Artisan fights to keep handcrafting boats

Artisan fights to keep handcrafting boats Old timers: A postcard depicts one of Hue’s traditional boats. Expert craftsmanship: Le Thua Tien crafted these silver boats. Boat-builder Nguyen Van Luu, 71, laments the end of an era in the ancient city of Hue, where he once crafted boats according to the age-old technique. Le Duc Duc listens to his tales about the good old days. Sixty years ago, poet To Huu wrote of the ancient boats and city of Hue, Ven bo song phang con do mong La luot di ve trong nang mai (The dreaming boat on the peaceful river Floating gracefully in the early sunshine) These boats from yesteryear have long held a unique cultural value to the people of Huong River and Hue City. A past still not forgotten Seventy-one-year-old Nguyen Van Luu, from the Phu Binh Ward of Hue City, has over 60 years of experience as a shipping builder. At the tender age of 12 he scurried alongside his grandfather and father, carrying the tools they used to build their ships. “At that time, the boats made in Hue had three hoods; the size and shape were dependent on the person who built it and the ferryboats were made from peck-wood,” he recalls. He is proud of the age-old techniques, passed down from generation to generation that he uses to build a typical Hue boat. According to Luu, a good shipbuilder must be able to find exact spots on the body of the ship to drill…