On 2007-08-23 10:33:26 -0700, Ronald Raygun
said:

Dave wrote:
Yep, a brig is a two-master with the forward mast shorter than the
after. If the forward mast is taller it's a ketch. (Unless the mizzen
is behind the rudder post, then it's a yawl.)

If the fore mast is shorter than the main it could also be a schooner.
I gather the distinction between that and a brigantine is that the
schooner has no square sails at all.

Oh! I was going to mention schooners, too. A schooner can have a square
topsail, but I guess it isn't a schooner any more if it has a square
course.

Now on to xebecs, carracks, smacks, and hoys..

-D