What is a sailboat?
A: A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by
sails and is smaller than a sailing ship.
Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and
ship vary by what?
A: Region and maritime culture.
Although sailboat terminology has varied across
history, many terms have specific meanings in the context of what?
A: Modern yachting.
A great number of sailboat-types may be distinguished
by what?
A: Size, hull configuration, keel type, purpose, number and configuration of
masts, and sail plan.
The cutter is similar to a sloop with a single mast and
mainsail, but generally carries the mast further aft to allow for what?
A: A jib and staysail to be attached to the head stay and inner forestay,
respectively.
Once a common racing configuration, today it gives
versatility to what?
A: Cruising boats, especially in allowing a small staysail to be flown from
the inner stay in high winds.
A catboat has a single mast mounted far forward and
does not carry a what?
A: A jib.
Most modern designs have only one sail, the mainsail;
however, the traditional catboat could carry what?
A: Multiple sails from the gaff rig.
A dinghy is a type of small open sailboat commonly used
for what?
A: Recreation, sail training, and tending a larger vessel.
They are popular in youth sailing programs for their
what?
A: Short LOA, simple operation and minimal maintenance.
They have what three (or fewer) sails?
A: The mainsail, jib, and spinnaker.
Ketches are similar to a sloop, but there is a what?
A: A second shorter mast astern of the mainmast, but forward of the rudder
post.
The second mast is called what?
A: The mizzen mast and the sail is called the mizzen sail.
A ketch can also be what?
A: Cutter-rigged with two head sails.
A schooner has a mainmast taller than its what?
A: Foremast, distinguishing it from a ketch or a yawl.
A schooner can have more than two masts, with the
foremast always what?
A: Lower than the foremost main.
Traditional topsail schooners have what?
A: Topmasts allowing triangular topsails sails to be flown above their gaff
sails; many modern schooners are Bermuda rigged.
The most common modern sailboat is what?
A: A sloop, which features one mast and two sails, typically a Bermuda
rigged main, and a headsail.
This simple configuration is very efficient for what?
A: Sailing into the wind.
A fractional rigged sloop has its forestay attached at
a point below the top of the mast, allowing the mainsail to be what?
A: Flattened to improve performance by raking the upper part of the mast aft
by tensioning the backstay.
A smaller headsail is easier for what?
A: A short-handed crew to manage.
A yawl is similar to a ketch, with a shorter mizzen
mast carried astern the rudderpost more for what?
A: For balancing the helm.
Traditional sailboats are monohulls, but what are
gaining popularity?
A: Multi-hull catamarans and trimarans.
Monohull boats generally rely on what for stability?
A: Ballast.
This stabilizing ballast can, in boats designed for
racing, be as much as 50% of what?
A: The weight of the boat but is generally around 30%.
