Sailboats played an important role in the development of the ancient civilization. The Egyptians initially used it in 400 BC to transport people, materials and barter transactions.

Though many sailboat users prefer to buy from manufacturers, building your own sailboat is always an available option. Many sailboat-building guides and sailboat kits are made available over the Internet to walk you through your sailboat project.

Choosing the right sail boat requires a lot of considerations including your area’s dominating weather, your sailboat’s intended purpose, and the number of passengers. Knowing the variety of sailboat selections can help narrow down the list of your options on which sailboat design is most suitable for you.

Types of Catamarans

Catamarans are boats that are made-up of two hulls and are relatively lighter and faster than a monohulled sailboat. They are wider in size and are very secure in terms of stability.

Keelboats

Keelboats are the type of sailboats popular for a number of days tour. Usually they measure up to 30 feet long, though there are some Keelboats that are more than 30 feet and known as Cruising Keelboats. It has a flap attached on its underside, which balances the impact of the wind on the sails and keep the sailboat from slipping.

Catboats

Catboats also known as cat-rigged sailboat has a single mast situated a few steps away from the boat’s front view. It was initially introduced in New York in mid the 1800’s. Later in the 1900’s catboats became a popular for racing, fishing and long sailing trips. A catboat can go as long as 26 feet. As catboat racing popularity went-off catboats were then used for leisure cruising and sailing.

Trimarans

Trimaran sailboats are multihulled boats. It is composed of the main hull or vaka, the outrigger or ama and aka, which connect the two hulls. This type of sailboat was primarily used by the Polynesians and is mostly homebuilt. This type of boat provides high level of security and safety to its users compared to monohulled sailboats. A trimaran can go very fast and yet maintains an unswerving motion. It is a light type of sailboat that is almost impossible to sink due to its structural design.

One of the significant drawbacks of a regular trimaran sailboat is the difficulty shifting direction as untimely maneuvers can greatly damage this type of sailboat.

In the year 2005 a trimaran designed 417 feet long passenger ferry was delivered by Austal to a ferry operator, Mr. Fred Olsen. This trimaran ferry can support the weight of 340 cars and up to 1280 people.

Yawls

A yawl sailboat is made up of a two-mast structure. It is almost similar to cutter or sloop type of sailboat except for the mizzen mast.

Yawl sailboats were specifically designed for commercial fishing purposes. It was in the year 1950 to 1960 when these sailboats were developed for racing purposes. One of the well-known features of this sailboat is its ability to navigate with lesser pilot input.

Sloop

Sloop is a well-known sailboat design. It is composed of a mast and fore-and-aft rig. Regularly a sloop designed sailboat has a bended single headsail, though some designs can do with more than one.

Sloop sailboats are very suitable for sport sailing activities.

Cutter

Cutter sailboats generally have a single mast, bowsprit and a number of headsails. Its structure is closely similar to that of a sloop sailboat.

For the past generation cutter sailboats have become a part of various traditions and annual sailing competitions. Later on cutter sailboats were used to set sailing world records, such as fastest sailing time recorded in the English channel in 1996 and the longest sailing time from London to Paris in the year 1999.

Ketch

Ketch designed sailboats have two fore-and-aft rigged masts - main mast and shorter mizzen. It is widely used for long distance sailing travels with rapid wind speed change. A ketch sailboat’s small mainsail provides easy maneuver access to control the wind’s impact.

Dhoni

Dhoni is a well-known sea vessel in Maldives since its ancient times. This type of sailboat is domestically handcrafted by the Maldives fishermen, which resembles the traditional sailboat of the Arabs.

Later on traditional dhoni sailboats were replaced by a motorized dhoni, which allowed Maldives fishermen to double the number of their average catch.

Dhoni’s structures are now built with a more durable structure, steering wheels and motors with greater speed capacity.