Xebec | |
---|---|
Type | Sailing vessel |
Place of origin | Probably Algeria[1][2] |
Service history | |
In service | 16th to mid-19th century |
Used by | Mainly MENA states Sometimes used in Europe |
Specifications | |
Mass | 100–200 tons, in some cases up to 600 t |
Crew | 90 to 400 |
A xebec (/ˈziːbɛk/ or /zɪˈbɛk/), also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. The term can also refer to a small, fast vessel of the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, used almost exclusively in the Mediterranean Sea.