Brigantine
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Revision as of 16:16, 5 April 2008 by LadyShelley (Talk | contribs)
A brigantine is a two-masted vessel of which the foremast is square-rigged and the mainmast is rigged fore-and-aft. Although the name appears to be a variant of brig as barquentine is of barque, brigantine is actually the elder word. This rig was an early favorite of pirates -- "brigands" -- as it required a much smaller crew than even a similarly-sized ship or brig but which could still make use of the square-riggers' down-wind speed. Although there is no size limitation for a brigantine, they tended to be smaller vessels.