Phinisi schooner and pinisi: what the names mean and how the rig really works

By Pinisi Boat Editorial Desk

A phinisi schooner is the two-masted Sulawesi sailing vessel UNESCO calls the famed Sulawesi schooner. The word phinisi refers to its rig. Wikipedia compares that rig to a gaff-ketch: seven to eight sails, with the main sails pulled out along standing gaffs instead of being hoisted. Both English names point to one vessel type, and neither settles how it is rigged.

Why is it called a schooner if the rig is compared to a ketch?

Because two respected references reach for two different English words. UNESCO writes of the rig and sail of the famed Sulawesi schooner. Wikipedia says the seven to eight sails on two masts are arranged like a gaff-ketch. The two statements do different jobs. UNESCO is naming a well-known vessel. Wikipedia is making a technical comparison about how the sails are set.

For a reader, the sensible response is to treat schooner as a familiar name and leave it there. A listing that says schooner has told you how the seller wishes the boat to be seen, and very little about its sail plan. Words such as gaff, mast and sail count give you something you can verify on deck.

What makes standing gaffs unusual?

The detail lies in how the biggest sails are handled. On a pinisi the main sails are pulled out along the gaffs like curtains and are not hoisted, as Wikipedia describes it. The gaff stays up, and the cloth travels along it. That single feature is what the term standing gaff records, and it is the part of a pinisi most worth checking when you stand beside one.

The rig also has its own vocabulary, which an English term like schooner cannot convey. Wikipedia lists a Buginese name for each sail, starting with the sombala, or main sail, and our page on the rig and sails sets out the full list.

The list gives names without showing which combination makes seven and which makes eight. Seven is the number most often repeated, yet both the English and the Indonesian Wikipedia entries say seven to eight, and how many sails a pinisi has deals with the count.

Who built these ships, and who sailed them?

The builders and the sailors were different groups. Wikipedia says pinisi-rigged ships were mainly built by the Konjo-speaking people of Ara, in Bontobahari district of Bulukumba, and by people from Bira, Lemo-Lemo and Tana Beru. The same entry says they were widely used by Buginese and Makassarese seafarers as cargo vessels.

You may meet the name Bugis schooner in English. We have not found a source for the term, so we neither define it nor rely on it, and it would in any case leave out the Makassarese crews and the Konjo builders. The first Sulawesi pinisi, thought to date from 1906, is credited to shipbuilders of Ara and Lemo-Lemo working for a skipper from Bira. UNESCO's title carries no ethnic label at all: Pinisi, art of boatbuilding in South Sulawesi.

Where did the ph in phinisi come from?

From a single voyage. According to Wikipedia, the spelling was an attempt to mimic Indonesian pronunciation and was first used to name Phinisi Nusantara, a motorised traditional vessel sailed from Indonesia to Expo 86 in Vancouver, Canada, in 1986. Indonesian Wikipedia lists pinisiq and pinisi' as further forms.

A phinisi schooner is therefore a compound built from a 1986 spelling and an English rig word. Treat it as a market phrase, since none of the references here defines it as a technical term. The spelling comparison has the full account.

How does the pinisi compare with what the word schooner suggests?

The table separates what the references actually say from what the label may lead you to assume. Read down the second column and you will notice how much of it the single word schooner leaves unsaid.

The hull row deserves a second look, since a name for the rig says nothing about the shape below it. The palari is the older type, with a curved stern and keel, raised from a pajala hull, with twin quarter rudders and a low foredeck called the salompong. The lambo is favoured by motorised vessels. The jonggolang is a mid-20th-century form built high from the start. Two vessels with the same sails could therefore differ considerably in the water, and the hull design guide explains how. For comparison with other vessel types, see the pinisi against a modern yacht.

Which name should I use when I search, buy or charter?

Use whichever finds the most material, then stop relying on the name. Reference material and heritage writing favour pinisi. Sales and charter pages often favour phinisi. A search for only one spelling will miss a share of what exists, and the main pinisi boat guide uses both for that reason.

Buying or chartering calls for more than a name, because Wikipedia notes the word now covers most Indonesian wooden ships. Before you accept the label, put these questions to the seller or operator:

• How many masts and how many sails does the vessel carry?
• Are the main sails set along standing gaffs, or hoisted?
• Which hull type is it: palari, lambo, jonggolang or something else?
• Is the rig used at sea, and how often, or is it carried mainly for looks?
• Where and when was the vessel built, and can that be documented?

A vessel that fails the second question may still be a fine boat. The accurate description for it would be phinisi-style. The phinisi yacht page continues from here for anyone looking at guest vessels.

Where can I see a phinisi schooner under sail?

We have not found a source giving a reliable place or schedule for watching one under full sail. What can be sourced is where to find the vessels themselves: Wikipedia names Sunda Kelapa in Jakarta and Paotere in Makassar as traditional ports.

On a charter, ask the operator directly whether the sails are set during the trip, and how often. Motorisation goes back to the 1970s and 1980s, so seeing masts is no assurance of seeing sail. Where to see pinisi boats goes through the harbours, yards and parks.

What are the short answers on the schooner name?

What does phinisi schooner mean?

It is an English name for the two-masted Sulawesi sailing vessel with the pinisi rig. UNESCO's wording is the famed Sulawesi schooner.

Is a Bugis schooner the same thing as a phinisi?

We cannot say. It is a name you may meet, and we have not found a source for the term. Wikipedia describes Buginese and Makassarese seafarers using these vessels, and names Konjo-speaking people of Ara and other communities as the builders.

Is a pinisi a schooner or a ketch?

Both words appear in the references. UNESCO says schooner, and Wikipedia says the rigging is arranged like a gaff-ketch. The standing gaff is the more useful detail to check.

How many sails does a phinisi schooner have?

Seven to eight on two masts, according to both the English and Indonesian editions of Wikipedia.

Does a wooden charter boat called a phinisi count as a phinisi schooner?

Not automatically. Look for the two masts, the sail count and the standing gaffs.

Which sources support this page?

These references are as published when last checked in October 2026.

• UNESCO: Pinisi, art of boatbuilding in South Sulawesi
• UNESCO: Decision 12.COM 11.B.13
• Wikipedia: Pinisi
• Wikipedia (Indonesian): Pinisi

How do I reach the desk?

If you are looking at a vessel and want a second reading of its rig description, write to the desk on WhatsApp at 6281139414563 or at bd@juaraholding.com.