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schooner

ship

Alternate titles: fore-and-after

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Last Updated: Mar 17, 2023 • Article History

schooner

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sailing craft

schooner, a sailing ship rigged with fore-and-aft sails on its two or more masts. To the foremast there may also be rigged one or more square topsails or, more commonly, one or more jib sails or Bermuda sails (triangular sails extending forward to the bowsprit or jibboom). Though it probably was based on a Dutch design of the 17th century, the first genuine schooner was developed in the British North American colonies, probably at Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1713, by a shipbuilder named Andrew Robinson.

Although ships with square-rigged sails are excellent for long voyages before trade winds, they are poor for coastal sailing, where all varieties of winds must be dealt with. Fore-and-afters, or schooners, handle better in coastal winds, have shallower drafts for shallow waters, and require a smaller crew in proportion to their size. By the end of the 18th century the schooner had become the most important North American ship, used for the coastal trade and for fishing, as on the Grand Banks, off Newfoundland; and soon after 1800 the schooner caught the attention of European shipwrights, who built versions of their own. The fore-and-after became popular all over the world. In the United States, where speed became a premium in the China trade and the California gold trade in the mid-19th century, the schooner design was married to that of the old full-rigged, three-masted merchantman, resulting in the famous clipper ships.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Jeff Wallenfeldt.