The hull structure made the lorcha faster and able to carry more cargo than the normal junk.
The advantage of the junk rig was in its ease of handling and resulting reduced crewing requirement, together with its relatively low cost of construction.
[1] This hybrid type of vessel sailed faster than traditional eastern ships.
The Vũng Tàu shipwreck is a lorcha that sunk near the Côn Đảo Islands and has been dated to about 1690.
[2] A type of lorcha sailing lighter was used formerly in Bangkok to carry rice out to ocean ships over the bar of the Chao Phraya River.