Hermione Wrote:
> It seems the Kon Tiki and ABORA expeditions enjoyed only limited success

Ra II made it from Morocco to Barbados in 2 months. The first Ra indeed failed, as they didn't used the real South American reed binding technology yet, but only 1 week before reaching Barbados. See [www.kon-tiki.no]

Kon-Tiki was from Peru to Easter Island, another great success.

Abora III with the change of trying the eastwards trip, indeed failed for the whole distance, but it made more than half the distance to the Azores already, about 2700 km and could show that it was able to sail crosswind and against water currents: [www.atlantisbolivia.org]

> What evidence is there of the Romans adopting reed
> boats, and using them for ocean voyages?

None. But I'm not saying that Romans used reed boats. Their standard galley used in the Mediterranean Sea was most likely not well suited for the Atlantic as it was too long, but they certainly could built a shorter boat which would be even better than a reed float.