31 m Komodo luxury phinisi, listed bed by bed and system by system

Vinca was built in 2020 in Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, the stretch of coast where phinisi have been built by hand for generations, and she was launched the following March. She's a young boat, not a refit of an old one. She measures 31 m long and 5.5 m across the beam, is rated at 95 gross tonnes and cruises at 8 to 12 knots.

Her main engine is a Mitsubishi 8DC9, with a Yanmar 4TNV88 generator alongside. She carries 6,000 litres of fresh water and 3,000 litres of fuel, and her tender is a fibreglass speedboat with a Yamaha 40 hp outboard.

Every figure here is as stated by the operator, taken from the supplier's brochure; we haven't measured the hull ourselves. Where the brochure is silent, so is the table.

There are 6 cabins, each with its own ensuite and hot water in the shower. The Japanese rooms on the upper deck sleep two in a double bed, with space to add a third. The Western rooms on the main deck also sleep two, with an extra bed on request for a third. The Balinese rooms on the lower deck have a double and a single for three, and a fourth bed can go in, which is why families tend to end up there.

With every extra bed in use, the boat is licensed for 18 guests, and that's a ceiling, not a comfortable number. Beyond the largest price band, each additional guest pays IDR 5,000,000 (≈ USD 307) on a 3D2N and sleeps on one of those extra beds, so a group at the top end should ask the desk who goes in which room.

The brochure doesn't give bed sizes in centimetres, so the table leaves them blank. Better a blank than a number we made up.

On a phinisi you feel more movement up top and less down below, and this one is no exception. The upper deck, where the Japanese rooms are, rolls most and gets the least engine noise. The main deck sits in the middle on both counts. The lower deck, home to the Balinese rooms, moves least but is closest to the engine, which you'll hear when it's working hard.

That's a rule of thumb for boats of this type, not something we've measured on Vinca. We have no stabilisers, so on a rough crossing everyone feels it. If your stomach is what matters most, take the lower deck; if it's your sleep, take the upper one.

Stairs link the three decks, and there's no lift. Hence the stairs rule: if steep steps are a problem for anyone in your party, tell us before you choose a cabin, not on the quay.

A crew of 7 runs the boat: a captain, an engineer, a chef, deckhands and two people who double as guides and photographers. With a full boat that's 1 crew per 2.6 guests, and the ratio gets better with every cabin left empty.

The chef cooks in an open galley, so you can see what's going into dinner. The two guide-photographers lead you on the treks and shoot GoPro, mirrorless and drone footage, which is included on the open trip. On a private charter the guide and the documentation are not in the fare; the desk adds them on request, quoted separately. The brochure gives the headcount and the role names but not who holds which title on a given trip, so the table lists the roles the way the supplier does.

The crew are employed in-house, so the people who greet you on the quay are the people who sail her.

From the long table you can see straight into the galley, an open kitchen a few steps from the dining deck.

Fitted: air conditioning in every cabin and in the indoor lounge, a hot shower in every bathroom, a bathtub in the Western rooms, snorkelling gear, two stand-up paddleboards, the Yamaha tender, an open galley, a lounge with karaoke and TV, GPS, compass, chart, VHF radio, handheld radios and local Wi-Fi (a mobile hotspot that works only where there's phone signal).

Not fitted: satellite internet, a dive compressor and tanks, stabilisers, a jacuzzi and a lift. By not fitted we mean the brochure doesn't list it and we don't sell it. The supplier hasn't confirmed each line in writing, so if any one of them could decide your booking, ask the desk to check it before you pay the deposit.

If you need diving gear on board or a stabilised steel hull, we're the wrong boat, and it's better you hear that now than feel let down later.