Boat building project in Sri Lanka

[catbaloo]

D'artois,
The care organisation you mention is correct in it's refrence to canoes.
I have holidayed in Sl twice and have taken photos of their boats. ( if you can give me an email address I will forward them to you.)
The fishermen who fish off the beach use a small outrigger type craft of various sizes.
The main hull is made of fibreglass and the outrigger float and X members are tree branches. The hull has a bulbous shape to it, and would be made in a split mould. The crew sit on thawts at gunwale height which is no more than 18 inches wide. The smallest boat has a crew of 2 and is paddled through the surf and fishes off the inshore reefs. The next size up has a lateen type sail and ventures further out to sea. The largest outrigger that I saw was about 25 ft and outboard driven. It had a crew of 6 and was moored in a harbour. I would imagine the next size up from that would be the multiday boats.
The only conventional type small boat I say where those that had glass bottoms and use to take tourists to the coral reefs.

Hope this helps.

[D'ARTOIS]

My E-mail address is: dartois@xs4all.nl - this is my prvate one.

You'll do me a favour mailing those pictures. There is an important meeting next week in The Hague and the organisation committee kindly invited me to attend.
I would like to show other parties what kind of canoes have been furnished.

Thanks in advance, catballoo,
D'Artois

[D'ARTOIS]

I have tried to contact Rainforest Boats, however no reply. I have asked them for a quotation, in order to provide the joint aid organisations with basic contacts. They have no idea about boats, save for a few maybe.
I believe you have the same experience.
The Panga therefore, might be a better choice.
D'Artois

[Seafish]

I have a 42 feet fishing vessel from the Canadian east coast. I might want to sell her to any tsunami victime fisherman. Any idea to how to go about this?

Thank you
Seafish.

[D'ARTOIS]

Even if you ask a moderate price for your vessel, the transport costs to the Far East kills any attempt in that direction. About 60.000 US$ from Rotterdam to
Ceylon and than we have not counted the transport Canada - Rotterdam - unless you find a shipping Co that will play ball and ship straight from Canada to the final destination.
In any case, can you transfer a picture to my e-mail? dartois@xs4all.nl
And, for what kind of fishing the boat is equipped? Bottom, or Pelagic? Looking at the Loa of your boat, you may have used for shallow waters, banks?

[Stephen Ditmore]

I wonder if Pascal Kainic at http://www.geodyssee.com/asie/asia.htm might be able to help facilitate such a transaction. (This organization was brought to our attention by Mr. Neven at Tsunami: inter-island transportation & replacement boats.)

As I've mentioned previously, I spent some time in Western India fishing villages as a student in 1984. There were basically two types of vessels: partially dougout wood canoes and planked wood trawlers with hull shapes that somewhat resembled dhows. Deforestation was a problem, and for this reason some fiberglass canoes were being built locally on an experimental basis. The canoes were powered by kerosene outbords, with the Yamaha brand being favored. The "mechanized trawlers" were deisel powered.

The canoes were used for gillnetting, and the distinction is important environmentally. Bottom trawling in tropical waters brings in a huge variety of species in a very mixed catch, sweeps up fish eggs, destroys sea beds and disrupts coral formation. Gillnetting is based on the idea of sizing the net to catch only the species desired. (Drift nets, of course, are environmentally problematic, but I think we're talking about near-shore, stationary gill nets in this case).

At that time I was aware of a UN (possibly IFAD) sponsored program in Madras called the Bay of Bengal Project. Here's what I find on the web when I search on that name now:

http://www.oceansatlas.org/servlet/C...MmMzc9aW5mbw~~
http://www.livelihoods.org/lessons/p...1_projsum.html
http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cd...E/AD834E00.HTM

Gamage: does all this sound correct to you? Are the kerosene Yamahas the favored OBMs in your area? Any word from Yamaha or others about financial participation in replacing fishermen's lost equipment? http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/globa...omdo/index.html

[D'ARTOIS]

The wrecked fishingboats I have seen on the photo's are tuna-hunters or similar. This is pole and line fishing, ecological justified and does not require any expensive and intensive use of purse-seiners. Their type of boat matches in many respects the Amercan Sportsfisher.

What has to be avoided is the massive deforestation that will probably happen if those small boats have to be replaced using the forests as resources for building material.

I would like to propose that we should offer the provision or re-provision of shipyards that can produce steel boats that will replace their destroyed boats.

I would like to know from Gamage et al if this is a proper idea or that it is not workable for specific reasons.

Please comment.

[catbaloo]

I mentioned in my mail to you that I thought the small ' off the beach ' outriggers would have been destroyed. They were the first line of defence.
Possibly that is why they don't appear in any photos.

All the boats that I saw including the multiday boats were made of GRP. I would be supprised if SL has a shipbuilding yard that could produce the number of replacement boats required in steel.

One must bear in mind that because of the Tsunami there are many unemployed. Setting up a GRP boatyard could serve two purposes, that of employment and replacing / repairing boats.

As to your concern of deforestation, why not change the design by replacing the timber X members and outrigger with GRP componemts.

Possibly Gamage has a breakdown of how many different catagories of boats there are in SL. This may just be a guestimate but it would put it in prospective, as the different boats fill different needs.

I would like to suggest that supplying materials be as high up the list as supplying replacement boats. As to how the material is accounted for, hopefully the charitable organisation that you are talking to has some experience in the matter of guarantees.

The following website is that of a local newspaper. I feel it gives an insight of what is actually happening in SL.
http://www.sundayobserver.lk

[gamage]

Dear Sirs,

1) steel boats were built in srilanka from late 50's until 70' for fishing. But completely removed and replaced with GRP hull.As at today only Colombo dock yard manufacturing steel boats for other purpose like tug boats.
*)High maintenance cost
*) low repair cost in case of damage
*) Main engine cost , Due to price of engine and fuel efficiency fisherman reluctant to use single 65HP to 90 HP range engines with GRP hull and very large quantity of fuel for longer endurance.
*)Production time of GRP hull much shorter than steel hull
*) These boats has large fish ho;d insulated with 6 inch Styrofoam and carrying lot of dry ice. Hence GRP has good insulation properties.

These are few reasons to select GRP hulls by our Fishing ppl.I know that concept,usage and this entire operation, is sometimes looks crazy comparing with European fishing trade. Our people use to it for many years.and difficult to change their way of thinking.We have no rich fishing grounds coastal area. They are sailing far in international waters.

Fisherman use 19ft -21feet range GRP canoes with out-riggers(GRP OR TIMBER) ,some Ara Theppam little bigger version with OBM and many kind of small traditional designs.(These crafts are blue prints of traditional timber canoes now doing out of GRP)
Small scale boat builders making this kind of craft .it is too early to give any comment whether they can cope up with this situation. But I believe they can.
What we have to focus on 19feet day fishing boats and trawlers because of lack of well established boat yards.That is why, NAVY is building day fishing boats.

Hope you may understand why I am tiring to set-up new boat building facility one in Colombo and one in southern province.which will be benefited for many years in many ways.I am expecting (temporary) government building to start them soon. And Hopefully I will get.

We have no intention to deprive anything from existing boatyards or small scale manufactures. But We(srilakan) have to use our experience and do something badly needed for the country at this time.dispute of business objectives
Hope you may agree with me.It is a giant force all members of the forum giving to us on humanitarian grounds in this difficult period and one day you all can come and see your self how great assistance you all have given
I always well come any clarifications or suggestions from your end

[D'ARTOIS]

Ok, Mr Gamage, your reply is clip and clear. And I can understand that the step from timber to GRP is more logic than from timber to steelbuilding.
Meanwhile, a Canadian gentleman, fisherman by profession, offered a boat that fits your requirements very well. (As I believe)
As I have seen on the pictures that have been sent to me, I saw that the small trawlers in Sri Lanka were fitted out with tuna-rigs.
Is tuna the spearpoint of fishing activities or are their other requirements as well. A tuna-hunter differs a lot from other fishing vessels.
Could you clear up this please?
I will mail some pictures that I received to you. If ok, let me know.

[gamage]

Dear Mr D'Artois

Did you receive my e-mail,Any comments from you sir?Awaiting for your reply and proposals

Thank you

[catbaloo]

D'artois,

Have you had your meeting with the charitable organisation?
Can you tell us of any of their decisions?

regards

[D'ARTOIS]

I have received your proposal and I will give you a reply next week. I came back this morning and I might have to ask you additional info before we go further into this issue.
I brought a few items as discussed in this thread under the general attention however, due to the massive response of the general population of Holland and the watchful eye of the media tuned on the substantial funds that are raised and paid out in cash to the assembled organisations, they are tremendously cautious to make any solid commitments.
In total in exess of Euro 160.000.000,= was donated by the Dutch Population of Holland to the assembly of Help-Organisations.

[donny_tedjo]

hi gamage;
It would be interesting to learned from you since the srilanka and indonesia have almost same problem in modernized the fisheries industry (i mean to make substainable fisheries industry).

If you have the traditional dugeon boat, since we are here have also almost the same models of boat catamarant.

So it was also happened here in Indonesia, most of us used wooden boat, but since the hard wood are to expensive and difficult to found, the fisherman got only bad boat that have lower economical lifes.
We have no also no Plywood / stich-and-glue technik in boat building, but also the problem is still the lack of skills of the carpenter it self.(the glue self probably is still costly material and also dificult to find on market)

But our the fisherman have quite strong believes on wood not on economical aspect of FRP Boat if they used it.
The problem:
1.. FRP repair in some region are too difficult since the raw material and skilled man.
2.. Some FRP boatbuilder produced the boat at high humidity condition/ not used appropriate resin-hardener in their laminating process.
3.. The hull design self mostly come without first prior calculation, they have adopt direct from wooden boatdesign.
4.. fibre cloths more likely from import, in could be problem when our rupiah self is not stable.

Hope could hear more from you.

Donny Tedjo
Here are some of our product that allready used in Nusatengara.

[gamage]

In Sri Lanka .The government initiated to promote GRP boat among fisherman. Under various subsidy scheams. With the assistance of foreign Countries.
If you tried to copy wooden hull to fiberglass without doing proper hydrostatic calculation. Definitely it will be a failure. And it will give a negative impact for the promotion of GRP vessel in your region. Therefor my advice is to import few proven boats and distribute between good fisherman and get their feed back. Becouse they are sometimes very sensitive and notice very impotent facts .