Sailing boats by type

Sailing boats (yachts) are the perfect choice for true sea lovers and sailing enthusiasts. As a popular recreation, sailing can be divided into day sailing, cruising and racing. You can enjoy a tranquil daily excursion, a long cruise to your preferred destination or join a challenging competition, everything from simple to thrilling vacations. Sailing yachts require experience and great competence in navigation. Most of these yachts are available for bareboat charter, though larger ones require a professional skipper to operate the yacht. Sailing yachts can be classified by hull type (mono hull or multi hull), by sail configuration (sloop, ketch, schooner, catboat) and by purpose (cruising, racing, sport).

Sloop

Sloop is a sailing boat with a single mast and fore-and-aft rig. A sloop has two sails, a mainsail and a foresail (jib, genoa or spinnaker), convenient for sailing into the wind. The stability of a sloop depends on a beam’s width. Sloop boats for charter usually have roll mainsail and roll genoa. There are two types of mainsail; the first one rolls up inside the mast and the other one on top of the boom.

Ketch

This is a two-masted vessel with a mizzenmast aft of a taller main mast, still stepped forward of the rudder. Jib sails may be used in front of the main mast.

Schooner

Schooner is a fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel, carrying at least two masts. These vessels are very fast and need a small crew. The mainmast, with the mainsail and the gaff, is taller than the foremast, with foresail, foretopsail, and foretop-gallant sail.

Catboat

Catboat is a single-masted sailing vessel with a wide beam. Unlike the sloop, the catboat does not have a headsail. The mast is placed well forward.

Cruiser

This type provides comfort and relaxed vacations. Cruisers usually have two or more cabins placed below decks to accommodate guests on board. These sailing vessels are perfect for family cruising for they offer comfort and open cockpit seating.

Racer

Racer provides great maneuverability. These boats have basic accommodation, with luxury and weight being replaced by speed and performance. One design sailboats are of a special interest. These are the high performance racers, identical in construction.

Cutter

Cutter has one mast and fore-and-aft rig, with two or more headsails. The mast is stepped further aft than in a sloop, to allow for headsails to be used. This type of sailing vessel is narrower and deeper than a sloop, with a sharply shaped hull and sails larger in proportion. The stability of a cutter is affected by a deep keel.

Cruising sailboats

Cruising sailyachts have more width, but performance climbs as they tend to be much longer starting Length Over All of at least 25 feet (six metres) re-balancing the dynamic ratio between length of waterline (aiding speed) and beam width (adding cargo and people space).