2 



CHAPTER 



Selecting the Class Boat Best for You 



Although sailing is one of the most ancient of man's 

 developed skills, and for centuries saw few basic changes in its essentials, 

 it has not remained static. In modem times many changes and advances 

 in materials and technique have taken place and new concepts have been 

 brought to the field. But rig and hull shape still play a large part in the 

 performance characteristics of any sailboat. 



BASIC SAILBOAT RIGS 



To most landlubbers, any craft with sails is "a sailboat." Such terms 

 as "sloop" or "ketch" are not understood. But, since sailboats now abound 

 to the point where you often can scarcely see the water for the sails, it's 

 time that we learned to be more discriminating in our choice of terms. 

 The "rig," or sail plan of a boat, usually determines its classification. Let's 

 consider the rigs in order of simplicity. 



Cathoat. Has a single mast, forward in the boat, and carries a single 

 sail called the "mainsail" (mains'l). This type rig is the simplest and 

 easiest with which to learn. However, this rig won't sail very closely into 

 the wind and coming about, and going from one tack to the other is 

 sometimes difficult. Most of the familiar small sailing dinghies are cat- 

 rigged. 



Sloop. Has a single mast, and in addition to the mainsail carries one or 

 more jibs forward of the mast. The sloop gives better control than the 

 catboat because the sail area is broken up into two or more sails, which 

 makes handling easier. If properly designed, this is the fastest of the rigs. 

 In addition to the working headsails, lightsails— such as a Genoa jib and a 

 spinnaker— can be set when racing. The hull of a sloop is leaner than that 



19 



