SHIP SAVVY’S COVER STORY Issue #403 22323

Ship Savvy’s Cover Story

June 2012

SCHOONERS ON THE OPEN SEA

The schooner is a divided rig sailboat equipped with at least two triangular-shaped masts (vertical spar to which the sails and rigging are attached), with the aft masts (near the front of the sailboat) being shorter than the fore masts (inner most). This sailboat typically has three to four sails, but the number of sails can be as many as six. The schooner is a fascinating sailboat because of the maritime history it holds.

The Divided Rig Genus Sailboats are classified by the shape (square, triangular) and number of sails, as well as the location and number of masts. These combinations make up what are known as “rigs.” The schooner is classified under the “divided rigs” genus because the sailboat has two masts.

Other sailboat s in the divided rigs genus are the yawl and the ketch. The yawl and ketch are similar in design because both sailboats

have two masts. The largest difference between the yawl and the ketch is that the mizzenmast on the yawl is set aft (at or near the end of the sailboat) of the rudderpost (the vertical or wooden plate attached to the stern, whose movement steer the sailboat).

The yawl has two masts, with the mizzenmast (the shorter, after-mast) being shorter than the other masts. However, the yawl’s mizzenmast isn’t used unless the sailboat is 30 feet or longer. The yawl has three or four sails, but the mizzenmast is much smaller than the mast on the ketch.

The ketch has two masts, with the mizzenmast being the shortest mast on the sailboat (opposite of the schooner). The ketch is a manageable sailboat for small

crews because the addition of the mizzenmast causes the sailboat to be split into more manageable proportions. The ketch’s sail area is also up to 20% larger than the yawl’s because the ketch’s mizzen is located forward of the rudderpost. The placement of the mizzen also makes the ketch slower than the yawl.

Schooner Appearance The schooner is largely characterized by the sailboat’s narrow hull and mast design, and containing at least two masts, with the foremast being smaller than the other masts, creating a triangular shape. The key difference between schooners and other multi-masted sailboats are the fore-and-aft rigged sails (the sails are parallel to the ship’s body). Other multi-masted sailboats are largely square-rigged (the sails run perpendicular to the sailboat’s body).

One schooner in particular, the Zodiac, is considered a two-masted gaff-rigged topsail schooner. A gaff-rigged schooner is a sailboat that is rigged with one or more

The Schooner by Robert Billman

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Zodiac schooner diagram Close up of the Zodiac’s block and tackle (a pulley

system)

The Zodiac sailing in Washington, 2011.

La Amistad Schooner

gaffsails. Gaffsails are the quadrilateral fore-and-aft sails on a sailboat.

Here are some of North America’s largest mainsail schooner’s characteristics (see diagram on page 2 for a visual overview): The Zodiac’s overall length is 160 ft., rigged with two masts, and weighs 147 tons.

The length on deck measures 127 ft. The topmast measures 127 ft. high, with the sailboat’s mainsail measuring 4,000 sq. ft. of canvas and weighing 600 lbs. The beam is 25.5 ft. and the draft is 16 ft. The Zodiac has a 7,000 square mile sailing area.

The Zodiac can house 26 overnight passengers in bunks or private staterooms and can hold 49 daysail passengers (those not staying overnight and requiring sleeping quarters).

Schooner Composition The Zodiac was constructed traditional shipbuilding techniques and modern materials. Square nails (the type that have been used for centuries) are used to hold the planks to the frames. The hull (the watertight body of a ship) is caulked with cotton using traditional irons and mallets, and contains white oak laminated frames, white oak planking, and white oak laminated keel and keelson.

Various types of wood were used to construct the Zodiac as well. Douglas fir wood is used for the decking and mahogany throughout the clamp and waterways. The baggywrinkle (soft covering for cables) is made out of rope from natural fibers. The foremast is made of Douglas fir, the mainmast is made of white pine, and the mizzenmast is made of laminated Douglas fir. The booms, gaffs, bow spirit and staysail club is made of white pine. The main topmast and jibboom is made of laminated Douglas fir and the fore and mizzen topmasts are made of white pine.

While older schooners used cotton sails, modern schooners use nylon because it doesn’t stretch as much, it weighs less, and it lasts longer than cotton. The sails are then placed in between a layer of laminated fabric that provides wind and UV rays resistance. This modern lamination technique also causes the sails to weigh considerably less than older cotton sails. This lighter weight in sail mass also maximizes the schooner’s speed.

Schooner History Schooners were first constructed in colonial America and because of their speed became increasingly popular in the United States and Canada in the 18

th and 19

th century.

Schooners were used in fisheries and coastal trade until World War I until they were replaced by power-driven craft.

Another interesting fact about schooners is the origin of its name. It all began in 1713 in Gloucester, Massachusetts when a crowd gathered around Andrew Robinson when he launched the first schooner. Apparently, someone shouted, “Oh, how she scoons,” because the sailboat appeared to fly across the waves with vigorous speed. Robinson decided to adopt that term and named the sailboat “schooner,” after the Scottish term, “scoon,” meaning “skim.”

La Amistad Schooner This particular sailboat is noteworthy because the La Amistad schooner was at the source of the first African civil rights case, otherwise known as “The La Amistad Incident of 1839.” 53 Africans were kidnapped from West Africa and brought to Cuba where they were incorrectly classified as native-born Cuban slaves.

They were then illegally purchased by Spaniards Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montez and taken aboard the La Amistad schooner. Africans soon seized the schooner and killed several members onboard and ordered the schooner to sail back to Africa.

En route, the La Amistad was intercepted by an American sailboat and subsequently towed to the New London Harbor in Long Island. The Africans on board were then held in jail on charges of murder. President John Quincy Adams argued before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the remaining 53Africans and they were eventually sent back to Africa.

The La Amistad remains one the most noteworthy schooners because of the sailboat’s historical prominence in civil rights issues and the intercontinental slave trade of the 1800’s.

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Schooner Photos Sometimes textual explanations of such a beautiful sailboat just don’t do our readers justice. Ship Savvy has compiled an array of photographs from over the years of various schooners for our ship enthusiasts to enjoy.

SAILING TERMINOLOGY

Aft: at or near the stern

Astern: behind the boat

Beam: measurement of the width of the boat

Bow: the forward part of the boat

Bowsprit: pole extending forward from the prow

Fore: at or toward the boat’s bow

Fore-and-aft: lengthwise, the direction of the keel

Foremast: mast nearest to the bow

Grommet: rope or brass ring in a sail or piece of canvas

Headsail: sail forward of the mast

Hoist: the length of the luff of a fore-and-aft sail

Jib: a triangular headsail set on a stay forward of the foremast

Jibboom: pole used to used to extend the length of a bowsprit

Jibsheet: line that controls the jib

Mainmast: principal mast on a boat

Mainsail: boomed sail projecting aft from the mainmast

Mainsheet: line that controls the main boom

Mast: vertical spar to which the sails and rigging are attached

Masthead: top of the mast

Mizzen: the shorter, after-mast on a ketch or yawl

Port: the left-hand side of a boat

Prow: forward most part of the boat

Rig: arrangement of masts and sails

Rudder: vertical metal or wooden plate attached to the stern, whose movement steers the boat

Starboard: right-hand side of a boat

Stern: after end of a boat