The Collaborative International Dictionary
Dogvane \Dog"vane`\, n. (Naut.)
A small vane of bunting, feathers, or any other light
material, carried at the masthead to indicate the direction
of the wind.
--Totten.
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context nautical English) A small vane of bunting, feathers, or other light material, carried at the masthead to indicate the direction of the wind. 2 (context obsolete nautical English) A cockade worn on a hat (worn in the British Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries)
Usage examples of "dogvane".
An eight-point turn meant the men had to spin the great wheel several revolutions, and the quartermaster crouched ready over the binnacle, watching the compass and the dogvanes as well as glancing up at the luffs of the sails, which were beginning to flap as they lost the wind, although the yards were already being braced up.
Ramage watched the dogvanes, a string of corks on a stick, each cork with white feathers stuck into it.