| Sailboats are truly beautiful to watch from a distance. | | | | the staysail. The headsails are attached to forestays, |
| Graceful and practically silent, often with colorfully | | | | the head stay and the inner stay, which are pieces |
| decorated sails, these boats seem to glide through | | | | of rigging used to keep the mast from tilting |
| the water like birds through the air. Of course, if you | | | | backwards. Cutters are popular as cruising boats, |
| have ever been on a sailboat in a decent wind, you | | | | especially in high wind conditions, when it is useful to |
| know that that appearance of calm is far from the | | | | be able to fly a small jib from the inner stay. |
| truth. Operating a sailboat requires a great deal of | | | | Schooners, characterized by fore-and-aft sails on two |
| concentration, knowledge and skill, in no small part | | | | or more masts, are much larger vessels than either |
| because of the many parts and pieces composing | | | | cutters or sloops. The aft-most mast is taller than or |
| the vessel. Of course, the term "sailboat" actually | | | | equal to the height of the forward mast or masts. |
| covers a wide variety of boats, from sloops to | | | | These boats date back to the 16th century and over |
| cutters to schooners. Each type of boat has its own | | | | the years, were used for everything from blockade |
| specifications, design and intended purpose. | | | | running to offshore fishing. Schooners were most |
| Sloops are probably the most commonly known type | | | | commonly used for commerce during the 19th |
| of sailboat, and they are popular with amateur and | | | | century, but they have since been abandoned for |
| professional sailors alike. These vessels feature two | | | | more modern means of transport. However, some |
| sails, the mainsail and the foresail, attached to a single | | | | schooners still exist in the form of pleasure boats or |
| mast. The mainsail is also attached to the boom, a | | | | racing yachts. |
| pole that runs the length of the sail's bottom. The | | | | In addition to their sails, all sailboats may be |
| boom can be moved from one side of the boat to | | | | categorized by the styles of their hulls and keels. The |
| the other, allowing the mainsail to better harness the | | | | hull is essentially the body of the boat. Sailboats are |
| wind's power. On a sailboat, it is not uncommon for | | | | usually monohulls, meaning that it has only one body. |
| someone to yell "Boom!" If you ever hear this, duck, | | | | However, multi-hull styles like catamarans and |
| because the boom of the mainsail is about to swing | | | | trimarans, which have one ore more bodies attached |
| across the deck, and anyone in the way will be | | | | side by side, are gaining in popularity. The keel of a |
| knocked into the water. | | | | boat is the structural backbone of the boat and |
| Cutters are similar to sloops in that they have a | | | | consists of a large beam around which the hull is built. |
| single mast and mainsail with a boom. However, the | | | | It runs along the middle of the hull from the bow to |
| mast of a cutter is usually positioned further aft, | | | | the stern. |
| allowing the boat to carry two headsails, the jib and | | | | |