A grab was a type of ship common on the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...

in the 18th and 19th centuries. The name derives from ''"ghurāb"'' or ''"ghorāb"'', Arabic for raven, which in turn came into Marathi and

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

as ''"gurab"''. The ''ghurāb'' was originally a

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

, but the type evolved. The grab combined an indigenous hull form with a pointed prow, with or without a bowsprit, combined with European rigging on two to three masts. A description from 1750 states that the grabs of Angria's fleet narrowed from the middle forward and instead of a bow had the prow of a Mediterranean galley, covered with a strong deck level with the main deck but separated from it by a bulkhead. The grab pitched violently when sailing against a head sea so the prow sides were open to permit water easily to run off. On the main deck under the forecastle there were two 6 or 9-pounder guns pointing forward through port-holes cut in the bulkhead and firing over the prow. The grabs then had 6 or 9-pounder guns on their broadsides.''Gazetteer'' (1894). pp. 523-4. The vessel was generally of shallow draft, and broad in proportion to its length. Size could range between 150 and as much as 500 tons ( bm). The sail plan typically was that of a

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

, or a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

. The Bombay Marine, the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

's navy, had two grabs named ''Bombay'' that overlapped in their service dates. The Bombay Dockyard built both. *''Bombay'', of 430 tons (bm) and 24 guns, was built in 1739 of teak. She spent much of her career convoying vessels on the coast to protect them from pirates operating from states north and south of

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. A fire on 29 September 1789 destroyed her in Bombay Harbour. *''Bombay'', of 363 tons (bm), and 32 guns, was launched in 1750.

Citations

References

* ''Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency'' (1894), Vol. 26, Part 2. (Government Central Press). * * *
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Citations

References