Editing Schooner (section)

== History ==

The exact origins of schooner rigged vessels are obscure, but by early 17th century they appear in paintings by Dutch marine artists. The earliest known illustration of a schooner depicts a yacht owned by the mayors (Dutch: burgemeesters) of Amsterdam, drawn by the Dutch artist Rool and dated 1600. Later examples show schooners in Amsterdam in 1638 and [[New Amsterdam]] in 1627. Paintings by [[Willem van de Velde the Younger|Van de Velde]] (1633–1707) and an engraving by [[Jan Kip]] of the Thames at Lambeth, dated 1697, suggest that schooner rig was common in England and [[Holland]] by the end of the 17th century. The ''Royal Transport'' was an example of a large British-built schooner, launched in 1695 at Chatham.<ref name="Leather 1970">{{cite book |last1=Leather |first1=John |title=Gaff Rig |date=1970 |publisher=Adlard Coles Limited |location=London |isbn=0-229-97489-9}}</ref>{{rp|233}}<ref name="MacGregor 1982">{{cite book |last1=MacGregor |first1=David R. |title=Schooners in Four Centuries |date=1982 |publisher=Argus Books Ltd. |location=Hemel Hempstead |isbn=0-85242-774-3}}</ref>{{rp|13}}<ref name=Marquardt>{{cite book |last1=Marquardt |first1=Karl Heinz |title=The global schooner: origins, development, design and construction 1695–1845 |date=2013 |publisher=Conway Maritime |isbn=9780851779300 |pages=7–13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SxRUAAAAMAAJ |access-date=4 June 2019}}</ref>

The schooner rig was used in vessels with a wide range of purposes. On a fast hull, good ability to windward was useful for privateers, blockade runners, slave ships, smaller naval craft and opium clippers. Packet boats (built for the fast conveyance of passengers and goods) were often schooners. Fruit schooners were noted for their quick passages,  taking their perishable cargoes on routes such as the Azores to Britain. Some [[pilot boat]]s adopted the rig.

The fishing vessels that worked the [[Grand Banks of Newfoundland]] were schooners, and held in high regard as an outstanding development of the type. This part of North American eastern seaboard is where the term "schooner" first began to be used as a classification for a particular type of vessel. In merchant use, the ease of handling in confined waters and smaller crew requirements made schooners a common rig, especially in the 19th century. Some schooners worked on deep sea routes. In British home waters, schooners usually had cargo-carrying hulls that were designed to take the ground in drying harbours (or, even, to unload dried out on an open beach). The last of these once-common craft had ceased trading by the middle of the 20th century. Some very large schooners with five or more masts were built in the United States from circa 1880–1920. They mostly carried bulk cargoes such as coal and timber. In yachting, schooners predominated in the early years of the [[America's Cup]]. In more recent times, schooners have been used as sail training ships.

The type was further developed in [[British North America]] starting around 1713.<ref name=britannica>{{cite web |last1=Wallenfeldt |first1=Jeff |title=Schooner |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/schooner |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=4 June 2019}}</ref> In the 1700s and 1800s in what is now [[New England]] and [[Atlantic Canada]] schooners became popular for coastal trade, requiring a smaller crew for their size compared to then traditional ocean crossing [[square rig]] ships,<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Schooner |short=x}}</ref> and being fast and versatile.<ref name="asa">{{cite web |title=What's in a Rig – The Schooner |url=https://asa.com/news/2015/12/09/whats-in-a-rig-the-schooner/ |website=American Sailing Association |date=9 December 2015 |access-date=4 June 2019}}</ref> Three-masted schooners were introduced around 1800.<ref name="Marquardt" />

Schooners were popular on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1800s and early 1900s. By 1910, 45 five-masted and 10 six-masted schooners had been built in [[Bath, Maine]] and in towns on [[Penobscot Bay]], including the ''[[Wyoming (schooner)|Wyoming]]'' which is considered the largest wooden ship ever built.<ref name="Guinness">{{cite web |title=Largest wooden sailing ship ever |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/725436-largest-wooden-sailing-ship-ever |website=Guinness World Records |access-date=1 September 2024}}</ref> The [[Thomas W. Lawson (ship)|''Thomas W. Lawson'']] was the only seven-masted schooner built.