The boats found at Ferriby were very different to the transport that uses the river today. Early boats were made in several ways. To begin with they were made by hollowing out a tree. The boats found at Ferriby are special because they were made out of planks of wood. A boat made out of planks had the advantage because it could be made broader than the hollowed tree boat, which could only be as wide as the tree. This meant they could carry heavier loads and work in rougher water. The boats were made from oak and alder trees. These trees once covered the banks of the river. The people from the village would have cut the trees down using axes made from bronze. The trees would then have been split into planks by hammering wooden wedges into the trunks. The very thick planks would have been stitched together with withes of tough yew-branch and lightly braced in some parts. Moss was packed into the seams between planks to make them watertight. This was long before metal was common enough for nails and the only methods of fastening wood to wood was by stitching as here or by some sort of pegging.