Damai Indah Lagi - the EX Besok Lagi

DAMAI INDAH, my darling-boat, has been very busy during the last year. Although we are constantly working to maintain her whenever she is not on a charter, she needs to go to the shipyard again. The hull is, as much as the rest of the boat, made out of wood. That indicates that I need to keep a closer eye on all potential problems, wooden boats are alike to suffer from. Wet rot, Termites, worms and all that shit that can endanger a wooden boat. Best is, to take the boat out of the water every year to inspect and maintain her. I never succeeded to get DAMAI INDAH’S hull really dry. She was always leaking a bit. That is no big deal as most wooden boats do so, but I really don’t like that.

Additionally to the work on the hull I have a big project going on inside the boat. Within the last few months we have ripped out the beds and removed the diesel tanks underneath the bunks. We have built brand-new diesel tanks out of stainless steel and installed them to the sides of the hull. This gives me much more freedom to design and change the salon to my ideas. The previous owner wanted to be able to sleep as many people inside as possible. Therefore the front cabins were designed that each one could accommodate 2 people, the salon could accommodate 4 people. In total she could sleep 8 people inside. I don’t need that and I don’t want that! DAMAI INDAH, is mainly a day charter boat and I hardly have any bookings for overnight stays. It is so beautiful and relaxing to sleep on board as I do very often but of course the charm is to sleep outside on deck! Within the last few months we have built a roof over the front-deck that allows to sleep outside even if the weather is really bad. I can put down the bamboo blinds to the sides and it is cozy and dry. What I want to say is, that I plan to make the salon a complete different style. To give you a brief idea, starboard side will be a long and fully equipped galley with a bar in the middle. We will build a big 12 volt fridge underneath as well as the convection oven. You will see the photos once this is done. On port side I want to have a nice big lounge and a navigation table. The two front cabins and the little workshop will end up being ONE big bathroom including 2 toilets and one big bathtub. At the sides of the hull we will just have the storage of wine bottles and some decoration. Taking a bath will give the feeling of being in a wine-cellar. As we are in the tropics, we will have air-condition installed. I promise you, it will become the sexiest bathroom one can think of on a boat!
But here comes my problem and the solution follows: all the work described above is costly and time consuming. DAMAI INDAH, will be out of business at least for 2 – if not for 3 months. I cannot afford to just let the business sleep for that time. I need to replace her and even if I don’t earn a penny during that time, my popularity and my reputation would be on stag. In other words, when people want to go out on a charter with me, I would have to neglect all bookings; not a good idea. So I thought I should find another boat that can take DAMAI INDAH’s place. Last time when DAMAI INDAH, was out of business (I had a fu….ing big problem with my gearbox and this sh….t had cost me a fortune – my previous engineer had fucked it up completely, but this is a different story and I spare you my language and my frustration here…. At the end my friend Jerry, part-time captain on DAMAI INDAH, fixed the problem) I replaced DAMAI INDAH, with another Indonesian style vessel. I did a number of charters with her but frankly speaking, although the boat for sure has a certain charm and is a much more expensive and bigger boat than mine, I was not really happy. I could not team up with the skipper couple and the feeling and atmosphere during the charters never came any where closed to the tours done on my humble boat.

Jerry skippers the boat to Thailand together with Clement

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I decided rather to let the business sleep than not being able to handle it on the level that I want the charters to run.
I found an alternative boat with a French couple that I could trust 100 %. They have a beautiful boat and they are professionals when it comes to any kind of charter. But this would cost me a fortune. I felt stuck in a corner. Michelle and Lutz (they run the restaurant “Mangoes” in Pantai Kok) told me about Hans and his BESOK LAGI.
I had met Hans some 3 years back already when I was on the hard in Thailand with DAMAI INDAH. Already then and there he offered me his boat but of course I was not interested at all as I had just purchased DAMAI INDAH.

I had enough problems with her then as she was in poor condition then.
Now she was available again. Hans, the Dutch owner, had become a bit too unhealthy over the years and had to abandon his boat. She was on the anchorage in Telaga Harbour when I visited her 2 weeks ago. Hans had not had a foot on her since more than 6 months. A friend of his was looking for the basic needs of the boat but the boat was running downhill quickly. He needed to get rid of her. Although she is not in prime condition and for sure comes with a few problems, she is a bargain. She comes with a lot of good equipment including a fairly big generator. I negotiated a fair price for her and as I had a back-up from my friends Clement and Jerry I decided to go for it.
Hans and I signed the contract at Beach Garden and celebrated this event with a bottle of French Champagne. Both of us were much closed to tears. I know that he loved BESOK LAGI and that he had always wanted to live on the boat for the rest of his life. He knows, she is in good hands now and she deserves a new life.
BESOK LAGI, the now-sister of DAMAI INDAH, was as well built in Sulawesi, in Bonerate, to be precise as her older sister. As much as I know her history by now, she was, although constructed as a charter boat in the first place already, designed and built the traditional way. It might well be that she has been built in the very same spot than my first baby DAMAI INDAH. I will do some more research here and update the story….

Here is what I am doing now: BESOK LAGI cannot take DAMAI INDAH’S place unless she got a bit of TLC. Clement and Jerry took her to Satun (South Thailand, only 5 hours away from Langkawi) a few days ago.
I had to go to KL for a few days for my other project (www.revitacura.com) and flew to Thailand yesterday.
The boat was already on the dry-dock when I arrived. Mike, my project manager, did the first inspection and it did not take us by surprise that the front mast was fully rotten and a biotope for termites and white ans.

The rotten front mast of Damai Indah Lagi

They pulled it down this morning and we fumigated the boat right after. She has more than only this spot where insects are feasting on her. At least 2 or more spots that we know that there are bugs in.

The rotten last stumps of the main mast.

My new darling: Damai Indah Lagi!

But Mike has a great team of local workers built up over the years that he is here in Thailand working in the shipyard. Actually, Mike is one of the great gurus when it comes to work on wooden boats. He has rebuilt the famous CARIAD together with Des Kearns here in Satun. A project involving a famous sailing ship that had been built in England in the year 1896.

You can check her amazing story in www.cariad.com
Mike was the leader of the carpenter work done on that historic vessel. He is an artist of an endangered species of shipbuilders.
I know him since my first days here in Langkawi but never had a personal contact to him. But just a few months ago I heard to my very surprise that he was the one to give DAMAI INDAH, the first changes after she was converted from an inter-island trading ship into a charter vessel some 15 years ago in Darwin/Australia – unbelievable how small the world is…
Now he is in charge for BESOK LAGI and later on for DAMAI INDAH. Once BESOK LAGI is in an acceptable condition and the beauty she potentially is, we will change her name to DAMAI INDAH LAGI. As my marketing and the years of hard work is all focused around the name DAMAI INDAH, I intend to change the name of BESOK LAGI although I hate to do that. But for marketing reasons, I think this is a wise decision.
BESOK LAGI in Indonesian words means “Tomorrow Again”
DAMAI INDAH, translates to “Peace and Beauty”.
Her new name DAMAI INDAH LAGI translates to “Peace and Beauty Again”. I hope you like it.
Both boats will be in prime condition by the beginning of the peak season in about November, I hope.
Back to the shipyard:
DAMAI INDAH LAGI is now in the shipyard since 3 days and we have stripped the hull down. I am taken by a positive surprise that the hull is in fairly good condition.

Only the planks that Hans had changed when he was last time on the hard are invested by termites. No big deal for Mike and his team. While Mike is looking after the wood work, Clement is working on the electrics. He rented a little house in Satun and lives here during the renovation.
They really don’t need me! As I had been extremely busy during the last few months and hardly had a break.
On DAMAI INDAH, I have good crew right now as well as in the office. This gives me the needed time for another break. I decide to go for a week to the north of Thailand for a detox. I had been in Chiang Mai in April for 2 weeks and it was a truly relaxing and rejuvenating time there. “The Spa Resort” is specialized in fasting and detox.
30th of July 2011
I have now spent 6 days in Chiang Mai and done a fasting.
Boy, I feel great! As always during a fast, I am pretty tired during the first few days but compared to my last stay, after only 2 days my energy-level already goes sky-high. Good, to get away from all the bad habits such as coffee (I started to smoke cigars again, I love them but wanted to get rid of it as I am just not under control), alcohol and junk food. I have never been a junk food eater but cooking on DAMAI INDAH, indicates that you get too much of the good stuff and that ends up bad for you. Well, you might come only once in your life time on my charter but I was out on charter almost every day.
Back to the shipyard, read my next blog!

After about 2 weeks (about beginning of February) finally the gearbox came back and my team put it back in. I was truly frightened it would still not work as the mechanic in KL could not test certain features. Sorry, I haven’t got a clue how this thing should work – the only thing that matters for me is that it does work! Jerry had done some major jobs on the engine while the boat was not moving including to align the whole engine and paint it. When I did my first charter again on her 2 weeks back I was pretty surprised how different the steering felt. Normally the boat has a very strong tendency to run to portside if you would let her go. This is now reduced at least by 50percent. That makes it so much easier to handle the boat. The sound of the engine is much nicer and so on so forth; I am just happy. But as I felt a bit insecure Jerry joined the first few tours. The day I went out alone (with guests of course) I had the impression the smoke coming out of the exhaust was a bit too much and the engine started to heat up again. Bloody hell, have mercy!!!!!!!!! I cant go any further with all this shit problems – I had more than enough of it! I have done all I could and I am closed to a nervous break down. Coming back to the marina in the evening I call Jerry and Clement to report this. They promise to come the next morning. Exhausted and frustrated I kill a bottle of wine and fall asleep early.  Next day Clement and Jerry discussed the new/old problem and came to the idea to check all in – and outlets first before panicking. Good idea. Clement took his snorkeling gear and jumped into the dirty water of the marina. Guess what? He took two fuc…ing plastic bags out of the exhaust!!! How I hate the fact that the locals – as lovely as they are in certain ways – through just everything into the water – actually wherever they are. Langkawi and in particular the ocean sometimes is just absolutely a disaster.

This time the problem was solved easily; cross fingers.

Eva, alias captain cook