According to Ms. Yim, before the 1950s, Pak Sha Wan was a sandy beach, but was not a fishing village. Many refugees from the mainland settled here after World War II, most of them from farming families. They used whatever skills they had to earn a living, so more than a few who were skilled in woodworking became carpenters to service passing boats. From the initial four boatyards, Pak Sha Wan now has six. Aside from repairing and managing boats, many also used to design and build fibreglass boats themselves. 

Pulling a boat ashore

As the boats repaired at Pak Sha Wan are relatively small, two methods are used to bring them ashore. The first method involves a concrete boat ramp that is built from the beach down into the water; when a boat approaches, a wheeled boat trailer is pushed down the ramp into the water underneath the boat, and a steel cable is hooked to the trailer. Then both boat and trailer are winched up. This method is used for the smallest boats such as sampans and jetskis. 

The second method is used for pleasure boats and kaitos. Two long wooden beams that act as rails are extended some 80-100 metres into the sea, on top of which sits a wooden boat cradle attached to steel cables. The cradle is large enough to accommodate a medium-sized boat, so when a boat needs to be pulled up, the cradle is lowered down the rails into the water. 

The boat floats on the surface, while the cradle sinks to the bottom. Boatyard technicians will slowly steer the boat towards the cradle, so that the sailors can use ropes to tie the boat onto it. Once the boat is firmly attached, the cradle is slowly hauled up the rails. Each boat’s size and shape is different, but there is only one boat cradle. With the engine turned off, the boat can drift in the wind and current, therefore the pilot must be experienced enough to know the boat’s draft, wind direction, and current. If the boat ends up positioned incorrectly, it has to be put back in the water to try again. Under ordinary circumstances, it takes about an hour to get a boat onshore.

Since boatyards are necessarily located on land, the tides have to be taken into account as boats cannot be manoeuvred onto the cradle if the tide is too low; therefore there are only 3-4 hours per day where boats can be brought ashore. Boatyards have to pay attention to the lunar calendar and tide times to schedule their boat repair work. 

A boatyard’s operations

Even in the absence of malfunctions or accidents, boats need to undergo yearly maintenance. The most basic and necessary task is barnacle scraping, in which workers scrape off the barnacles adhered to the bottom of the boat. Barnacles will affect a boat’s speed and fuel efficiency, and therefore need to be regularly cleared off. After this is done, the hull is repainted, and the boat’s machinery and powered equipment inspected.

A boatyard has to have several different kinds of technicians and craftspeople on hand: carpenters, fiberglass fabricators, electricians and mechanics, each handling different types of boats and projects. Carpenters have a very broad role, besides repairing wooden boats, they also have to repair the boatyard’s rails and cradle, work that is very different from ordinary furniture making; moreover, these days many boats are made of fiberglass, therefore boatyards have to employ skilled fiberglass fabricators. 

According to Ms. Yim, a basic maintenance job including inspection, repair, and barnacle scraping takes about two to three days to complete, so one boat cradle can accommodate about ten boats a month, or 120 boats a year. Even if there were ten boatyards in Pak Sha Wan, they still wouldn’t be able to meet all the demand; just like auto repair shops, boatyards should in theory be profitable. 

Another sunset industry?

Unfortunately, “in theory” does not mean “in practice”. Although there is plenty of market demand, many boatyards have been short of labour for a very long time due to the retirement of skilled technicians and a lack of new entrants in the field. At present, ship repair masters, especially carpenters and fibreglass fabricators, are highly sought after. Pretty much every technician or craftsperson works for multiple shipyards, constantly going from job to job to earn enough income. The long hours and the uncertainty of not knowing what their next gig will be makes young people balk at going into this line of work.  

Electricians and mechanic skills are more transferable to other industries, but for those who work on boats, working for larger shipyards or outboard motor dealerships brings a steadier income. 

Land resumption could make it more difficult for boatyards to find suitable places to operate in the future, as many boatyards rent land from the government on short-term leases. Normally these leases are renewed, but land resumption could cause multiple shipyards to close, as is being discussed in Aberdeen. 

In recent years, shipbuilding operations have moved to mainland China, but Hong Kong maritime regulations require locally registered vessels to be repaired and maintained within the territory. This could lead to longer waiting times and higher costs amidst the ongoing manpower shortage. However, demand for pleasure boat rentals has declined since the end of the pandemic, resulting in more boats being retired, and offsetting the impact of reduced boatyard capacity.

As long as there are boats sailing the seas, there will be a need for boatyards. Though Hong Kong’s boatyards are facing social changes and are unlikely to return to their glory days, they will continue to quietly serve the numerous boats out in the bay. 

This article was written by contract researcher Ng Cheuk Hang.