Terengganu
Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...
spelled "bedor"), is applied to a wide variety of boats of the east coast of
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
that carry one or two junk sails and lack the typical
transom stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Or ...
of the
perahu
Proas are various types of multi-hull outrigger sailboats of the Austronesian peoples. The terms were used for native Austronesian ships in European records during the Colonial era indiscriminately, and thus can confusingly refer to the do ...
''
pinas
Pinas is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in south-western France.
See also
*Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department
References
Communes of Hautes-Pyrénées
{{HautesPy ...
''. These junk rigged boats are usually built in the
Terengganu
Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...
area. The stern of the bedar is a classical "canu" or " pinky stern," being a typical "double ender", a bit like a modern ship's
lifeboat
Lifeboat may refer to:
Rescue vessels
* Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape
* Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues
* Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen
...
, with a very full turn of the
bilge
The bilge of a ship or boat is the part of the hull that would rest on the ground if the vessel were unsupported by water. The "turn of the bilge" is the transition from the bottom of a hull to the sides of a hull.
Internally, the bilges (us ...
and with markedly raked
stem
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
and
stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
. They came in small versions as small one-masted
fishing vessels
A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing.
The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was es ...
— anak bedar (
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
for child bedar) and were built as big as 90 feet over deck ( LOD). The majority of the bedars were usually 45 to 60 feet (13.7–18.3 m) over deck. The bedar, like all Terengganu boats, was built of
Chengal
''Neobalanocarpus'' is a monotypic genus of plants in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The single species, ''Neobalanocarpus heimii'', is a tropical hardwood tree. Common names for the tree and its wood products include ''chengal'', ''chan ta khien'' ...
wood by the Malays since the 19th century and roamed the
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
and adjacent oceans as a highly seaworthy traditional sailing vessel.
Etymology
The Malay word ''bedar'' means an elongated and flattened beak, broadening towards the tip (i.e. like the bill of a
platypus
The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal Endemic (ecology), endemic to Eastern states of Australia, eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypu ...
).
Description
The bedar is a sailing junk that is mainly built in the kuala (English: rivermouth) of the
Terengganu River
The Terengganu River ( ms, Sungai Terengganu) is a river in Terengganu, Malaysia. Originated from Lake Kenyir, it flows through the state capital of Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu, and flows into the South China Sea. It is bridged by the Sultan Mahm ...
.
The smaller and medium-sized bedars often had a fine slanting projecting
prow
The bow () is the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is usually most forward when the vessel is underway. The aft end of the boat is the stern.
Prow may be used as a synonym for bow or it may mean the forward-most part ...
of various lengths and a short one at the similarly built stern. The bowsprit was resting on top of this forward projection which is called ''sudu'' (English: spoon or duck's bill).Gibson-Hill (1949). p. 113.
The boats equipped with a sudu were referred to as ''bedar luang sudu'' (from Malay word ''sudu'': spoon, or ''sudu itek'': duck's bill). The conspicuous
sheer (ship)
The sheer is a measure of longitudinal main deck curvature, in naval architecture. The sheer forward is usually twice that of sheer aft. Increases in the rise of the sheer forward and aft build volume into the hull, and in turn increase its buoy ...
of the bedar varied as well. The smaller ones with a long projection having more sheer and the bigger ones with a short sudu and short sheer. Bedars above 70 feet (21 m) rarely carried a long sudu but featured almost straight stem and stern posts, very much like the bedar Dapat.Cargo Boats of the East Coast of Malaya, Gibson-Hill, C.A. (1949), JMBRAS 22(3), p. 106-125.Like the pinas, the bedar over 45 feet/13.7 m ( LOD), carried two masts, one in the bow, called "topan", slightly raked forward; The main mast, called "agung" was placed a bit forward of the center of the boat. The bedar had a very long bowsprit, slightly bent downwards by the
bobstay
A bobstay is a part of the rigging of a sailing boat or ship. Its purpose is to counteract the upward tension on the bowsprit from the jibs and forestay. A bobstay may run directly from the stem to the bowsprit, Both masts carried a fully
batten
A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields.
In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...
ed lug or "junk-sail" of typical Chinese design. These sails were not made of cloth but of a matting material called "tikal" that is also used for floor matting and other purposes. Like most junk sails the battens were made of
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
, usually creating 6 individual panels to the sail. The
halyard
In sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line (rope) that is used to hoist a ladder, sail, flag or yard. The term ''halyard'' comes from the phrase "to haul yards". Halyards, like most other parts of the running rigging, were classically made of n ...
was attached almost in the middle of the
sail
A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...
, and since the luff, or edges, of the sail was nearly straight and only about half the length of the markedly convex
leech
Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodie ...
, the yard, when hoisted, was sitting in an angle of about 15° – 20° with the vertical.
The
foresail
A foresail is one of a few different types of sail set on the foremost mast (''foremast'') of a sailing vessel:
* A fore-and-aft sail set on the foremast of a schooner or similar vessel.
* The lowest square sail on the foremast of a full-rig ...
was set on the port side of the topan and the
mainsail
A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel.
* On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast.
* On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. The sail's foot ...
on the
starboard
Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front).
Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...
side of the agung. A relatively small
jib
A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsail ...
was set on the bowsprit. All bedars, even those up to or more than 80 feet (24 m) were steered by a
tiller
A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...
with a
pulley
A pulley is a wheel on an axle or shaft that is designed to support movement and change of direction of a taut cable or belt, or transfer of power between the shaft and cable or belt. In the case of a pulley supported by a frame or shell that ...
block system easing the strain on a conventional
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
hinged on the stern post. This tiller was operated from within the round cabin (cup) on the ''dandan'' platform over the stern. The hold stored cargo.
The hull of the bedar is influenced by the Arab
dhow
Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spor ...
with their long raked stemposts and the dows often being double ended vessels.
Building technique
The bedar boats of Terengganu are built using indigenous Malaysian techniques to build wooden boats. They build without plans, hull first, frames later. The planks are fire bent and joined edge on edge ( carvel) using "basok" (wooden dowels) made from ''Penaga'' —
ironwood
Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is heavier than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in E ...
(
Mesua ferrea
''Mesua ferrea'', the Ceylon ironwood, or cobra saffron, is a species in the family Calophyllaceae. This slow-growing tree is named after the heaviness and hardness of its timber. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental due to its graceful sha ...
). Rather than the European style
caulking
Caulk or, less frequently, caulking is a material used to seal joints or seams against leakage in various structures and piping.
The oldest form of caulk consisted of fibrous materials driven into the wedge-shaped seams between boards on w ...
hammered into a groove between the planks, a strip of ''kulit gelam'' (English: paperbarks skin) of the
Melaleuca
''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...
species is placed over the dowels before the new plank is hammered home. This 1 – 2 mm layer of a natural material has remarkable sealing properties.
History
The tradition of building wooden boats in modern Malaysia reaches far back in time, involving overseas trade, fishing, piracy, travelling up the many rivers. For each purpose they developed a special design.Keeping the Tradition of Boatbuilding Alive, Keith Ingram, Magazine: Professional Skipper March/April 2007, p. 70.
With
Malacca
Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
becoming the main trading centre for the spices arriving from the
Moluccas Islands
The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...
(Indonesia), the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
turned into a melting pot of the seafaring, trading civilisations: Indians and Chinese, Arabs and Indonesians, Vietnamese and Thai, Burmese, Europeans and others, they all arrived in their distinctive craft, inspiring the Malay shipbuilding.
The two “Perahu Besar”, (English: big boat) of Terengganu, the ''pinas'' and the ''bedar'' are the result of this cultural interchange. Jib and bowsprit of the two are of western origin, with junks almost never carrying one.
The boatbuilders of Terengganu were rediscovered during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
by the
Japanese navy
, abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...
who had wooden
minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
s built there by the carpenters and fishing folks.
There were 5 bedars built for westerners since 1945:Boats, Boatbuilding and Fishing in Malaysia, ''The Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society'', MBRAS 2009, p. 349-350,
Gallery
File:The bedar Naga Pelangi doing 6 knots.jpg, The bedar Naga Pelangi at 6 knots beating to windward off the coast of Terengganu, 1998
File:The bedar Naga Pelangi, (L.o.D. 45 feet), 1998.jpg, The bedar Naga Pelangi 45'/13.7 m ( LOD) sailing wing to wing near Pulau Perhentian off the Terengganu coast, 1998
File:The Naga Pelangi before launching, 1981.jpg, The bedar Naga Pelangi before launching, Duyong, 1981
File:The bedar Burong Bahri, 1980.jpg, The Burong Bahri, a 32'/9.7 m (LOD) bedar anchored in Pulau Kapas, 1980
File:B-4-Bedar Burong Bahri-L.o.D 32 Feet.jpg, The bedar Burong Bahri of Jerry Williams
File:Bedar Jusa Laut (L.o.D. ca 28 feet), 1994.jpg, The Jusa Laut, a 28'/8.5 m (LOD) bedar, sailed by Michael Munro off the coast of Terengganu, 1994
File:A 45 foot bedar off the coast of Terengganu, 1981.jpg, One of the last original bedar freighters 45' (LOD) sailing up to Thailand, 1981
File:One of the last working bedars manouvering under sail.jpg, One of the last working bedars 45' (LOD) manoeuvering in port under Topan only, 1980
File:The Bedar Cinta Jaya.jpg, The Cinta Jaya, a 45' (LOD) working bedar in the estuary of the Terengganu river, 1980
File:The Bedar Cinta Jaya (L.o.D. 45 Feet), Kuala Terengganu, 1980 night coming.jpg, The Cinta Jaya, 1980, sitting in front of Pulau Duyong
File:The Bedar Cinta Jaya (L.o.D. 45 Feet), Kuala Terengganu, 1980.jpg, Two working bedars both about 45' (LOD) sitting in front of chinatown in Kuala Terengganu, waiting to unload their cargo, 1980
File:A small original old bedar before repair, 1979.jpg, A very old bedar (28') waiting to be repaired, Duyong island, 1979
File:Bedar in Kuala Terengganu 1980.jpg, Two working bedars (both about 45' LOD) waiting for the season to sail up to Thailand on a salt run, Terengganu, 1980
File:Stern detail of the bedar Dapat, Terengganu 1980.jpg, Detail of overhanging stern poop deck (''dandan'') of a traditional working bedar, the Dapat 86'/26 m (LOD), 1980
File:Building the bedar Naga Pelangi, 1981, fitting the frames.jpg, Building the bedar Naga Pelangi, fitting the frames, Duyong, 1981
File:The building of the bedar Naga Pelangi, 1981.jpg, The owner of the Naga Pelangi lending a hand, Duyong 1981
File:Hasni bin Ali building the bedar Naga Pelangi, 1981.jpg, Hasni Ali building the bedar Naga Pelangi, Duyong, 1981
See also
*
List of schooners
__TOC__
The following are notable schooner-rigged vessels.
Active schooners
Historical schooners
* '' A. W. Greely'', originally named ''Donald II''
* '' Ada K. Damon''
* ''Albatross''
*
* '' Alvin Clark''
* '' America''
* '' American Spi ...
*
Pinas (ship)
The ''pinas'', sometimes called "pinis" as well, is a type of schooner of the east coast of the Malay peninsula, built in the Terengganu area. This kind of vessel was built of Chengal wood by the Malays since the 19th century and roamed the South ...
*
Junk (ship)
A junk (Chinese: 船, ''chuán'') is a type of Chinese sailing ship with fully battened sails. There are two types of junk in China: northern junk, which developed from Chinese river boats, and southern junk, which developed from Austronesian ...
Lorcha (boat)
The lorcha is a type of sailing vessel having a junk rig with a Cantonese or other Chinese-style batten sails on a Portuguese or other European-style hull. The hull structure made the lorcha faster and able to carry more cargo than the normal j ...
*
Tongkang
Tongkang or "Tong'kang" refers to several type of boats used to carry goods along rivers and shoreline in Maritime Southeast Asia. One of the earliest record of tongkang has a background of 14th century, being mentioned in Malay Annals which w ...