What kind of ship is that?

Sailing ships are usually classed by the number of masts, sail plan, and sometimes by hull shape and armament. There are many categories of ships, too many for an exhaustive list here, but we have covered some of the most commonly encountered types.

Bark
A sailing ship with from three to five masts, all of them square-rigged except the after mast, which is fore-and-aft rigged.

Barkentine
A sailing ship with from three to five masts of which only the foremast is square-rigged, the others being fore-and-aft rigged.

Brig
A brig is a two masted sailing ship, square-rigged on both masts. Fast and fairly maneuverable, they were used in naval and merchant applications.

Brigantine
A two-masted sailing ship, square-rigged on the foremast and having a fore-and-aft mainsail with square main topsails.

Frigate
A high-speed, medium-sized sailing war vessel of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Frigates usually had three masts. They were used for scouting, screening convoys or task groups, and for independent missions in locations remote from a fleet or home base. Think of them as the ocean-going equivalent of cavalry. Modern engine-powered frigates continue to play a similar role, but depend more upon missiles than guns.

Galleon
A large three-masted sailing ship with a square rig and usually two or more decks, used from the 15th to the 17th century (especially by Spain) as an armed merchant ship or warship.

Galley
From a Greek word meaning "oared ship", the galley is a warship propelled by rowers. They also were equipped with a simple set of sails for use when winds were favorable. Early galleys rammed their enemies or carried marine infantry to board and capture a ship. Later versions carried guns, but these (except for small swivel guns) had to point fore and aft to avoid interfering with the oars.

Ketch
A two-masted fore-and-aft-rigged sailing vessel with a mizzenmast stepped aft of a taller mainmast but forward of the rudder post.

Pilot boat
A boat to carry harbor pilots to and from large ships entering or leaving port. It could be rowed, sailed or powered depending upon the historical era, size of harbor and the types of ships serviced. Speed and the ability to handle rough weather well are desired characteristics.

Schooner
From the Dutch "schoon", to move smoothly and quickly. A fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel having at least two masts, with a foremast that is usually smaller than the other masts. Schooners were usually civilian vessels, but armed schooners were popular with pirates (who usually couldn't handle or navigate larger ships)and often were used as privateers in times of war. They first appeared in the late 16th century.

Scow schooner
A wide, flat sailing boat with gaff-rigged sails.

Sloop
(From Dutch "sloep")A single-masted fore-and-aft rigged vessel setting a mainsail and generally a single jib, or headsail (sometimes double ie: double-headsail sloop). Sloop and cutter are very similar, generally a sloop has her mast located more forward than a cutter, about a third of the distance back from the bow. The term "sloop" is also applied to a class of small warships often used for courier or patrolling purposes, and had little to do with the actual rig of the sails. Both sail and steam versions existed, the steam version being the forerunner of the corvette and the modern-day powered frigate.

Ship-of-the-line
A warship having at least two gun decks, armed powerfully enough to take a position in the line of battle. Replaced by battleships in the age of steam. Ships-of-the-line were classed by "rate", depending upon the number of guns carried.

Yawl
A two masted ship similar to the ketch, but with the mizzenmast mounted behind the rudder post.

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