Wooden boat does not suit for artificial reef as monsoon swells will break it in one or two season.
Anyway, Koh Aew near Hoh Hi (Coral Island) does not have clear water for diving.
In Thailand, we have many possible wrecks such as few aluminium B747 and the copycat of the HTMS Lanta Museum in Krabi, a Tank Landing Ship measuring 98 meters long and 15.5m wide which are available but a lot of money is needed to decontaminate the new artificial reefs and a lot of hassles with the Thai Administration to get all legal documents to sunk them without forgetting some extra tea-money to civil servants.

Posted by Whistle-Blower on July 18, 2012 10:33

"Efforts to develop new underwater attractions off Phuket's coast have yet to prove successful. "

Off Racha Yai, but organised by Phuket enterpreneurs, there have been a few successful additions like the elephants and wrecks.

A wooden boat though won't last long there. It is quite sheltered so probably won't be swept away.

Posted by stevenl on July 18, 2012 11:13

Did Whistle - Blower read that it is the fishermen's community being in charge and has nothing to do with diving ?? Again W.-B. is trying to twist a subject and brings up the diving business... Maybe he can explain why ??

Posted by Resident on July 18, 2012 16:27

@Resident
I know very well Mr Moo the owner (Speaking fluently English as he has been longtime in USA).
Sport Fishing Club, Phuket 19/10 Moo.8 Chaofa Road. Chalong Bay, Muang, Phuket 83130 Tel: 076 282 055 Email: Pscinfo2009@gmail.com Web: www.phuketsportfishing.com

Small wreck as the one on the picture will not last long and it is too much energy and money spending for little results.
In USA they do it with large decontaminated cargo or military ships which last long enough to give sheltered to fish for sportfishermen and beautiful dives for recreational divers.
The Department of Marine and Coastal Ressources did some projects at Racha Yai Island but never listened to the need of dive operators and those structures are non-dived because at the wrong places for ever.
Thai Navy is active from their side and had sunk some old navy ships around Pattaya but for now, did not so much in the Andaman Sea.
Fishery Department with the Department of Marine and Coastal Ressources has been involved with thousands of concrete cubes in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea but only fusilier fish or sea-urchins love those cubes.

In japan private companies built artificial reef on request for professionnal fishermen with sea-concession from the local authorities and get many types of fish depending of the forms of the artificial reefs.

Few months ago, TDA Diving Association (Thailand) has been took over by the Ministry of Tourism & Sports (Sports Authority of Thailand) to make it the national swimming and scuba diving Thai federation and with its TDA Scientific Committee and Technical Committee, it will be possible in the near future to get official financial help to create artificial reefs for sport-fishermen and divers.

Posted by Whistle-Blower on July 18, 2012 17:22

"and those structures are non-dived because at the wrong places for ever."

Not completely true, the elephant park of Bungalow Bay is dived between November and April. Since Bungalow Bay is not the most exiting divesites diveboats quite often will go to the Elephant park, just to offer something different.

Posted by stevenl on July 18, 2012 19:12

@stevenl
The 'Phuket Diving Park isn't in Bungalow Bay. During my dive there, in 2007 or 8, shortly after it got 'opened', it was in Siam Bay, the bay in the north of Koh Racha. That's actually the reason, that they could install the 'park' in low season, and that you can dive it, in low season, like the east coast of Racha, too.

Posted by ??? on July 18, 2012 19:39

@stevenl & @???
The scultures are at Siam Bay but during the monsoon period from May until October it is impossible to dive and from November to April it is possible some day late in the afternoon as the North-East monsoon make the dive too difficult compared to other dive sites during that period.

Posted by Whistle-Blower on July 18, 2012 21:03

@ Whistle-Blower
Mission impossible accomplished!
My last dives at Racha, include this Phuket Diving Park in Siam Bay, have been all in the Monsoon Period. I would need to check in the log, but it was either in August or in September. And as we all know, not every day, from May to October, dive boats need to cruise around Coral Island, to get to Racha, without fish feeding sessions by the customer! Maybe we had only a lucky day/week, but: It was in low season.

Posted by ??? on July 18, 2012 23:27

"That's actually the reason, that they could install the 'park' in low season, and that you can dive it, in low season, like the east coast of Racha, too."
You must have picked the one day that dives were done on the West side in low season, since the east side is better accessible and offers better diving. Nearly all diving is done on the east side in low/green/summer season.
And WB: you'd better get on a boat sometimes, in high season (just one name?) very often dives are done there and it is diveable at all times of the day.

Posted by stevenl on July 19, 2012 08:04

"You must have picked the one day that dives were done on the West side in low season,"
No, it wasn't a 'west side story-day'. Also it was in 2006 (not 2007 or 8, sorry about that), early in September, says my log. And "not be able, to dive Bungalow-Bay" means not, that the north bay isn't possible.
I have a question, to all experts for 'Phuket-diving', here: Have all done a dive, at this 'Park' or in this bay? Do we all know, that Siam Bay is in the very north of the island, that the bay is open to the north, not to the west? (google!) Also that the waves aren't coming from the north-west only, in low season? Sometimes, they are coming for days/weeks from the south west, or west, sometimes there aren't that big, at all. With waves only from west or north west, there would be never a problem, to get to Coral Island, for dive boats. (as mentioned by some comments here, some weeks ago) So how should it be difficult, as the last dive of the day, on the way back from the east side, instead of doing 'homerun', to get into Siam Bay, drop the divers and pick them up, later? That the vis. is only ~10m because of a lot of sand is another point. Also, with this argument, diving King Cruiser, in high season would be many times a heavy challenge!

Posted by ??? on July 19, 2012 12:11

Whistle-Blower... you know everything about Phuket don't you ??

Posted by jamie on July 19, 2012 23:42

@jamie
Certainly much more than you may think as I am a longtime resident with well over 30 years in Phuket with Thai wife, Thai children and Thai grand-children.
Also I love running, hiking, bicycling all mountains and valleys in Phuket once or twice a week as well sailing, diving and kayaking all islands between Malaysia and Burma.
I participate as consultant at work-shops with officials from Marine National Parks in Phuket or Bangkok on regular basis.
When I am behind my computer, it is either to care my business or have fun on forums....so relax enjoy reading or find alternative game for you leisure.

Posted by Whistle-Blower on July 20, 2012 11:01