174 



J. HORNELL ON 



known as padagu or salangu among Coromandel fishermen^ a large and clumsy 

 open boat used in shooting shore seines, and also as a cargo lighter. Its range 

 extends along the whole of the East Coast northwards of Cape Calimere. On the 

 Coromandel Coast it is distinctly short in proportion to its length and depth, a rather 

 small one measured at Pondicherry being 28 feet long, 8 feet beam and 4 feet 

 deep. In the Vizagapatam and Godavari districts it often runs longer and more 

 elegant, frequentl}^ ranging to 40 feet and even upwards in length, with beam 

 and depth about the same as in the southern districts. As the masula boat never 

 goes far from shore, mast and sail are not used ; a crew varying from 8 to 12 in 

 number perched insecurely on thwarts far forward, provide the motive power 

 with long paddle-sweeps not less than 12 feet in length ; steering is done with a very 

 long and powerful paddle suspended in a coir grommet from the projecting head 

 of the stern post. 



Fig. i^ 



-Fore end of a Madras masula boat, showing the method of stitching together the planks ; also 

 an oculus painted close to the stem. 



No iron is used in the hull, the planking being sewn in the usual surf-boat 

 fashion already described in the case of the Ceylon outrigger coaster. A narrow keel 

 projecting about 2 inches is usually seen, no bulk heads are used, stem and stern 

 are both raked considerably and both are somewhat buff in their curves. Freeboard 

 has to be very high as they have to pass through heavy breakers and in consequence 

 the loads they carry are very light compared with their apparent capacity. 



An oculus is sometimes (rarely) painted on the bows at Madras (fig. 18). 



In the seining masulas working in the neighbourhood of Uppada, Vizagapatam 

 district, this type of boat attains its greatest development, both in regard to size 

 and economic importance. There it is esteemed the most valuable asset of fishermen 

 as these men have vigorously developed the use of the shore seine and without 

 roomy boats would be unable to carry and handle the great length of net requisite 

 to effective operations on a large scale. 



