ssel is similar, in nearly all respects, to the sloop;
the only difference being that it is better and more elegantly built.
Gentlemen's pleasure yachts are frequently cutters; but yachts may be of
any form or rig--that is, they may belong to any _class_ of vessels
without changing their name of _yacht_. Cutter-yachts are much more
elegantly moulded and rigged than the sloops that we have just
described. They are _clipper-built_--that is, the hull is smoothly and
sharply shaped; the cut-water, in particular, is like a knife, and the
bow wedge-like. In short, although similar in general outline, a
cutter-yacht bears the same relation to a trading-sloop that a racer
does to a cart-horse. Their sails, also, are larger in proportion, and
they are fast-sailing vessels; but, on this very account, they are not
such good _sea-boats_ as their clumsy brethren, whose bluff or rounded
bows rise on the waves, while the sharp vessels cut through them, and
often deluge the decks with spray.

In our engraving we have several cutter-rigged yachts sailing with a
light _side_ wind, with main-sail, gaff, fore-sail, and jib set.

THE SCHOONER.

This is the most elegant and, for small craft, the most manageable
vessel that floats. Its proportions are more agreeable to the eye than
those of any other species of craft, and its rig is in favour with
owners of yachts,--especially with those whose yachts are large. The
schooner's distinctive peculiarities are, that it carries two masts,
which usually "_rake aft_," or lean back a good deal; and its rig is
chiefly fore-and-aft, like the sloop. Of the two masts, the _after_ one
is the _main-mast_. The other is termed the _fore-mast_. The sails of
a schooner are--the _main-sail_ and the _gaff_, on the main-mast; the
_fore-sail_, _fore-top-sail_, and _fore-top-gallant-sail_ (the two last
being square sails), on the foremast. In front of the fore-mast are the
_staysail_, the _jib_, and the _flying-jib_; these last are triangular
sails. If a schooner were cut in two in the middle, cross-wise, the
front portion would be in all respects a sloop with a square top-sail;
the stern part would also be a sloop, minus the bowsprit and the
triangular sails _before_ the mast. Schooners sometimes carry a large
square-sail, which is spread when the wind is "dead aft." They are much
used in the coasting-trade; and one of their great advantages is that
they can be worked with fewer "hands" than sloops o