Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

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Part 7: Sailing, Sailing …
Single-Mast Sailing
Most modern sailboats are of one type, the single-mast stepped or set into the deck
and/or hull a bit forward of amidships, and supporting two sails—a main on the back side
of the mast and a jib in front. These sailboats are known as sloops and range in size from
under 10 feet to more than 80 feet long.
If the mast is stepped amidships and carries two sails forward of the mast, the boat is
known as a cutter.
And if the mast is stepped well forward and carries only a mainsail, it’s known as a catboat.
Single-mast boats are generally smaller, less expensive, and easier to sail than two-mast
boats—your first sailboat should be a single-master, even if you are Bill Gates’s only heir.
Single-mast sailboats include
sloops, cutters, and catboats.
The number and location of
the sails is the determining
factor in how the boat is categorized.
Two-Mast Sailing
Sloop
Catboat
Cutter
Larger boats can handle more sail power and need it for reasonable performance. Two
masts can support more sail area than one without any single sail becoming too large to
handle, so two-mast rigs are common among offshore voyagers. Two-masters begin at
around 40 feet and stretch out to over a majestic 150 feet long.
A ketch-rigged two-master has the taller or main mast in front, and a smaller “mizzen”
mast aft, but in front of the wheel or tiller.