The schooner is a sailboat with at least two masts, with the foremast being shorter than the other masts. Schooners are classified as a divided rig sailboat and have fore-and-aft rigged sails. The article describes the Zodiac, a two-masted gaff-rigged topsail schooner built using traditional shipbuilding techniques. It also discusses the history of schooners, including their origins and role in coastal trade, as well as the notable La Amistad schooner involved in a prominent 19th century civil rights case.

1. SHIP SAVVY’SCOVER STORY Issue #403
22323
Ship Savvy’s
Cover Story
June 2012
SCHOONERS ON THE OPEN SEA
The schooner is adivided rig
sailboatequippedwith 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% largerthan
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
byRobert Billman

2. SHIP SAVVY’SCOVER STORY | Issue#403 2
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 andrequiring 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
andkeelson.
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
StatesSupreme 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.

3. SHIP SAVVY’SCOVER STORY | Issue#403 3
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