The Coastal schooner was the most widely used ship in early America.  Two mast schooners were the most common. There was no set number of masts for a schooner.   They were popular in trades that required speed and windward ability. The fore and aft rigging permitted sailing close to the wind, made it easier to enter small ports and required smaller crews than square rigged ships.  Schooners carried every conceivable cargo up and down the Atlantic coast.  Essex, Massachusetts was the most significant shipbuilding center for schooners.  By the 1850s, over 50 vessels a year were being launched from 15 shipyards.  In the late 1800s there were over 2,000 schooners on the great lakes hauling everything from lumber to apples.  In the 1870’s schooners sailed the West coast hauling lumber to build San Francisco.  Several distinctive schooner types evolved, including the Baltimore Clipper.

Dimensions: case 30" L x 26" H x 7.5 W boat 27" L x 21" H x 4" W $1195