Taraibune; The Tub Boats of Sado Island, Japan

Being a fan of traditional wooden boats, I was excited when I read that Douglas Brooks was going to be at the Woodenboat show in Mystic, Connecticut. When I met him he was standing at the end of a dock at the Mystic Seaport museum. One of his tub boats was sitting in the water. I told him in anticipation of coming to the Woodenboat show I re-read the article he had written in Woodenboat magazine and I found the boats to be fascinating. He laughed and told me I needed to update my reading list since the article was written ten years ago.

Mr Brooks apprenticed under Koichi Fugi, the last remaining tub boat building master on the Japanese island of Sado. His article and subsequent book on his studies have made him the foremost leader on the construction and use of this unique craft. One of his goals is to teach the boat building techniques to young Japanese students so they can use and enjoy the tub boats for generations to come.

Taraibune

Sado Island lies off the western coast of Japan in the Sea of Japan. The tub boats are used by local fisherman to harvest wakame, a seaweed, and sasae, an expensive shellfish. It's shallow draft is perfect for spearfishing for sasae along the rocky shallows in protected waters along the coast. The cedar (sugi) is from trees that grow on the island and the bamboo for the braided hoops is also harvested locally. Mr. Fuji would write a blessing on a plank edge such as " Good Fishing" or "Safety at sea" before fitting it on the boat to be hidden forever. Douglas Brooks' book on the tub boats of Sado Island and other beautifully built Japanese boats can be found at his website: http://www.douglasbrooksboatbuilding.com/.

LOA approx. 5.5 ft.
Beam approx. 4 ft.