Felucca

Felucca

A felucca ( _ar. فلوكة) is a traditional wooden sailing boat used in protected waters of the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean including Malta, and particularly along the Nile in Egypt. Its rig consists of one or two lateen sails.

They are usually able to board ten-some passengers and the crew consists of two or three people. Despite being made obsolete by motorboats and ferries, feluccas are still in active use as a means of transport in Nile-adjacent cities like Aswan or Luxor. They are especially popular among tourists who can enjoy their quieter and calmer mood than motorboats have to offer.

an Francisco's feluccas

Americans are largely unaware of the fleet of lateen-rigged feluccas that thronged San Francisco's docks even before the construction of the state-owned Fisherman's Wharf in 1884. They were built by southern Italian immigrants (who called them "silenas"). The light small maneuverable feluccas were the mainstay of the fishing fleet of San Francisco Bay. "These workhorses featured a mast that angled, or raked, forward sharply, and a large triangular sail hanging down from a long, two-piece yard" John Muir described them.

ee also

* dhow

References

* Muscat, Joseph (2003) "The Gilded Felucca and Maltese Boatbuilding Techniques." Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza, Malta. ISBN 99932-41-45-8

External links

* [http://www.nps.gov/safr/local/wharf.html "Tides of change: Fisherman's Wharf, 1870 - 1930"] : by John Muir, an Associate Curator of Small Craft at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.
* [http://www.globalamity.net/index.php?section=article&articleid=15&pagenumber=15 Photographs from a felucca journey on the Nile]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Felucca — Fe*luc ca, n. [It. feluca (cf. Sp. faluca, Pg. falua), fr. Ar. fulk ship, or harr[=a]qah a sort of ship.] (Naut.) A small, swift sailing vessel, propelled by oars and lateen sails, once common in the Mediterranean. Note: Sometimes it is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • felucca — [fə luk′ə] n. [< Sp < Ar falūka < ? Gr epholkion, small boat towed behind a ship] a small, narrow ship propelled by oars or lateen sails and used esp. in the Mediterranean …   English World dictionary

  • felucca — n. a small Mediterranean coasting vessel with oars or lateen sails or both. Etymology: It. felucca f. obs. Sp. faluca f. Arab. fulk, perh. f. Gk epholkion sloop …   Useful english dictionary

  • felucca — noun Etymology: Italian feluca Date: 1615 a narrow fast lateen rigged sailing vessel chiefly of the Mediterranean area …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • felucca — /feuh luk euh, looh keuh/, n. 1. a sailing vessel, lateen rigged on two masts, used in the Mediterranean Sea and along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts. 2. a small fishing boat formerly used in the San Francisco Bay area. [1620 30; earlier… …   Universalium

  • felucca — noun A traditional wooden shallow draught sailing boat used in the Mediterranean and along the Nile in Egypt, its rig consisting of one or two lateen sails …   Wiktionary

  • felucca — n. small narrow boat with one or two sails used on the Mediterranean sea and the Nile river …   English contemporary dictionary

  • felucca — [fɛ lʌkə] noun a small boat propelled by oars or lateen sails or both, used on the Nile and formerly more widely in the Mediterranean region. Origin C17: from Ital. feluc(c)a, ult. of Arab. origin …   English new terms dictionary

  • felucca — fe·luc·ca …   English syllables

  • felucca — fe•luc•ca [[t]fəˈlʌk ə, ˈlu kə[/t]] n. pl. cas navig. a sailing vessel, lateen rigged on two masts, used in the Mediterranean Sea and along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts • Etymology: 1620–30; earlier falluca < Sp faluca, earlier var. of… …   From formal English to slang

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