1 Sultan Dhow Front Page.Qxd

he dhow is a type of boat with two or three masts and rigged with lateen sails. For centuries, Tthese boats have plied their trade in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea and further afield in Malaysia and Zanzibar. Until the 1960s, dhows regularly sailed between the Persian Gulf and East Africa with cargos of spices and timber. Today, dhows continue trading and are still hand-built in Zanzibar. TECHNICAL DATA: The Sultan Dhow Model no: 22165 Degree of difficulty: Length: 470mm (1816/32in) Height: 420mm (16 18/32in) Beam: 125mm (4 3/4in) Scale: 1:60 Not suitable for children under 14 years of age. Model for collectors only. DHOWS 1 THE SULTAN DHOW Dhows have been plying the seas for two millennia or more. Their size, shape and construction methods have varied through the centuries and between various countries. The basic principle of a wooden sailboat with lateen sails – a shape developed by the Arabs – is still used today in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and in the Indian Ocean, from the north of Madagascar to the Bay of Bengal. ost dhows sail mainly in make excellent fishing boats, and are Similar boats can be found on these coastal waters, but larger used as bases for pearl divers. routes today, although they are Mversions are capable of long, usually fitted with auxiliary engines. deep-sea voyages, during which Sailing on the monsoon winds A typical dhow has two masts, sailors once navigated with the kamal, Until the mid-20th century, dhows with a mainsail considerably bigger a simple instrument for determining would sail south on the monsoon than the mizzensail, and a long, thin latitude with a surprising degree of winds of late winter from Kuwait, wooden hull with a sharp, upward- accuracy. Smaller dhows are also used Oman and other Arab states, taking pointing bow. The traditional method on great rivers, such as the Nile. dates, salt fish and other goods to for making a dhow, known as shell- Dhows have always been used for East Africa. They would return to building, was different from that peaceful purposes, rather than as Arabia a few months later, laden with employed in Europe, where fighting ships. They are typically used timber, cloves and other goods, when shipwrights first built the framework to transport people and goods – and the winds changed in their favour. of the hull, then fixed planks to the in the past, in the heyday of the Arab These dhows had crews of about a Below: Dhows have been a familiar sight in slave trade, people as goods. They dozen, and displaced 300–500 tonnes. coastal waters of Arabia for millennia. DeAgostini 2 THE SULTAN DHOW Above: Dhows continue to provide a cheap, reliable form of transport in Arab waters. The battil is a double-ended dhow, with a long stem post, which ends in a large, clubbed finial, and a stern post, Above: A boum in Bandar Kong, a port town of Iran by the Persian Gulf. Boums were sailships until the 1960s when most were converted to diesel power like this one. which owners often decorate with pieces of worked leather and shells, ribbing. In shell-building, by contrast, building continued to be the favoured particularly cowries. the outer skin of the hull is built up method. from the base. Several types of dhow evolved Sailing in calmer waters In the case of the earliest dhows, over the centuries to suit different The badan, a smaller double-ended this was a simple dugout. Thin teak purposes. They are all characterized dhow with a shallower draught, was planks were sewn to the side of this by size and by the shapes of their intended to be sailed in coastal waters to build up a hull. Over the centuries, hulls. The baghlah, which is now no and on rivers. It was similar to the a keel replaced the dugout, but the longer built, was made for deep-sea felucca, made for the protected basic technique, in which the sailing, for example, and carried a waters of the eastern Mediterranean shipwright created a vessel one plank comparatively large crew of 30 or and the Red Sea. They can safely be at a time, remained unaltered. One more. It featured a flat, squared-off crewed by two or three people, and advantage of this technique was its stern, called a transom – with five are still in use today on the Nile, adaptability. Changes could easily be windows, and a high poop deck which ferrying up to a dozen people (and made during the process of was reminiscent of those seen on often livestock) across or up and construction, simply by adding more the grand European galleons of the down the river – just as they have planks, altering their shape, or 16th century. done for centuries. attaching them at a different angle. After European ships – first the Decorated dhows carracks and caravels of the The ghanjah was another large, The dhow trade routes from Portuguese, and then galleons – began ocean-going dhow with an up-curving Arabia to India and East Africa to appear in the Indian Ocean in the stem – the timber at the front of the represent the most long-lasting 16th century, the dhow-builders boat – and a sloping transom, which tradition of commercial seafaring began to nail the planks together was usually highly decorated with in world history. rather than sew them, but shell- often ornate carvings. THE KAMAL This navigational device was first used by Arabs in the 9th century. A piece of cord, with knots at fixed intervals, is threaded through a hole in the centre of a wooden rectangle. One end of the cord is held in the teeth and the other at arm’s length. The user sights the lower edge of the rectangle against the horizon, and the upper to just occlude Polaris. The dhow’s latitude is measured by counting the knots between the teeth and the wood. Kamals were not used outside the Tropics, as Polaris is too high in the north and sometimes below the horizon in the south. Peter Ifland, author of Taking the Stars: Celestial Navigation from Argonauts to Astronauts GENERAL TIPS 1 THE SULTAN DHOW: LIST OF PARTS ATTENTION! Assemble under adult supervision. Unsuitable for children under 14. To assemble this model we recommend that you follow the step-by-step guide. 1 4 8 1. Follow all assembly steps CAREFULLY. 4. To ensure the perfect adjustment of cast GLUES Take all the time you need. First look at the metal parts, go over the edges with a small Apply glue sparingly and in strict accordance photos and read all the documentation included file before fitting to eliminate possible burrs with the manufacturer’s instructions. There are in the kit, as it will help you assemble the and impurities. three types of glues that can be used to model correctly: assemble the model. •Parts list with Dimensions and Materials. White glue •Cut Sheet with precision-cut numbered parts. 5 This is also known as carpenter’s glue or PVA. •These instructions. It can be applied directly or with a brush to one of the parts to be glued. Clean off any excess glue immediately after joining the parts to avoid staining when fully dry. Contact glue 2 This glue can be applied with either a brush or a flat spatula. Apply a thin coat to both surfaces to be joined. Before joining the parts, leave for approximately five minutes. After joining the parts, apply light pressure and remove any 5. To give a more authentic appearance to excess glue. the ship’s sails, dye them in some tea. When Quick-drying glue completely dry, add them to the ship without Apply a tiny amount directly to the point where ironing them. the parts are to be joined. It is very important that the parts are correctly positioned as you will not be able to move the parts again to set 2. To remove the wood pieces (see Cut 6 them correctly. Sheets), carefully cut the tiny strands joining them to the sheet. Use the Cut Sheets to PUTTIES identify fully the precision-cut parts. Use regular stopping putty for wood. Read the After removing the parts from the sheets to manufacturer’s instructions carefully! use them during assembly, carefully sand them Applying putty before gluing in place. To fill holes or cracks in the ship’s hull, apply Given the nature and origin of the wood, the putty with a flat spatula. Allow to dry and there may be slight differences in the tone softly sand the entire surface of the hull to level or colour of some material. off the putty. VARNISHES 6. For parts that need bending or curving, Use clear (not coloured) stopping varnish. Read 3 dampen them in water for greater flexibility. the manufacturer’s instructions carefully! You can also use a tool called a bending press, Applying varnish which is highly useful during assembly. Use a brush to apply varnish to wood. Sand the surface and thoroughly clean the part before varnishing. Varnish as follows: 7 1. Apply a first coat and allow to dry. 2. When dry, sand and clean the part. 3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2. 4. Apply a third coat and allow to dry. 5. When dry, polish the part using steel wool. PAINTS 3. To cut to size and identify the parts which Use acrylic (water-based) paints. Read the are not prefabricated, look at the parts list manufacturer’s instructions carefully! where you will find: •Part number.

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