Yawl facts for kids
A yawl is a special kind of boat. The word "yawl" can mean a few different things. It might describe how a boat's sails are set up (its rig), the shape of its body (its hull), or even what the boat is used for.
When we talk about a yawl's rig, we mean it's a sailing boat with two masts. It has a main mast and a smaller second mast called a mizzen mast. The key is that the mizzen mast is placed behind the boat's steering part, called the rudder stock. This is different from a ketch, where the mizzen mast is in front of the rudder. The mizzen sail on a yawl is usually quite small.
As a hull type, a yawl can be a traditional working boat. These boats often had pointed ends and overlapping wooden planks (called clinker-built). Many of these older designs, like the famous Norfolk and Sussex Beach Yawls, were very fast. They were used by people in Great Britain and Ireland.
Sometimes, a yawl was also a smaller boat carried on a larger ship. These "ship's boats" helped with tasks like moving people or supplies. The word "yawl" has a long history, and its exact origin is a bit of a mystery!
Contents
Discovering the Yawl Boat
Yawl as a Sailing Rig
How the Yawl Rig Started
The yawl sailing rig first appeared in the early 1800s. People started using this design for working boats and for pleasure yachts. For example, a famous boat called Rob Roy, built in 1867, was designed as a yawl.
The yawl rig became very popular in yacht racing during the late 1800s. This was partly because new racing rules in 1896 gave yawls an advantage. Large yawl yachts, like Rendezvous built in 1913, could be 74 feet (23 metres) long. They carried huge sails, sometimes 5,500 square feet (510 square metres)!
Why Sailors Like the Yawl Rig
Many sailors find the yawl rig great for sailing alone or with a small crew. This is because the main sail is not too big, making it easier to manage. The small mizzen sail can also help steer the boat. Before modern self-steering systems, sailors could adjust the mizzen to keep the boat on course.
Taking down the mizzen sail is a quick way to reduce the total sail area. This is helpful when the wind gets too strong. Yawls can also use a special sail called a mizzen staysail. This sail gives extra speed when sailing with the wind coming from the side. Famous solo sailor Alec Rose used a mizzen staysail on his yawl Lively Lady during his trip around the world.
Modern Yawl Boats
Today, yawls are still popular, especially for smaller cruising boats called dinghies. The Drascombe Lugger is a great example of a modern yawl. These boats often have their mizzen sail extended out on a pole. This design helps the boat stay more upright in the water. It means the boat won't tilt over as much in strong winds.
Yawl as a Hull Shape
Before "yawl" described a sail setup, it was a name for a boat's body, or hull. These yawl hulls were usually open boats, meaning they didn't have a deck covering the whole boat. They often had pointed ends at both the front and back.
Many were built using the clinker-built method. This is where wooden planks overlap each other, like siding on a house. These designs are thought to be influenced by Viking or Nordic boat styles. People often launched these boats from beaches and pulled them back onto shore when not in use.
Traditional Yawls from Scotland
In northern Scotland, especially in Shetland and Orkney, people called these boats "yoles" or "yoals." Shetland had boats like foureens and sixareens. Their names told you how many oars they used (four or six pairs of oars).
These boats were also rigged for sailing, usually with one mast. A sixareen was about 24 to 25 feet (7.3 to 7.6 metres) long, and a foureen was around 20 feet (6.1 metres). They were used for deep-sea fishing, catching fish like cod. These boats would sometimes go 30 to 50 miles offshore!
Until the 1800s, many of these boats were built in Norway. They were taken apart, shipped to Shetland, and then put back together. The Shetland Museum has some of these old boats and replicas. The Orkney yoles were a bit wider, allowing them to carry more sail.
Fast Beach Yawls of England
Along the coast of East Anglia in England, there were very special boats called "Beach Yawls." The sailors called them "yols." These boats were probably the fastest open sailing boats ever built! They could reach speeds of 14 to 16 knots (about 16 to 18 miles per hour).
These Beach Yawls were about 50 feet (15 metres) long and 8 to 10 ft (2.4 to 3.0 m) wide. The largest, Reindeer, built in 1838, was 75 ft (23 m) long. They were also clinker-built and had pointed ends. These boats helped ships anchored nearby, carried important people like pilots, and rescued things from ships in trouble.
Launching these big boats from the beach was a team effort. Companies of sailors would work together. When a ship needed help, a lookout would spot it. The yawl would be quickly pushed down the sandy beach on greased wooden rollers. Many men would run alongside to keep it steady.
Once in the water, the crew would quickly get aboard. They would also load bags of heavy ballast (like shingle) to help balance the boat. Sailing these yawls needed a large crew, sometimes 25 men! They had to work hard, especially when sailing against the wind.
Yawls as Ship's Boats
Yawls were also used as small boats carried on larger Royal Navy ships. They first appeared in the late 1600s. Early versions were sometimes called "Norway yawls," showing their northern European roots.
These ship's yawls were usually the smallest boats on a warship. Their size varied depending on the main ship. In 1817, the Royal Navy had yawls in eight different lengths, from 16 feet (4.9 metres) to 26 feet (7.9 metres). They were often powered by oars, with some having as many as ten oars on each side. They also had two small masts with simple sails.
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