Sailing ships, their types and characteristics. Sailing yachts. A photo

The very first sailing ships (will be described in this article) appeared more than three thousand years ago in Egypt and represented a normal raft with a straight mast and a steering oar. A little later, more advanced models began to make the Phoenicians. For their construction, they used wood from Lebanon cedar and oak. In the ports of Phenicia there were shipyards that produced single-masted boats and more equipped warships. Around the 5th century. BC. E. The sea fleet already had ancient Greeks and Romans. However, large sailing ships appeared in Europe during the period of great geographical discoveries. It was then that the most powerful European powers began to equip naval flotillas to travel not only across the ocean, but around the world in search of new colonies. So began a stubborn struggle for domination at sea, which contributed to the active development of the shipbuilding industry.

Sailing ships in the modern world

Nowadays, when the military fleet consists of powerful ships equipped with the first word of technology, sailing models began to be used mainly for entertainment. Most of the modern sailboats are yachts. In Europe and America, where there are sports yachting clubs, sport regattas are held every year. Most often in such events take part sailing yachts.

Regatta is a water match between sailing or rowing vessels.

Traditionally, such competitions are held in America and England. Some regattas are major international competitions, as, for example. «America's Cup».

Classification of sailing vessels is determined depending on the rigging and technical characteristics. Below are the main types of sailboat species.

Classification by type of sail

• Ships with straight sails.

• Vessels with oblique sails.

Direct sail was used by the ancient Egyptians and Phoenicians. It is a trapezoidal cloth that attaches to the horizontal rhea. Ships with straight sails are good only with a favorable wind, so they quickly changed to ships with oblique sails.

The oblique sail is located on the back side of the mast, to which it is attached with its leading edge. Vessels with oblique sails are excellent both under the tail wind and under the sharp course to the wind. Skew sails, in turn, are divided into:

• Latin.

• Gaffel sails.

• Cleaver and staysail.

Classification by number of masts

• Single-mast sailing yachts.

• Two-masted yachts.

• Multi-mast yachts.

The mast is a part of sailing weapons. It is a vertical ship structure, which is usually supported by special stretch marks. Masts were made mainly from coniferous species of wood.

Masts in the modern world

On large modern vessels that do not have sailing equipment, masts lost their main function and are used for other purposes:

• To carry national attributes of your country (flag and coat of arms).

• For identification of the current state of the vessel (quarantine on board, fire on board, training alarm, etc.).

• To set different lighting warning signs.

• To install some audio alarms.

• In order to pay tribute to the state in whose waters the ship is at the moment. The national flag of this country is fixed on the mast.

• If there is a dead person on board, a national flag is lowered as a sign of mourning and tribute to his memory.

Types of masts

• Fock-mast. This is the very first mast, if you count from the bow of the ship.

• Mainmast. It is the second type of construction of this type from the bow of the ship. On two-three-mast vessels it is also the highest.

• Bizan mast. The stern mast, which on any ship is the latest from the nose.

What types of water vehicles exist?

Classification of sailboats by type of hull:

• Wooden.

• Plastic.

• Steel.

Classification of sailing ships by the number of hulls:

• Single-hull

• Double-hull (sailing catamarans)

• Three-hull (sailing trimarans).

And, finally, the classification of sailing vessels depending on the use of the keel:

• Keel yachts (such vessels use heavy keel, this allows to significantly reduce the drift of the vessel and reduce the center of gravity).

• Skateboards (on these yachts a special dock is installed, if necessary, it can be raised and the draft of the vessel reduced).

• Yachts-compromises (they use intermediate constructive solutions between dinghies and keel structures).

Variety of vessels

The names of sailing vessels should be listed.

Aak - a small single-masted vessel with a flat bottom, designed to carry small loads.

Bark is a large ship with three to five masts. The vessel is mostly equipped with straight sails, only a single braid is attached to the stern mast.

Barkentina - a sea three-five-masted sailboat. Most of the masts are equipped with oblique sails. Only the bow structure has a straight sail.

Brig is a two-masted ship with a direct sailing gear on the mainmast and a foremast and an oblique gaffle sail on the grotto.

Brigantine is a light two-mast vessel with oblique sails on the mainmast and straight sails on the foremast, this type of sailing weapon is called mixed.

Galleon is a large multi-deck marine vessel with powerful artillery armament. The galleons were meant for distant sea voyages and battles. Such sailing vessels were fast enough and maneuverable and constituted the main part of the Spanish and English fleets.

John's - a wooden two-four-masted vessel, which was used mainly in South-East Asia and was intended for river or coastal sea freight traffic.

Iol is a two-masted vessel with oblique sails and the position of the stern mast behind the rudder axis.

Caravel is a three-four-masted sea vessel with mixed sailing arms, intended for sea voyages and significant freight traffic.

Galera - the so-called almost all sailing-rowing vessels, they were used in ancient times. In addition to sailing weapons, had one or two rows of oars.

Karakka is a large three-masted vessel used for trade and military purposes. The ship could have up to three decks and possessed impressive cannon armament.

Cach is a small two-masted vessel. It differs in the arrangement of the stern mast in front of the axis of the rudder.

The frigate is a military three-mast with full sailing arms. The classic frigate was created in France in the middle of the eighteenth century and was a light maneuverable vessel with good weapons.

Flute is a good sea sailing vessel, intended for military transport purposes. Due to the fact that the length of this vessel was several times its width, the flutes could walk quite steeply to the wind, and this gave him a significant advantage over other, less maneuverable vessels.

The sloop is a military three-masted ship going under straight sails. Used as a sentinel and vehicle.

The schooner is an easy sailing vessel that has at least two masts with oblique sails. The schooners are very convenient to operate. They were mainly used for various trade traffic.

Yacht

Initially, sailing yachts were fast and light ships used to transport high-ranking people. Subsequently, the yacht began to be called any sailing-motor, motor or simply sailing vessel intended for tourist or sporting purposes.

The first yachts appeared in the eighteenth century. They were fast enough and comfortable, that's why rich people preferred this type of sea transport. Modern sailing yachts have an outboard motor, which makes it easy to maneuver in the port and sail with a low speed even during a full calm. They are divided into cruising (on their board there is a cabin), walking and racing.

Buy in store

To date, many historical sailboats do not exist anymore and remained only in the pages of adventure novels and in pictures in magazines and books. But do not get too upset. In the store you can buy models of sailing ships designed for thematic decoration. There are also special kits and manuals for assembling sailing ships with their own hands. It should be noted that collecting ship models is a very entertaining hobby, gaining momentum in Russia.

The most famous and legendary sailing vessels, photos and models of which are popular:

Bark "Endeavor" is the famous vessel of James Cook, on which he sailed to the unknown coast of Australia and New Zealand.

"Neva" and "Hope" - two sloops, who for the first time in Russian history made a circumnavigation around the world.

"Prince" - English frigate, sunk in 1854 in the Black Sea after a catastrophic storm. Popularity was gained thanks to rumors about sunken treasures that he was carrying.

"Mary Rose" - the flagship of the English King Henry of the eighth, who tragically sank in 1545.

"Great Republic" is the largest nineteenth-century clipper that was built by the famous shipbuilder Donald McKay.

"Ariel" is a British clipper who became famous for having won the famous "tea race" from China to London in 1866.

"Adventure" is the ship of one of the most famous pirates - Captain William Kidd.

Conclusion

The era of sailing ships was a truly exciting time of adventure and romance. Sailing ships participated in numerous sea battles, sailed to unknown coasts and transported priceless treasures, which are associated with a great many legends. A large number of literary works are devoted to ships of this type. On the basis of historical events and mystical stories involving sailing models, many famous adventure films have been shot.