Thailands Charter Boats view damaged Boats ( Travel at your own risk ) DANGER Part 1

[Geoff Cooper]

I have made this a separate post from the other one that shows you an introduction into Thai culture and getting Boat parts from around Bangkok, The reason for that is because these are mainly local made Boats and are constructed from Plywood they get used daily and after a while fall to pieces often with 25 passengers on-board while out at Sea and other Boats have to go and rescue them often ending in loss of life, They are just charter boats and many Chinese / Vietnamese/ Korean etc holiday customers go on these without even considering the circumstances, I must stress that money comes before safety and there are probably 2 or 3 hundred of these type of boats which are in regular use about 30 k from me, Luckily they don't go anywhere i go as the Islands i go to are to far for them to travel as it's not economically viable, I may add some more Photos to this post at a later date when i next go and have a look around the Boat yards, Remember these Boats and engines work very hard for a living and are rarely serviced,The tractor drivers get paid every time they put a boat in or take it out of the water so they are working flat out as fast as they can to make as much money as they can without caring about damage to the boats, I hope you enjoy.


Wooden Trailers which are ok as the wood only swells when wet and the joints get tighter


Most of these Tractors have been around since the early 50s Correct me if I'm wrong but that one looks like an early Fordson Major


These are the wooden Trailers i was talking about before



I'm pretty sure that the Orange one is an Early 50s Nuffield because my Dad had 2 of those

You can see the new Marina they are building in the background, These Boats are all the same and the Captains are all Thai and are Bloody crazy they fill the boats to more than full capacity because they mainly take Asian people and as they are smaller than Europeans they can get an extra 6 or 7 on-board they never worry about Life jackets or any kind of safety aid, There are no real governing bodies to control this and i will say that the whole exercise from the boats to booking the customers at Hotel receptions is all local Mafia run, Anyone who starts in competition finds holes drilled in the bottom of there Boats when they come to use them, This is the side of Thailand that they don't want you to hear about, I will add to this when i have more Photos but i hope you find it interesting and please if you have anyone you know coming here tell them to stay on dry land, These boats are all the same all over every part of Thailand and all run the same way, I know Europeans who tried to start a business but it only lasted a few weeks before there boats were sabotaged, Please don't suggest calling the police as there in on the scam, I hope you enjoyed a look on the darker side of Thailand Boat charters.

Julian asked me how these wooden Boats were constructed so i took a trip today to take some Photos and show you the damaged boats that were in use when accidents happened and in some cases life was lost and you can also see the way they are constructed, Any questions i will try to answer, I hope you find it interesting.


These are the damaged Boats, There taken away from the Marina and just left after anything any good has been removed


You can see how they're constructed just a wooden frame and Plywood nailed onto it and skimmed with an epoxy flexible filler,



You can see the thickness of the ply, I will use this post as Part 1 as i have more Photos to show you in Part 2

 

[Bruce]

I can see the scars from loading and unloading.

How do they build them out of plywood?

 

[Geoff Cooper]

I can see the scars from loading and unloading.

How do they build them out of plywood?

They make a wooden frame and nail Plywood to it and skim it over with a thin epoxy that lasts about a year and then as it gets wet and rots it just breaks in half, All charter Boats here are made that way as labor is cheap the average wage is only about $6 a day, There are Fibreglass boats made here but the charter companies wont pay the price.

 

[rkluck]

Interesting stuff.

 

[Julian]

Do the numbers on the sides mean anything? Like the 666 on "Mr. Chang"?

 

[Geiger41]

Pretty amazing those tractors are running almost 65 years !!! And who says don't buy American hahah

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Do the numbers on the sides mean anything? Like the 666 on "Mr. Chang"?

No there just names as that Mr Chang has many boats

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Interesting stuff.

I'm pleased you found it interesting i will add to it later when i next go there.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

They make a wooden frame and nail Plywood to it and skim it over with a thin epoxy that lasts about a year and then as it gets wet and rots it just breaks in half, All charter Boats here are made that way as labor is cheap the average wage is only about $6 a day, There are Fibreglass boats made here but the charter companies wont pay the price.

I will try and call into one of the local Boat builders and take some Photos so you can see how the Boats are constructed, It will become pretty clear then, The outer skin is put on with a scraper like you would use a car filler then it's flatted down smooth, It's flexible to a certain degree but you do see the Boats with big pieces that have fallen out.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Pretty amazing those tractors are running almost 65 years !!! And who says don't buy American hahah

The Nuffields were made at the Factory in a Town called Nuffield near Blackpool England and the Fordson Super Majors i believe were made at Hailwood near Liverpool.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

I have listed this as Part 1 and also added Part 2 so you can get the full picture, I hope you enjoy.

 

[Zarrella]

The boats under the overpasses could be almost any street in Miami.... We use to find stripped cars and boats under the overpasses with people living in them.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

The boats under the overpasses could be almost any street in Miami.... We use to find stripped cars and boats under the overpasses with people living in them.

Yes you get a few people staying in these sometimes also.

 

[Englewoodcowboy]

I don't see anything unsafe of the boats, more of the operators. People have been building plywood boats for years and years. Heck in WWII we used PT40's for assault work. Technically a boat is rated for capacity by weight so if you can run 1200# and have 4 guys that are 300# you are at capacity even though it says 6 persons. Over seas they do not have CG regs like we do but most countries do assign weight limits so naturally a 1200# cap you can haul 12 100# adults... Its sort of relevant of you ask me. It sure does seem like they like to run into things a lot though... I would still agree that advising caution there is paramount as your photo journal is showing.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

I don't see anything unsafe of the boats, more of the operators. People have been building plywood boats for years and years. Heck in WWII we used PT40's for assault work. Technically a boat is rated for capacity by weight so if you can run 1200# and have 4 guys that are 300# you are at capacity even though it says 6 persons. Over seas they do not have CG regs like we do but most countries do assign weight limits so naturally a 1200# cap you can haul 12 100# adults... Its sort of relevant of you ask me. It sure does seem like they like to run into things a lot though... I would still agree that advising caution there is paramount as your photo journal is showing.

I appreciate where your coming from but i feel that you are unaware of the situation here, There are no regulations as far as the amount of passengers carried they overload any boat that is used as a charter, There are no policing of the charter industry and it would be an impossible task to try and regulate the situation as many have no form of insurance as they are run by the local mafia who have the police in there pockets, There is no law that says you have to have insurance in Boats or cars and 90% of drivers don't have a licence or insurance as they don't think it makes you drive any better, If you get stopped by the Police for a routine check in a car or Motorcycle and you are found not to have a Licence or documents you are charged $5 and sent on your way, I understand what you say about the PT 40s but i assure you they were built to a far higher standard than these Boats.