Chine bLog

Thanks to Ruth from the blog VazahaGasy for picking up my last post on her partner's building of a traditional Malagasy fishing boat. She updated her pictures to include a few of the boat under sail.

As I suspected would be the case, the boat carries a loose-footed lanteen rig. Really, I would have accepted nothing less! Seriously, this fits the boat well - I bet she looks nice under sail - and shows how that rig made its way down the coast of Africa.

Rath also gives us a good shot of the owner / builder. Great work! The boat is lovely. It is a work boat, but you can tell was well finished nonetheless. Enjoy!

Location: Antsiranana, Madagascar

Today I came upon an interesting post and some great pictures courtesy of the blog VazahaGasy and author Ruth Frost. The post outlines the author's experience watching the building of a traditional Malagasy fishing boat. It is a quick read, clearly an interested, observant, non-boatbuilder's take on the process. No matter - she gives a sense of construction techniques, materials, and dimensions. Most importantly, then, she takes lots of photos. Bravo!

View a full slide show of the building process or a slide show of the launching (which looks like a fascinating communal exercise). I think the end-result is a fairly handsome boat (great paint job), though it looks like what was once a sailing craft is now destined for an outboard. Practical, but I'd like to see how these were rigged.

Location: Antsiranana, Madagascar