Design Resource
Boat Making, Kerala
The Craft of Making House Boat
by
Making Process And Tools
Introduction:
The boat is constructed featuring the prehistoric principles and techniques of boat building by the local carpenters. All the materials used are available locally and are eco-friendly. The main wood used to make the boatis "Aangili" (Artocarpus hirsuta). This timber is obtained from Kottayam district in Kerala. Nails are barely used for joining of the planks as most of the planks are bound/joinedusing coir/husk and coir rope. The planking of the hull is done by laying a series of wooden planks, cut lengthwise. The planks are carved on the sides, using a planer. The plank is drilled on both the sides, uniformly at equidistance, using a drilling machine.The planks arebound/joinedtemporarily withsynthetic ropes through the drilled holes.For the filling, the husk is separated from the coconut shell and repeatedly beaten with a hammer. The strands of fibre is taken and bundled. This bundle is inserted inside the twelve strips of twines. This bundle of fibre and twines are stitched in a vertical and cross-stitch pattern, using a large needle and is hammered.This filling ensures boat sturdiness and makes it water resistant.The holes which were used for stitching are again stuffed with the husk to avoid seepage.The craftsman hammers from beneath the boat, pulls and tightens the coir.A coating of the caustic black resin (made from boiled cashew kernels) is used on the planks for water resistance.
Boat making-Tools
Introduction:
Most of the tools and intsruments used in making a boat are available locally in Kerala. The palm trees, areca nut trees, bamboos and other natural raw materials are used for the construction of the boat. All the raw materials used onboard are eco-friendly, right from the solar power energy system to the decor used in-house. Following are the tools and raw materials used for making the boat:
• Chuttiga (Wooden Mallet) – It is used to fasten the nails
• Sooji (Needle )
• Kathri (Scissor)
• Uli - Chisels
• Veeduli – A Large V- Shaped Chisel
• Valam - Mallet made of mild steel is used to chisel out the wood
• Traditional handmade Drilling machine
• Earchavall - Saw – Two types – Handmade and machine - used to cut the wood into planks
• Fish oil or Veppu (Neem) oil for bending the plank
• "Aangili" wood (Artocarpus Hirsuta)
• Mayyara or Parumakkol - Marking tools, used to identify the thickness. The Mayyara is used to make parallel lines from one edge to another.
• Chiplithadi – The Planer – is used to level or plane the wood at various stages.
• Mattam - Right angle, made out of wood is used to draw the angles.
• Thothu or Muzhakolu – Thothu is a measuring tools, made out of small wooden strips, is used to measure the width of the planks and a Muzhakolu, made from Palm tree, is used for larger length measurements.
• Sheetukol– The Depth Gauge – Is made from metal rods, used to clear the drill hole and to measure the length of the hole.
• Nails varying between 4 inch to 1 foot & files
