The long-tail boat, ( th, เรือหางยาว, ,
/ref> ) is a type of

watercraft Any vehicle used in or on water as well as underwater, including boats, ships, hovercraft and submarines, is a watercraft, also known as a water vessel or waterborne vessel. A watercraft usually has a propulsive capability (whether by sail, ...

native to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, which uses a common

automotive engine , there were a wide variety of propulsion systems available or potentially available for automobiles and other vehicles. Options included internal combustion engines fueled by petrol, diesel, propane, or natural gas; hybrid vehicles, plug-in ...

as a readily available and maintainable powerplant. A craft designed to carry passengers on a river may include a lightweight long

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

hull, up to 30 metres, and a canopy. There is much variation among these boats, some have evolved from traditional craft types, while others have a more improvised look—the sole defining characteristic is a second-hand car or truck engine. Long-tail boats are now often used to transport tourists. There are also competitions involving long-tail boats in some provinces of Thailand.

Propulsion

The engine is invariably mounted on an inboard

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

-like pole which can rotate through 180 degrees, allowing steering by

thrust vectoring Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the v ...

. The

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

is mounted directly on the

driveshaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connec ...

with no additional gearing or transmission. Usually the engine also swivels up and down to provide a "neutral gear" where the propeller does not contact the water. The driveshaft must be extended by several metres of metal rod to properly position the propeller, giving the boat its name and distinct appearance. Advantages to the inboard engine with a long driveshaft include keeping the engine relatively dry. Following the basic design pattern allows a variety of engines to be attached to a variety of different kinds of hulls. This flexibility simplifies construction and maintenance while sacrificing the efficiency and comfort that might be expected of a typical mass-produced product. Engine cooling is provided by a metal pipe underneath the rear running board which is used as a rudimentary

heat-exchanger A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contac ...

. This is then coupled to the engine using rubber or plastic hoses. Clean water is then used as the coolant. Control is achieved by moving the engine with a

lever A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or ''fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load and effort, the lever is div ...

attached to the inboard side. Ignition and throttle controls provide simple means to control the craft. Larger boats may include more than one "tail," with several operators piloting in tandem.

Costs

Thailand's most distinctive form of coastal transport is in danger of becoming obsolete. In 1989, the Thai government banned logging of natural forests. This led to a shortage of timber used in boat making, and required the wood to be imported from other countries. With a recent increase in the cost of imported timber, there has been a drastic decline in the number of new boats constructed, which has caused the price of an individual boat to skyrocket. A few years ago, a long-tail boat cost about 3,000 baht (US$83). Now, according to Chot, a local long-tail boat captain on

Ko Samui Ko Samui (or Koh Samui, also often locally shortened to Samui; th, เกาะสมุย, ) is an island off the east coast of Thailand. Geographically in the Chumphon Archipelago, it is part of Surat Thani Province, though as of 2012, Ko ...

, Thailand, a boat costs almost 70 times as much. "Now, it's over 200,000 baht (US$5,500). That's 200,000 only for the hull of a new boat," Chot said, "not including the engine." As a consequence, long-tails are sharing the water with an increasing number of speedboats. Speedboats hold more people and they travel faster, tempting some guides to switch from longtails to speedboats.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Long-tail boats
Mast & Sail in Europe & Asia: Chapter 11
Boat types Ships of Thailand

Propulsion

Costs

See also

References

External links