How many cabins on a phinisi? Layouts, guest capacity and reading a deck plan

By Pinisi Boat Editorial Desk

A phinisi has no standard number of cabins. The count follows the hull's length and beam and what the owner wants the boat to do. One documented vessel gives a reference point, not the limit of the market: Lamima, at 65.2 metres, carries 14 guests in 7 suites. For any other boat, count the cabins on its own deck plan, since a brochure headline is only a claim.

Is there a standard number of cabins?

No. UNESCO describes the word pinisi as referring to the rig and sail, so accommodation plays no part in the definition. The boats were also working vessels first: Wikipedia records them as inter-island cargo carriers, and a pinisi-rigged vessel completed in Bulukumba in 2011 had capacity for about 500 tons of cargo. Guest cabins are a later choice made boat by boat, on hulls now marketed as phinisi for charter and diving.

That leaves the documented record thin. Here is everything we can state from a source, with the gaps left visible.

Our page on phinisi length and beam deals with the dimensions themselves. The point here is narrower: two of those four entries give no cabin information at all, so never assume a count from a build year or a sale headline. Ask for it.

What does Lamima tell you, and what does it leave out?

Seven suites for fourteen guests is two guests per suite, by our own arithmetic. Nothing in that record suggests length converts into cabins at a fixed rate, because the owner and designer decide how the volume is shared between guest space, public rooms, crew and machinery.

It is also an unusual reference point. Its marketing calls it the world's largest wooden sailing yacht, and Boat International lists it as a custom build. Dividing its length by its suites gives you a number that means nothing on a smaller boat. Use it as a sign of how far an owner can trade cabins for space. More on that vessel and others sits on our page about named phinisi yachts.

What can you trust about typical liveaboard capacity?

Operators publish guest and cabin numbers for individual boats, particularly around Komodo. We have not confirmed a representative range, so we print none here. Each figure you see describes one boat at one point in its life, and a refit may have changed it since.

Next, look at what the number actually counts. "Capacity" can mean fixed beds, beds plus convertible sofas, day guests, or a passenger limit on a certificate, and these can differ on the same boat. A shared trip sold by the cabin raises a separate question from a private charter, where you take every berth or leave some empty. Our explainer on pinisi liveaboards sets out how those two ways of travelling differ.

What do ensuite, shared and family cabins mean on a listing?

These are sales terms, and we can cite no formal definition for any of them. Our working sense is given below as a guide only. Pair each one with the check in the third column.

How many crew are aboard, and where do they sleep?

We have no confirmed crew range by length, so we leave published estimates out. What is certain is that crew need berths, and those berths use volume a guest will never see. A boat that claims many cabins on a modest hull may be squeezing guests, crew or both, and only the plan will show you which.

On nationality, our ownership page covers what is reported, and it does not settle the rule for every category of vessel. For your purposes, ask for three numbers: crew at sea on your trip, crew berths on the plan, and the number of crew who sleep elsewhere when the boat is full.

How do you read a deck plan before booking or buying?

Ask for the plan in writing, then work through it in this order:

1. Check its date. Refits change layouts, so ask whether this drawing shows the boat as it is today.
2. Count cabins deck by deck, and mark those with their own bathroom.
3. Count fixed beds and convertible beds separately, then compare the total with the advertised guest number.
4. Find the crew berths, engine room and generator, and note which guest cabins share a wall with them.
5. Trace the route from each cabin to open deck. Ask how it works at night, and read our notes on pinisi safety for what else to request.
6. Ask which document states the passenger limit, and compare that number with the brochure.
7. Ask for photographs of the cabin you will actually be given, identified by its number on the plan.

Your purpose changes how you weigh the result. A couple needs one good cabin and little else, which is the angle taken in our page on a phinisi honeymoon. A family or dive group needs the beds to match the people and the bathrooms to match the beds. A buyer should also think about charter demand, and about whether a layout could be changed at a later refit.

The same test applies to any boat offered through this desk, and we say so because we have an interest: a request here can lead to a contract with a company in our group. Ask us for the plan first, and treat a slow answer as you would from anyone else.

What are the short answers on phinisi cabins?

How many people fit on a phinisi?

It depends entirely on the boat. The one guest figure we can cite is Lamima, with 14 guests, so check the passenger limit on the papers of the vessel you are considering.

Do all phinisi cabins have private bathrooms?

Not necessarily. Layouts differ from boat to boat, so mark the private bathrooms on the deck plan and do not rely on one photographed cabin to stand for the rest.

Does a longer phinisi always have more cabins?

No. Lamima gives only seven suites on 65.2 metres, which shows that extra length can go to space and not to headcount.

Does a stated capacity include the crew?

Usually you cannot tell from the headline. Ask whether the figure means guests only, and compare it with the crew berths on the plan and the limit on the certificate.

Can I ask for a deck plan before paying?

Yes. Ask for a dated plan before any payment. If none exists, get a dated cabin list from the operator or seller, showing beds and bathrooms for each cabin.

Which sources support this page?

• CharterWorld: Lamima completion report (as published, checked Oct 2026)
• Boat International: Lamima directory entry (as published, checked Oct 2026)
• UNESCO: Pinisi, art of boatbuilding in South Sulawesi (as published, checked Oct 2026)
• Wikipedia: Pinisi (as published, checked Oct 2026)
• YachtWorld: 1998 Traditional Phinisi listing (as published, checked Oct 2026)
• YachtWorld: 2012 Phinisi Custom listing (as published, checked Oct 2026)

How do I reach the desk?

Send the deck plan you are looking at, or the layout you need, to the desk. WhatsApp: 6281139414563. Email: bd@juaraholding.com.