Bedar (ship)

The term bedar (spelled "bedor" in Terengganu) is applied to a wide variety of boats of the east coast of Malaysia that carry one or two junk sails and lack the typical transom stern of the perahu pinas.

The bedar, like all Terengganu boats, was built of Chengal wood by the Malays since the 19th century and roamed the South China Sea and adjacent oceans as a highly seaworthy traditional sailing vessel.

[citation needed] The Malay word bedar means an elongated and flattened beak, broadening towards the tip (i.e. like the bill of a platypus).

All bedars, even those up to or more than 80 feet (24 m) were steered by a tiller with a pulley block system easing the strain on a conventional rudder hinged on the stern post.

[5] The tradition of building wooden boats in modern Malaysia reaches far back in time, involving overseas trade, fishing, piracy, travelling up the many rivers.

[7] The two "Perahu Besar",[citation needed] (English: big boat)[8] of Terengganu, the pinas and the bedar are the result of this cultural interchange.

[5] The boatbuilders of Terengganu were rediscovered during the Second World War by the Japanese navy who had wooden minesweepers built there by the carpenters and fishing folks.