Raja Laut

In terms of the method of construction itself, wooden boatbuilding tradition strongly favors carvel planking in which a smooth hull is formed by wooden planks attached to a frame.

This true both in the West and in the East, but in the Malay Archipelago there is one twist - here the Bugis boat builders have been building their carvel boats for centuries by putting the planking in first, prior to the frames (much as with a clinker built boat except with the planks placed edge to edge). Using these methods, and Belian/Kayu Ulin (species name: Eusideroxylon Zwageri), and plans of traditional wooden schooners from America and France, we built the strongest hull possible.

Each of the Belian pieces used to create the Raja Laut's hull structure - the planking, frames and stringers - was carefully selected for only the longest pieces, defect-free and quarter sawn.

Then the thickness of the planking, the size and spacing of the frames, the stringers, the quality of the workmanship, the symmetry of construction, and strength of the stainless steel fastenings, all contributing to create an exceptionally strong and durable hull.

• The keel is 30cm x 35cm x 22meters in one seamless piece
• The keelsom is 20cm x 20cm
• The planking thickness is 7cm at the bottom hull and 6cm at the turn of the bilge and 5cm for the topsides
• The internal stringers extend from keelsom to deck, are 20cm x 7cm and spaced at 17cm interval
• The wood for the frames was specifically selected to fit the curvature of the hull.
• Each frame is construed of 2 pieces, each 15cm thick by 10cm wide, bolted together with a minimum of 50 cm overlap where joined
• The stem is formed by a 30cm x 30cm solid piece of Belian, supported by a timber knee off the stem that has a rake of 62 degrees
• The sprit is boxed with a stainless steel band at the stem
• All fastenings and bolts are 304 stainless steel