Our host for the day in Mandvi, once one of the major ports of Kutch, but now a centre for wooden dhow building, was himself an architect of these amazing structures. His apartment, near the estuary and harbour entrance, was built to resemble a boat with bridge and 'wheel'. He was now in his 70's and had started working on ships when he was 14, earning a few rupees a day as a deck hand. With a wealth of practical experience behind him, he now not only designed the boats but was consulted by insurance companies to give his expert opinion in claim and estimate disputes.
The estuary was littered with the hulks of various wooden dhows in different stages of completion. Climbing through a narrow gap, we were shown aboard the primary struts of a dhow in the process of being built. There was a sense of awe looking up at the huge, towering, pieces of teak wood which were being shaped by hand with the simplest of tools. There was not a machine in sight, the huge 150 000 ton boat was being hand crafted by men, mainly Tamil workers from the South of India, who had the sea in their blood....each gigantic strut was being cut to size using pencil marks and then screwed into place, by people who understood their craft. The finished dhows would be sold to Somalians and wealthy Middle Eastern ship owners for transportation of goods.
The estuary was littered with the hulks of various wooden dhows in different stages of completion. Climbing through a narrow gap, we were shown aboard the primary struts of a dhow in the process of being built. There was a sense of awe looking up at the huge, towering, pieces of teak wood which were being shaped by hand with the simplest of tools. There was not a machine in sight, the huge 150 000 ton boat was being hand crafted by men, mainly Tamil workers from the South of India, who had the sea in their blood....each gigantic strut was being cut to size using pencil marks and then screwed into place, by people who understood their craft. The finished dhows would be sold to Somalians and wealthy Middle Eastern ship owners for transportation of goods.
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