Ban Khlong Rua, a Muslim village in Krabi province, might be just another small fishing village on the Andaman Sea. But for southerners living along this side of the coast, the name represents the hub of Andaman fishing boatbuilding.
Supad Chuatalay.
"You could say that most small-scale fishing boats in the Andaman Sea are made at Ban Khlong Rua," said Supad Chuatalay, a 37-year-old native of the village, which lies close to touristy Koh Lanta. The statement contains a grain of truth. Fishermen of the Andaman Sea — from Ranong to Satun provinces — travel to the village just to buy the boats, known as rua hua tong. There is small-scale boatbuilding in other provinces but Ban Khlong Rua is known as the only commercial hub for rua hua tong in the country.
Rua hua tong are traditional fishing boats only used in the Andaman Sea. Boats are matched to the seas they sail on. For example, the boat used in Pattani province is called rua ko rair, which is flatter, allowing it to sail along smaller but choppy wave crests in the lower Gulf of Thailand. Rua hua tong have different features — a spherical shape in front, and a rising prow, unique features that can withstand huge strong tidal waves in the Andaman Sea.
Ban Khlong Rua's boats are famous for quality, endurance and beauty. It is not only fishermen that come to the village for boats. Hotels and the tourism industry on the Andaman Sea order boatbuilders to make larger vessels with special features to carry tourists for sightseeing. Supad, known among locals as Bung Reen, has been commissioned to make boats with fancy details, such as the prow being in Nordic Viking-style, or large tourist boats that can accommodate up to 100 people.
The rua hua tong have become a symbol for the tourism industry in Krabi, and often appear in promotional pictures, thanks to the photogenic nature of the boat. Since 2013, Krabi has promoted the annual fishermen's worship of rua hua tong as a tourism event. Satun province runs the annual Rua Hua Tong Fishing Event to encourage tourism.
Such popularity emboldens the already lucrative, almost rival-less boatbuilding business. As southerners generally complain of depleting fish stocks and the tumbling price of rubber, the boatbuilders of Ban Khlong Rua hardly feel the pinch. There are only around 15 of them, supplying boats for the whole Andaman Sea. Most are family businesses. One of the boatbuilders even boasted: "Our business shall prevail as long as the sea does not dry up." Boatbuilders also have a special "on-site service" by sending teams to make boats in other areas. Almost every month, Supad has to travel with his apprentices to make boats in another village.
Supad is the third generation of a boatbuilding family. Loonsen, his father, learnt to make boats from his grandfather. Boatbuilding is an example of old-school, artisan learning by doing. There is no textbook, nor curriculum. It takes at least three years to learn basic boatbuilding, and another decade to become fully skilled. Making rua hua tong is not an ordinary carpenter's job. Unlike other boats, the assembling technique is reversed. The hull must be assembled first. That unique technique, said Supad, ensures the boat has a perfect, slightly spherical shape at the front, and all the wood pieces are seamlessly joined and do not shrink. Boats from the village can be used for up to 20 years.
"Each boat is different depending on the type and pattern of each wood plank you get. So boatbuilders need to solve problems day by day," he said. Each piece of wood has a different texture and moisture, and boatbuilders need to make sure each wood plank is dried and pieced together seamlessly.
"The work requires great concentration. You cannot afford to miss putting a single nail in because it will compromise the structure of the whole boat in the long term," said Supad, who grew up witnessing his father at work.
Supad admits that he never dreamt of following in his father's footsteps. Bored of the dockyard, he left home to help his grandmother take care of a rubber tree orchard when he was 13. But he finally tried his hand at making rua hua tong after he returned home seven years later. Then he realised boatbuilding is lucrative. But the real appeal is the peace he gets from the job.
"It started with me helping to put the nails in the wood, planks and boatbuilding finally grew on me. I just feel at peace making these boats. I completely forget everything around me when I work with them," he said.
Supad is one of the most sought-after boatbuilders. His boats can be sold at around 150,000 baht — the average price of a standard boat is around 120,000 baht.
Yet, boatbuilders in the village know the party can't go on forever. Being a select group is good for business but bad for passing on new knowledge.
"Although the job is a sure way to make money, the younger generation hardly show an interest," said Supad. "The most important thing is you need to have passion for this job. If you work for money, you cannot tolerate the humdrum nature of boatbuilding that long."
Another threat to the business is the coal-transportation pier project which will be built along the coast near the village. Pier construction is part of the 870-megawatt-coal-fired power plant project developed by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat). For the last three years, tourism operators and local villagers, especially fishermen, have protested against the project, which will impact on 17,000 rai of internationally recognised wetland.
The pier project will have an indirect impact on the boatbuilding village. Huge commercial vesels could destroy small fishing gear. Construction of the pier and sand dredging will change sea bed navigation routes and damage sea grass. The coastal area, used as a harbour for small traditional fishing boats, will be shared with industrial piers, where vessels will handle 2.3 million tonnes of coal shipments annually.
The coal shipping routes will swing by nearby tourist islands such as Koh Lanta, Koh Cham and the not so distant Koh Phi Phi. The future of the environment in the area is bleak and Supad wonders how his business can thrive when the community and nature around it might not.
"What is going to happen to a village known for boatbuilding if one day local fishermen can no longer sail into the sea as they once did or fish stocks plummet because the sea is so polluted?" questioned Supad.
Apprentices need at least three years to learn basic boatbuilding and another 10 years to hone the craft.
Rua hua tong.
The wood determines the quality and price of the boat.
Villagers in Krabi province have protested against the planned coal-fired power plant and pier.
The rua hua tong now symbolises luxury tourism in the area.
