The expert commenced work in Pokhara on 15 November 1977.
Two carpenters had already been hired and were busy in the boatyard doing carpentry work for the project. These men were put to work building work benches and shelves for tools and supplies. Hand tools were bought in Pokhara and Kathmandu and the few hand tools not available in Nepal were ordered from Hong Kong.
The power machinery arrived from India on 19 December all in good order; this was set up and operating by the middle of January.
The first fishing boat was started at the end of November using hand tools only. The next boats were built with the aid of the power machinery. The standard model for fishing is a 5.5 metre double ended boat designed basically for paddling.
One boat was built for the department of Tourism. A 4.2 metre design was drawn up specifically for rowing. Another boat of the same design was built for the project. Both of these boats were built over a jig.
Some of the fishermen work alone and so felt that the 5.5 metre boat was too large and expensive for their needs. To fill their needs a 3.2 metre double ended boat was designed and built primarily for use by one man. This was later modified to 4.0 metre to satisfy the fishermens' requirements.
It was found that there was also a need for a larger boat mainly for the use of farm products such as rice, maize, millet etc. from the other end of the lake. For this purpose a 7.3 metre double ended boat was designed and built to have the same carrying capacity as the largest canoes. One of these was modified to take one live well 80 cm × 1.20 m, to be used by the project to transport fish fingerlings to the cages of the cage culture section.
There have also been several variations of these four designs built to suit individual preferences.
Of all the boats built to date, the project has kept six; four in Lake Phewa and one each in Lakes Begnas and Rupa. The rest of the boats are in private hands except for the 4.2 metre boat built for the Department of Tourism (see appendixes).
It has been the policy to stress training rather than volume production of boats.
The boatyard has been involved in machining timber for the cage culture section, particularly for the frames supporting the cages.
When time allows, assorted office furniture has been built such as tables, desks, shelves, etc.
The boatyard has built a prototype insulated fish box as designed by Mr. Lisao the fish marketing consultant so as to assess cost and feasibility of building a quantity of these by the yard.
The two original carpenters on the site when the expert arrived are now carrying on the work with little help from the expert. After a slow start these two men have developed into capable boatbuilders. One in particular has the skills and initiative to build all the boats so far designed and the ability to modify existing designs to personal preferences. The other carpenter, an ex-army man has the skills to build boats plus the mechanical ability to maintain and repair the power machinery.
A counterpart boatbuilder was recruited from Butwal Technical Institute, on the sixth of March. He left in the first part of May to go back to his former post in Butual; as he felt that the project did not offer any job security.
Another counterpart has been employed on a trial basis. He has not had a great deal of experience or “drive” but has a certificate of competency in woodworking from the British army.
There are skilled carpenters available but the project wage scale is such that it cannot compete with the wages paid by the private sector.
The training programme was inaugurated in the first part of January 1977 with the recruitment of four trainees.
It was originally envisaged that the trainees would be recruited from around the three lakes. Until now, this has not materialized and nearly all the men have come from the shores of Lake Phewa. It is hoped that this can soon be rectified.
Practical training has been stressed with the minimum of theory as the previous education of most trainees has been fairly limited or non existant.
In picking trainees the preference is for people who have some prior knowledge of woodworking.
The time for each man to be trained depends on his progress and previous skill. In any case no one will be kept on longer than a year as a trainee.
At the time of the expert's arrival there was a limited supply of timber on hand air-drying. Other squared timbers were procured locally and was sawn into planking. There was a very limited supply of this timber so the supply was soon exhausted. It was found eventually that it was necessary to depend on the Timber Corporation of Nepal for a continuous supply of timber. The only timber they supply is sal (Shorea robusta) which is a hard durable wood but too heavy to be entirely satisfactory for the boats being built. Boats built of sal have little reserve buoyanoy if filled with water.
The only nails available in Nepal are bright steel; therefore, it may be necessary to refasten the boats within a few years if these fastenings show a tendency to corrode rapidly. Bright steel screws are only available in Kathmandu and there are no brass or galvanized screws available.
Cotton for seams is available locally in bulk. The men spin this out to a suitable size for caulking.
To fill the seams and joint at the chine, road bitumen was originally used as it was readily available but was found difficult to work with. Eventually, it was decided that black roofing cement would be more satisfactory despite the extra cost and for the last boats it was used exclusively.
All boats have been painted. The main purpose of this is to slow down the loss and intake of moisture in the wood to prevent checking and warping. White paint has been used as it reduces heat absorption to a minimum.
