A schooner is a sailing vessel with two or more masts carrying fore-and-aft sails, in which the aftermost mast – the mainmast – is at least as tall as the mast or masts forward of it. That single detail separates the schooner from the ketch and yawl, whose shorter mizzen sits aft. Beginners recognise a schooner by its long, low look and the big mainsail set well back; experienced sailors know it as a reaching machine that will out-sail almost anything on a beam wind and pay for it upwind, and as a rig whose sail area is split into pieces small enough for a modest crew to handle.
What Defines a Schooner
The definition is about the masts, not the number of them. A two-masted schooner has a foremast forward and a taller or equal mainmast aft. Three-, four- and even seven-masted schooners were built for coastal cargo, though two masts remains by far the most common. Variations are named by what the masts carry:
- Gaff schooner: four-sided gaff sails on both masts, often with topsails above them; the traditional working rig.
- Topsail schooner: a gaff or Bermudan fore-and-aft rig with one or more square yards on the foremast for downwind work.
- Staysail schooner: the gaff foresail replaced by a main staysail and a fisherman or other staysails set between the masts; easier to handle and better to windward.
- Bermudan or Marconi schooner: triangular sails on both masts, the form most modern yachts use.
The Sails of a Schooner
A schooner’s inventory is a vocabulary in itself. Forward of the foremast are the headsails – jib, staysail, sometimes a flying jib on a bowsprit. On the foremast is the foresail; on the mainmast the mainsail, which is the largest sail aboard. Between the masts a staysail schooner sets a main staysail low and a fisherman staysail high, a quadrilateral sail that fills the gap under the main topmast; in light air a huge gollywobbler can replace both. A gaff schooner adds topsails above the gaffs. Every one of these sails needs its own halyards, sheets and often its own downhaul, which is why a schooner deck is a forest of pin rails and belaying points.
How a Schooner Sails
With the wind on the beam or quarter a schooner is superb. The sails are set in a long, low line, the slots between them accelerate the flow, and the low centre of effort lets the boat carry a great deal of canvas without excessive heel. Upwind is another story: the foresail and main staysails backwind each other, the low-aspect sails have more induced drag than a tall sloop rig, and gaff sails twist off badly at the head. A well-sailed schooner tacks through perhaps 100 degrees where a modern sloop tacks through 80.
Reefing is refreshingly simple in principle because the area is already divided. In a rising breeze a schooner drops or reefs one sail at a time – topsails first, then the fisherman, then a reef in the main – and the boat stays balanced because sails come off both ends of the rig in turn. A traditional heavy-weather rig of foresail and staysail alone is famously seakindly.
A Little History
The schooner rig developed in North American waters in the eighteenth century and became the working rig of the Grand Banks fishing fleet, the Chesapeake oyster trade and the coastal packets. The yacht America crossed the Atlantic in 1851 as a schooner and won the cup that carries her name, and the Canadian fishing schooner Bluenose spent the 1920s and 1930s beating all comers in the International Fishermen’s Race. The staysail schooner was a twentieth-century yachting refinement that traded some of the gaff rig’s reaching power for windward ability and ease of handling.
Cruising Versus Racing Perspective
Today the schooner is almost entirely a cruising and sail-training rig. Owners value the divided sail plan for handling with a small crew, the low heeling moment, the sheer beauty of the thing, and the fact that no single sail is enormous. Racing schooners survive in classic regattas, where the challenge for the sailmaker is to build gaff sails and fishermen in modern woven cloth that hold shape without looking out of period. Windward performance is what it is; a schooner sailor plans passages for reaching and enjoys them.
Frequently Asked Questions about Schooners
What is the difference between a schooner and a ketch?
In a schooner the aft mast is the taller or equal one; in a ketch the aft mast, the mizzen, is shorter and stands forward of the rudder post. A yawl is a ketch with a small mizzen stepped aft of the rudder post.
Why are schooners slow to windward?
The rig is long and low, the sails interfere with one another when sheeted hard, and traditional gaff sails twist off at the head. The same qualities that make a schooner fast on a reach cost it pointing ability.
A schooner is a rig of compromise and character: it gives up the last few degrees to windward for reaching speed, balance and manageable sails. Sail one on a beam reach with everything set and you will understand why the rig carried the cargo, the fish and the racing silver of a whole coastline.