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Some Malay boats and their uses

From Munshipedia, the MBRAS digital historical encyclopedia

Some Malay boats and their uses

H.G. Dalton, a colonial-era administrator, published this descriptive ethnographic study in 1926, cataloguing the types of Malay fishing and cargo boats used along the East Coast of the Malay Peninsula and detailing their construction, rigging, and the specific fishing techniques associated with each vessel. The article serves as a practical field guide to the maritime technology and subsistence economy of the region’s coastal communities.

Summary

Dalton’s article is a systematic typological survey of Malay watercraft, moving from the smallest island canoes to the largest fishing vessels and cargo boats. The central concern is not merely nautical description but the relationship between boat design, fishing method, and the social and economic life of the crews. Each vessel type is presented in terms of its dimensions, timber selection, rigging, crew size, and the specific net or line technique it employs, with attention to the species of fish targeted and the market value of the catch.

The article reveals a hierarchy of maritime activity structured around scale and risk. The Kolek Pulau is a single-man craft for subsistence fishing near shore; the Kolek Kelibat introduces net fishing and a small crew; the Kolek Pengayer represents a cooperative enterprise of four boats working in concert; and the Payang is a full-scale commercial operation with a crew of fourteen, a complex purse net, and established protocols for locating fish. Dalton also notes the cultural and superstitious dimensions of fishing life—the prohibition on whistling and singing, the belief that shoes bring bad luck, the ceremonial launching of a new Payang, and the custom of the captain’s wife sprinkling uncooked rice over the boat and crew after a good catch.

The piece closes with a brief treatment of non-fishing vessels: the Beda (Prahu) as a general cargo boat and the Prahu Pinnace and Prahu Denah as rice-carrying craft from the northern states. Dalton observes that the shallow draught of these boats limits their ability to sail close to the wind but makes them very fast before a stiff breeze, and describes the crew’s technique of ballasting by leaning outboard to heel the vessel.

Key Findings

  • The Kolek Pulau measures approximately 7 feet by 2½ feet, draws about 1 foot of water, and is built with a Kayu Teruntum keel and Kayu Medang planking; it carries one man and a small gaff-rigged sail called Layar Bulu Ayam (p. 193).
  • The Kolek Kelibat ranges from 13 to 17 feet in length, draws about 2½ feet, and uses a fine-meshed square net (Jaring Tamban) 18 feet square; Ikan Tamban caught by this method fetch about $2 per basket (p. 194).
  • The Kolek Pengayer is about 20 feet long with 4½ feet beam, draws 3 feet, and operates in groups of four boats using a Pukat Tankor net approximately 25 feet square with one-inch mesh; fish are sold at about $2.50 per basket (p. 194).
  • The Payang is approximately 40 feet long, draws 3 feet, carries a crew of about 14 men, and employs a Pukat Petarang net measuring 110–120 feet long by 18 feet wide with a mesh graduating from wide at the arms to ¾ inch at the purse end (pp. 195–196).
  • The Prahu Denah, the largest cargo boat described, carries 10–12 men, draws about 5 feet, is approximately 25 feet long with 6 feet beam, and is fitted with two masts the foremost of which is raked well forward (p. 197).
  • During the North-east Monsoon, Ikan Gelama leave the East Coast and the Payangs are either laid up ashore or sail down to Singapore and up the West Coast (p. 196).

Conclusion

Dalton’s definitive takeaway is that Malay maritime technology on the East Coast represents a finely differentiated system in which vessel size, timber choice, rigging, and net design are all calibrated to specific fishing grounds, target species, and crew sizes, forming a coherent economic and cultural whole that is both practical and deeply embedded in local custom and belief.

Context

  • The article draws on Dalton’s direct observation of boats and fishing operations along the East Coast, likely in his capacity as a colonial administrator in the region; it is accompanied by photographic plates (V–IX) and three line diagrams of net configurations.
  • The study contributes to the early twentieth-century ethnographic record of Malay maritime culture at a time when such vessels were still in active use, providing a baseline description before the later displacement of traditional craft by motorised boats.

References