BRETTERFLOSS timber raft Austria.

[aukepalmhof]

This timber raft is known under the name of “Bretterfloss” in Austria/Germany. She are composed of sawn lumber that ran numerous rivers since at least the 16th century. Those on the Danube River composed of multiple units, each unit of 10-20 boards connected by special planks that enabled the units to swivel as demanded by the current. Along the side of each raft a board flared outwards to deflect the water.
Steered with multiple sweeps.
Lengths to 100m, 20m wide and 1.0m deep.
Other recorded names, “bordfloss”, “dielenfloss”, “ladenkarl“ (in the Danube area), ‘sagewarenfloss” (in the Black Forest), “stummel” (on the Main.)

Taken from Aak to Zumbra a Dictionary of the World’s Watercraft.

The stamp issued by Austria of 2000 of 7S sg2569, The Post Office gives:

Folk customs and folklore treasures: International rafting meeting
Special postage stamp series

Of all the rivers of the former Inner Austria (Styria, Carinthia and parts of today's Slovenia), the Drau undoubtedly has the oldest shipping tradition. The beginnings of rafting can be linked to those of the timber trade. The earliest documented evidence of freight traffic on the Drau dates back to 1209. Logging usually began at Easter and lasted until November. The rafts were assembled on natural tributaries of the Drau. The first step was to build the raft floor, which consisted of three or four panels. 10 to 15 round timbers of the same length with a length of approx. 4.30 meters were tied into a panel. In the middle of the panels, a trunk extends back from one panel to the next, thus preventing the individual raft parts from shifting sideways relative to each other. Steering was carried out using the rudders mounted at the front and rear. The front helmsman made the change of direction, the rear helmsman only had to straighten the raft. This required a lot of skill, concentration and, above all, precise knowledge of the course of the Drau and its pitfalls. Rafting in the upper Drautal has a tradition. In 2000, the International Rafting Meeting took place for the twelfth time, in which raftsmen from several European countries also took part.

Austria 1947 8+2 Gr. Sg 1010, Scott 667