No. 237 Maritime Archaeology in the People's Republic of China ...

Con Dao
0 1.0m
Figure 71. Section of the Con Dao bulkhead 2 including the frame
just aft of the bulkhead (after Flecker, 1992).vpxcn`v
Flecker (1992) described the excavation of a late 17th century
Asiatic vessel at Con Dao, Vietnam (FIGS). The vessel had
seven compartments of varying dimensions made up of
two wide, one narrow, two wide, one narrow and two wide
(minimum width 1.34 m maximum 2.52 m). The bulkhead
planking was skew nailed and had small rectangular limbers.
Between each bulkhead there were two, three or four frames
which consist of first futtock, scarfed and clamped at the
keelson, then the second futtock, which is not laterally fastened
to the first futtock, and the same with the third futtock. The
hull planking is double (inside 60 mm outer 40 mm) and the
inner is edge-joined with skew nails. The outer seems to be
nailed directly onto the inner. There is ceiling planking and
a keelson. Flecker concludes that the vessel was a lorcha (a
vessel with both Asian and Europeean componments), dated
to about 1690 and possibly Chinese owned. Flecker notes that
there are longitudinal bulkheads between bulkheads 2 and 3
and 5 and 6 (both narrow compartments). The main cargo of
floor tiles was located in large compartments 4–5, 6–7, and
7–8 and while the site plan is unclear, the details suggests
that at least compartment 6–7 had a clear space in the central
part of the hold thus providing access to the bilge. Since the
vessel broke along the garboard strake, it is uncertain if each
compartment had this arrangement since the tiles have spilled
out across the site. The mast-step, just forward of bulkhead 6,
had a very heavy and complex support and bracing structure,
although no measurements of the tabernacles or their separation
is available.
Rang Kwien
This vessel is about 15 m long and was excavated by the Fine
Arts Department (Intakosai, 1983) and discussed in Green
et al. (1989) (FIG). The vessel is unusual as it has a keel
with a hollowed out section on the top. There is evidence
for stiffeners, bulkheads and frames. The 1983 excavation
report is brief and it is unclear if the vessel is edge-joined with
dowels, the 1989 inspection by Green also does not mention
the presence of dowels.
Figure 72. Plan of the Rang Kwien site showing the hollowed keel
and strakes.
31