Wooden phinisi hull framed on a Labuan Bajo slipway, scaffolding up and shipwrights at work

Boatyard — Labuan Bajo, Flores

Labuan Bajo Boat Builders: custom phinisi & day boats, framed on Flores slipways

A working yard at the gateway to Komodo National Park. Hardwood phinisi from 20 to 45+ metres and fast day boats for the park trade — designed, framed and fitted out in Labuan Bajo, ten to eighteen months from keel to launch.

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10–18 month builds
USD 0.6M–8M bands
Flores teak & ironwood

months, keel to launch: 10–18
phinisi hull classes: 20–45m+
new-build budget bands: USD 0.6–8M
cabin charter layouts: 4–10

What the Yard Builds

Four hull classes, one slipway discipline

Every programme is scoped around the vessel’s working life in Komodo waters — from fast day loops out of Labuan Bajo harbour to multi-week expedition charters.

Day-Trip Trade

Komodo Day-Boat Class

Fast, compact hulls built for Padar–Komodo–Pink Beach loops, snorkelling decks and dive-day work.

Mission: Day charter & dive
Hull type: Fast compact
Budget: Quoted per hull

Commercial & charter builds

Entry Liveaboard

Liveaboard Phinisi 20–30m

The working core of the Komodo liveaboard fleet — dive decks, guest cabins and park-friendly anchoring.

LOA class: 20–30 m
Timeline: 10–18 months
New build: USD 600K–1.2M

Liveaboard builders

Flagship Charter

Luxury Phinisi 30–40m

Full-beam suites and 4–10 cabin layouts — the class that leads multi-day charter in the national park.

LOA class: 30–40 m
Timeline: 10–18 months
Band: USD 1.8–3M

Custom phinisi construction

Expedition

Superyacht Class 45m+

Explorer and expedition programmes engineered for longer range and heavier displacement.

LOA class: 45 m+
Timeline: Scoped per programme
Band: USD 4–8M

Expedition builders

Shipwright shaping a hardwood baulk by hand in the Labuan Bajo yard, sawn timber stacked behind — Flores hardwood, worked by hand

Timber & Craft

Manggarai hands, Bugis lines

Flores boatbuilding joins two traditions: Bugis-Makassar hull geometry and the Manggarai carpentry of the island itself. The yard draws both into every keel it lays.

Local hardwood supply — sustainably sourced Flores teak and ironwood, bought closer to the forest than Bali yards manage, at sharper timber cost.
Generational shipwrights — framing, planking and caulking skills passed through working families, not classrooms.
Lean yard economics — lower operating costs on Flores flow straight into the build price and the 10–18 month schedule.

Wooden & Traditional Builds Sustainable Practice

Keel to Launch

How a Labuan Bajo build runs

Five stages, one accountable yard desk — each milestone signed off before the next begins.

01
Brief & naval design
Hull class, cabin count, charter mission and budget band settled into drawings and a build contract.
02
Timber & keel laying
Teak and ironwood selected, seasoned and cut; the keel goes down on the slipway.
03
Framing & planking
Ribs raised and planking closed by Flores shipwrights — the silhouette owners fly in to see.
04
Systems & fit-out
Engines, electrics, rig and interior joinery installed beside the fleet the boat will join.
05
Trials & handover
Sea trials in Komodo waters, documentation completed, crew familiarised, keys handed over.

Built at the gateway to the park: finished hulls enter Komodo charter service without a delivery leg.

Reference Programmes

Budget bands the yard desk quotes against

Current programme bands in US dollars. A final quotation follows the design brief — and a survey, where an existing hull is involved.

Programme	LOA class	Charter role	Timeline	Budget band (USD)
Day boat & tender	Compact, fast	Padar–Komodo day loops, snorkel & dive days	Per programme	Quoted per hull & fit-out
Liveaboard phinisi	20–30 m	Dive & multi-day charter	10–18 months	600K–1.2M
Luxury phinisi	30–40 m	4–10 cabin flagship charter	10–18 months	1.8M–3M
Superyacht class	45 m+	Expedition & explorer	Scoped per programme	4M–8M
Used-hull refit	20–30 m	Acquisition, survey & refit	Scoped after survey	350K–800K acquisition