This is the most elegant and, for small craft, the most manageable
vessel that floats. Its proportions are more agreeable to the eye than
those of any other species of craft, and its rig is in favour with
owners of yachts,--especially with those whose yachts are large. The
schooner's distinctive peculiarities are, that it carries two masts,
which usually "_rake aft_," or lean back a good deal; and its rig is
chiefly fore-and-aft, like the sloop. Of the two masts, the _after_ one
is the _main-mast_. The other is termed the _fore-mast_. The sails of
a schooner are--the _main-sail_ and the _gaff_, on the main-mast; the
_fore-sail_, _fore-top-sail_, and _fore-top-gallant-sail_ (the two last
being square sails), on the foremast. In front of the fore-mast are the
_staysail_, the _jib_, and the _flying-jib_; these last are triangular
sails. If a schooner were cut in two in the middle, cross-wise, the
front portion would be in all respects a sloop with a square top-sail;
the stern part would also be a sloop, minus the bowsprit and the
triangular sails _before_ the mast. Schooners sometimes carry a large
square-sail, which is spread when the wind is "dead aft." They are much
used in the coasting-trade; and one of their great advantages is that
they can be worked with fewer "hands" than sloops of the same size.