Ketch

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
The name ketch is derived from catch.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2">2</a> The ketch's main mast is usually stepped further forward than the position found on a <a href="/facts/Sloop/TyvqvLLU">sloop</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a>
The <a href="/facts/Sail_plan/kasjrq2h">sail plan</a> of a ketch is similar to that of a <a href="/facts/Yawl/UgJsvNds">yawl</a>, on which the mizzen mast is smaller and set further back. There are versions of the ketch rig that only have a mainsail and a mizzen, in which case they are referred to as cat ketch. More commonly ketches have headsails (Jibs). When a ketch is rigged so that it can fly multiple jibs at the same time, the rig is sometimes referred to as a multi-headsail ketch. While sometimes seen in print, it is incorrect to refer to this rig by the modern malaprop of a cutter ketch.
In <a href="/facts/New_England/ufw2BmSl">New England</a> in the 1600s, the ketch was a small coastal working watercraft. In the 1700s, it disappeared from contemporary records, apparently replaced by the <a href="/facts/Schooner/MESqdu0m">schooner</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a> The ketch rig remained popular in America throughout the 19th and early 20th century working watercraft, with well-known examples being the Chesapeake Bay bugeyes, New Haven sharpies, and the Kingston Lobster boats. In Europe, during this same period many of the canoe yawls were technically ketches since their mizzen masts were located forward of the rudder posts. The cat ketch rig experienced a brief period of renewed interest in the 1970s and 1980s as carbon fiber spars made free-standing mast versions of this rig possible for cruising boats under 40 feet.
<a href="/facts/Staysails/x5qBCs0z">Staysails</a> can also be hoisted between the top of the mizzen mast and base of the mainmast to help downwind performance.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Definition of KETCH". merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 17 May 2019. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ketch" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ketch</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"the definition of ketch". dictionary.com. Retrieved 17 May 2019. <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ketch" target="_blank">https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ketch</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">Jordan, Richard (13 January 2011). "Sailboat Rig Types: Sloop, Cutter, Ketch, Yawl, Schooner, Cat". Jordan Yacht Brokerage. Retrieved 17 May 2019. <a href="http://www.jordanyachts.com/3745" target="_blank">http://www.jordanyachts.com/3745</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"Ship Model, Ketch". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 17 May 2019. <a href="https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_842431" target="_blank">https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_842431</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Nicholson, Darrell (5 July 2018). "A One-sided Defense of the Cruising Ketch - Inside Practical Sailor Blog Article". Practical Sailor. Retrieved 13 June 2019. <a href="https://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/An-One-sided-Defense-of-the-Cruising-Ketch-11890-1.html" target="_blank">https://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/An-One-sided-Defense-of-the-Cruising-Ketch-11890-1.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Ketch open-in-new

Ketch