In Bali, the jukung developed as a fishing vessel, its design being adapted to the island’s coastal waters. Lightweight and highly maneuverable (by compasison to other traditional vessels), it could handle surf launches and landings and was relatively stable in rolling seas. Traditionally, jukungs were carved from a single dugout log, usually jackfruit wood, with added planks and bamboo outriggers lashed on with natural fiber ropes

In 2012, having retired a few years earlier, I had the wherewithal for an extended stay in a Balinese village. However the common sight of local boat building had died out, so I decided to commission my own Jukung.

Were is a boat building village. This year we again visited while sailing a non-wooden yacht through the Indonesian archipelago. This time with a camera, on the beach we found numerous smaller craft, dugouts, small fishing boats with outriggers, and larger planked boats…

Traditional wooden boatbuilding and seafaring are integral to the long history of an archipelago of islands that became Indonesia. This is Australia’s northern neighbour that we sadly ignore except when making a holiday dash to Denpasar.