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The sail plans of sailing vessels were many and varied. Beside differences in original design, a ship might undergo a number of changes depending upon the whims of her owner, captain, or builder, the trade she was used in, or local traditions. These changes were introduced to improve sailing qualities and to provide a rig that could be handled by a smaller crew, thus paying higher returns to shareholders.

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Table 1: Yarmouth Sloops and Schooners.
1979

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Table 2: Yarmouth Brigantines and Brigs.
1979

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Table 3: Yarmouth Barques, Ships, Barquentines.
1979

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From records compiled by J. Murray Lawson, long-time editor and owner of "The Yarmouth Herald" and published in:
"The Record of the Shipping of Yarmouth, N.S." (1876),
"Appendix to the Record of Shipping of Yarmouth, N.S." (1884), and
"Yarmouth Reminiscences" (1902).
Source: Clement W. Crowell, "Novascotiaman", published by the Nova Scotia Museum, Halifax, 1979.

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Fore and Aft Rigs
1985
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
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THE FORE AND AFT RIG

   The fore and aft rig, or schooner rig, required only a small crew, and was generally used in the coastal and fishing trades. Ships with this rig could point higher into the wind and were usually more manoeuvrable when working in the changing winds along the coast. The rig was not limited to coastal schooners, and big fore and afters could be seen plying across the Western Ocean bound for European ports, the West Indies, or South America. This rig could have from two to seven masts - two being used mainly for fishing vessels and the larger number for trading vessels. Three or four masts were the most common; there were ten six-masters built and only one vessel with seven masts (the "Thomas W. Lawson").

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Square rig silhouettes
1985

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THE SQUARE RIG

   The square rig was normally an offshore rig used by vessels making long ocean passages and taking advantage of the prevailing wind and current patterns of the globe. These ships varied in size from the small handy brigantines and brigs of a couple of hundred tons to the great full rigged ships and barques (barks) of over two thousand tons. The square rig was also seen in the coastal trade, where brigs plied their trade up and down the eastern seaboard.

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Sloop in a painting of the 'Bertha Gray'
1890
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
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Fore and aft rig:

Sloop: a single masted vessel with fore and aft rig

   This close-up of the Henry Loos painting of the brigantine "Bertha Gray" shows a sloop rigged pilot cutter off the Belgian coast approaching the "Bertha Gray" in order to put an Antwerp pilot aboard so that he can safely take the vessel into port.

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Schooner approaching the ship 'Lennie'.
1880
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
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Schooner: a two masted vessel with fore and aft sails on both masts

   This schooner, as indicated by the number '3' on her sails, is "The Duke", one of the Liverpool, England, pilot schooners, which carried pilots out to incoming vessels in order so that they could be safely navigated through the shifting tidal channels into the River Mersey. The white over red flag indicates that a pilot is on board. Similar vessels also took off the pilots after they had brought the larger vessels safely out of the port. This is a close-up view of the watercolour of the ship "Lennie" painted by E.L. Greaves of Liverpool, England.

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Schooner 'Bluenose'
1925
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
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