KRI Dewaruci
I left my house and started walking down the street facing Bosphorus strait. Behind the buildings next to the dock, i saw so many masts in a row, which is not a very common view there. It was Istanbul leg of the tall ship regatta. And Dewaruci was there…
It is so good to share a scale model tall ship plan which is actually one that we saw with our own eyes. The blueprints are so good and detailed and clear. There are some changes made to the ship so far, but you can manage to make it your own.
Her construction started in 1932 in HC Stülcken & Sohn in Germany. But then WW2 started and the shipyard got heavily damaged. This delayed her construction. And finally, after the war, in 1952 she was finished and in 1953 she was launched. She spent 21 years out of water on the construction area. If it was a modern cargo vessel to be built at that time, she would already be outdated when she was launched. And then she took her place in Indonesian Navy.
The ship is 58.3m long 9.5m wide 36.5m high from the water and 4.05m deep in water. She has three masts which are named Bima, Arjuna and Yudhistira from fore to the aft. These three carry 16 sails which take her around 9 knots speed. She also has a diesel engine running a four blade propeller. With this, she sails 10.5 knots average speed.
She is the only tall ship in Indonesian Navy. She is being used as a training ship, a good will ambassador around the seas and also she promotes Indonesian tourism. She starred in the movie “Anna and the King”.
She participates the tall ship races all around the world. She has her own marching band which makes her unique among the other ships. She has 81 crew members and 75 cadets. A big family =)
Indonesian government agreed to build another tall ship for the navy, considering the ship is too old. The new ship will also be named Dewaruci and estimated to be launched in 2014. Hope they keep the good old Dewaruci.
I appreciate that you wrote about her, more of the pics, there are many articles, but not pics. That Dewaruci statue at the bow, first time i ever see. just great.
Thanks again, Sir.