IMPROVING THE CLASS WORTHINESS OF INDONESIA'S TRADITIONAL MERCHANT FLEET BY MODERNIZING THEIR STRUCTURAL DESIGN MATERIALS AND BUILDING PROCEDURES

摘要

Traditional merchant fleet plays important role in Indonesia as national cultural heritage for connecting small and outermost islands as means of transporting people and logistics, and as feeders to the larger ships. The boats are made of selected wood and built traditionally from generation to generation without much being modified by modern design and technology, therefore they are not class-worthy, worsened by the increase of wood price due to scarcity and the issues of illegal logging, the building costs becoming very expensive. The objective of the research is to implement modern approaches in building the traditional merchant boats including their design, structure and construction materials, so that the boats become more affordable, class-worthy and insurable while maintaining their traditional appearance. Modern structural design and building process and more environmentally friendly alternative materials are introduced so that their strength and performance could be assured.