Pinisi boat timber types: bitti, ironwood and teak, and how firm the evidence is

By Pinisi Boat Editorial Desk

Three timbers circulate in accounts of pinisi building: bitti (Vitex) for hull planking and framing, ulin or ironwood for the keel and structural members, and teak for decks, deckhouses and joinery. Those accounts include sites within our own group, so we do not count them as confirmation. Treat the allocation as the opening question in any build contract.

Which timbers are named, and how firm is each claim?

Three names recur whenever a pinisi build is described, and each comes attached to particular parts of the boat. The table sets that allocation beside what a citable source supports. Read the right-hand column first, since it decides how much weight the middle column can carry when you sit down with a specification.

We cannot confirm that allocation. It gives you a working vocabulary for talking to a builder and tells you where to direct each question. It says nothing about a particular boat, because a species named in a brochure and the wood fastened to a frame stay two separate facts until somebody records them.

Does the word pinisi tell you anything about the wood?

Very little. UNESCO says the word refers to the rig and sail of the Sulawesi schooner, and Wikipedia's entry defines a pinisi as a type of rigging. Neither definition mentions a species. A boat can be correctly called a pinisi while its owner knows nothing about what its hull is made of.

Form varies as well, with three general hull types carrying the rig: palari, lambo and jonggolang. Our page on pinisi hull types explains how they differ. Rig, hull type and sales label leave the timber question open, so only a written specification can close it.

What does the one documented hull show?

The clearest published statement we can cite concerns Lamima, a 65.2-metre phinisi motor-sailer launched in 2014 and delivered in 2015. CharterWorld describes an ironwood hull with a beam of 11.20 metres, built on the beach at Bira and Ara in South Sulawesi by local builders. Boat International's directory entry supports the length and the delivery year.

Two cautions apply. Lamima is one very large vessel, not the limit of the market, which makes it a poor stand-in for a boat of ordinary size. The phrase "ironwood hull" is also brief: it does not separate keel, frames and planking, and it does not say whether teak or anything else was used elsewhere. It shows that ironwood went into one very large vessel. It cannot show what a smaller boat should use.

What is known about kandole and other local woods?

We have not found a source we can cite for kandole in pinisi construction, or for any local species beyond the three in the table. A missing source does not mean the wood goes unused.

If a specification names kandole, or any local trade name, ask for three things: the botanical name, the part of the boat it will go into, and the builder's reason for choosing it. A botanical name lets a surveyor, an insurer or a timber specialist test the claim without relying on the person selling the boat. A local name on its own leaves them nothing to check.

What does UNESCO record about timber supply?

A summary of UNESCO's periodic report, which we have yet to read in the original, lists scarcity of quality timber among the pressures on the tradition. Our UNESCO page gives the full list and explains what the 2017 inscription covers.

We cite the scarcity as a recorded pressure and can add no volume, price trend or species-level figure to it. The practical consequence still holds at any scale: discuss substitution early. If a named species cannot be obtained when the work reaches that stage, somebody will have to choose a replacement, and the contract should say who that is and how the change gets recorded.

Wikipedia also records pinisi vessels carrying cargo such as timber from Kalimantan to Java. That is a note about trade routes and says nothing about where the wood in the hulls themselves came from, so do not read a source region into it.

What should you ask about drying, origin and paperwork?

Buying and drying timber is described as an early stage of the work, which we cannot confirm, and we hold no sourced figure for drying time or moisture content. The useful test is therefore whether a builder can answer plainly, on paper, before work starts:

• Which species goes into the keel, frames, planking, deck, deckhouse and interior, by botanical name?
• Where was each batch cut, and which document shows that origin?
• How was it dried, for how long, and who measures its moisture content before it is fitted?
• Who may approve a substitute species, and where is that approval written down?
• May a surveyor of your choosing inspect the timber before it is fastened?
• Which legal papers cover the purchase and transport of the wood, and can you have copies?

Ask the builder to name the document that shows the timber is legal, and then have your own adviser check it.

These questions apply to us as well. A request through this desk can end in a contract with a company in our group, so test our offer as you would test any other. Its text gives the work location, any fee and the payment terms.

How does timber connect to build planning and hull life?

Species decisions belong at the start of any conversation about how a phinisi is built. They also feed the later question of how long a hull stays useful, where repair history and upkeep matter as much as the original wood. Keep the agreed timber schedule with the vessel's papers. A surveyor or buyer years from now will want to know what was meant to be there, and that one document will save them from guessing.

What are the short answers on pinisi timber?

Does a pinisi have to be built from ironwood?

No. The definitions we can cite from UNESCO and Wikipedia concern the rig and sails, and neither names a required species.

Was Lamima built from ironwood?

Yes, according to CharterWorld, which describes an ironwood hull. The report does not break the hull down by component, so it cannot tell you what the frames or planks are made of.

Is timber scarcity a documented problem?

Yes. A summary of UNESCO's periodic report lists scarcity of quality timber among the pressures on the craft. Ask how it affects your own schedule.

Can I specify the timber in a new-build contract?

Yes. Ask for species by component with botanical names, plus a rule for substitutes, and check that all of it appears in the signed contract and not only in the sales material.

Is teak used on every phinisi deck?

Do not assume so. Ask the owner what the deck on that particular boat is made of, and whether it has been replaced since launch.

Which sources support this page?

• UNESCO: Pinisi, art of boatbuilding in South Sulawesi (as published, checked Oct 2026)
• UNESCO: 12.COM decisions document (December 2017) (as published, checked Oct 2026)
• UNESCO: periodic report on the element (as published, checked Oct 2026)
• Wikipedia: Pinisi (as published, checked Oct 2026)
• CharterWorld: Lamima completion report (as published, checked Oct 2026)
• Boat International: Lamima directory entry (as published, checked Oct 2026)

How do I reach the desk?

Send a draft timber schedule, or a request for an offer, to the desk. WhatsApp: 6281139414563. Email: bd@juaraholding.com.