ENGINEERING FEATURES
INGENIEUR
Motorless Ferry that once plied
the Jelai River in Kuala Lipis
By Chin Siew Yin
K
uala Lipis was the capital
of Pahang between 1898
and 1953. It was the
gold mining centre and had
many buildings with British
architecture. After the Pahang
state capital shifted to Kuantan,
it slipped into a sleepy town with
numerous structures of heritage
interest such as railway viaduct,
old shop houses, monuments
and religious buildings.
The town is situated on the
western side of the Jelai River,
with the other side relatively
undeveloped until 1994 when a
bridge was built to allow access.
Prior to the existence of this
bridge, there was a motorless
boat ferry service to transport
passengers and motorbikes
across the Jelai River.
I happened to travel from
Kuala Lipis to the Felda Kechau
area on work assignments in
1994. It would usually take
me about one and a half hours
to reach Felda Kechau on the
opposite side of the Jelai River.
There was no bridge then to
connect both sides of the river.
On my second trip to Kechau
the same year, a local advised me
to take a boat ferry from Kuala
Lipis to cross to the opposite
river bank, which would enable
me to reach Felda Kechau in half
an hour. That meant saving an
hour on my journey.
The boat ferry was owned
and operated by the local
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Boatman getting ready to move
the boat
Boat being propelled by river
current to the opposite river
bank
The concrete
stump holding
the overhead
cable that
enables the
pulley to slide
along as the
boat crosses
the river
Chinese Chamber of Commerce
that charged 50 cents for each
passenger and motor bike.
The idea of the boat ferry
is an ingenious one as it uses
the power of current, a natural
and free force. It is also an
environment-friendly mode of
transport, without the use of
fuel which emits carbon dioxide
and pollutants.
Operating Mechanism
To cross the river, the boat
is positioned at 45º to the
current to harness the current
acting on the boat to move it
in the direction of the resultant
force as illustrated in the
sketch Fig. 1, i.e, in a traverse
direction.
The operative mechanism
consists of a high overhead
horizontal cable tied between
two tall concrete stumps at both
sides of the river bank. Both
ends of the boat are then tied to
a pulley that is attached to the
horizontal cable allowing it to
slide along the cable freely.
The two cables at both end
of the boat are of different
length; one slightly longer than
the other.