Hull Forms of the Bira Coast: How Phinisi Shapes Evolved
The hull forms built on the Bira coast evolved through function: the classic phinisi shape — sweeping sheer, raked stem, full midbody, and a…
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Journal
Category: Bulukumba Yard Life
Craft, culture, and practical guides from the phinisi boatbuilding coast of Bulukumba, Tana Beru, and Bira.
Sourcing Ironwood Ethically: Where Bulukumba’s Ulin Comes From
The ironwood (ulin, Eusideroxylon zwageri) in a Bulukumba keel comes overwhelmingly from Kalimantan — Indonesian Borneo — where the species grows slowly in lowland…
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Caulking a Wooden Hull: The Fibre Craft That Keeps Water Out
Caulking is what makes a plank-on-plank phinisi hull watertight: fibre — traditionally the bark fibre of the paperbark tree, today often paired with cotton…
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Hand Tools vs Power Tools in a Traditional Phinisi Yard
A traditional phinisi yard in Bulukumba runs on a deliberate mix: chainsaws, planers, and drills do the brute conversion work, while the adze, hand…
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Getting to Bulukumba: Logistics for Clients Visiting Their Build
Getting to Bulukumba for a build visit is straightforward once you know the route: fly into Makassar (Sultan Hasanuddin International, UPG) — reachable via…
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Visiting the Yards: A Respectful Guide to Tana Beru’s Beachfront
Yes — you can visit the phinisi yards of Tana Beru, and the beachfront is one of the most remarkable industrial landscapes in Indonesia:…
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Laying the Keel: Ceremony and Engineering on the Bira Shore
Laying the keel of a phinisi on the Bira shore is both a ceremony and the single most consequential engineering decision of the build:…
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Seasoning Timber the Bulukumba Way: Years Before the First Cut
In Bulukumba, boat timber is seasoned the patient way: felled at the right moon and season, moved slowly from forest to coast, then stacked,…
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Apprenticeship in Tana Beru: How a Konjo Shipwright Is Made
A Konjo shipwright in Tana Beru is made through years of unpaid observation and graded hands-on work inside a family or village crew —…
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Annyorong Lopi: The Launching Ritual That Moves Ships by Hand
Annyorong lopi is the communal launching ritual of Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, in which a finished phinisi hull — often weighing well over a hundred…
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