68
BARBARA E. WARD
the owner and his family are housed in the stern (on the big junks in cabins under the poop deck), the hired men nearer the bow or below decks. On the smaller, inshore craft, such as those of Kau Sai, all accommodation is on deck, collapsible covers being available at night time and in poor weather.
Traditional junks are usually first-rate sailing vessels, beautifully balanced and quickly answerable to the helm. They are built by professional junk builders (not Boat People), whose yards are to be found in all the major fishing towns. No line plans are used, the work being done simply by rule of thumb based on experience handed down from one generation to the next. The popular belief that hull forms and sail plans have remained the same since time immemorial is incorrect. There is ample evidence that modifications, sometimes influenced by western models, have continually been introduced. The end product of the Chinese era of sail is a highly efficient instrument. With mechanisation, additional modifications have been made; in Hong Kong, partly at the insistence of the technical officers of the Fisheries Department. In the late 'sixties the Department began to train some junk builders in the use of line plans and more modern methods of, for example, bending wood, but in the very large majority of junk yards traditional methods are still the only ones in use.
36
Junks are never built 'on spec', but always to the orders of particular fishermen, who discuss their requirements with the junk builder in great detail, spend much time supervising the materials and workmanship, and take part in the rituals connected with laying the keel and launching. Before mechanisation many successful owners used to sell their junks after a few years, in much the same way as motor owners turn in their cars. A poorer fisherman could thus acquire a second-hand boat in good condition while the seller went back to the junk yard for a new one. If he had been pleased with his previous purchase he would probably return to the same junk yard. Many fishermen do have long-standing relationships with junk builders in this way, but many others prefer to shop around. The lifetime of a junk varies a good deal according to the type of wood used, and also the workmanship, the type of fishing and the degree of care and
68
BARBARA E. WARD
the owner and his family are housed in the stern (on the big junks in cabins under the poop deck), the hired men nearer the bow or below decks. On the smaller, inshore craft, such as those of Kau Sai, all accommodation is on deck, collapsible covers being available at night time and in poor weather.
Traditional junks are usually first-rate sailing vessels, beauti- fully balanced and quickly answerable to the helm. They are built by professional junk builders (not Boat People), whose yards are to be found in all the major fishing towns. No line plans are used, the work being done simply by rule of thumb based on experience handed down from one generation to the next. The popular belief that hull forms and sail plans have remained the same since time immemorial is incorrect. There is ample evidence that modifications, sometimes influenced by western models, have continually been introduced. The end product of the Chinese era of sail is a highly efficient instru- ment. With mechanisation, additional modifications have been made; in Hong Kong, partly at the insistence of the technical officers of the Fisheries Department. In the late 'sixties the Department began to train some junk builders in the use of line plans and more modern methods of, for example, bending wood, but in the very large majority of junk yards traditional methods are still the only ones in use.
36
Junks are never built 'on spec', but always to the orders of particular fishermen, who discuss their requirements with the junk builder in great detail, spend much time supervising the materials and workmanship, and take part in the rituals connect- ed with laying the keel and launching. Before mechanisation many successful owners used to sell their junks after a few years, in much the same way as motor owners turn in their cars. A poorer fisherman could thus acquire a second-hand boat in good condition while the seller went back to the junk yard for a new one. If he had been pleased with his previous purchase he would probably return to the same junk yard. Many fishermen do have long-standing relationships with junk builders in this way, but many others prefer to shop around. The lifetime of a junk varies a good deal according to the type of wood used, and also the workmanship, the type of fishing and the degree of care and
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