dingass

chained_bear commented on the word dingass

"Barks of Bombay, called Dingass, are vessels used at Bombay, and places adjacent; and are navigated some times by rowing with paddles. They have one mast, one third the length from the stem, which rakes much forward. On the mast is hoisted a sail, bent to a long yard, resembling a settee-sail.... These vessels never tack, but wear.... Their rigging consists of a pair of halyards, a bowline, and brace. Their keels are very much hollowed upwards, to avoid wholly grounding on sand-banks."

—Falconer's New Universal Dictionary of the Marine (1816), 31

October 11, 2008