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NOTE FROM BOBBY:
I copied this page from an obscure site on the Web. First I was going to link to it, but the site doesn't look too permanent so I just plain stole the whole thing - it is entirely the work of someone else and I cannot readily identify who from the site. Here is where I stole it from: http://members.spree.com/business/321mmcfwd/dow.htm
NOTE UPDATE
On Jan. 6, 2003 I received an email from the photographer that took the photos below. Here is a copy of that message:
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Hello Bobby I was sent your web site by my sister-in-law. I am the one on the ship and I live here in Texas now. I worked on Camp Doha as a contractor and spent about 7 months in Kuwait. It really caught me by surprise when my sister-in-law told me she saw me on an internet site. Martin Centunzi |
The Kuwaiti Dhow Fishing Ships have been around for decades.
They originated when Kuwait was a major trading port from the Eastern nations to
the west. They specialized in the pearl and fishing industry. You will find the
world's largest dhow under construction directly behind the Radisson Hotel off
of the Arabian Gulf Steet.
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Muhammadi II was built in 1979 as a replica of Mohammadi I.
Mohammadi I was built in 1916 for the Marafie family and was the largest wooden
ship ever built for Kuwait. Muhammadi II was constructed by the same ship
masterbuilder Mr. V.K. Narayanan of India that is currently constructing the
worlds largest wooden ship. Muhammadi II is permanently docked behind the
Radisson SAS Hotel and houses one of the finest restaraunts in Kuwait. The
restaraunt seats approximately 80 people and reservations are recommended.
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This is one of the fishing dows constructed for the dhow museum. The museum will be in the belly of the world's largest wooden ship constructed since Noah constructed the Ark.
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This is a side view of the world's largest wooden ship, "Al-Hashemi-II. Construction is planned to be completed January 1, 2000. If we have another great flood at least someone will be ready. The large ship will weigh an estimated 2,500 tons and will use over 3,000 cubic meters of timber. The timber was personally selected and supervised by Husain Marafie the financer of the project. He personnally financed the whole project and wants to give the modern day Kuwaitis a look at how Kuwaitis once lived. So outside of the Ship Museum he will build a Kuwaiti Village using the stones from the Gulf and the palm trees branches for roofs.
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Artisans from India and other countries have been hired to sculpt the beautiful wooden lining that will cover the walls and ceiling of the inside of the huge ship. The etched wood will be lined with 22 karat gold once they are placed inside the ship. The tiber that makes up the ship are Iroko, Ekki and Mahogany groan in the rain forrest of Africa along Cameroon and the Ivory Coast.
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This is a picture of what the gold filled etched lining will look like once they are in place.
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The interior of the ship is very large. It will house the Dhow Museum once it is complete.
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This is the only wooden ship constructed today that could possibly hold the animals that Noah took on his Ark several thousand years ago. Can you imagine a ship this size being built in the middle of the desert. Noah are you crazy?
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This is a photograph of the rudder that would steer the ship. As you notice there is no propeller because this is a sailing ship. You may ask yourself, will it float? The contractor building the vessal assured me it would. He said if they could get the Kuwaiti government to pay for the dredging of the shallow harbor they would launch the ship and sail around the world.
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If you examine the ship from the rear it even looks more like the historic Noahs Ark. Unlike the Ark however this ship will be lined with gold and have stained glass windows and all the comforts of modern day life.
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The Al Hashemi-II will by 83.75 meters long and 18.5 meters wide at midship.
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The main mast will be 50 meters tall with a diameter from 90 centimeters at the bottom to 75 centimeters at the top. The mizzen mast will be 40 meters tall with a diameter of 75 centimeters at the bottom to 60 centimeters at the top. Both mast are made from pine logs shipped from the state of Oregon in the U.S.A.
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Several stories up on the deck of the ship you can get an idea of how it might be sailing the mighty ship.
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From the deck you can see the beach and some of the many houses along the coastline to the east.
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You can also see the luxurious Radisson SAS Beach Club from the deck. It's not cheap to join, but if you are into high living this is a great place to go to play and relax.
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We watched the Jetskis from the Radisson SAS Beach Club from the deck of the ship as they played in the water.
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As you look to the west from the deck of the ship you can see some of the luxurious houses along the beach. This is one of most expensive areas of the city because it is near the embassies and palaces
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It looks large enough to land a plane on but once the mass, sails and rigging are put in there will be very little room for any kind of aircraft.
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How do we steer this thing? The steering wheel is completed as you can see here. It will be placed on top of the deck when the ship nears completion.
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Here is a photograph of the contractor building the ship. He also was our illustrious tour guide.
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Our guide was one of the heros from the Iraqi Invasion. He and many of his family members stayed because if all Kuwaitis left then there probably would have been no country to return to. He still has scars and horrifying memories of his capture by the Iraqis. To his left is Martin Centunzi one of our ITT Item Managers. We thank Mr. Centunzi for some of the great photographs on the 321st MMC Forward Webpage.
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Here is a view of the bay from the top of the ship. As you can see it would be an awsome voyage to sail around the would on this wonderous ship.
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As we looked off of the front of the ship we could see a
Navy Ship sailing on the Persian Gulf. It was a subtle reminder of why we were
here.