Kawarty Red Sea

Wooden boats have continuously been built in Egypt since Pharaonic times. Wooden boatbuilding is also common throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The same basic principles have been practiced for generations, from Dhows in the Arabian Gulf to fishing vessels in Tunisia. Our foreman in Suez, Am Nasser, was taught at the age of 12 by his grandfather. He can almost build boats by instinct!

The cost of skilled labour in Egypt is significantly less than that in Europe, for example. This enables us to build quality yachts for much lower prices.

We are often asked why we build wooden yachts rather than fiberglass, aluminium or steel, and whether wooden boats are more difficult to maintain than others. In fact, our managing director, Mounir, was asked this on Egyptian Channel Four television. The answer is that we believe that wooden yachts are easier to construct than others and the expertise is more readily available. Also our construction methods ensure that there are no significant maintenance problems, even in the long term.

We take our responsibility for the safety of passengers on our yachts very seriously. This is one of the reasons why we are so concerned to make sure the yachts are constructed to the highest standards.

Many people we talk to prefer to sail on wooden yachts because such yachts have what can only be described as ‘atmosphere’. Of course, wood is strong, relatively lightweight, flexible and easy to work with and repair. It is also environmentally friendly because it is a renewable resource. The woods we use do not come from destroyed rain forests.

Kawarty II was launched in 2003 and we have had no problems since the launch other than those that can be fixed during routine maintenance. The yacht is thoroughly inspected in dry dock at the beginning of each year.

The reasons why maintenance is not a major problem include the following:

· The care we take in building the yachts. The construction is supervised in detail on a day to day basis by Mounir and no substandard work is tolerated.

· The strength of the construction. For example, the spars are closer together than any other yacht on the Red Sea that we are aware of. Also, we use more and stronger screws that others.

· The extensive use of epoxy. This strengthens the construction and makes the wood watertight. This means that no moisture can get to the wood so that it does not rot and the paint does not blister. It virtually eliminates the danger of worm damage and the boat does not pick up weight due to moisture absorption.

Briefly, the construction process can be summarized as follows: The keel is laid and the frame built. The frame receives a coat of epoxy. Planks are then attached to the frame with large screws, but the planks are not attached to each other. The gaps between the planks are caulked with cotton; this acts to seal the seams between the planks and makes the structure of the yacht more rigid. The planks then receive a coat of epoxy. Marine plywood is then attached to the planks with large staples and the plywood then receives its coat of epoxy. Lastly, the yacht is painted using a primer followed by polyurethane paint.

It has to be remembered that a yacht design and construction must take into account the stresses and loads it will receive over time, not only from tons of water but also from specific loads such as when it is supported in dry dock or in the event of its hitting an object at sea. The loads and the corrosion inevitable in a marine environment have to be withstood for many years.

Following the introduction of molded fiberglass, wooden yachts went out of fashion because they were perceived to be vulnerable to various types of damage. However, this has changed. With the introduction of new techniques, especially the use of epoxy, wood is again regarded as an ideal material for boat building and is stronger than fiberglass.

For those interested in wooden boatbuilding, please see the construction photos of Kawarty I, Kawarty II and Kawarty III, which illustrate the techniques used in construction. Much of the work is done by hand using traditional methods.