More Philippine Bancas

This is a continuation of the previous post on the Philippine banca, a wide class of double-outrigger canoes still in general use.

1. Only small bancas still use sail. This appears to be a standard "oceanic sprit" rig. Many of the smaller bancas are used by fishermen.

2. Another fishing boat, but this one large and engine-powered, with a crew of at least 18. The boat is returning from sea with nets and catch aboard, heading to market.

3. Note how, on the banca in the background, one of the floats is well clear of the water. On the foreground boat, note how the long tiller extension allows the helmsman to remain forward of the engine box.

4. While this boat has distinctly different ends from the one in the preceding photo, the interior arrangements are generally similar. In addition to the long tiller extension and engine box, note the internal frames and thwarts. I presume the lovely raised ends are purely decorative, as they don't appear to lend any weather protection or buoyancy.

5. This large banca has a short pipe tiller, requiring the helmsman to remain aft of the engine box. Contrast the flattened raised stempost here to the narrow one in the previous photo. Note too the very small rudder, and the two-layered outrigger boom..

6. A temporary derrick of bamboo posts has been built around a banca's main hull, and a chain hoist is being used to install or remove the engine. (The shaft is in place, but no propeller is installed.) The outrigger boom is a flat board -- an unusual feature -- and the outrigger float consists of several bamboo stalks in a bundle, not side-by-side as on the boat at the extreme right in photo #3 above.

As in the previous post, all photos used here by kind permission of Capt. Rob Whitehurst. No further re-use permitted.