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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Schooner rigging:

A schooner (pronounced /ˈskuːnər/) is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being shorter or the same height as the rear masts. Schooners were first used by the Dutch in the 16th or 17th century, and further developed in North America from the early 18th century.



According to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, the first vessel called a schooner was built by builder Andrew Robinson and launched in 1713 from Gloucester, Massachusetts. Legend has it that the name was the result of a spectator exclaiming "Oh how she scoons", scoon being a Scots word meaning to skip or skim over the water. Robinson replied, "A schooner let her be."[1] According to Walter William Skeat, the term schooner comes from scoon, while the sch spelling comes from the later adoption of the Dutch and German spellings ("Schoner").

Other sources state the etymology as unknown[2] and uncertain[3].


Rig of topsail schooner Shenandoah without sails


Modern schooners may be Marconi, or Bermuda, rigged. In Bermuda, such schooners had appeared by the early 19th century, and were known as 'Ballyhoo schooners'. Some Bermudian schooners of this period are historically referred to as Bermuda sloops[citation needed], despite having a schooner rig. Some schooner yachts are Bermuda rigged on the mainmast and gaff rigged on the foremast.[citation needed]

The only seven-masted schooner ever built, Thomas W. Lawson



Schooners were more widely used in the United States than in any other country.[citation needed] Two masted schooners were and are most common. They were popular in trades that required speed and windward ability, such as slaving, privateering, blockade running and offshore fishing. They also came to be favoured as pilot vessels, both in the United States and in Northern Europe. In the Chesapeake Bay area several distinctive schooner types evolved, including the Baltimore clipper and the pungy.

1793 newspaper ad for a packet schooner, Chestertown, MD


Schooner Governor Ames preparing for launch, Waldoboro, Maine

Essex, Massachusetts was the most significant shipbuilding center for schooners.[citation needed]. By the 1850s, over 50 vessels a year were being launched from 15 shipyards and Essex became recognized worldwide as North America’s center for fishing schooner construction. In total, Essex launched over 4,000 schooners, most headed for the Gloucester, Massachusetts fishing industry.[4]



Schooners were used in North American fishing, especially the Grand Banks' fishery. Some Banks fishing schooners such as Bluenose also became famous racers.

Three of the most famous racing yachts, America and Atlantic, were rigged as schooners. They were about 152 feet in length.

Famous schooners


See also


  1. ^ Babson, John. History of the Town of Gloucester, Cape Ann, including the town of Rockport. 1860. p. 251–252.
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster: schooner
  3. ^ schooner
  4. ^ has information about shipbuilding in Essex

External links


1911 encyclopedia

Up to date as of January 14, 2010

From LoveToKnow 1911

SCHOONER, a vessel rigged with fore and aft sails, properly with two masts, but now often with three, four and sometimes more masts; they are much used in the coasting trade, and require a smaller crew in proportion to their size than squarerigged vessels (see Rigging and Ship). According to the story, which is probably true, the name arose from a chance spectator's exclamation "there she scoons," i.e. glides, slips free, at the launch of the first vessel of this type at Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1713, her builder being one Andrew Robinson. The spelling "schooner" is due to a supposed derivation from the Dutch schooner, but that and the other European equivalents, Ger. Schoner, Dan. skonnert, Span. and Portuguese escuna, &c., are all from English. "To scoon," according to Skeat, is a Scottish (Clydesdale) dialect word, meaning to skip over water like a flat stone, and is ultimately connected with the root, implying quick motion, seen in shoot, scud, &c. In American colloquial usage "schooner" is applied to the covered prairie-wagons used by the emigrants moving westward before the construction of railways, and to a tall, narrow, lager-beer glass.

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Up to date as of January 15, 2010
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Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

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schooner (plural schooners)

  1. (nautical) A sailing ship with two or more masts, all with fore-and-aft sails; if two masted, having a foremast and a main mast. There are variants, such as additional square sails on the fore topmast. cf. ketch and yawl which have a main and a mizzen mast.
  2. (Australian) A glass of beer. Size varies by state, but it is typically one of the larger measures.



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