The schooner is a sailing ship rigged with fore-and-aft sails on its two or more masts. Though probably developing out of a Dutch design of the 17th Century, the first genuine schooner was developed in the British North American colonies, probably at Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1713, by a shipbuilder named Andrew Robinson.
 

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According to tradition the word schooner was first used when a new vessel was launched at the shipyard of Andrew Robinson. It has been said that when the vessel entered the water that a spectator remarked, ?Oh, how she scoons!? Upon which Robinson replied: ?a schooner let her be?. By the end of the 18th Century the schooner had become the most important North American ship, used for coastal trade and fishing. The Schooner can be recognized for her two to as many as ten masts.

Early sailing yachts followed the lines of such naval crafts as brigantines, schooners, and cutters from the 17th Century until the
second half of the 19th Century. The design of large sailing yachts was first greatly affected by the success of The America, which was designed by George Steers for a syndicate headed by John C. Stevens and was the boat for which the America?s Cup was named after its victory at Cowles in 1851. Not until the second half of the 19th Century did naval architecture come into play when designing yacht hulls. This major advancement was followed up in the 1920?s with the use of aerodynamics for the designing of the sails and rigs. Today?s sailing yachts are used for sport and pleasure. Old World Trading has many replica?s of these magnificent ships from which to choose. Our collection of sailing yachts includes the America 3, Endeavour, Reliance, Pen Duick, and many more.