Longtail Diving Boats
Longtail boats play an important role in diving around Thailand and are always much in evidence either transferring divers from the shores to await dive boats or being used as dive boats themselves.
Originally these longtail boats served as fishing and trading vessels; now they also provide day trips for tourists and divers. The majority of boats work in popular diving resorts such as around the shores of Koh Phuket or in the waters around the Phi Phi Islands and along the beaches of Ao Nang and Railae in Krabi Province. Here they play a major role in everyday life and remain the sole method of delivering supplies and trafficking guests to distant beaches on the offshore islands. However the area boasting the larger number of Longtails remains the collective beaches around Koh Phuket with over five hundred boats operating in the surrounding waters.
Few technical innovations or advancements have been made to the boats over the centuries. Two changes of significance occurred during the last fifty years. Originally, all the wooden parts were pinned together by dowels, forced into place and secured with glue; these were replaced by steels nails in the '60s making construction quicker and therefore more convenient.
The second change is really more of a technical advancement. The boars were primarily designed to operate as sailing vessels, however nowadays they are usually propelled by eninges.
The engines, usually diesel, are at the stern, mounted on a rotating bracket which swivels from left to right. It is also centrally mounted between two steel plates allowing ti to freely pivot vertically about its axis. This simple two-stage universal joint allows the boat to be steered port and starboard and also allows the engine to be raised and lowered in order for the propeller, which is on the end of a three meter shaft, to avoid rocks and corals in the shallower waters and entanglement in nets or ropes.
In the past, Longtails were constructed using only locally obtained timber but, due to a logging ban the required hardwoods throughout Thailand, there has been a drastic decline in the number of boats being made. The shortage of the necessary hardwoods has forced the import of more expensive timbers from Malaysia making construction of the boats a more costly exercise. Previously the boats were extremely cost effective with a minimum life-expectancy of around thirty years which meant they outlasted their engines three times over! Today the boats are still built using age-old techniques; the preferred tool for the majority of the work remains the ancient axe chisel.
Construction begins with the keel, followed by the bow, stern and finally the outer plankings. Completed vessels are caulked and then finished with either brightly colored paint or clear varnish. Cautious owners reinforce their boats by applying a mixture of bound broken shells and coral substrate to the hulls in order to add a stronger protection against knocks and scratches.
Completed Longtails vary proportionately in both length and width. Hulls can range from anything between five to fifteen meters. The only other variation is that some have protection from the sun and rain by long canopies covering the central two thirds of the boat and some are equipped with sun parasols. An average sized boat will comfortably cater for four divers, two diving staff, full diving equipment including two tanks each, and of course the captain.
As far as diving is concerned there are really only three different entry techniques which are suitable from these boats. The backward roll is very popular but some divers prefer the controlled seated entry or to 'kit-up' in the water – the giant stride is definitely unsuitable. Whichever technique is used, ensure that tanks and other belongings are secured first and not allowed to roll about in the boat causing it to rock as the divers enter the water.
Exiting the water is restricted to one simple method; first the diver removes his weight belt and scuba gear, then holds on to the side of the boat and kicks out of the water and into the boat. Fins are removed once the diver is safely back inside the boat.
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