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Dhow with lateen sail in "bad tack" with the sail pressing against the mast, in Mozambique. The emergence of new evidence for the development and spread of the lateen sail in the ancient Mediterranean in recent decades has led to a reevaluation of the role of Arab seafaring in the Indian Ocean, replacing a belief that this sail has an eastern origin.
Because of the crab claw sail's more ancient origin, there is also a hypothesis that contact between Arabs and Austronesians in their Indian Ocean voyages may have influenced the development of the triangular Arabic lateen sail; and in return Arab square-shaped sails may have influenced the development of the Austronesian rectangular tanja sail ...
The popularity of the caravel in Northern European waters from about 1440 made lateen sails familiar in this part of the world. Additionally, lateen sails were used for the mizzen on early three-masted ships, playing a significant role in the development of the full-rigged ship. It did not, however, provide much of the propulsive force of these ...
The early caravels did not have square sails, though later, square sails were carried on the foremast for running or for bad weather. The most identifiable rig was a four mast vessel with a square-rigged foremast raking far forward and having a round top and three lateen-rigged masts gradually decreasing in size. [20]
They carried a single-masted, triangular lateen sail rig. By the fourteenth century, their size had increased and their use had spread; for instance, there is mention, in 1307, of larger caravels of up to 30 tons in Biscay. Caravels were a common type of vessel in the coastal waters of the Iberian Peninsula in the fifteenth century. [5]
Sail plan for a polacre-xebec. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a large polacre-xebec carried a square rig on the foremast, lateen sails on the other masts, a bowsprit, and two headsails. The square sail distinguished this form of a xebec from that of a felucca which is equipped solely with lateen sails. The last of the xebecs ...
They were agile and easier to navigate, with a tonnage of 50 to 160 tons and 1 to 3 masts, with lateen triangular sails allowing luffing. The caravel's limited capacity for cargo and crew were its main drawbacks, but these did not hinder its success.
Triangular lateen sails are attested as early as the 2nd century AD, and gradually became the sail of choice for galleys. By the 9th century, lateens were firmly established as part of the standard galley rig. The lateen rig required a larger crew to handle than a square sail rig, but this was not a problem in the heavily manned galleys. [154]