The hundred-year-old wooden boat building village on the banks of the Vam Co River is gradually disappearing.

Long An: From dozens of establishments and hamlets famous for building red-nosed boats in Tan Chanh (Can Duoc), only two workshops remain in operation because they cannot compete with iron boats.

At noon, the boat building workshop along the Vam Co Dong River owned by Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (44 years old) echoed with the sounds of saws and chisels. Under the scorching sun and sawdust, three workers with their faces covered used chisels to fill the cracks in the hull of the boat with bottled oil. Nearby, a 20-ton wooden boat carrying rice husks from Vinh Long was being repaired by a group of workers, while another ash-carrying boat was anchored at the wharf, waiting to be pulled up to the beach.

Ms. Phuong said that her family’s shipbuilding business has a history of hundreds of years, from her grandfather to her father, then passed down to her children. She has opened the workshop for 10 years, and on average repairs 1-2 boats each month, with a capacity of 20-200 tons.

Workers repairing boats at Nguyen Thi Phuong's workshop. Photo: Hoang Nam — Workers repairing boats at Nguyen Thi Phuong's workshop. Photo: *Hoang Nam*

Depending on the level of damage, each boat takes from 5 days to a month to repair, costing from several million to tens of millions of dong each. Because the price of wood is so expensive, the workshop often buys old boats of good quality to pry up the wood for reuse. The materials used to build boats are usually Sao and Cam Xe wood, which are water-resistant, hard, flexible and easy to bend and shape.

"Since the workshop opened, there have been almost only ships coming in for repair, not new orders," Ms. Phuong said, adding that the reason was because she could not compete with the popular iron boats. Iron boats are cheaper, have a larger load capacity, and are easier to repair when damaged. Meanwhile, wooden boats have many complicated steps, requiring fire to bend the wood, which is both time-consuming and costly.

Located next to his daughter's workshop, the shipbuilding facility of Mr. Nguyen Van Gam (78 years old) has been abandoned for many years, the dock (where boats are brought in, then water is drained, and the dam is closed for repairs) has been filled in.

In Mr. Sau Gam's memory, the golden age 15-20 years ago when there were no iron barges, on average each day the workshop had 20-30 workers going back and forth like shuttles, boats of 100 tons or more lined up 5-7 long. The entire process from pulling the boat ashore to chiseling, sawing, and planing was done by hand. The foreman used his many years of experience, did not need drawings but only estimated by eye, then assigned the work to the assistants.

Workers select suitable panels to make replacement frames. Photo: Hoang Nam — Workers select suitable panels to make replacement frames. Photo: *Hoang Nam*

Boats in Can Duoc are famous for their curved bows, which can withstand strong winds and waves, and their large, round, and lively eyes (also known as "cat island eyes") to distinguish them from the pointed-tail eyes of boats from other regions. "Due to the long period of no customers, the boat workshop of my two younger brothers has also recently closed," the craftsman sadly shared.

Nearly 3 km away, the shipyard of Mrs. Huynh Thanh Bich (55 years old) is also in a slump, at noon there are only three female workers filling the boat with oil. Pointing to the passenger ship worth nearly 1 billion VND in front of the yard, Mrs. Bich said this is the first ship the factory has built in many years. However, when it was about to be completed, Covid-19 struck, making business difficult, so the ship owner has not yet come to receive it and still owes the facility about 100 million VND.

Her husband had an accident and could not walk. Of her three children, only one helps her manage the shipyard. In recent years, Mrs. Bich has been selling rice to supplement her income. "I will probably hold on for a few more years before retiring," Mrs. Bich said.

Hundred-year-old wooden boat building village on the banks of the Vam Co River — Workers at the shipyard. Video : *Hoang Nam*

Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, Chairman of Tan Chanh Commune People's Committee, said that the locality has a history of wooden boat building for over 100 years, which is the main source of income for many households. About 20 years ago, the commune had about a few dozen large and small workshops, but now only two are still operating. Many boat builders have therefore had to go to work in factories or choose other jobs. The traditional craft in the locality is increasingly fading away.

Hoang Nam

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