BOAT TYPES

cutter:

a sailboat with one mast stepped more than one third of the way aft, capable of carrying two or more sails ahead of the mast; also, a Coast Guard boat.

dinghy:

small open boat for sailing, rowing, etc.

a small open boat, usually carried aboard a yacht for going ashore

ketch:

a boat with a two-masted rig in which the larger, or mainmast, is forward, and the smaller mizzenmast is stepped aft-but forward of the rudder and usually, of the helm.

runabout:

a small, lightweight motorboat with an open cockpit.

schooner:

a sailboat that generally has two masts (through some have had up to seven). The mainmast is aft of a smaller foremast, and the sails are either jub-headed or gaff-headed.

sloop:

a sailboat with a single mast that is stepped not more than one third of the way aft from the bow. A sloop usually carries only one headsail.

trawler:

a boat used in trawling, or commercial fishing with a net; a pleasure boat designed along the same lines.

yawl:

a boat with a two-masted rig in which the mizzen, or jigger, is abaft the rudderpost and the helm. The yawl's mizzen is smaller that the ketch's, as well as being placed farther aft.

SAIL TYPES

chute:

colloquial for spinnaker-a lightweight headsail set from a boat that is reaching or running before the wind.

genoa:

a large headsail set on the headstay and overlapping the mainsail.

headsails:

sails set within the foretriangle, i.e. forward of the mast and usually on a stay. Headsails include jibs and staysails.

jib:

a foresail. On a cutter this is the forward most sail, as opposed to staysail located between the jib and the main

mainsail (main):

the sail which is attached to the mast and boom, usually the biggest working sail; often called simply the main.

marconi:

the name of a three-cornered sail whose luff sets on a mast-as opposed to the four-sided gaff-rigged sail; also called a Bermuda or jib-headed sail.

mizzen:

the sail set on the aftermast of a yawl or ketch.

mizzenmast:

the aftermast on a yawl or ketch.

starcut:

a type of spinnaker whose cloth panels are cut in a distinctive star shape. It is used by racing boats when reaching or when running in heavy air.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Boats & Sails

CREDITS:
A Glossary of Sailing Terms · Special to the San Diego Daily Transcript
Glossary of Sailing Terms · Oze Mail
Glossary of Sailing Terms · Sailing Gulf Waters
Glossary of Sailing Terms · The Seed Organization
The Time-Life Library of Boating by Time-Life Books 1975
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company