52
BARBARA E. WARD
Sai, where the rise and fall of spring tides could be as much as 25 feet, was that it had such a place. It lay on the east side of the temple and was in fairly constant use during spring tides. Legs to support the junks were kept in the temple, as a rule, and freely used by all. The purpose of careening was, of course, to examine the boat's bottom, and remove the accumulation of marine growth. This was done by burning, with bundles of dried grass held on pitch forks, and scraping by hand. Any cracks in the hull were caulked, and the whole bottom then treated with tung oil. One of the innovations of the late 'fifties was the use of anti-fouling paint instead of tung oil. This, though more expensive, gave better protection and cut down the frequency of careening to about once in every two months.
Another regular task, performed at least once a month in the days of sail and before the introduction of nylon, was the dyeing of sails, sail cloth and nets. This process, intended as a preservative measure, involved a whole day's work for an entire crew, preceded by several days' preparation on the part of one or two members. The dye-stuff used was prepared by crushing and soaking a root known as shue-leung. This was then transferred to the dyeing tanks on the second island where nets and sailcloth were dipped, dried and dipped again two or three times before being steamed for several hours and finally spread out to dry. Dyeing had to start early in the morning. It required good weather and the payment of $4 dollars a day to the Hakka 'headman' who owned the tanks and steaming vat. With mechanisation and the nylon revolution regular dyeing sessions were no longer necessary, but sail cloth (used for awnings) and some pieces of netting still had to be dyed from time to time.
Seasonal rhythms
Seasonal rhythms naturally varied with the type of fishing. The long-liners' main season was during the first four months of the lunar calendar, the purse-seiners' in the sixth, seventh and eighth months. The main seasons were looked to for the extra profit that would go into boat building or repairs, buying new gear, marrying a son or daughter, or installing a new engine. For the rest of the year subsistence was about all that could be