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
Ketch Sir Francis Chichester's earlier "Gypsy Moth" ketches had five staysails (each of almost equal size), none of which were boomed. If a ketch has no jibs, it is called a "cat ketch" or a "periauger". On older, larger ketches the main mast may in addition carry one or more square rigged topsails. The square-rigged ketch was largely supplanted by the brig, which differs from the ketch by having a forward mast smaller (or occasionally similar in size) than the after mast, and by the hoy, which was fore-and-aft rigged. Other similar craft include the snow and the pink. Both the