Ngalawa boats are extended log boats with double outriggers and lateen sails used by artisanal fishers on the East African coast. They are between 4 and 9 meters long, but most of them are somewhere in the middle between these lengths. They sport a U-shaped hall, which makes it easy to pull them on land after fishing.
Boat design features
Hull
The hull, the core element of Ngalawa log boats, is hewn from one tree log. The boat-building areas on the Tanzanian coastline are around Bagamoyo on the mainland and the island of the Zanzibar archipelago. These areas are situated close to Miombo woodlands, and timber was harvested from these forests. According to (Ichumbaki et al., 2021), the preferred timber species in former times were:
- Indian almond (Terminalia catappa),
- Lebbek tree (Albizia lebbeck),
- Marula (Sclerocarya birrea caffra)
Due to Tanzania’s environmental protection laws, these timbers are only scarcely available in the required dimensions nowadays. Therefore, the timber that is primarily used in Ngalawas is mango (Mangifera indica) wood.Its hardwood holds well in seawater for a long time, and it is a cultivated fruit tree, not a wild forest species.
An upward-shaped piece of prow timber called kasama in Swahili, is added to the bow of the log hull. The wood used there should be light to raise the bow when the vessel is in the water. Cashew (Anacardium occidentale) timber—from cultivated fruit trees—is preferably used for this part of the boat.
Small Ngalawas, operated by artisanal fishermen in Zanzibar, have either no thwarts for sitting or one thwart in front of the outrigger beam in the rear. Due to the limited size, there is no room for a second thwart. There is also no need for a second thwart, as a single fisherman usually fishes and trims the sail or changes the tack of the vessel himself. Only large Ngalawas carrying tourists around have a higher number of thwarts.
On the stern face of the log boat, a rudder is hung into two gudgeon and pintle pairs. A simple type of tiller moves the rudder.
Outriggers
The Ngalawa outrigger system consists of two booms and two outrigger floats, each connected by a stanchion.
Outrigger floats are often planks cut from the hull’s timber. Therefore, they are mostly made from thick planks of mango wood. They are carved in a concave shape, touching the water by gently increasing the float plank surface and displacing it in a torpedo-like shape. This keeps the boat in balance and minimizes its water resistance.
Chopping cuts into the sides of the float planks further decreases water resistance. Each cut creates a mini-vortex in its surroundings, pushing away waves from the floating structure when speeding along in the water. Both floats must have roughly the same weight and shape to keep the boat balanced.
The floats are connected to the outrigger booms by stanchions. The two booms are made from strong and lightweight wood, either from a Lebbek tree (Albizia lebbeck), neem tree (Azadirachta indica), or eucalyptus. Eucalyptus timber is popular for booms as it is straight and long with a slightly diminishing diameter. These booms are always kept round. On the other hand, stanchions are traditionally square and made from one of the above-mentioned wood species. They are often carved from neem timber traded in more chunky sections.
Floats and stanchions are connected by a ‘through mortise and tenon joint,’ locked by an iron pin. The two forward stanchions are slightly shorter than the aft stanchions to lift the forward boom a bit higher. The connection between round booms and rectangular stanchions can be seen in the above photo. Nylon lashing maintains a strong but flexible connection between these two elements.
Both assembled booms will be connected to the hull by string or rope lashing between wooden pins set into the hull and the upper side of the booms.
Mast and sail
Many Ngalawa boats are rigged with a sail for speedier motion than paddling. Rigging is a lateen rig with a triangular sail. The mast is set into a plank on top of the sheer and footed in a receiving piece within the bottom of the hull.
A rope can be inserted through an eye at the upper end of the mast to lift and lower the sail beam. The mast and sail beams are made of eucalyptus wood, and the plank is mango wood.
Boat uses
According to (Jiddawi, 2012), about 48% of all Zanzibar fishermen own a Ngalawa fishing boat. However, these boats are becoming increasingly abundant. Many fishermen cooperate to acquire larger fishing vessels and do round netting or purse seine netting outside the reef in deeper waters. Ngalawa boats can only be used inside the reef, often producing smaller catches.
Paddling or using punting poles
Artisanal, cash-strapped fishermen paddle their Ngalawa boats and fish in the lagoons using gill nets, handlines, multi-hook long lines, or setting Dema fish traps (Cooper et al., 2021). These techniques provide enough food for the family and generate a small income by selling fish and crustaceans to restaurants and markets. The laborious work of paddling or poling can be relieved by setting sails on these small boats.
Sailing
Actual sailing, often in connection with an outboard motor, is mainly done on large Ngalawa boats and now most often with and for tourists. There are only three rig lines: halyard, vang, and sheet.
As there is no keel and the outriggers are not built for rough seas, sailing, again, is done within the reefs in the lagoons. Snorkeling trips to coral gardens or areas with various sea stars are most favored.
Lessons learned about Ngalawa boats:
- Ngalawa boats are the standard fishing boats in tropical waters along the Eastern African coastline.
- These are log boats with a double outrigger system and often lateen sail rigging.
- Many of these boats are becoming abundant nowadays, as fishermen get a higher income by fishing from cooperative vessels.
- Tourists discovered the flair of being sailed with roughly cut log boats, which will hopefully keep the craftsmanship of the Ngalawa boatbuilders alive.
.
