Dhow and Boom Building in Ras Al Khaima, UAE Do not try this at home !

RAK Feb 2005 – the keel has been laid and the first 5 or 6 rows of hull planks attached – note the stern post ( right ) and the bow post ( left )

The hull planks are held in place by the external forms – no nails here, all wooden peg

The big rib pieces have been sawn with the bandsaw. Now they are being cut to final shape with hand chisel and hammer.

This is one of the smaller racing dhows that he builds

This small dhow is in for a cleaning and a new anti-fouling paint job

Now back to the boom one year and a bit later – July 2006

The view from the top of the beach – notice the people down by the bow

More of a side view – 900 tonnes capacity – 120 feet long roughly – all hand cut

Getting closer – note the stern design work

Today is launch day – they’ve laid out a plank roadway and placed rollers on it then the major beam and a brace in to the keel – then they wedged in the gaps and lifted it clear of the beach

The boss – with his back to us is overseeing the move – he calls all the shots – he built it after all – so how are they going to move it?

That’s an old fashions Spanish windlass anchored to the sand by an anchor similar to the one you can see – buried in the sand out in the water.

Heave ho!

The main man keeps tension on the line and watches that the line doesn’t get wrapped around itself – that’s wire cable, not hemp rope as it used to be – lots of creaking and snapping going on

Placing a roller – inch by inch – nope! – millimeter by millimeter – there’s the boss

Note the block purchase – no fools these – and a bow shot

There’s that stern detail!

The original material – I’m glad they didn’t use this one – what a twist!

This bandsaw has done a lot of work over the years – so some cutting is done by machine – note good safety features!

He also builds racing dhows – I want # 34