Sail and Ricc.ing Plan, Reconstructed From Spar Dimensions and Prints of contemporary sloops, of the 

 sloop Mediator, built on the Chesapeake, 1741-42 (see p. 17). 



Collection of Draughts in The National Maritime 

 Museum, at Greenwich, England. It is obvious, then, 

 that this model for fast-sailing hulls was known in 

 the colonies and in England long before the American 

 Revolution. The plan of the schooners built for the 

 Royal Navy at New York beibre the Revolution (see 

 p. 163) also shows a fast-sailing hull form. 



Other evidence points to the same conclusion. 

 Contracts for building merchant vessels in the colonies 

 during the 18th century have survived and these give 

 very complete descriptions of the vessel in many cases. 

 In addition, just before the Re\olution, schooners and 

 ships were purchased into the Royal Navy in America 

 and a few plans of these survive. During the Revo- 

 lution a number of American-built privateers and 

 American merchant ships were captured; some of 

 these were taken into the Royal Navy and plans, which 

 have also survived, were made. There are, in addi- 

 tion, plans of American Revolutionary Navy siiips 

 that were captured by the British. All these plans 

 and building contracts, many of which were for ships 

 built before French intervention in the Revolution, 

 show clearly that there were two basic classes of 

 American vessels: one represented by the usual mer- 

 chant vessel, similar in burdensome hull-form, size, 

 and appearance to its British counterpart; the second 



is represented by the privateer, a rather sharp vessel 

 designed to sail fast. 



The development of fast-sailing ships in America 

 during the 18th century did not occur in a single loca- 

 tion, but the Chesapeake region probably was the one 

 most active in the building of swift vessels due to its 

 nearness to and interest in the West Indies. In this 

 area two classes of vessels appeared. One was the 

 small pilot-boat schooner having a small-boat hull 

 form with a moderate rise in the floor, rather marked 

 bilges, and flaring topsides; these boats drew markedly 

 more water aft than forward, and the stem profile was 

 well rounded and unadorned by a knee or by mould- 

 ings and carvings; they were often flush decked and 

 were low sided; and they had no bulwarks but rather 

 a mere plank-on-edge, or log rail. Their two masts 

 were long and raking, and unsupported by standing 

 rigging, as was a short bowsprit. They set a large jib, 

 a loosefooted and overlapping gaff-foresail, a boomed 

 gaff-mainsail, and a large main-topmast staysail be- 

 tween the masts. Their accommodations were very 

 limited and quite primitive, as they did not cruise far. 

 The type was very numerous at the Virginia Capes 

 and became known in the late 18th century as the 

 "Virginia pilot boat"; the model and rig were gradu- 



18 



