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large boats
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Large boats
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The large boats seem to be a development of the pointed canoes. There is
no clear division, there are large canoes and small boats. Generally the
boats have a clear stem and stern. If they are powered, the stern often
has a raised deckhouse to protect the motor and give a perch for the
helmsman.
If a large boat is punted, it often has outboard runways of bamboo poles.
These allow several punters to work each side and to walk the length of
the boat. It also leaves the hold uncluttered for cargo and living space.
The one on the left shows the general arrangement. To moor a boat, you
just ram the punt poles into the mud and tie up to them.
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| The cabinless example on the right shows
the slightly raised stern of the bigger boats. The purpose of this may
well be to give the helm a better forward view. The very basic side
runways are just single poles, but the crew seem to be quite
comfortable walking along them. We found it quite a challenge to get
on board boats when the gangway was just a single, narrow bamboo pole.
The crew could honestly not see what our problem was. |
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This close up shows a more extensive
cabin area on a boat that is probably used as a permanent home. The
side decks are more substantial and the whole of the stern is
enclosed. However, the entire superstructure could be rapidly removed
is necessary. The boats working as ferries often had permanent wooden
superstructures which could extend nearly the full length of the hull.
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| Our own tour was supported by one of
these boats, called "The Country Boat" which took us ashore where it
was too shallow for Sukapha to go. We were forced to wear horrible
life jackets in this "for your safety". We kept trying to point out
that they were lethal. If the boat capsized the jackets would trap us
inside. A much safer arrangement would be to have loose life rings or
rafts on the roof, which would have floated off and given us a chance
to grab them. But they wouldn't have it. I think it was a requirement
of an insurance company who had no idea of the real conditions. The
boat had practically no draft at all. The crew started the engine by
swinging the fly wheel over. The helmsman sat on a stool on the roof
and controlled the speed by hauling on a string. when he let it go,
the engine stopped. He was an expert. The current was fierce, and when
he came back alongside the Sukapha he had to stop the engine and coast
to the side, with no second chance. He never got it wrong |
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This powered boat has a raised helmsman's
platform at the rear, but the engine is under the open sided part of
the main cabin. This is an official boat of the Brahmaputra navigation
board. I asked if the flag had any significance, as I had seen
several boats with them and they told me "Yes, its a navigation mark".
I realised then that some were red and some were green. They use
floating marks because the river bed moves so rapidly they have to be
mobile. You can see the large side hung rudder on the port side,
which all powered boats had. I could never determine for certain the
position of the screw. I think it may have been to one side of the
stern post. I can't imagine that it would stick much below the flat
bottom. |
| Some big boats weren't boats at all. This was on of
several rafts of bamboo we saw. Six men rowed hard at one end, to keep
in the current. It would take them five days to drift from the bamboo
groves to Guarhati, where the bamboo would be used for scaffolding.
The soaking in the water was said to make it tougher and more suited
to this. Most bamboo was harvested for paper making, and in this case
it was transported by truck to keep it dry. This huge raft made me
think of Huckleberry Finn, but a very different culture. |
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