Rajkot: With a length of 207 feet, just a shy of the Airbus A380, the longest wooden boat built to date stands high and proud at the Dhow, Mandvi manufacturing center.
And it also makes the city that has made the best of ‘Dhows’ handmade for the past 400 years richer by around Rs 10 Crore.
Estity in its three-storey structure of its coledone, everything about the 18-foot ships is kingdom – is believed to have been ordered by the Dubai Kingdom family because of chasing a hobby of fishing in the high seas.
“We got an order to make a fishing boat from Ibrahim Abdul Razak Ustadi,” said Veteran Ibrahim Mistry shipmaker, who with the help of 36 workers took three years to build a large ship.
“It’s almost ready and will sail to Dubai in a month.
I have known that those who have ordered it connected with the Dubai Royal family,” said Mistry Toi.
Fishing vessels can accommodate eight 60-ft ships and have consumed around 23,000 cubic meters of imported wood from Malaysia and Indonesia.
It has nine air-conditioned rooms that can accommodate 32 people and storage space cooled to keep catches fresh.
After the ship reaches the destination, the buyer will match the machine that will run in Diesel.
The initial cost of the ship is Rs 6.5 Crore, but the owner’s adjustment adds RS 3.5 Crore to the bill.
Mandvi, the city of shipbuilding at Kutch, has honed its skills since the 16th century.
For centuries, the workers here have perfected the art of making the best handmade, wooden boats known as ‘Dhows’.
Generally the boat used in cargo handling is made here.
“This is the first time Mandvi gets a fishing boat order.
The boat will be withdrawn by a large ship to the destination in the next 15 to 20 days,” Mistry added.
Haji Junja, a leading trader of the Mandavi ship development industry, said, “This is a rare command.
In general we get orders to make cargo ships.
This order has been placed by the bay kingdom family who want to pursue their lure hobby.”