the SHIPYARD      MOPTI

Boat building is a real family tradition; passed down from father to son. There are families in the villages along the river, who own a (very) small shipyard.

Close to the port in Mopti is a larger shipyard; a factory where you can see how the pirogues and pinasses are either made or repaired.

They fabricate these colourful boats in the old fashioned way – by hand.

You can watch how a pile of long boards of caïlcedrat (African mahogany) is carefully pieced together into a boat.

The craftsmen, who are attaching these boards to the carcass, only use a few hand tools: chisels, hammers, saws, pincers and large bradawls, which they inflame in a fire.

Blacksmiths are nearby and they fabricate the nails; they take a piece of old iron or (scrap) metal and with a few hammer blows (hammering) they have transformed that metal into a very sharp en strong nail. Besides these nails they also make pipes, harpoons for fishing and even hairpins.

Once the boat is finished (between 2 – 6 weeks, depending on the size), after being carefully impregnated with karité-oil and being painted black, the boat is dipped into the water.

Then only one important thing has to be done: painting the bow and bowsprit in bright colours and putting the manufacture date on it.  

(A pirogue is a wooden, canoe-like boat, which is moved forward by a pole and / or sails.

A pinasse is a pirogue with a motor, but no sails; it is also roofed in and can take up to 25 people.)