by Alice Foucher | Apr 22, 2026 | Boat accessories & deck equipment, Equipment and hardware, Sailing boats
A sailing vessel, a mast, a sail, a line, a yard… On board a ship, the yard is a spar belonging to the wider family of rigging components, which includes wires, ropes, head fittings, blocks and sails. On a sailing yacht or ship, a yard is an elongated structural...
by Alice Foucher | Apr 22, 2026 | Monohulls, Sailing boats
Definition of a ketch The term ketch is derived from the English word “catch”, referring to fishing catches. Historically, a ketch was a two-masted fishing vessel or cargo ship, often square-rigged. In modern sailing, a ketch is generally defined as a sailing...
by Alice Foucher | Apr 22, 2026 | Boat accessories & deck equipment, Equipment and hardware, Sailing boats
For effective sailing, the mainsail must be correctly trimmed. This is the fundamental condition for achieving optimal performance in terms of balance and power, regardless of sea state, wind strength and direction, course, or point of sail. On a mainsail, the greater...
by Alice Foucher | Apr 22, 2026 | Monohulls, Sailing boats
Origin and terminology This rig type was developed in the 16th century by Dutch sailors under the name “Schoener”, which later gave rise to the English term schooner. The French term goélette likely derives from goéland (seagull) and appeared around 1740. Among the...
by Alice Foucher | Apr 8, 2026 | Sailing boats
“Shroud tuning: the process of adjusting or consolidating mast settings using the shrouds.” While the definition appears straightforward, its practical application is considerably more complex. A brief overview of mast tuning A yacht’s behaviour under sail,...
by Alice Foucher | Apr 8, 2026 | Equipment and hardware, Sailing boats
Naval architecture: the art of structures that navigate Naval architecture may be defined as the discipline concerned with the design of structures intended to operate on and beneath the water. The naval architect is therefore at the origin of all vessel design—from...
