I got ahead of myself yesterday when I posted my photo of the Melinau Longboat. The day before I'd said I was going to show why the ‘Tutoh Taxi', the boat I took from Marudi to Long Terawan, didn't have a driver.
The answer is in the photo below. At some point in this boat's history the owners obviously decided to do away with the advanced steering system and replace it with a manual one. I really didn't think about it at the time but looking back now I think these guys managed to scrape together enough money to buy a derelict hull and bolt a new(ish) outboard to it. Hey Presto – people will now pay us to ferry them up and down the Tutoh river!
There were just the four of us on this trip – two crew and two passengers. At least they gave us life vests. I don't recall if the Melinau longboat crew gave me a life vest or not. You can just see that my fellow passenger is using the tarpaulin to shield himself from the spray. I don't recall if I did the same but I feel I probably did.
