Bilander: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

A bilander, also spelled billander or be'landre, was a small European merchant ship with two masts, used in the Netherlands for coast and canal traffic and occasionally seen in the North Sea but more frequently to be seen in the Mediterranean Sea. The mainmast was lateen-rigged with a trapezoidal mainsail, but the foremast carried the conventional square course and square topsail. They rarely reached a size of more than 100 tons.