PSI - Issue 72

Muh. Linggar Adi Wardhana et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 72 (2025) 418–426

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1. Introduction The construction design and technology of traditional fishing boats are part of the cultural heritage of the Indonesian nation (Sugiarto et al., 2020). Historical records show that the marine life of the Indonesian people has been thriving for a long time. Since the 9th century AD, Indonesians have sailed westward across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar and east to Easter Island (Naila, 2014). Currently, coastal communities still firmly adhere to the maritime traditions and culture passed down from ancient times in designing and constructing wooden ships, as shown in Figure 1. Therefore, merging traditional maritime culture with today's urban culture requires a unique approach (Clemente, 2014). A wooden ship is a ship that uses wood materials in its construction (Wahidi et al., 2021). Although the designs and materials used for wooden boat structures continue to evolve, traditional wooden boats are designed based on traditional manufacturing methods, fishing distances, and material availability. The wood material used to construct wooden ships comes from several forests in Indonesia. In today's day and age, five types of ship material options can be used to manufacture fishing boats: wood, iron, fiberglass, reinforced plastic, ferrocement, and aluminum (Fyson et al., 1985). Manufacturing fishing boats in Indonesia still use wood as the primary raw material. This is evidenced by the increasing production of wooden boats over the last three years (Karyanto et al., 2020).

Fig. 1. Traditional timber boat construction (Triastuti and Soewarno, 2015).

The type of wood used is a crucial technical aspect that needs to be considered to obtain durable materials for fishing vessels (Kern et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2022; Sikkema et al., 2023; Saeed et al., 2024; Salzberger et al., 2024). Indonesian fishermen prefer using wood materials to make boats compared to other materials because wood is cheaper, more abundant, and easier to repair. Traditional wooden boats are made and developed according to the standards applicable in coastal communities. These standards and designs are also adjusted to the community's ability to obtain materials and processes in shipbuilding. Specific technical requirements must be met when choosing wood materials for ship structures, such as the need for wood that is strong, hard, and has high resistance to water (Savins, 2013). Although there are challenges related to the use of wood, such as the need for regular maintenance to prevent damage from seawater and marine organisms, wooden boats can have a long lifespan with proper care and remain valuable assets to fishing communities. Few studies are researching innovations to improve wood materials that could be used in shipbuilding. One of the developments in structure and material (Chand et al., 2023; Suryanto et al., 2023; Nugroho et al., 2023; Ahzhan et al., 2024; Akbar et al., 2024; Fuadi et al., 2024; Lazović et al., 2024; Manik et al., 2024; Naufal et al., 2024; Petrović et al., 2023; Rahman et al., 2024), which can be applied on the structures of Indonesian water s, is using fiberglass by coastal communities in the Riau province. However, they have encountered various obstacles. One significant issue is that the lighter weight of fiberglass compared to wood makes ships more vulnerable to the impact of sea waves in Riau waters, which have a relatively high average wave height, affecting the strength and stability of ship motion. Fiberglass is also considered less impact-resistant and challenging to obtain in remote areas. Additionally, marine organisms, especially fouling, cause damage to the bilge material, and fiberglass requires specific