no bridges, the boat was the only solution for shifting from one coast to another. During centuries this unusual vessel has become a symbol of the city, leaving a trace in the culture of Banja Luka.
A specific set of circumstances conditioned the radius of navigation 15 kilometers from the core of the village through which flows a river of small depth along the coast and a suitable bottom for retracting the pole, rather than rowing. Just what makes it unique is a dayak, a 4 meter long pole, which serves to overthrow the boat, which is why the Vrbas boat has been named the dayak-boat. The pole gives the boat the necessary acceleration for a river of variable currents and strong water drops of relatively low depths where the paddle would not be helpful. The pole dayak at its end has a steel spike, the so-called stic.
Today, family from Banjaluka, the Zamolo family, has been protecting the tradition of dayak-boat for decades, dealing with the serious development of these boats. For quality dayak production, they say, it takes about 20 days. In addition to a good knowledge of woodworking, it is important to know the characteristics of the boat, its behavior on the river, as well as its management. The boat's length is 6.80 meters, and the overall length is 7.30 to 7.50 meters depending on the length of the decorative part of the boat or the boats downhill. The depth of the boat is 30 cm, width 80 cm, and the weight is a hundred kilograms. Its carrying capacity is close to 500 kilograms, so it can accommodate six adults, with an ideal driving experience of three people plus a driver. The earlier boats were slightly larger, so they could carry up to a ton of cargo.
This boat is driving uphill, which means that you must overcome great rapids, strong currents and long falls that the fast mountain river Vrbas has and this is what the dayak-boat makes recognizable and unique throughout the world.
Rarely such a technique of driving a boat, similar to a technique driving in Cambridge and Oxford in the so-called 'punting boats', but they drive in calm rivers, canals, lakes or wetlands, so that no one else but us in the world rides the river like Vrbas.
