What is the difference between sloops, cutters, schooners, and ketches?

Question

and if im missing any other sailboats,

i know what the difference but i want to know exactly and where you would use them even if you dont know exactly please answer, i dont think many people will

Answer 1

A sloop is a single masted sailboat where the mast is normally within the first third of the vessel.  A cutter is the same as a sloop with two differences.  One is the mast is moved aft, normally no more than another 10% and there is another forestay added to raise another sail (called the staysail) on.  Oddly enough most of the Cape Dory 28s that were manufactured as cutters were turned into sloops by removing the inner forestay.  The mast remained in the original position however. Just as the sloop and the cutter are related so are the Ketch and the yawl.  The ketch and the yawl are both double masted with the main mast (the one towards the bow) being higher and the mizzen mast (the one at the stern) being shorter.  They are differentiated by the position of the mizzen mast.  If the mizzen mast is aft (behind) the rudder post she is said to be a yawl. If the mast is ahead of the rudderpost she is said to be a ketch.  Of little mention usually the ketch's mizzen mast is approximately 75% of the height of the main mast.  In the yawl the mizzen mast is anywhere between 45% to 65% of the main masts height.  A schooner is a different animal altogether.  Her main mast is shorter than the mizzen mast and she carries an inner foresail like the cutter.  She also carries her jib or genoa (medium and large headsails) further forward normally to a bowsprit.(Pointy wood or aluminum sticking out the bow of the boat)  There are actually many more designs; Goelette, Dhow, Lugger bark, barkintine, etc ad infinitum or ad naseaum, your choice.  As for uses they all do the same thing but they do seem to have some specialities.  The sloop is easy to sail, points well to windward and goes fast.  It is a good boat for racing or cruising with a small crew.  The cutter doesn't point as well to weather but is easier to manage single or double handed.  Typically a cutter is also full keeled so they track great but have a slower top speed.  Ketches and yawls are great for long distance heavy weather sailing.  The ability to carry differing "power levels" of sail make them easier to work with offshore.  Schooners have been raced (1800's to early 1900's) and have been used as fishing and lobstering boats (even into the mid 20th century.  Some of the most notable schooners made their living as cargo vessels before the steam engine was even a glimpse in Watt's eye.  I apologize for being long-winded but I could actually go on forever about this subject.  I hope this answers your question completely.

Answer 2

Look them up on the net> There quite lengthy>

Answer 3

Sloop Rig - single mast with head sail and mainsail

Cutter Rig - Not a type of boat per se but a rig adapted to a single or multi-masted boats, most often seen as two head sails but may be more.

Schooner - a two or more masted boat with the foremast being shorter than the others.

Ketch - two masted boat with the mizzen mast (shorter aft mast) located in front of the rudder post.

Yawl- similar to ketch but with the mizzen located aft of the rudder post.

There's a bunch of other differences but the type of boat is primarily identified by the sail rig and plan.

Sloop rigged boats work well in lighter air and can point to weather quite well.  You don't have as many sail options as on a split rig when it come to compensating for weather and helm balance. Their trade off is that they are quite easy to operate.

"Split Rigs" (multi-masted)  spread the sail plan out as opposed to up.  This helps the boat stand up better in heavier air.  There are also a number of options available when it comes to which sails you want to fly together in order to compensate for heavy weather and helm balance.

Answer 4

I DISAGREE WITH ONE OF THE POST HERE THERE ARE MANY KETCHES WITH THE MAST AFT OF THE HELM EXAMPLE MOST CENTER COCKPIT KETCHES

Answer 5

I mostly agree with James and give him a thumbs up. I would add that a Cutter can be rigged of a sprit.  I would change the referances for Ketch and Yawl with regards to mast location(*mizzen) to be either aft or forward of the HELM as opposed to the rudder post.

Answer 6

A sloop rig has 1 mast, with a jib and mainsail.

A cutter is a sloop with 2 foresails(jib, staysail)  and a mainsail.

A ketch has 2 masts. It has a foresail,main and missen.  It could have a staysail,  if it is a cutter ketch.

A yawl has 2 masts, one behind the rudder post. The jigger on the 2nd mast is a control sail, not normally used for upwind power.

A schooner has 2 masts, the 2nd mast is taller. It may also have additional masts, up to 7. Normal configuration consists of jib, staysail, foresail and main. You can add topsail, and/or yankee jib and  fisherman sail.

Others include a dhow, junk, and catamaran and trimaran.

Larger includes ships, barks, barkentine, brig,brigantine, and sloop of war.