Awaiting the plunge: Trawlers nearing completion at a boat-building yard near Teluk Intan, Perak. Stacks of chengal planks - just about the most durable hardwood commercially available - lie around the work area of these hangar-like structures.

Around here, there is no blueprint. There is just memory, handed down from generation to generation. The thousands of repetitive cuts of the chisel, the pounding of pegs are etched into muscle and brain.

According to boatspiral.net:

"Trawler fishing boat builders on the west coast are normally Chinese while those on the east coast are a mix of Chinese and malays. Chinese builders cover the area from Mersing to Kuantan while Malay builders are further north. Business in building fishing boats is normally a family venture and therefore their techniques are inherited through many generations. It is safe to say that some of the techniques stayed within the safekeeping of the family since they are considered as their trade secret.

"The technique in building fishing boat in Malaysia is still traditional. It has developed from many years of personal experience of the boat builders and therefore their shape and size tend to be maintained. Builders are observed to keep templates of their design and any special alteration request by the boat owner shall be incorporated based on the rule-of-thumb and trial and error methods. The nature of the building process is such that an alteration will be carried out to overcome an immediate shortcoming of the builders’ problem at hand without evaluating its consequences.

More on Teluk Intan

Wikipedia

Ezine (Interesting read)

Pictures / Myi.geester