This is an extract from my latest book, Wooden Wonders: Traditional Malaysian Fishing Boats
The presentation of design influences on
boats is best introduced by placing it in the context of what ancient
philosophers asserted were the three motivators of all human inquiry: pursuit
of truth, beauty and goodness. This triumvirate of cognition,
aesthetics, and morality offers a framework for looking at traditional design
as an attempt to 1) develop a boat that
will be safe, durable and functional, 2) express cultural heritage and
historicity, 3) incorporate belief systems, and 4) express an aesthetic quality.
The first category can be referred to as mechanistic influences and the
other categories can be referred to as non-mechanistic influences.
By design, boats
place people far out on the water in an unnatural and hazardous environment. Therefore,
boats are conservative in their design and often enshrouded by ritual and
symbolic elements derived from belief systems. If one is to have faith in a
boat when at sea, it seems natural to want to imbue the craft with as much
safety as possible, both physical and spiritual. Horridge (1995) notes:
Because
the use of them is dangerous, boats are particularly conservative structures
and all cultures adhere to their own proven designs. Rigs are more easily
copied than hull structures. When changes in design are introduced they are not
admitted. In consequence, boatbuilding techniques may survive unchanged for
1000 years or may be quickly modified in a single generation as happens when
designs are transferred from elsewhere.
Indigenous boat design knowledge can
derive from traditional influences that lie outside the realm of naval
architecture. This indigenous knowledge can consider available construction
materials and fasteners as well as specific boat applications. This knowledge
also leads to design details that affect performance and safety. When asked to
explain specifics about a design, traditional builders may respond in a generic
fashion, indicating there is no other way to design the boat or the design
gives better performance. Construction details have been relayed from
their ancestors and deviations from this tradition are considered dangerous
(Horridge, 1995).
The details of
the boat are ostensibly designed in response to a particular need. For example,
the sharp bow allows a boat to pierce waves, a shallow draft allows passage
over sandbars and an open transom allows nets to be easily pulled onboard. The
overall boat design is dictated by needs for stability, buoyancy, maneuverability,
seakindliness, draft restrictions, superstructure, and equipment requirements. However, in addition to these mechanistic
elements, boat designs also derive from traditional designs, traditional
construction methods, and available materials. In addition to these traditional
influences, boat design is influenced by perceptions regarding durability,
safety, comfort, and maintenance.
Boat designers make judgments as they
contend with many conflicting design issues such as performance versus aesthetics, stability versus capacity, comfort
versus seakeeping, safety versus speed, safety
versus ease of use, hull size versus operating cost, and fuel efficiency
versus production cost. The following
sections describe a few important mechanistic factors that may be
helpful in considering the photographs and data that follow.