Junk (sailing)
The Junk is a Chinese sailing vessel. (The English name comes from Malay dgong.)
A four masted Junk.
The sail-plan consists of elliptical sails made flat with bamboo inserts, permitting them to sail well on any point of sail. The junk is easy to sail, and reasonably fast. The rigging is very simple, because bamboo is very strong, and thus fewer ropes are needed. Classic junks were built of teak with multiple water-tight compartments, accessed by separate hatches and ladders. The largest junks were built for world exploration in the 1200s, and exceeded 150 meters in length.
