Similar Rigs
Both the ketch and the yawl have two masts, with the main mast foremost; the distinction being that a ketch has the mizzen mast forward of the rudder post, whereas on a yawl, it is aft of the rudder post. Compared to a ketch, a similar size yawl's mizzen sail is much smaller than the main, because of the limitations of the mizzen sheet. So on a ketch, the principal purpose of the mizzen sail is to help propel the vessel, while on a yawl, the smaller mizzen mainly serves the purposes of trim and balance. Yawls tend to have mainsails almost as large as those of comparable sloops..
A ketch may be distinguished from a cutter or a sloop by virtue of having two masts rather than one, though a ketch with two foresails is sometimes called a "cutter-rigged ketch".
Both the ketch and the yawl differ from the two-masted schooner, whose aft mainmast is taller than the foremast. (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.
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