Vessel Description and Specifications

The Bugis people of south Sulawesi, once feared as pirates, have always been the most skilful ship builders and sailors of Indonesia. Their vessels, perahu and phinisi were and still are hand-crafted entirely from timber.

While the smallest perahu are fishing boats, the proud Phinisi or Bugis Schooners have been used for centuries as cargo-carriers, plying the ancient trade routes between the islands of the Malay Archipelago, carrying anything from lumber to coca-cola crates.

The phinisi are elegant two-masted schooners with mainsails, top-sails and three jibs. Today, while still hand-built by native craftsmen and fully laid out in tropical hardwood with traditional rigging, they usually hold an engine in addition to the sails.

Our Phinisi obviously does not carry cargo other than the passengers luggage and stocks. It has been conceived and equipped to accommodate small groups of passengers for cruising along the Indonesian archipelago, offering an excellent standard of reliability, safety and comfort.

Reliability

Although Bugis people are famous for the skill to build vessels without the need of any paper or calculations, relying only on their ancestral knowledge, our vessels are the product of a joint effort between western naval architects and traditional Bugis skill, in keeping with the traditional design of the Phinisi vessels.
Much attention is given to the vessel's maintenance, heeding to an annual docking period and periodical checks to the all major technical installations on board.

Comfort

Our spacious air-conditioned, en-suite cabins, the dining/ recreational area and the large deck-space with comfortable deck chairs and sun benches make the Katharina perfectly suitable for extended explorational or leisure cruises.

On board there are games, sea kayaks, body boards, deck-mattrasses, snorkeling equipment, fishing gear and two tenders with outboard to make life on board as pleasant as one can imagine.

Safety

Our phinisi schooner, Katharina, is fully equipped with the latest in navigational equipment: radar, depth sounder, GPS, VHS, all band radios and satellite telephones.

For personal safety, we carry life-jackets, inflatable life-rafts, buoys and for the communication of emergency conditions beacons, flares and IPIRB.