All about Boats, Yachts and Sailing

4 Comments

1. 

   The mainsail is midships in a ketch and aft in a schooner. The main differences would be sail trim in heavy weather and choices for reducing sail.

   Comment by science teacher — October 28, 2008 @ 11:40 pm

2. 

   the after mast on a schooner is taller or at least the same height as the fwd mast. A ketch has a shorter mast aft unless it is aft of the rudder post/steering position which makes it a yawl.The idea of this is for ease of sail handling in different wind and load conditions. Hope this helps.

   Comment by max k — October 31, 2008 @ 10:06 pm

3. 

   the main difference is a ketch….or yawl or sloop or cutter…….will point higher to the wind and be a bit faster to windward……most noticeably if the main on the schooner is a gaff…..

   otherwise, the jib on a schooner will be smaller than on a ketch…..a little easier to handle but once again not as efficient up wind;

   the advantage is the schooner rig gives three more easily handled sails and , as Sterling Hayden said, you can carry the fors’l till hell freezes over.

   Plus schooners look neat!

   Comment by yankee_sailor — November 4, 2008 @ 12:24 am

4. 

   I personally would prefer a ketch (or yawl) for heavy weather. With a ketch you can take down the main, reef the mizzen, put up a storm jib and have a boat that is easy to handle and control under the worst conditions.

   Comment by augustajim1950 — November 6, 2008 @ 4:51 am

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.