Ketch (It follows that a schooner does not have a mizzen mast.) If a vessel has two masts of approximately the same height, the rig with the larger sail forward is called a ketch, while the rig with the larger sail aft is a schooner. The American two-masted schooner is rare in Europe, where the ketch rig is preferred. In the year 1775, various ketches were utilized as warships by the Sultanate of Mysore during the rule of Hyder Ali. During the 17th and 18th centuries, ketches were commonly used as small warships, until superseded in this role by brigs during
Ketch mizzen. To assist going to windward, a ketch will usually carry at least one foresail such as a jib or genoa. Although both the single-masted Bermuda sloop and cutter have simpler rigging and are more efficient, the sails on a ketch are smaller and more easily handled, and its mainmast is shorter. A modern ketch's sails may be any type of fore-and-aft sail, in any combination, and most are Bermuda rigged. The modern ketch is popular in northern Europe and among long distance cruisers. Both the ketch and the yawl rig have proved generally to be more suitable for motorsailers