Phinisi Tradition
The Phinisi have been sailing the waters of Indonesia since early times. There is not a record for the exact origins of the type. Many sources indicate that similar craft were trading in Indonesia at the time of the earliest Western explorations of Indonesia, in other words prior to the 1500's. Of course these indigenous vessels have evolved over time and have absorbed various elements from a variety of traditions.
From those times until the mid to late 1970's, the fairly large fleet of cargo carrying Phinisi throughout Indonesia were strictly sailing vessels. In the mid 1970's there was a push to motorize the fleet of sailing Pinisi. The presence of an engine has changed these craft rather dramatically.
Currently, the vast majority of the local cargo fleet have been given engines. As a result, they are now referred to as 'KLM' for
Kapal Layar Mesin, literally translated as "Boat-Sail-Machine" or as we would say, "Motor
Sailor." To see two KLM types of our own design (intended as yachts), please have a look at our
30m KLM and our
36m KLM web pages. There,
you'll find the traditional Indonesian KLM types transformed into yachts for private ownership
and / or luxury charter.
For a thorough introduction to the origins and
present use of the Indonesian Phinisi, please
review our Phinisi History web page, which describes
in detail the traditional and contemporary
basis for these craft, as well as for this
design, the Phinisi Si'lolona.
Named the Si'lolona, our intent with this new vessel has been multi-faceted. For the Pinisi
Si'lolona
the primary goal has been to create a design
in the older indigenous sailing phinisi
style for use as a charter vessel throughout the eastern islands of Indonesia.
Additional goals have been to provide much greater strength
and longevity of structure than can possibly be lavished upon local craft. Our
aim in so doing has been to reduce maintenance,
to provide a high degree of comfort, improve
the performance under power, and to increase
the long term safety of the ship. These were our goals... and
they have been very amply met.
Watercolor Copyright 2002 Lena Kasten
To power the Si'lolona, our preference was to strike a middle ground. Rather than provide the relatively enormous amount of horsepower that would be ordinary for a vessel of this size in the West, power is provided by a 650 hp Yanmar diesel
- sufficient for a consistent 10 knots depending on conditions. Above this speed
and the power requirements, the consequent fuel use, and the machinery costs become excessive.
Even so, this is far more horsepower than would be typical among the Indonesian cargo phinisi.
With 650 hp, the Pinisi Si'lolona will be able to maintain a dependable schedule and a more ambitious itinerary. Beyond providing increased safety, the power provided will make a much larger part of Indonesia accessible during each trip.
Still further refinements have been to blend the excellent Konjo / Bugis boat building traditions with several requirements of the West in terms of structure, safety, and stability.
Basically, in order to create the best possible result with the Si'lolona, a number of structural improvements over the typical cargo vessel construction
were specified. These were not dramatic changes in terms of the construction methods, but cumulatively they
were very important to the structural integrity.
These changes plus many less obvious refinements we made to the
local methods used to join primary structural members have all gone into the creation of a robust and long lasting wooden ship, the
Si'lolona.
For complete information about these kinds of changes, as well as the process we recommend
for building such a vessel, please visit our Phinisi
Building web page. Please also see the Si'Lolona Images page for
a variety of interesting photos taken during our trips to Indonesia.
Click any of the following links to see images of the Si'lolona
under construction:
Start of Construction - Borneo - October '01 |
Close to Launching - Borneo - November
'03 |
Finishing Out - Bali - April '04
The Layout...
For the interior, the request was that the interior
layout enable the vessel to be used in either of two modes:
- As a personal world-traveling yacht for a
private owner and guests, or
- For use as a charter yacht with "managed
ownership."
By "managed ownership" we mean that the yacht is
privately owned, but is managed by a charter company who is
able to charter the vessel when it is not being used by the
owner. In exchange for its use, the charter company takes
care of the vessel's maintenance and repairs, and provides
the owner with an income stream. Done correctly, this is a
rather ideal way to own a boat - no maintenance, it pays its
own way, and the owner can step aboard a well maintained
vessel nearly any time and simply enjoy their time aboard
rather than having to manage the vessel's upkeep. |
Si'lolona's Accommodations
As a result of the above, the specific mission of the Si'lolona is to take charter guests on cultural excursions to remote regions of the vast Indonesian archipelago, the majority of which are only reachable by boat; and to do so in safety and comfort. The further aim is to provide charter guests with the experience of sailing aboard a locally built indigenous craft,
handled entirely by a local crew.
Among the drawings presented here, the arrangement of the decks and cabins is shown. The expanse of open deck space forward is for use as an outside lounge area. In use, we find that most meals are preferably served there.
The low cabin aft of amidships is an air conditioned guest lounge area for protection from wind and weather. The slightly taller house aft of the lounge contains the bridge, the charter guide's cabin, a day head, dive shop, and a shower.
The aft deck is traditionally where the vessel's local crew prefer to hang out. Aboard the
Si'lolona, guests and crew are invited to interact, therefore the aft deck was made into a comfortable and inviting place for everyone.
A generous engine and machinery room occupies the middle of the ship below the guest lounge. Crew quarters and galley are located below the bridge house structure, aft of the engine room. Right aft, a cool room provides secure long term food storage. Guest quarters extend forward of the engine room for the length of the ship below the open deck above.
The vessel size was determined by the initial requirement to achieve several private staterooms to accommodate guests for charters lasting several weeks at a time. In addition to the charter guests, the requirement was to accommodate a full complement of twelve or more Indonesian crew members plus the charter leader.
The further request was that these accommodations fit into a sailing vessel of no larger than 35 meters LOA by 10 meters beam by 3.5 meters draft. There was of course the additional requirement for good sea keeping, a small measure of sailing performance, and strongly traditional aesthetics.
Comfort and privacy have been primary goals. Given the overall size, the
Si'lolona is not at all crowded. Given that the vessel will be sailing in the tropics, excellent ventilation has been given the highest priority. Each cabin has a private head and shower and all accommodation spaces are air conditioned.
Si'lolona is large enough and has a highly traditional appearance, so none of these luxuries are visible from the exterior. To a casual observer,
Si'lolona has the aspect of being a typical cargo vessel, albeit one that is rather well kept. See the images linked below for finished views of the interior and exterior of the
Si'lolona - truly a magnificent vessel.
Colored Pencil Drawing Copyright 2002 Lena Kasten
Designing
a Phinisi...?
One might well ask, how can one actually "design" a craft that will be built on the beach with what would seem to be a rather amorphous approach to hull form. . . A good question! Let no one be fooled; the Konjo boat builders have a long and highly successful wooden boat building tradition. They also have an excellent eye for shaping a ship.
In order to begin this project, we visited with our chosen Konjo builder in his home town of Ara in South Sulawesi and we looked at the variety of vessels being built nearby at Tanah Biru. We then discussed the vessel's structure and building methods at length with the builder. After researching this thoroughly it became obvious that there would be no need for a radical departure from the basic elements of the local boat
building traditions.
Our contributions have been to create an interior and general layout suited to the owner's chartering requirements; to specify a pre-determined hull shape; to specify that only the highest quality wood and galvanized fastenings be used; and to follow through during construction in order to assure that the already mentioned enhancements to the structure be
made in order to satisfy the Germanischer Lloyd's Rules for wooden vessel structure.
Even though it has been our intent to preserve traditional methods wherever possible, in the case of
Si'lolona our overall contribution has been significant... For example, in order to achieve our intended hull form we introduced the use of mould frames to assure a predictable shape.
We visited the boat building site at Batulicin, in Kalimantan Selatan where we lofted the section shapes, then built mould frames so that the hull shape would match our computer generated model (see image links below). The mould frames were then erected onto the keel to act as a guide for the planking. You can see our work on the mould frames for the Si'Lolona and also for a new KLM project at our
Indonesia Boatbuilding Images web page.
Once the hull was planked according to the moulded shape, the framing was added inside very much as usual. For the
Si'lolona, the traditional Bugis / Konjo boat building ceremonies, construction methods, materials, the general aesthetic and the overall vessel functionalities have been retained as much as possible. We strayed from traditional methods only where necessary in order to achieve the required shape, integrity of structure, longevity, lessened maintenance, as well as vastly improved sea-kindliness and safety.
What makes this vessel unique is having honored the experience and traditions of the Konjo builders both structurally and aesthetically, combined with having brought into the design what we have historically found useful in the West. The general proportions and structure have been determined by combining the Konjo traditions, the Lloyd's traditions, and modern
analytic methods, each of which are aimed at producing the best possible result.
In the case of Si'lolona, the result is a world class charter vessel. The
Si'lolona is primarily sailed among the islands to the east of Bali (Nusa Tenggara), however
Si'lolona is also fully capable of a circumnavigation and can therefore visit any of the other islands of the world.
Voyaging aboard the Si'lolona provides an authentic taste of sailing among the Indonesian islands on a traditional sailing 'Pinisi' manned by an all Indonesian crew.
Si'lolona at the same time offers a generous measure of luxury to the charter guests.
For complete information about how we have adapted the local craft
for this new purpose, and to review the process we recommend for
building such a vessel, please visit our Phinisi
Building web page. For a closer look at the structure of these craft, please visit our
Phinisi History web page.
