Sail plan the helm and capable of driving the boat. The ketch is a classic small cargo boat. A fore-and-aft rig having at least two masts, with a foremast that is usually smaller than the other masts. Schooners have traditionally been gaff-rigged and in small craft are generally two-masted, however many have been built with marconi rigs (and even junk rigs) rather than gaffs and in the golden age of sail, vessels were built with as many as seven masts. One of the easiest types to sail, but performs poorly to windward without gaff topsails. The extra sails and ease of the
Irene (ketch) Traders to promote the transport of goods by sailing ships and to take goods including beer, olive oil, cocoa and coffee over the Atlantic. Irene (ketch) Irene is a 100-foot ketch built in Bridgwater in 1907, the last ship built in the docks and the only ketch built in the West Country still sailing. It was built by FJ Carver and Son and launched in May 1907. The Blake Museum in Bridgwater opened an exhibit about the ship in 2010. She was first owned by Symons of Bridgwater and named after Irene Symons. For 53 years the ship was a