Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1531433
24 PROP CULTURE I WINTER 2025 and four full-time prop builders, two on set 1st assistants (Jason & Claudio) who would alternate between two-episode blocks on set and joining us would be first one, then eventually three full-time buyers in Japan. I hired Douglas Brooks, author of the book Japanese Wooden Boatbuilding, to be our expert and consultant for traditional Japanese boats. We chose three different styles to build. The longest was a 35-foot design from the early 1800s, based on a whaling boat, of which we built five. The samurai liked their speed and ability to carry many people. Next, we built five 15- foot cargo boats, typically used to haul goods from ship to shore. Brooks helped us purchase three boats he had built with students at Bates College in Vermont. The remaining 11 were skiffs of varying lengths. For these, I stumbled onto a bunch of used dragon boats up for auction. Their size and shape provided a strong, workable base to create a Japanese-looking watercraft. M y week usually started on Sunday at 5 pm, which was Monday morning in Japan, with a Zoom call to Tomo, my head buyer in Japan. By now, I had my breakdowns for each episode. Luckily, Tomo spoke very good English and could read the breakdowns without needing translation. With that, we would start our page turn as we made up our buy lists. Tomo had a great setup called Air Table, where he would upload files of assorted items from local auction sites in Japan. Our plan was to build up our inventory by buying everything we needed and shipping it all to Vancouver. Our goal was to fill four 40- foot containers and have everything shipped by boat. Tomo had a shipping company organizing departure dates to guarantee timely arrival. One day in March, we woke up to the news that a massive 1300-foot cargo ship had run aground, wedging itself across the Suez Canal and shutting off all passage of ships headed north and south. After a six-day delay of 369 cargo ships and