Phinisi a Wooden Sailing Boat from Indonesia

Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the World. It has more than 17,000 islands scattered between the continents of Asia and Australia. As a maritime nation, Indonesian people have a long tradition of building boats both for transporting goods and people. One of the famous types is the Phinisi. It is a wooden sailing boat from South Sulawesi. The people there make Phinisi boat using traditional equipments and methods. In the past boats were only powered by sails. Now most of the boats have diesel engines. Here in Indonesia people call such boats as KLM (Kapal Layar Motor literally translated as Ship Sail Motor). Because of this hybrid system, Phinisi can be considered as an environmentally friendly boat.

In recent years, Western Naval Architects have given their serious attention to Phinisi. They try to modify the sailing boat from cargo oriented to pleasure one. Now Phinisi has been modified to function as yacht. Its construction system has also been adapted to conform with the standard classification rules set by BKI (Biro Klasifikasi Indonesia) or GL (Germanisher Lloyd). In addition,boatbuilders of Phinisi also install internal combustion engine (or diesel engine) to power the boat. For instance, a 36-meter Phinisi which has been powered with a 650 hp Yanmar diesel can have a service speed of 10 knots. This speed is considered fast compared to similar other Phinisi boats. The use of computer ship design software such as Maxsurf in optimizing the propulsion efficiency and hull-form does not change the construction method.

With the improvement of design, speed and quality of interior material of the Phinisi boats, we will see that yacht owners from around the world will be interested in ordering such sailing boats to travel the waters of not only Indonesia but also the Carribean, the Mediteranean and the Pacific. by Charles Roring

Beautiful Flowers from Tomohon

My sister ordered some bunches of flowers from Tomohon for decorating our Catholic church during the Christmas mass. The flowers arrived 12 hours late and they could not be used during the Christmas eve celebration. The distance the flowers had to travel was very far. From Tomohon in the Minahasa regency, her friend who bought the flowers had to bring them to Sam Ratulangie airport and handed them over to cabin crew of Batavia air. After that the flowers would be flown to Hasanuddin airport in Makassar city where it would then be transferred from the airplane to another one that would be flying to Rendani airport of Manokwari in the Province of West Papua. So, the flowers need around 8 hours flying not including the time they needed on land from the airport to the church before they could be used for decorating the altar.

Because of the late arrival of these flowers, my sister decided to use them for the New Year's eve celebration. To keep the freshness of the flowers, she put them in a number of baskets that have been filled with water. Also she put them near our bathroom to keep the temperature lower.

Flower farmers in Tomohon have exported their products to customers as far as Jakarta and Balikpapan. Although on the map the distance between Manokwari and Tomohon is not too far, there is no direct flight between these towns. Flowers have to be transported by car or Datsun trucks from Tomohon to Manado and be flown to Makassar before taking another flight to Manokwari.

Selling Flowers can be a good business especially during the economic downturn like what many people experience right now. Growing flowers can be done at backyards where unused lawns have been converted into flower patch. The favorite and expensive flowers that customers like to buy in this town are cut flowers such as red roses, orchid and possibly Adenium (mostly sold as live plants) Less expensive flowers such as Canna is also good for home interior.

When buying flowers, customers must know that beautiful flowers from high land areas may not grow well in lowland areas. So it is better to ask the vendors about the kind of flowers which are suitable for lowland. by Charles Roring
Also read: Barringtonia Asiatica beautiful but poisonous flower

Christmas Lunch

Today is Christmas day. I am spending all day at home watching television and talking with my parents, sisters and my wife. I think that we need some time to talk with our family sharing some interesting stories which we don't do during workdays. Now I am about to eat my lunch and I am happy to show you how Christmas at my home has been a great day for my family.


Perhaps some of you don't celebrate Christmas. It's okay. I hope that God will bless you all with healthy life and happiness.
Next year will be a challenging year with many opportunities that we can take to improve our living condition. We may plant a tree in front of our house as a simple resolution in fighting global warming. Or We may have planned to take a long holiday aboard a sailing yacht that will bring us to remote islands in the Pacific or the Carribean. Or you might have considered of giving up smoking as your resolution.
For me, I will try to update this blog more frequently and improve the content so that more of you will enjoy reading the posts. Happy Christmas

My Watercolor Painting of To Girls Fishing At A Wooden Jetty

I made this painting to create awareness among us all about the importance of keeping our beach clean. In the painting you can see how dissappointed the girls were when they found out that it was not a fish that they caught but a worn shoe. They were sitting on a wooden jetty accompanied by a small teddy bear doll in a bright day. The background of the scenery shows a container ship sailing out of the bay to the open sea. There were three other boats in the bay. At a far distance, we could see the green hills and a light house standing at the end of the cape.

When we go to a beach we may not find such beautiful and clean water. The sea areas around coastal big cities and towns are now covered with industrial and domestic wastes. Many of them contain chemicals that are harmful to the marine environment. While we may now work hard to fight global warming, it seems that we are not aware of the continuous destruction of coral reefs caused by the dumping of wastes to the sea. I hope that this watercolor painting can be seen as my way of presenting how beautiful the sea is and how important for us to not throwing plastics and other domestic garbages to the sea.
Title: Painting of Sisters Fishing at a Wooden Jetty; Artist: Charles Roring; Year: 2004; Media: Watercolor on cold press acid free Canson paper

The Largest Submarine in The World, Sentoku

During World War II, Japan built Sentoku the largest submarine in the world. This class of submarine, which was also named I-400, had hangar constructed on the upper main deck to accommodate three floatplane bombers, Aichi M6A Seiran. The submarine was reported to be 60% larger than the largest American submarine. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ordered the construction of the I-400 submarine class as their secret weapons to destroy major US cities and the Panama Canal - the main route for the US to logistically supply their troops fighting against the Japanese in the Pacific. The Japanese had suffered great loss during the marine battles in Guadalcanal, and Midway as well as land battles in the Netherlands New Guinea island. It had been planned that the launching of surprised attacks on the Panama Cannal and US big cities would stop the US from immediately supplying their troops in that region thus providing enough time for the Japanese to consolidate and strengthen their troops.

Unfortunately for the Japan, the I-400 submarines could not fulfil their mission because the US had bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapon forcing the Japanese government to surrender without any condition. Sentoku and her sisters submarines could carry aerial torpedoes, three 800 kg bombs and twelve 240 kg bombs to arm their Seiran aircrafts. The propulsion of this submarine was powered by four 3,000 hp engines with enough fuel to travel around the world 1.5 times.

Bark Bag from Manokwari of West Papua

Tropical rainforest of West Papua has been the source of food for the indigenous people for thousands of years. It still plays an important role for the whole earth's inhabitants by converting CO2 emissions into fresh air that we breath everyday together with forests in Brazil, Borneo and other parts of the world.

In recent days, this forest is facing rapid illegal logging. Businessmen come to this island and convert the forest into large palm plantations that only give little benefits to the local people. When an area of the tropical rainforest has been cleared, various species of plants, mammals, birds and insects lose their habitat.

Last week, I and my friend went to the Table Mountain to take some bark for making traditional bags. We had to climb up several steep hills before we could find the tree that we need for making the bark bag. More than a century ago, tree barks were used by the indigenous Papuan people as textiles. They had not known how to make cotton thread and for making clothes. It was 4 p.m. when we took the bark from a small tree that would regenerate again after its trunk had been cut.

Then we decended from the Table Mountain of Manokwari. While we were in the middle of our way home we found a burnt land in the middle of this protected tropical rainforest which has just been cleared for vegetable patch by a local farmer. The indigenous people usually cut trees and burn them to clear the land of the forest to make it as their farmland. We could not do anything because we were not the forest authority.

Back to the story of bark bag. Arriving at Paul's house, I was given a seat to watch him pounding the bark to spread its fiber and make it tender. He needs three days to process such raw bark into a traditional bag.

As I don't have enough time to wait for that process, Paul asked his daughter to take the already made bark bag. Yes, it looks just a simple bag which the locals don't use anymore in their daily activities. Modern leather bags have replaced the existance of this bark bags which frequently are decorated with attractive ornaments related to local culture.

Writing the profile of Papuan artists who live in Manokwari is one of my ways to promote eco-tourism that is expected to improve their living quality the local people thus discouraging deforestation.

Two Dolphins Swimming in the Blue Sea

Have you ever seen dolphins swimming along side a sailing boat or ship? I have experienced such scenes many times. When I was still a university student studying naval architecture in the University of Pattimura Ambon, I frequently traveled with KM Dobonsolo or KM Sirimahu to my hometown in Manokwari. They were passangers ships operated by PT. PELNI. When the ships were in the middle of the sea with no bad weather at all, usually passengers could see big fish such as dolphins swimming in a close distance. It was a wonderful experience for me and I decided that one day I had to make a drawing or painting of such scene.

Charcoal sketch of Dolphins

Dolphins are smart mammals that live in the sea. They are often considered as guardian angels for sailors who experience accident at sea. I used to hear a story which said that dolphins helped crews of capsized or sunken ship by taking them to a nearest island. I don't know if such case do exist in real life. I only know that there are circus shows about instructors who ask dolphins to give them a ride around the big pond to entertain the spectators. The fish can also do simple mathematical calculation.

For me, the best thing that we can do to the dolphins is by letting them live where they are right now. The less we disturb them the better. This is also true for the whole marine environment. By the way, I made the painting of these swimming dolphins in 2004. The media was Fabercastell watercolor pencils on French made Canson paper.

So, next time when you plan to have a vacation in the Caribbean islands or the Pacific region, don't forget to bring a telelens camera. You might encounter such rare scene.  Take some nice pictures as souvenirs for your family and friends. by Charles Roring

Remains of Giant Clam on Tropical Rainforest of Manokwari West Papua

Could the Table Mountain of Manokwari of West Papua be a coral reef park several thousand or even million years ago? I and my friend Paul Werere, an indigenous Papuan, made a short hiking trip to a tropical rainforest located some five hundred meters at the back of my house. The locals here call it Table Mountain. There we found remains of giant clam shell (Tridacna gigas) and elkhorn shaped corals scattered around the mountain which are at 50 to 70 meters vertically measured above the sea surface. We also saw crabs swimming in the pond of spring water with physical appearances similar to their brothers that live among the mangrove forest. But we were not at the beach. We were on the mountain that is covered with large trees whose diameters range from 50 centimeters to 1.5 meters.

There have to be some explanations for why coral reef thrived in an area of a mountain far and high from the sea. The distance to the current beach is around 1 kilometer.

The first explanation will be that the ancestors of Papuan people might have taken the giant clams from the sea and ate them on the mountain. But this might not be true due to the existance of other corals that were not edible. The remains of hard corals and various large and tiny shells can still be found on this mountain.

The second explanation is that the corals and the giant clams had been swept away to the land by a giant wave or tsunami. While this answer might be possible, there has to be a maximum line where the giant wave had reached and stopped. Usually the line could be indicated by a long row of stones, corals, and other earth materials which had been carried into the land by the waves. So far we have not found such row of coral remains.

Then the third answer is that yes, the region used to be under the sea level. It means today's Manokwari town was under the sea level. Due to tectonic movements, the earth layers along the Table Mountain and the Northern Coastal Region of Papua island has been greatly pressed to emerge from the sea. That was how the mountain range along the northern coast of Papua had been formed. It could happen some several million years ago. Who knows?

Well while we are still guessing why this coral reef park thrived in this Table Mountain, I want to invite you to come to this forest to watch the birds singing and dancing, and to breath in the fresh air it produces while exploring the ancient coral reef without having to wear diving gear. by Charles Roring in Manokwari of West Papua

Also read:
Snorkeling in Arborek of Raja Ampat
Kingdom of Nemo
Snorkeling and Freediving in drop off Reef of Manokwari

The earthquake resistant wooden house of Minahasa enter the internet world

The traditional house of Minahasa has been recognized in Indonesia as one of the best earthquake resistant home construction that is suitable for tropical region. It looks beautiful especially when constructed in a village that is still fully decorated with flowers and green plants. In recent days, these wooden houses are increasingly being exported to other regions in the country and even abroad.

With the availability of internet connection in Woloan village, a major place where the traditional home builders can be found, traders of this earthquake resistant wooden houses try to expand their market by promoting their products on the internet. There are some websites that already offer these wooden houses. Potential buyers can choose the designs that they like based on the ones presented or can request custom designs from the housing company which are more suitable for their needs and climate condition where the houses will be erected.

The science of design and construction of Minahasan traditional wooden house has evolved over hundreds of years through trial and error of experiments that continues to improve the craftsmanship of the designers and builders. As a matter of fact, most of the wooden house design is not created by professional architect who got their expertise from college, not either by the use of Archicad home design software. Instead, the skills in designing and building of the houses have been passed on from generation to generation among the families of the house builders. Although the export of this type of wooden house is rising, there are concerns among the home builders to the availability of the raw materials.

The wooden house of Minahasa is mostly made of Cempaka, Lingua and Jati (tectona grandis) woods. Wood as home materials are getting scarce in the region. Home builders there now order planks and blocks from southern and central region of Celebes island. Some times they order wooden blocks from Kalimantan. This creates sensitive environmental issue such as illegal logging or irresponsible deforestation. This wooden house business can still survive if the local villagers are asked to plant trees that will become the housing materials after 30 years.
Timber frame houses are more resistant to earthquake. But the wood has to be properly treated to protect its fiber from direct contact with water. The application of varnish or paints on its surface will greatly protect the wood from decaying. In addition the standardization of sizes and types of wood used in the manufacture of wooden houses will ensure the safety of the houses. by Charles Roring in Manokwari of Papua

Ventilation System of Tropical House

Tropical houses are different from European houses. In cold region, houses must have good insulation to keep the indoor temperature warm during cold or winter season. Most of the houses in the sub-tropic or polar region have wood or gas stoves installed to keep warm temperature in the rooms. The case is different for tropical houses, ventilation system plays very important role in controlling the temperature of the rooms. In tropical region, sun shines all year long. The humidity is very high. Tropical houses need to have large openings such as windows and holes above doors to let the air circulate freely in and out of the houses.

Besides providing many jalousie windows, some house owners install the roof ventilators which will turn and suck the cool air into roof to cool the houses from above. City dwellers that install Air Conditioning Machines at their houses usually cover the ventilation windows and holes with transparent plastic sheets to keep the inside temperature of their houses cool. But this practice is considered not healthy because  new or fresh air cannot enter the houses.

Many tropical house owners grow trees and flower plants at the front or beside their houses to filter air and harness fresh oxygen produced by the trees to directly enter the houses during the day. This is one of the best natural ventilation systems that integrates trees as air filter and cooler. It can reduce the cost of electricity spent for operating artificial exhaust fan or Air Conditioning (AC) machines.

Although tropical houses need to have large window openings, they also need to be closed at nights to prevent mosquitoes from entering the houses. When the glass windows are closed, the air will still circulate through air holes located above the windows that are covered with mosquito nets. It means the fresh air can enter the house but the mosquitoes can't. by Charles Roring in Manokwari of Papua island.

Adding Doors and Windows in Archicad Home Design

Archicad of Graphisoft is a great tool for house design. Architects who have mastered it will definitely recommend it to their friends. This Building Information Modeling software (BIM) is easy to be operated. In addition, Archicad provides various construction elements which home designers can use to accelerate their work. One of the elements is door.

In Archicad, doors and windows have similar behavior and handling properties. Before we add doors or windows to the floor plan drawing, we must remember that we can only use them if we have drawn walls for them. When we put a door or a window into the wall, Archicad will cut or create an opening into the wall.

To add a door into a wall, click the Door in the ToolBox. Then click the Door Default Settings located below the Toolbar to choose the type of door and to modify it. You can select the types of the doors, change its material or its color.

On the following floorplan view, I have added 4 doors and 7 windows into the walls of the drawing. This is a small house with one bed room, one living room and one toilet room. You can see the floor plan of the house which I have made using Archicad below.

To visualize the design in 3 Dimensional view, just press Ctrl + F5. The floor plan which I have created is then presented in the following 3D view presentation:

It seems that the doors are closed. To change them to be in Open representation, with the doors on the floor plan selected, click again the Door Default Settings. Then click open the Parameters. Activate the 3D representation and change the Opening Angle in 3D to 80 degrees.

After you have clicked the OK button, press F3. The 3D representation of the small house is now showing that the doors are open as you can see in the first picture above. by Charles Roring

Units and Drawing Scale in Archicad

Archicad is a very powerful Building Information Modeling (BIM) Software from Graphisoft. It is increasingly being used by architects around the world. In this article I am going to explain a little about how to set units and scale prior to designing a house or a building.

If you are an Architect who lives in India, you will use SI units as project preferences for your design. But if you live in the United States, you might prefer to keep the default settings which are in Imperial Units. As a new Archicad user, you might be confused about how to change the units from the Imperial System to the International System. If this is your case, don't worry. Take a look at my following explanation:

With the Archicad BIM software running on your computer screen, locate the Option menu. After you have found and clicked it, you will see such list as Element Attributes, Element Snap, Auto Intersection, Magic Want Settings, Add-on Manager, Project Preferences and Work Environment.

Click the Project Preferences, you will see Working Units and Levels, Dimensions, Calculation Units, Construction Elements, Zones, Layout, Miscellaneous. Click Each of them to set your desired units of measurements.

After setting the SI units, you can continue to setting the drawing scale. It is very easy. Click the Document menu and then the Floor Plan Scale… You can change the scale of the drawing which is suitable for your design project and the printer or plotter size.

Archicad and Home Design

The following articles discuss Archicad tutorials and home design for architects and interior designers. At the moment the latest release from Graphisoft is Archicad 13. It is introduced with Graphisoft BIM Server to support model based team collaboration. As the number of users of this home modeling software is going up, there is a need or demand for information on how to use it. What I provide below are not meant to replace the official explanation presented by Graphisoft - the official company which has created the Archicad rather they are my personal journals which contain stories of how I study this great software.

I hope that by sharing some of the following articles, new Archicad users especially on the introductory level may find them useful for their own personal studies. I am not sure if I am able to provide more step by step Archicad tutorials in the future.

I write about anything in this blog from earthquake resistant wooden house to how to protect our tropical rainforest which is facing rapid deforestation. So, when you come again in this blog and find out that there are no new articles about Archicad then I suggest that you visit the official website of graphisoft.com There, you will find various information that is more suitable to your needs.

If after reading the following posts, you find that there are some mistakes, then please use the comment form to write some of your opinions which are very important for the corrections or improvements of these tutorials.

Before I finish this post, I would like to recommend other similar products created by Autodesk which many architects from around the world use in their home or building design projects. They are Revit Architecture, Revit MEP and REVIT Structure. Because the three BIM softwares are made by one company, they are more compatible for one another. As every software has its advantages and disadvantages, every new user of REVIT or Archicad must consult his or her needs with experienced users of each of the software to assess the right solution for his or her design needs.

ArchiCAD and Autocad

Archicad a powerful home design software

Drawing Scale and Units in Archicad

Adding Doors and Windows in Archicad Home Design

How to design roof with Archicad
The number of Archicad users is rising in Indonesia
Designing round wall room with Archicad
Designing simple bedroom with Archicad
How to draw floor plan with Archicad of Graphisoft
How to add column and beam to a house using Archicad
Dimensioning of round wall in Archicad of Graphisoft
Creating a rounded corner wall with archicad 12

Archicad and revit for house design

Archicad promotion in indonesia
Archicad 12 the best choice software for architects and interior designer

The Environmental Impact of Marine Tourism

Sunbathing, snorkeling, scuba diving, wave surfing and water skiing are some of the activities that tourists typically enjoy when they go to the beach. These activities can bring positive and negative impacts to marine environment. To reduce negative impacts of tourism activities on the environments, people who work in this industry need adequate knowledge about conservation and coastal management.
Marine tourism is a business that generates big revenues during holidays and special occasions. Being a part of the tourism industry is a great way to make money because life seems like one endless holiday. Yes, it does have its downs like any other business, but for the most part, the going is good especially if you are well-established and your customers come back to give you repeat business. Marine tourism has come into its own with the advances that have been made in the field of technology. Locations that were earlier inaccessible or unsafe are now well-known tourist spots in marine environments. The seas and the coastlines of the world are much sought after destinations for tourists all over the world, and this makes marine tourism a booming industry.

But all this interest in water sports, cruises, underwater explorations and other activities that involve the marine environment are definitely having an adverse effect on marine ecosystems and animal species that live on or near the coast.

• Natural habitats are destroyed when hotels, restaurants and other entertainment and hospitality facilities are built along the coastline.
• Surrounding areas are also destroyed in order to provide access to these facilities. With the advent of roads, airports and sea ports, people begin to populate the area and drive out the natural wildlife whose habitat the area was originally.
• The level of pollution increases with the increase in population
• Essential resources like water become critical and are sometimes in shortage.
• The coastline is destroyed due to erosion and the sea also becomes polluted with effluents from hotels and other establishments in the area.
• Cruise ships produce and dump waste in mid ocean, leading to pollution in the high seas too.
• Sewage causes algae to form over coral reefs and damages and destroys them.

With all these detrimental effects, we must adopt techniques to manage the pollution and the destruction of ecosystems, not just because we need to save the environment, but because we need to save the tourism industry itself. The environment and its quality are very important if tourism is to survive and thrive; with polluted beaches and diminishing wildlife, the tourists are going to be few and far between. And when this happens, it is the end of marine tourism as we know it.
For man and nature to coexist in peace and thrive, it is up to us to ensure that we do not wreak havoc on the environment; for if we do, it will come back to haunt us in the form of global warming and climate change.
By-line:
This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of construction management degrees . Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson83@yahoo.com

PELNI Ships in Indonesian islands

Passenger ships operated by PELNI, an Indonesian state owned passenger liner, play very important role in transporting people and goods from one to another island in Indonesia. PELNI has around 25 ships which all of them powered by marine diesel engines. Most of the passenger vessels were ordered from shipyard in Germany.

PT PELNI stands for PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia or National Indonesian Shipping Company. There are millions of people living along the coastal lines of thousands of islands in this country. They need passenger ships such as the ones that PELNI has to travel to other islands within the country. The sea fare is very cheap compared to the fare which cruise ships in Europe charge to their passengers.

PELNI Ships are usually named after mountains or volcanoes in Indonesia. They are KM AWU; KM Binaya, KM Bukit Raya, KM Bukit Siguntang, KM Ciremai, KM Dobonsolo, KM Dorolonda, KM Egon, KM Fudi, KM Ganda Dewata, KM Kelimutu, KM Kelud, KM Labobar, KM Lambelu, KM Lawit, KM Leuser, KM Nggapulu, KM Pangrango, KM Sagiang, KM Sinabung, KM Sirimau, KM Tatamailau, KM Tidar, KM Tilongkabila, and KM Umsini.

PELNI Ships are modern German built vessels that are specifically built for simple Indonesian passengers who do not need vacuum toilets, and card lock doors. They are not as luxurious as cruise ships in the Europe but they are very comfortable and affordable. If you are a person who is interested in traveling and meeting ordinary people (and not wealthy pensioners) across the largest archipelago in the world, then PELNI passenger ships are your perfect choice.

Indonesia has thousands of beautiful islands with beautiful white sandy beach, pristine corals, and mountains, tropical rainforest and most importantly nice and friendly people. These are the real wealth of Indonesia which is waiting for explorers like you. by Charles Roring. Also read: Passenger Ships of PELNI Lines

Port of Tanjung Perak Surabaya Indonesia

Port of Tanjung Perak has been visited by boats and ships from around the world since the era of Majapahit kingdom hundreds of years ago. It is one of the busiest ports in Indonesia that support the economic activities of the country. Port of Tanjung Perak is located in Surabaya, a trading city in Indonesia. It is also near the biggest naval base of Indonesia, Pangkalan AL Armada Timur. As the second largest city in Indonesia, Surabaya is seen as center of commerce beside Jakarta and other big cities.

Ships carrying cargoes and passengers arrive and leave Tanjung Perak every day. Ships from other islands in Indonesia bring raw materials to Surabaya whereas ships from Surabaya bring manufactured goods to other islands. Ships that need repair will go to Dock of Surabaya whereas ship owners who need to order new ships can go to PT PAL, the largest shipbuilder in Indonesia. All of the ship repairers and shipbuilders, as well as other marine suppliers, make port of Tanjung Perak as their headquarters. In other words, Port of Surabaya is the center of Indonesian shipping and marine industry. If we visit the port, we will see hundreds of ships and boats at its harbors.

It is not surprising to see that the marine pollution in this region is high. The color of sea water is not clear blue anymore. It looks brown-bluish now. The wastes from Surabaya city and from ships all dump in Port of Tanjung Perak's waters. Concrete actions from port administrators, marine industries, ship owners and city administrators are needed to clean the sea water around the port. by Charles Roring

Trimaran and Tricycle

In the design of high speed marine vehicle, we know that there are ship types such as Catamaran, Trimaran, or Jet Foil. Fast ship needs twin boat and trimaran to stabilize the ship when moving fast on sea surface. Trimaran especially is further improvement or development of traditional outrigger boat used by Pacific islanders when catching fish around the coastal region near their villages.

On land there is also a term called tricycle or triseda. This is a popular vehicle in Indonesia which is used by kiosk or shop owners to deliver goods to their customers. My father just bought a new one. On the picture above, one of our workers was riding it. I see from the design, it looks like a small truck but with only three tires. If at sea a trimaran-hull increases the stability of the boat at high speed, I am doubtful if tricycle or triseda has similar properties in terms of stability. Four wheels will be more stable on the road than three wheels vehicle. From the fuel consumption point of view, the tricycle is lighter and the trimaran has finer body. So they are more efficient during operation.

Sea Travel and the Maritime Industry in Indonesia

Indonesian people have traveled from one island to another for years. Sea travel is not seen as tourists journey but business one. As the largest archipelago in the world, Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands big and small. Before the introduction of modern passenger ships from Germany by Pelni lines, the islands between Asia and Australia continents had been served mostly by small steel cargo vessels, ro-pax ferries, and thousands of traditional wooden boats.

Sea travel and maritime industry are two inter-related sectors that support the mobility of travelers and goods in Indonesia. Airplanes from tens of airline companies in Indonesia cannot replace the vital role of passenger - cargo ships that have existed in this country for years. So, although the number of flights continues to rise in many cities and towns in Indonesia, it is not enough to fulfill the needs of means of transportation to move goods and people. Ships and boats still play significant role in Indonesian islands.

The growth of population in Indonesia is around two percent every year with the current population has reached more than 220 million people. This figure puts this country as the fifth most populous nation in the world. Such a large number of people scatter around thousands of islands from Sabang to Merauke. Besides having a lot of population, Indonesia too has high economic growth.

Indonesia's high economic growth, in the middle of world financial crisis, needs the provisions of various types of ships to support it. Indonesia needs hundreds of small passenger ships to serve the mobility of the Indonesian people and cargo ships to transport goods. Big cities in Java and Sumatra needs raw materials from Kalimantan, Papua and Sulawesi islands whereas small towns in the remote islands need cargo ships to deliver manufactured products to support the economic development. by Charles Roring

Efficient propulsion system in ships and boats

There are many factors that influence the fuel consumption of ships or boats. Naval architects know that the interaction between the propeller, the hull and the main engine greatly influences the fuel consumption of ships whether they are big or small. So, in order to obtain ships that have optimum propulsion efficiency, naval architects must design the ships with the propulsion system that are fully integrated.

This is not an easy thing to do because every propulsion unit is contradicting one to another. For example an efficient hull form must have lower block coefficient with streamlined shape that in the contrary reduce the carrying capacity of the ships or boats that are being designed. In addition, the use of diesel engine is seen as a highly efficient main engine that is now used in many ships but we must not forget that diesel engines have vibrations and exhaust gases that will not be comfortable for crews and passengers.

Besides the hull form and the main engine, the propeller plays very important role in the design of the propulsion system of a ship. Marine propeller is usually located under water at the stern of a ship or boat. If the propeller is well designed and manufactured by experts in ship's propulsion, the fuel and financial savings will be greatly significant throughout the operational years of the ships or boats. by Charles Roring. Also read: How to estimate ship's length for a new design

Passenger Ships of PELNI Lines the safety and service

by Charles Roring

Modern passenger ships have been integrated into Indonesian maritime industry since they were first introduced into Indonesian waters in 1980s. After the ro-pax ferry KMPTampomas accident in late January 1981, PELNI - the largest passenger lines in Indonesia began to modernize its fleet of passenger ships to prevent such disaster from occurring again.

KM Nggapulu was entering Port of Manokwari

In the middle of 1980s, PELNI received new passenger ships from Meyer Werft (shipyard) of Germany into its fleet to serve major ports in Indonesian islands. Some of them are KM Kambuna, KM Kerinci, KM Umsini, and KM Rinjani. KM stands for Kapal Motor or Motor Ship. These ships each could carry around 3,000 people but during the high seasons they double the capacity to between 4,000 and 5,000 passengers given that the summer load waterline did not exceed the minimum freeboard stipulated by IMO or Classification Rules.

All the additional passengers were deck ones. This is still practiced by PELNI lines at the moment. Although it is a dangerous practice during bad weather, as long as it still adheres to the stipulated freeboard, PELNI considers that the additional number of passengers will not bring the ship into the risk of sinking.

It is not clear whether PELNI also increases the number of life jackets, boats and rafts to protect the passengers at sea. In addition, the additional passengers that PELNI ships have to carry during school holiday, Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year seasons make the sea voyages are not comfortable.

More passengers mean more rooms, water, and food the ships should provide. In fact, passengers often complain that they run out of water to shower. The gangways and decks look dirty too during high season voyages.

Although waste streams produced by passenger ships are smaller compared to the whole amount produced by the whole world shipping industry, when not properly treated and discharged into the sea, they really threaten the marine environment.

The provisioning of modern passenger ships has restored passengers' confidence over PELNI's service. Feeling that such investment in high cost European made ships was worthy due to the profits and better safety standards the ships gave to the company, PELNI ordered more ships in 1990s.

Today there are nearly 30 passenger ships PELNI has in its fleet. It is a state owned shipping company that is intended not only to transport people but also to connect the whole territory of Indonesian islands as one undivided country. So, it is the government's policy to provide ships that support the development of national integrity of Indonesia and also to serve passengers from moving from one island to another.

When transatlantic passenger ship-liners have long been replaced by airplanes, it is amazing to see that PELNI is the only company that runs true passenger liners in fast schedules transporting a lot of people every year. 

Also read: Boat building and Living tradition of the Mentawai Tribe; Sailing Across the North Pole with Boat to the New World

Sailing Across the North Pole with Boat to the New World

by Charles Roring

On this article, I am not going to talk about ship but a little about a legendary boat. There was a legend in Ireland which says that the Irish monks were the first European to land on the New World. Around one thousand years ago, an Irish boat sailed across the north-pole waters to find a new land. They used a boat whose hull was not made of wood but animal skin. I read the story about this expedition on an article of National Geographic Magazine. I forgot the year of its publication. I wonder how a small boat crossed the Atlantic. It was too dangerous to sail from Ireland to the New World with a boat that was not seaworthy. All naval architects would agree with this.

There were some Irishmen who re-built similar boat and used it to cross the icy ocean and landed on Canadian territory. They proved that the Irish monks could have been the first Europeans to find the New World. I saw that the cover picture about the story was very interesting and I drew it on a small paper. The boat had sails decorated with red-cross. I used Derwent watercolor pencils to make the drawing. It took three days to finish the drawing of the boat.

Passsion of a ship toy in child's imagination

Many times when we go to the beach, we can see parents accompany their children swimming. But among the crowded swimmers, there are some who are more interested in playing with boat toys. The passion of the sea and the ship in little boy's mind bring his imagination tens of years in the future where he dreams of building a ship or being the captain of a ship sailing across the ocean.


I made a painting about such scene using watercolour pencil depicting how a father accompanies his son playing a toy of a sailing boat. Right behind them a few miles away, there is a cruise ship moving.


The message from this painting is that we must not ignore the passion of a little boy playing with his boat. We have to encourage him, if necessary, by taking him to a sea voyage aboard a real cruise ship or passenger ship where he can see the real ship.


Perhaps, the boy has another dream. Being somebody who can build a ship or boat. He might not know the name of such profession as being a naval architect is not a common job anybody sees in every day life. There are not many schools that provide such study program. So, what we must do is to guide the boy in pursuing his passion on the sea and the ship through a positive way. by Charles Roring also read: Is traveling with cruise ship still an attractive adventure? and The Speed of Ship and Propeller Pitch

Ship rudder

Every cruise ship and cargo vessel needs at least one rudder. This is usually installed behind a propeller which is located at the stern of the ship or boat. Although we cannot see it, the functions of rudder are vital for the maneuverability of the ship. A rudder, according to page 87 of Ship Design and Performance for masters and mates, is needed
1. To keep the ship on a straight line, from Port 'A' to Port 'B.' In other words, to have good course keeping properties.

2. To turn the ship in a small turning circle diameter. In other words, to have good turning characteristics, say in confined waters.

The dimensions of a rudder are determined by the coefficient K according to the type of ship, the length between perpendiculars, and the loaded draft of the ship.

The following formula is used by naval architects to calculate the rudder area of ship. A_R = K x LBP x d (m²)

If a ship is a fast one, generally, its K value is lower. So, the rudder of high speed marine vehicles is smaller than conventional speed marine vehicles with the same displacement. Below is the coefficient K for several merchant ships. The above formula can also be used for ships with twin screw propellers.

We have to remember that rudder is not the only equipment that is available for ship's maneuvering. Most cruise ships and cargo vessels have bow thrusters to help them turning to the right or to the left.

Usually the height of a rudder is 1.75 its length. Please, see the following illustration as a guidance for naval architects when designing ship's rudder.

It is important to note that the rudder size should not be too large. If it is larger than appropriate, it will be an additional resistance for the ship itself as well as decreasing the course keeping properties of the ship.Rudder is turned by hydraulic mechanism that has been installed above it inside the stern part of the ship's hull. by Charles Roring Also read: Are cruise ships safe for the marine environment?

Is traveling with cruise ship still an attractive adventure?

by Charles Roring

Traveling with ships is still attractive for people who are not busy or racing against time. In my previous article about traveling with cruise ship or yacht, I said that yacht is more flexible for those who like to experience sea voyages that are not in accordance with regular shipping route. Whether you travel with large ship or boat, the speed of these floating structures is much slower than airplanes. So, traveling with ship won't be attractive for those who want to attend an urgent business meeting in Tokyo while he lives in New York. The best thing to do is of course going there by airplane.

People will choose ships because of several reasons. One of them is the enjoyment which they can get when they are on board of a luxurious cruise ships. Passengers of airplanes cannot move around whereas passengers of cruise ships can spend the long voyage time by dancing, singing, sunbathing, gambling, or just standing along the port and starboard sides of the passenger ships to enjoy the mysterious beauty of the blue ocean.

In developing countries such as Indonesia and the Philipines that consist of thousands of islands, traveling with ships is still the most affordable mode of transportation. Ships are vital transport vehicles for people particularly when they want to go to other islands.

Some experts might say that with the improvement in economic condition, people will prefer to travel by planes even in island countries such as Indonesia and the Philipines. Yes, they can be true, but the habit of living in unity with sea water has been the habit of millions of people in both countries for centuries. Remember Indonesia and the Philipines, and to some extent the Carribean are maritime countries. So, I see that there are many wealthy Indonesian who still travel by passenger ships although they can afford for the first class tickets of airplanes. Why they are reluctant to go by airplanes? Because the sea has been part of their daily live. And this has been going on for generations.

Even though there are now a lot of airline companies operating in Indonesia, millions of people still travel with passenger ships. The recent frequent plane crash shown on TV news is also one of the reasons. I don't say that PELNI, as the largest passenger ship line in Indonesia, is now in safe position. With growing competition with other shipping companies and the rapid growth of airlines especially for long distance trips, passenger ship line such as PELNI must improve her professionalism to better serve her customers. Ships have to be maintained in spotless condition so that passengers will feel comfortable and the crews must show respect and provide better service to their passengers. I believe that the market of passenger ships in Indonesia is still large and growing.

So, my answer for the above question is definitely yes. You will find it more adventurous if you bring with you digital camera or handy cam which you can use to take some beautiful pictures or videos of your sea voyage and enjoy them later after you arrive in your next destination. Also read: The interior of passenger ship and cruise ship and Cruise ship and passenger ship

Cruise ship and passenger ship

Cruise and passenger ships are ships that transport people from one port to another. Although these ships look similar, they have different purposes. Cruise ships usually emphasize their services on cruising experience for passengers aboard with various facilities such as restaurants, movies, sun-deck, swimming pool, sport centers, message and spa rooms. Cruise ships, to some extent are the same as hotels. In other words, cruise ships are floating hotels for sea or ocean travelers. Therefore, many cruise ships sell round-trip tickets and have voyages that are longer than passenger ships.

Between 1800s and early 1900s, passenger ships are transport oriented ocean liners that bring passengers and goods from European ports to American ports. Millions of migrants moved from Europe to America using passenger ships. One of them is the unfortunate RMS Titanic. During that time, the faster the voyage the better the service of the ships and the higher would be the profits they could get due to the reduced operational cost for every trip.

Indonesia's state owned shipping line, PELNI, operate dozens of German made passenger ships to serve the ever growing Indonesian passengers. Indonesia has more than 17,000 island which makes it as the largest archipelago in the world.

With the advent of large passenger airplanes in 1960s, travelers switched from ships to airplanes. For transatlantic service, the passenger ships ceased their operation in 1986 whereas in many other parts of the world such as in Mediteranean Sea, the Indonesian islands, the Philipine islands, and the Pacific islands, passenger ships still play very significant role in transporting people and goods. Indonesian government, through its state owned passenger liner - PELNI, has even bought more passenger ships from Germany to meet the increasing number of people moving from one island to another. For smaller islands where the number of population is small, PELNI operates smaller passenger ships which are constructed by local shipbuilders such as PT PAL. It is the largest state-owned shipbuilding company operating from Indonesian Naval Base in Surabaya city.

Passengers and porters in Manokwari of Papua were waiting for the just arrived Indonesia's PELNI's passenger ship, MV Nggapulu. The ship can carry 3,000 passengers. The ship was built in Germany.

As the largest archipelago in the world with tens of thousands of big and small islandss, Indonesia will constantly need a lot of ships and boats to support the mobility of its people and economic activities of the country. It is not surprising to see that every new year more passenger ships are needed in this country to serve the increasing number of population. The potential market for passenger ships and RORO or ferries in Indonesia is huge compared to cruise ships due to the purchasing power parity of the people. The same situation may also be seen in the Philipines where people need more passenger ships than cruise ships. Yet both countries have potential market for cruise ships operation especially for middle to upper class citizens.

While the market for cruise ship in Asia is still small, the market for North America and Europe is still growing but with high competition. Cruise ships operators such as Holland America lines, Royal Carribean International, and Carnival Cruise Lines are launching new ships to meet the increasing number of tourists who prefer to spend their precious time on various recreational activities both on board of these luxurious floating hotels or on exotic resorts in private islands of the Carribean sea.

With the improving economic growth in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philipines and other ASEAN countries, the potential market for cruise ships in this region will attract cruise line operators to invest billions of US dollars and Euros in building new cruise ships. It is now a matter of time for us to see hundreds of luxurious passenger liners and cruise ships operating along the seas of South East Asia. To realize this economic and business potentials, Governments of ASEAN countries need to be approached by investors to open their market for the development of ocean tourism and traveling industry through a number of deregulation in tourism sectors of the region. by Charles Roring Also read: Stability of Cruise Ship and The effect of turbulence on propeller and safety of cruise ship

The Management Principles of the Toyota Way

All of us know what Toyota is. It is a giant automaker from Japan. This company was a small company in the rural areas of Nagoya during 1950s. Now with around 240,000 employees, Toyota Motor serves millions of car owners around the world.

Gemba is a Japanese term for "the actual place," while "kaizen" is the Japanese terminology for continuous improvement. So the phrase "gemba kaizen" means continuous improvements at the actual place. The main theme of Toyota Way management principles is the elimination of wastes along the production line of Toyota automaker to create the highest added value of the products to satisfy customers.

According The Toyota Way, a book which was written by Jeffrey Liker, Toyota has developed and standardized its management principles since 1950s when the Japanese were trying to recover from the ruins of Word War II.

After reading the book, I can conclude that the fourteen management principles can be applied to any business. Everybody who has not read the book might think that the Kaizen is only effective for automakers or manufacturing companies. But the principles such as grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy and teach it to others are applicable to all companies.

When Toyota was still a small company it had to face many challenges during its operation, from the lack of capital to the competition with other world class automakers. It is amazing to see that Toyota now is a world leader in car industry producing the best quality cars for all market segments. Toyota tremendous achievements are reached through the application of Toyota Production System (TPS). Toyota emerges as the best automaker in the world that manufactures the most fuel efficient cars. The Toyota Way inspires many companies to streamline their operations. 
Also read: Car Manufacturers Develop Air Bag for Pedestrian

Implementing Kaizen and Hansei in Retail Business

I am reading a book entitled The Toyota Way these days. This book is written by Jeffrey K. Liker, Ph.D. The book is about how to understand fourteen management principles which has been used by Toyota, the best automaker in the world, and how to implement them in our own business.

Toyota Hilux G Series the preferred transport car in Arfak mountains

Toyota Prius

Actually, I used to read some short articles about Gemba Kaizen management system but it was a long time ago.
Kaizen is a Japanese word for incremental or continuous improvement whereas Hansei means reflection. In the US, the concept of Kaizen is similar to the principles of Lean Management. When I run my bookstore, I feel that I need to make many improvements in the business. But I think that this small retail shop is totally different from the giant manufacturing industry - Toyota.

We all know that Toyota produces the best selling cars in the world but thinking or applying their management system to my small bookshop might be an incompatible approach.
In fact, after reading the book, I am surprised that Kaizen and Hansei can also be applied to any kinds of business including small, medium and large companies. There are always rooms for improvements. For instance, when I stand in the middle of my bookstore watching the display of the books, how the shelves are arranged and how the books are sold, I know that there are still many things that I need to do to improve my service to customers.
One of the most important things the Toyota Way teaches to its readers is the elimination of wastes in all segments of the production or servicing processes. These wastes include unnecessary movement of workers, defects in products, overstock, unnecessary transport, that do not directly contribute to adding values to the products or services we are about to deliver to our customers or consumers.

How these wastes are eliminated. The answer is through the implementation of hansei and kaizen. Hansei means that we have to identify the wastes first. To be able to identify the wastes, we have to monitor the manufacturing process, or the servicing process at the place where it happens. After identifying the wastes, the next step is implementing Kaizen. Improvements after being implemented have to be maintained. This means that we will not create or let the wastes to happen again.
In retail business, we sometimes order things that are really not requested by our customers. To minimize the occurrence of excess inventory, we need to provide order forms or wish list where customers can place their orders. Retail manager must use this list to order merchandise from manufacturer. If we can apply this process into our retail process then we can minimize or prevent the occurrence of excess inventory and at the same time increase profit to a maximum value.
I have applied this method for more than year now and the result is amazing. I am able to triple the monthly profit of the bookstore by just providing order form of wish list near the cashier table. Collecting wish list from customers can be a tedious job but it will streamline the whole performance of the business. Customers cannot find the books that they are looking for, they can write the titles; authors, and if possible the publishers of the books. We then order the books from our partner discount bookstore. When they have arrived in our bookstore, we will call or send sms to our customers. We only need one to three days to sell all the books which have just arrived in our inventory. Improvements must be done at the place of the process (gemba).
Buy some books about Kaizen from the following Amazon.com online store if you are interested in learning more about it.



I have seen that Hansei and Kaizen really work when I apply them in my bookstore. I recommend this book to all of you, business owners around the world to read the book and adopt the management principles of the Toyota Way and the Toyota Production System, of course with some adjustments, into our business. by Charles Roring in Manokwari of West Papua of Indonesia

Car Manufacturers Develop Air Bag for Pedestrian

Recently, NHK, a Japanese national TV station screened a news which says that Japanese car manufacturers are now developing technologies that can protect pedestrians from suffering fatal injuries or deaths during a street accident. Such technologies include speed and pedestrian sensors, as well as air bag, for pedestrian. The sophisticated and expensive equipment will be installed at cars' bonnet or hood. If a pedestrian stands in front of a fast moving car, the pedestrian sensor will instruct the computer to activate the car's brake to prevent it from hitting the pedestrian.

Toyota, a leading car manufacturer is developing this technology. One of its shareholders has requested this accident prevention technology to be developed and installed in cars after his daughter was hit by a car several years ago.

According to a researcher in the car industry, installing such equipment will be considered very expensive for car buyers. The additional price of such pedestrian sensor and air bag is 6,000 US dollars per car. Many car buyers do not see such technology or equipment as a must for their cars.

Japanese car manufacturers are trying to lower the cost so that the technology will commercially be viable for all cars. Until now only owners of luxurious that can afford for such pedestrian protection technology to be installed in their cars. by Charles Roring

Ship Displacement and Capacity Limitation

by Charles Roring in Manokwari of West Papua of Indonesia

Ship is the product of human engineering. It is intended to transport goods and people from one island to another. Ships support the progress of human life. People trade goods to every corner of the world with ships. In the same way, people also go around the world with ships. The invention of airplanes does not replace ships as the major transporter of goods and to some extend people.

The competition in business forced ship designers or naval architects to build ships that are efficient. Therefore, they tend to design and construct ships that are bigger both in displacement and passenger capacity. Ships that carry more goods and people are effectively more efficient than small ships.

But the construction or the design of ships should not only be seen from efficiency and dead weight tonnage. There are still other factors which ship-designer and shipbuilder have to think before a final design is approved for construction. Two of them are ship's safety and environmental assessment impact. For instance, if the newly designed ship is an oil tanker with a dead weight of 500,000 ton then it will not be wise to build it due to its potential environmental impact. This giant oil tanker might face an accident at sea. Oil spill from such tanker can be difficult to overcome due to the massive amount of oil which has to be contained and collected from sea surface. If 500,000 ton of crude oil covers the surface of the sea, it will block sunlight, and choke a lot of marine animals.

Such consideration also applies to passenger ships. Cruise ships that are designed with passenger capacity of more than five thousand people might not be wise to be constructed. It might be an efficient transporter but it will be dangerous if the ship face similar accidents to Titanic. Passenger safety should also be taken into account when designers want to decide the carrying capacity of a bus, a train, and most importantly a passenger airplane. Airplane that carries more than 500 people will be potentially dangerous for the passengers if it crashes. There will always be a possibility of accident at sea, land and air to all man made structures no matter how perfect or how advanced they have been designed and constructed. Also read: Traveling with ship; and Propeller Rake and Blade Thickness Diameter Ratio