| With the wide array of cruising sailboats today, many | | | | mizzen mast stepped aft of the main mast but ahead |
| "rigs" are represented. Here's a quick rundown of the | | | | of the rudder post. Ketches and Yawls are not as |
| most popular types. | | | | popular on newer boats but there are still many around |
| Sloop - By far the most popular for the rig for most | | | | and many people even swear by them as blue water |
| modern cruising sailboats is the sloop rig. It's simple, | | | | boats. |
| efficient and provides speed with minimal tweaking. Its | | | | Yawl - Many people confuse the Yawl and Ketch |
| represented by one mast, a mainsail and one headsail. | | | | designs. The way to tell the difference is the Yawl has |
| There are a couple of variations one being the | | | | its mizzen mast aft of the rudder post where the |
| Bermudan Sloop design which can be a mast head or | | | | Ketch's mizzen is ahead of the rudder post. |
| fractional rig. The masthead design has a stay from | | | | Schooner - Most of the sailing ships of old are of |
| the masthead and carries a full headsail. The fractional | | | | schooner design. The romantic movies of great battles |
| design has a smaller headsail with a stay positioned | | | | of British and Spanish navies and pirate battles |
| some distance down the mast. | | | | featured Schooners. The are still around today mostly |
| Cutter - Cutter rigs are much like the sloop but have | | | | for nostalgic and historic reasons. |
| two headsails. They are popular among long distance | | | | Cat Rig - The Cat rig has a mast stepped forward |
| sailors for their ease of handling because both are | | | | and traditionally has only one sail. But some larger |
| smaller in size than the sloop headsails. Both headsails | | | | ketch and schooner rigs also have a variation of the |
| are fitted on their own stay and are flexible in size of | | | | cat rig. |
| each. | | | | These designs aren't the only ones out there, they |
| Ketch - The Ketch rig is a two masted design with a | | | | account for the majority of the boats sailing today. |