Schooner facts for kids
A schooner (SKOO-nər) is a special kind of sailing vessel. What makes it unique is how its masts and sails are set up. Schooners have two or more masts. All their main sails are rigged front-to-back, not side-to-side. Usually, the front mast (called the foremast) is shorter than the main mast. You'll often see schooners with gaff sails or staysails. Some even have a square sail on the front mast, called a topsail schooner.
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Where Did the Name "Schooner" Come From?
The word "schooner" first appeared in eastern North America in the early 1700s. It might come from a Scots word. This word meant to skip over water, or to skip stones. It's a fitting name for these often fast ships!
A Brief History of Schooners
Early Days of Schooners
The exact start of schooner-rigged ships is a bit of a mystery. But we can see them in Dutch paintings from the early 1600s. One of the oldest pictures shows a yacht owned by the mayors of Amsterdam in 1600. More examples from Amsterdam in 1638 and New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1627 also show schooners. By the late 1600s, schooners were common in England and Holland. A large British schooner, the Royal Transport, was launched in 1695.
Schooners Grow Popular in North America
Schooners became even more popular in British North America (what is now parts of the USA and Canada) around 1713. In the 1700s and 1800s, especially in New England and Atlantic Canada, schooners were perfect for coastal trade. They were fast and could be used for many different jobs. Around 1800, schooners with three masts started to appear.
Many Jobs for Schooners
Schooners were used for all sorts of tasks. Their ability to sail well against the wind was very helpful. They were used by privateers (private ships allowed to attack enemy ships), ships that tried to get past blockades, and smaller navy vessels. They also served as pilot boats, guiding larger ships into harbors. Schooners were often used as packet boats, carrying passengers and goods quickly. "Fruit schooners" were known for their speed, delivering fresh fruit on routes like from the Azores to Britain.
Giant Schooners
From about 1880 to 1920, some very large schooners were built in the United States. These had five or even more masts! They carried huge amounts of bulk cargo, like coal and timber. In the early days of the America's Cup (a famous sailing race), schooners were the main type of boat. Today, schooners are still used as sail training ships, teaching people how to sail.
The fishing boats that worked the Grand Banks of Newfoundland were also schooners. They were considered excellent examples of the type. This area of North America is where the term "schooner" first became widely used. Schooners were popular because they were easy to handle in tight spaces and needed smaller crews than ships with square sails. Some even sailed on long ocean voyages.
By 1910, many large schooners were built in places like Bath, Maine. This included the Wyoming, which is thought to be the biggest wooden ship ever built. The Thomas W. Lawson was the only schooner ever built with seven masts!
Different Types of Schooner Rigs
How Schooner Rigs Work
You usually won't find a schooner shorter than 50 feet long. Smaller schooners typically have two masts. Around the year 1900, much larger schooners were built in New England and on the Great Lakes. These could have four, five, six, or even seven masts!
Traditionally, schooners used a gaff rig. Many schooners sailing today are copies of old, famous ships. However, newer schooners often use a Bermuda rig. While a sloop rig is simpler, a schooner rig can be better for larger boats. It allows for shorter masts and smaller sails, which are easier to manage. Two-masted schooners can have many different sails between their masts. For example, they might have a gaff sail on the front mast, even if the main mast has a Bermuda sail.
Most schooners have a bowsprit (a pole sticking out from the front). But some, like the Adventure, were built without one.
Famous Schooner Types
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Here are some specific kinds of schooners:
- Grand Banks fishing schooner: These boats had a gaff topsail on the main mast. They also used a fisherman's staysail. In winter, the top parts of their masts and upper sails were removed. The famous Bluenose was one of these.
- Topsail schooner: This type has a square topsail on its front mast. Sometimes, an extra sail called a topgallant was added. A very fast version with slanted masts, known as the Baltimore Clipper, was popular in the early 1800s.
- Four- to seven-masted schooners: These huge ships spread their sail area over many smaller sails. This was helpful when sails were hoisted by hand, though machines were used for the largest sails. They were used for coastal trade along the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, South America, and even some trips across the Atlantic Ocean.
- Tern schooner: This was a type of three-masted schooner common between 1880 and 1920. They had three masts all the same height and no square sails. The name "tern" means "three of a kind." Their simple design helped keep the crew size small. The Wawona, the largest tern schooner, sailed on the West Coast of the United States from 1897 to 1947.
Schooners Today: From Cargo to Racing
Schooners were mainly built to carry cargo, passengers, and for fishing.
The Norwegian polar schooner Fram was used by famous explorers Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen. They used it for their amazing journeys to the North and South Poles.
The yacht America, which gave its name to the famous America's Cup race, was one of the few schooners built just for racing. Schooners dominated this race for a long time. The three-masted schooner Atlantic set a record for sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in 1905. This record for a single-hulled boat stood for almost 100 years! The Bluenose (1921–1946) was both a successful fishing boat and a champion racer.
See Also
- List of schooners
