GHE CAU of the Phu-Quoc Islands

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This stamp shows us the “ghe cau” of the Phu-Quoc Islands, Vietnam.

One of the most stunning fishing boats, if not the most stunning, is indisputably the ghe cau from the Phu-Quoc. this large island of the Siam Gulf, on clear nights from February to March, fishing with their dory for a tiny cephalopod, the squid, or during the monsoon, the “ca-com”, a sort of sardine used for the production of “nuoc mam”, the renowned brine of this island.
The boats on the island were built at Cira Can.
The wood used for the construction of the hull is the “goi muoi” (balansa), of a sweet-scented
pinkish grey or the “sao” (Hopea odorata), the Khmer “koki”, especially used for the construction of the ribs.
Bulkheads divide the vessel into several fish holds. An inwale, just like on the chaleum, ties the futtocks together. There are no deck beams, since the bulkheads replace them, apart from a single mast thwart. Bulwarks raise the planking of the hull, nailed on a sort of inwale intended to support the movable deck made from large panels adjusted piece by piece and resting on removable deck beams.
The ghe cau of Phu-Quoc does not have a keel. Its shapes are extremely rounded in the bilges. The planking of the hull closes up on the stem and sternpost, leaving a very distinct forefoot.
There’s no ribband, but a strengthening belt, all along the gunwale rail.
The bulwark is further raised in the front, which gives the craft a graceful appearance.
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The caulking is composed of a mixture known as “chai” and a stuffing of oiled coconut strands or even strands of ramie, covered by resinous putty.
The hull is painted white and the planking is varnished with wood oil, in a mahogany color. The front bulwarks are of a sea blue on the bottom of which there is a white-moon eye, centered by a curved black iris. It is, of all the fishing or coastal boats of Indochina, the type whose eye has the biggest dimensions, as well as the type of ghe cau whose cleanliness is most astounding.
The tonnage does not exceed 35 tons.

The mast is a single piece, stepped on a false keelson and supported by two lateral chocks, and finishing with an apple bristled with a plume.
The foremast is a sort of small steeply raking mast stepped by hand, at the bow. It is made with male bamboo 5 meters long, with the same clover design.
Only the mainsail is a lug sail, of canvas or finely woven rushes.
The foresail is triangular, set on a small boom.


The ghe cau from the island of Phu-Quoc is embellished by one of these poops whose charm is in harmony with the overall appearance of the craft. Generally speaking, it looks a lot like the Arabic chebec.
On this poop whose main beams are let into the gunwale and strengthened by struts, only the central part is decked. Underneath, like our ships used to be, we find a “loggia” or room reserved for the captain. On each side of the poop deck, strange analogy, we find two little lateral galleries that extend up to the hull:the “quarter galleries”, used as comfort areas.
On the back of the balcony, a circular opening, the rudder port, lets the rudder stock pass through. The helmsman is always there with, behind him, the flagstaff.
A woven arched canopy covers up the poop, supported by the davits of the poop.
The rudder has a slightly curving blade with ordinary rudder fittings. The gudgeons are fastened on the sternpost by Spikes bent over on the inside.
The boat always draws a lot of water but raises the rudder in shallow water.
Fixed on the upper edge of the rudder blade, in an eye, a rope rises up and fastens on the poop deck: it’s the safeguard used to hold the rudder in case it would get torn off by heavy swells or grounding of the ship.

The ghe cau of Phu-Quoc island, when becalmed, is manoeuvred with 5 pairs of oars.

Source: Taken from Sailboats of Indochina by J.B. Pietri.
Vietnam 1999 9000d sg 2236, scott.