Siamtara is a Traditional Myanmar Junk Boat completely renovated in 2015 on the model of her sister Chantara to give the same feeling, confort and charm. She has all the moderne confort that one can expect. It’s a perfect boat to live aboard or day cruise friends and family. Siamtara has 2 double cabins with queen size bed and a Master cabin. All cabins are offering private toilet and shower. The master cabine is modular as lounge or as bed room for overnight.
Siamtara has a nice salon with bar and kitchen that can accommodate 40 people. The table can seat 10 people. You can order in the bar, cocktails, wine or any beer to cheer up your trip. A nice quarter deck is really confortable for 4 to 6 people to enjoy the landscape of the Samui archipelago.
The History
Built in 2006 as cargo ship for transportation of stones, sand and construction materials, she has a very strong structure designed to carry very heavy loads.
I bought Siamtara on December 23rd, 2014 in Dawei. She was built in Pyabon, an other province of Myanmar. The design of the hull is a specialty of this province. Pyabon is located on the east of Rangoon, we can see many boat like this around Rangoon and in many other places in Myanmar.
Originally it was a sailing boat, and we kept this characteristic that gives a beautiful traditional appearance. We had to remove the mast, for transportation, it was reinstalled at the end of renovation.
We sailed to Mieyk (about 200 km, south of Dawei) to make the first modifications to the structure. As Siamtara was build to sail in river, we needed to get better stability at sea and in the waves. She stayed 3 weeks on the shipyard to change the keel and install stabilizers. We also changed the rudder and the shaft bearing and transmission.
At the end of January, we sailed to Kawthang, the extreme south of Myanmar. We crossed the border river between Myanmar and Thailand on the 8th of February to arrive in Ranong.
After clearing the customs, we had to wait for the high tide on the 23rd, to load the boat on a truck and cross the main land to Chumpon harbour. A 55 km trip.
Siamtara sailed from Chumpon to Surat Thani through Ang Tong marine park. She reached the shipyard in Surat Thani on March 4th 2015. We disassembled all the boat inner parts, keeping only the hull and structure. We used 90% of the original wood to rebuild the boat, in addition to new wood. The major modifications, new conceptions to enhance the structure and rig the mast, have been carried out in Surat Thani.
Engine, gearbox, steering wheel and rudder have been replaced to optimize efficiency and reduce fuel consumption and minimizse environmental impact. The ship has been completely rewired, meeting European standards. 100% of the energy needed on the boat is produced with solar panels (21m2). Safety and respect of the environment are in our priorities. The ship was ready to launch with its brand new sail on July 25 th 2015.
From April to August 2020 Siamtara has modify tu received 2 engines for an hight standard of safety.
