The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large sailing vessels and when steam power came along the adjective became necessary. Large sailing vessels which are not ship rigged may be more appropriately called boats.
Read more about Sailing Ship: Specifications, Types of Sailing Ships, Automated Sailing
Famous quotes containing the words sailing and/or ship:
“To sunny waters some
By fatal instinct fly; where on the pool
They sportive wheel, or, sailing down the stream,
Are snatched immediate by the quick-eyed trout
Or darting salmon.”
—James Thomson (1700–1748)
“But we must build our walls, for what we are
Necessitates it, and we must construct
The ship to navigate behind them, there.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)