Construction of dhows in Kuwait

IRG/WP 465

A S Zainal, M A Ghannoum

To most people Kuwait means oil and the opulence associated with it, but to the seafarer, Kuwait means Dhows. There are as early references to the Kuwaiti Dhows as the 17th century. The Danish explorer Nebuhr in 1756 described Kuwait as having a work power of 10,000 people and 800 wooden boats involved in fishing, pearl diving, and trade. Dhows might well have been the original carriers of "The Perfumes of Arabia" referred to by Shakespeare in "Macbeth". At the coastal village of Doha, Kuwaiti shipwrights continue to build vessels that bear much resemblance to the ancient dhows. The aim of this paper is to show the construction of a traditional dhow with particular emphasis on the methods commonly used to preserve and prolong seaworthiness of these magnificent wooden ships.


Keywords: BOATS; BOAT-MAKING; CAULKING; DHOWS; FISH OIL; IRON FASTENINGS; KUWAIT; MAINTENANCE; RECAULKING; RESIN; SHONA; TOOLS

Conference: 81-05-11/15 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia


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