'' Kon-Tiki '' demonstrated that it was possible for a primitive raft to sail the Pacific with relative ease and safety , especially to the west ( with the trade winds ) . The raft proved to be highly manoeuvrable , and fish congregated between the nine balsa logs in such numbers that ancient sailors could have possibly relied on fish for hydration in the absence of other sources of fresh water . Other rafts have repeated the voyage , inspired by '' Kon-Tiki '' . Heyerdahl 's book about '' The Kon-Tiki Expedition : By Raft Across the South Seas '' has been translated into 70 languages . The documentary film of the expedition entitled '' Kon-Tiki '' won an Academy Award in 1951 . A dramatised version was released in 2012 , also called '' Kon-Tiki '' , and was nominated for both the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Golden Globe Awards . It was the first time that a Norwegian film was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe
70th Golden Globe Awards
70th Golden Globe Awards
Thor Heyerdahl