A grab was a type of ship common on the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing ...

in the 18th and 19th centuries. The name derives from ''"ghurāb"'' or ''"ghorāb"'', Arabic for

raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between " crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigne ...

, which in turn came into Marathi and Konkani as ''"gurab"''. The ''ghurāb'' was originally a

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be u ...

, 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 comprises 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 throughou ...

, or a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both 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 latter part ...

. The

Bombay Marine The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. ...

, the British

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

's navy, had two grabs named ''Bombay'' that overlapped in their service dates. The

Bombay Dockyard Bombay Dockyard, also known as Naval Dockyard, is an Indian shipbuilding yard at Mumbai. The superintendent of the dockyard is a Naval Officer of the rank Rear Admiral, known as the Admiral Superintendent. Background Shipbuilding was an establi ...

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 — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

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

Citations and references

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

Citations and references