KOCHI: Boats have been a way of life for Keralites. And the most common ones that they have been acquainted with are the traditional ones like the snake boat, country canoes and houseboats. However, if all goes well, the state will get to see a dragon boat sailing down its waterway by August.
The boat is the realisation of a Kannur native’s dream. Viju K V, who is the co-owner of a couple of houseboats that ply on the Valapattanam River, got the idea of doing something different after watching an episode of Sancharam, a travel documentary.
“In an episode on China, in one shot a huge dragon boat was shown floating down a river. The beauty and magnificence of the boat attracted my attention,” says Viju who then decided to get one made. According to him, the usual boats that the tourists in Kerala get to see are the houseboats or the snake boats beside the smaller vessels. “Besides the houseboats, I own a shikhara and a jet boat,” he says.
The keel-laying ceremony of the boat will be held on Wednesday, says Viju. Holding the plans and design for his dream boat, Viju approached the Kerala Finance Corporation (KFC) seeking funds.
“The KFC granted me a loan of Rs 40 lakh under the scheme that promotes entrepreneurship. A S Shiras, the general manager of the District Industries Centre, Kannur, helped me with the loan proceedings,” says Viju according to whom the total estimate of the boat comes to around Rs 1.2 crore.
He says, “The boat is being designed by Dileep Krishnan who is an associate professor and consultant naval architect at Cusat.” Speaking about the materials that will be used for the boat, Viju said, “The body of the boat will be made using steel and fibreglass.
The 21-metre-long and 5.75-metre-wide boat will have a verandah running all around. It is equipped with two restrooms and has the capacity to carry around 70 people. But the maritime board will only sanction a carrying capacity of 50. And this sadly won’t be good for business. The boat also has an upper deck serving as a hall. It has enough space to host a restaurant.” Viju is keeping his fingers crossed and plans to hold a big launch ceremony during Onam when the boat gets sail ready.