4 Most Common Sailboat Rigs

Sloop, Cutter, Ketch, and Yawl are the 4 most common types of sailboats. This video discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each.

NOTE: There is an error at 6:44, The mizzen is behind the rudder post on a Yawl.

[mikepowell]

Nice summary (and I note The Hambbo’s comment). It’s interesting that pre-steam and diesel, small vessels which needed speed.and good sea-keeping - customs patrol vessels, pilot boats etc. - tended to cutter rig giving more sail options. Also, a yawl is differentiated by having the small, steering sail mast a aft the rudder post - behind not ahead of it.

[CajunWolffe]

On a Yawl, the mizzen is a steering sail, and as mentioned is there to help with a weather helm, and will keep you into the wind at anchor. As the fishermen would haul in the nets, the mizzen sail keeps the bow to the wind. To come about, just deploy a headsail and let her come around to port or starboard by hauling the mizzen boom in the opposite direction. It's also great to hold her into the wind while deploying the main and foresails. I've sailed a friend's Hinckley 35 yawl, sweet boat, it's very similar to the legendary Hinckley 35 Pilot, one of the finest lady's to sail the seven seas.

[coastalguy]

I have sailed all 4 rigs and like what you said about all except the Yawl. I see several people already caught the error about the mast being behind the rudder but having sailed a 76 foot Morgan Yawl in several oceans I can tell you it's not a useless sail. In a following wind it works to steer the boat. Under power heading directly into the wind the mizzen really reduces the roll and stabilizes the boat. In a reach with heavy winds the Mizzen and Stay are a great choice. It's also a perfect crane to list the tender out of the water. So don't dismiss it as useless.

[silverrideruralimz]

Well done video. Even i have a low level of English I've understood the difference between types of boats.

[burtvincent]

I gave up flying and took up sailing after retirement due to expense. I found the difference is when flying the terror lasts for seconds or minutes, when sailing it can last hours or days.😊 Welcome aboard.

[urbanhooligan]

on a yawl you can use the mizzen sail as a rudder if the rudder breaks, which happens more than a lot of people think, and that is a total disaster in the high seas!

[Nozzall]

You should look at a Solent set up. It is a compromise between a Sloop and a Cutter. Like a cutter it has two head sails but unlike the Cutter which is set up with space to jib your Genoa the second head sail is right up just behind the Genoa with only a few inches between them and runs to the top of the mast. This has the advantage of less expensive rigging because unlike the Cutter you don't need to add additional rigging to shore up the mast at the anchor point for the second head sail. When running with the wind you open the Genoa up Port or Starboard and deploy your Jib on the opposite side. This also eliminates the need for a Spinnaker as well as the Genoa and Jib essentially act like a Spinnaker when deployed in this configuration. When you are heading into the wind you roll the Genoa and use the Jib the way you would on a Sloop. The disadvantage is that if you use smaller sails you will lose more speed into the wind than you will with a cutter or a sloop. That might be a problem if you are racing but if you are simply cruising I don't see it as a big disadvantage.

[ben_]

What a great place for all of us, crouch cruisers, to hangout. Day dreaming of sailing one day.

BTW, nice videos. Liked and subscribed.

[doncummings]

Hey great idea, I am at the same stage you are....I think the thrill is in sailing, rather than motoring

[agentnuget]

I love the name. I'm a fellow couch cruiser who has been saving and looking for a boat for the past two years or so.. That said, I found one i'm looking at that is within my price range and is just a steal!

[ravengray]

Good brief overview, would have liked to see gaff rigs in there. Probably more common than a yawl. Also there is more to that decision. I like ketch boats because they generally have a center cockpit and often an aft cabin.

[youyouulf]

Correction:
A yawl has the mizzen mast AFT of the rudder post. The drawing you show for the yawl is still a ketch.

[jonnorousseau]

Cannot go wrong with a masthead sloop with 3 reef main, furling yankee/high footed 120% headsail, removable inner stay with hank on staysails/storm jib, and obviously running backstays, for an all round versatile and adaptable rig, with oversized shrouds for extra security, and a wind vane, these observations are based on an upper 30's low 40's blue water cruising yacht (modified full keel to long keel displacement boats) or alternatively a Solent rig as favoured by Island Packet

[dragonblee]

Hey, loved the title Couch Criuser, right up my ally as I'm a eighty year old dreamer but can talk the talk, well you never know " one day " ha ha

[Joburgbass]

I've heard discussions about yawl rigs that the small mizzen and rear sail are in fact very useful exactly for that stabilising ability. On every trip you will need to raise and lower sails at the beginning and the end, and having a boat that is stable makes that job very easy. So personally I wouldn't dis the yawl to quickly.
I'm also a wannabe sailor, but I want to build a GIS dinghy to learn building and sailing and after that a Francois Vivier Ebihen 15'.
Thanks for the vlog.

[argonwheatbelly]

A yawl's mizzen is used to tune out lee helm. A ketch's mizzen actually assists in driving the boat, but I'd rather a gaff-main schooner at that point, and set more forward. Beyond that, get a crew and sail a brig, or go all the way, and sail a barque or a full-rigged.

[deshellmon]

I have sailed many different rigs over 40 years, the rig I prefer most is the ketch rig for the simple reason that it is so versitle. The only problem with the ketch rig is that the production costs are significantly more so one does not see them like one used to. Best modern ketch rigged vessel, the Amel Super Maramu

[urknuff]

On a Yawl the rear mast stands out of the waterline. At classic yachts the hull was much longer as the waterline and the small sail area in the rear of the boat helped to trim the boat, so ruder pressure would be reduced, and the boat goes a bit faster.

[drphosferrous]

When i can't be sailing, i sit around researching too. I did this before and after learning to sail. On YouTube, there's some good pointers on things like sail trimming and boom preventers on big bluewater yachts. Not much for beginners though. Please make a video about reading wind, leaving and entering dock, etc. in a tiny simple boat with a single mainsail with center of effort directly over a straight keel. Just one sheet and a tiller. That's how people should learn.

[bencoss]

Considering I'm a total Western novice you could say 101 for dummies I think you done a hell of a job! You took the mystery out of everything I need to know on a sale plan and what's the difference between a sloop a yawl a katch etc, thank you very much don't change the damn thing you're informative and simple to understand please keep going just the way you are