Build
Commission a bespoke wooden boat, keel to launch, on a written stage-payment contract.
Bespoke wooden-vessel commission desk
Bira Boat Builder
The commissioning and boatyard desk for bespoke wooden vessels built by Konjo and Bugis shipwrights — the panrita lopi — on the Ara–Tanjung Bira coast of South Sulawesi.
A working boatyard desk, not the shipyard or the survey office — we build, design and broker wooden vessels.
- UNESCO-inscribed pinisi craft, 2017
- Ara–Tanjung Bira, Butta Panrita Lopi
- Bitti, ironwood & teak — wooden dowels
- Build & sale contracts: PT Komodo Galangan Nusantara
- UNESCO 2017
- Pinisi boatbuilding inscribed as Intangible Cultural Heritage
- Butta Panrita Lopi
- Bulukumba, the land of the master boatbuilders
- Bitti · Ulin · Teak
- Hulls dowelled with hardwood pasak, not steel nails
- PT Komodo Galangan Nusantara
- The entity that issues build and vessel-sale contracts
Three reasons owners come here
Build a boat, buy a boat, or visit the yards
Own & Trade
Buy or broker a finished wooden vessel — new hulls, near-complete projects and vetted used boats.
Visit & Heritage
Walk the working yards where hulls are still shaped by hand, and learn the craft.
The vessels we build
Four families of wooden hull
Phinisi
~20–45+ m
Traditional two-masted rig or modern motor-sailer, cargo heritage or luxury liveaboard fit-out.
Schooner & gulet
~18–40 m
Western-derived hulls built in Sulawesi timber for owners who want a different rig and profile.
Dive & charter liveaboard
~25–45 m
Designed dive-deck-first for Komodo and Raja Ampat — compressors, tenders, guest cabins.
Private owner yacht
~15–40 m
Owner-focused layouts and finishes, balancing tradition with modern systems.
How long a build takes
Reported build windows by size
Indicative ranges reported along the Ara–Bira coast. Fit-out, not the hull, is what stretches the calendar; treat these as reported windows, not a promise.
| Vessel size | Typical build window | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 15–20 m | ~10–14 months | Working hulls and smaller motor-sailers |
| 20–30 m | ~14–20 months | Most charter and liveaboard commissions |
| 30–45+ m | ~20–24+ months | Custom yachts with full interior fit-out |
| Plain 30 m hull | ~9–12 months | Hull work only, steady crew, before fit-out |
Ranges reported for wooden hulls built on the Ara–Tanjung Bira coast; confirmed against current yard order books at enquiry.
Timber
Bitti, ironwood and teak
Each wood is where it is because of what it does in seawater — not for decoration.
- Bitti (vitex) frames and floors — tough and slightly flexible.
- Ulin ironwood for keel and everything below the waterline.
- Teak for decks, houses and interiors.
Method
Hull first, from memory
Konjo builders shape the shell before the frames, edge-dowelling planks into a fair hull held in the master's eye.
- Planks edge-fastened with hardwood dowels (pasak).
- Frames fitted inside the finished shell to stiffen it.
- No corroding steel — the hull flexes as one structure.
Cost
Quoted in USD, per project
There is no single price and no fixed list: a bare working hull costs a fraction of a fitted charter yacht of the same length. Builds run on stage payments tied to physical milestones, never a large deposit. Send your length, use and target season and the desk issues a written USD budget frame tied to the current timber market.
Three honest bands
- Working / bare hull — the entry point.
- Conversion-ready hull — fit out to your own brief.
- Turnkey charter / dive liveaboard — ready to earn.
From the journal
Commissioning, craft and the coast
Ara & Bira: Visiting
Galangan Kapal Kayu Bira: Panduan Lengkap Berbahasa Indonesia
Galangan kapal kayu Bira berada di pesisir Ara-Tanjung Bira, Kecamatan Bonto Bahari, Kabupaten Bulukumba, Sulawesi Selatan - Butta Panrita Lopi, tanah para.
Ara & Bira: Visiting
A Morning at the Ara and Bira Yards: A Visitor’s Walking Route
The best way to see wooden boatbuilding at Bira is a slow morning walk along the working shoreline, from the Bira headland toward the Ara yards, while the.
Owning, Buying & Registration
From Bira to Komodo: The Delivery Voyage Most Owners Never See
The delivery voyage from Bira to your cruising ground is the milestone owners forget to budget - and it is a real one. Getting a finished hull from the Sou.
Who stands behind the desk
Specialist maritime brands under Juara Holding Group
-
PT Komodo Galangan Nusantara
Construction and vessel-sale contracts for bespoke wooden vessels.
-
PT Komodo Bahari Nusantara
Brokerage and charter marketing of new and used wooden vessels.
-
PT Komodo Vessel Management
Post-delivery management for owners after handover.
Tell the desk what you want to build
Send your intended length, use and target season. The desk comes back with a realistic slot, a timeline and a written USD budget frame.