In sailing, a snow, snaw or snauw is a square-rigged vessel with two masts, complemented by a snow- or trysail-mast stepped immediately abaft (behind) the main mast.[1]
Snow
Schematic view of a snow, showing the snow-mast, a loose footed gaff sail and clewed up main course
The word 'snow' comes from 'snauw', which is an old Dutch word for beak, a reference to the characteristic sharp bow of the vessel.[1] The snow evolved from the (three-masted) ship: the mizzen mast of a ship was gradually moved closer towards the mainmast, until the mizzen mast was no longer a separate mast, but was instead made fast at the main mast top. As such, in the 17th century the snow used to be sometimes classified as a three-masted vessel.[2]
The snow dates back to the late 17th century and originally had a loose-footedgaff sail; the boom was introduced somewhere in the 18th century. It was a popular type of vessel in the Baltic Sea and was employed by a large number of nations during its time. The snow was considered a handy and fast sailing vessel, typically the largest two-masted vessel around, and was employed in both navy and merchant service.[3] When used as a naval vessel, snows were, in the early 18th century, typically fitted with 5 to 16 guns. Naval snows were mostly used for coastal patrols and privateering, while in the merchant service, snows traded all the way to the Mediterranean and sometimes even sailed as far as the West Indies.
Snow: the largest of all old two-masted vessels. The sails and rigging on the main mast of a snow are exactly similar to those on the same masts in a full-rigged ship; only that there is a small mast behind the mainmast of the former, which carries a sail nearly resembling the mizzen of a ship.
While the snow and the brig might appear closely related, this is in fact not the case. The two rigs developed from different directions, the brig evolving from the generally smaller brigantine, and the much older snow evolving from the larger three-masted ship.[1]
The most visible difference between the brig and the snow is the latter's "snow-mast", stepped directly behind the main mast.[5] In contrast to the brig, where the gaff and boom attach directly to the main mast, a snow's gaff, and in later times, its boom, were attached to the snow-mast. The use of this characteristic snow-mast offered several advantages over attaching the gaff directly to the main mast.[6]
The yoke (or jaw) of the gaff and the lacing of the gaff sail on a snow could move freely on the snow mast, unhindered by the iron bands that held together the (main) mast, nor limited by the main yard. The gaff on the snow mast could be raised higher than the main yard and independently of it. The resulting freedom allowed a snow, in contrast to a brig, to fly a main course without complications, as they typically did.[7]
However, in the late 18th century, brigs started to set main courses as well, which gave rise to the term snow-brig. The differences lessened even further when the snow-mast was replaced by a steel cable, at which point the term "snow-brig" gradually became interchangeable with the term "brig" and the term "snow" fell in disuse.
^Johnson, Charles (16 September 2012) [First published 1724]. "The Introduction". A General History of the Pyrates. p. xlviii. ISBN978-1479322572. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
^"Question on the rigging of the Mainsail of a Brigantine".
^Dik Vuik, Hans Haalmeijer (2006). Aken, tjalken en kraken. Alkmaar, the Netherlands: Uitgeverij De Alk B.V.
References
Hans Haalmeijer: Pinassen, fluiten en galjassen Uitgeverij De Alk B.V., Alkmaar, the Netherlands 2009.
Karl Heinz Marquardt: Bemastung und Takelung von Schiffen des 18. Jahrhunderts. Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1994.
John Robinson, George Francis Dow: The Sailing Ships of New England 1607 – 1907. Marine Research Society, Salem, Mass 1922.
Dik Vuik, Hans Haalmeijer: Aken, tjalken en kraken, Uitgeverij De Alk B.V., Alkmaar, the Netherlands 2006.
External links
The dictionary definition of snow at Wiktionary
Media related to Snows (ship) at Wikimedia Commons
February 13, 2023
snow, ship, confused, with, brig, sailing, snow, snaw, snauw, square, rigged, vessel, with, masts, complemented, snow, trysail, mast, stepped, immediately, abaft, behind, main, mast, snowschematic, view, snow, showing, snow, mast, loose, footed, gaff, sail, cl. Not to be confused with Brig In sailing a snow snaw or snauw is a square rigged vessel with two masts complemented by a snow or trysail mast stepped immediately abaft behind the main mast 1 SnowSchematic view of a snow showing the snow mast a loose footed gaff sail and clewed up main courseTypeSailing rigPlace of originNorthern Europe Contents 1 History 2 Comparison with brig 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditThe word snow comes from snauw which is an old Dutch word for beak a reference to the characteristic sharp bow of the vessel 1 The snow evolved from the three masted ship the mizzen mast of a ship was gradually moved closer towards the mainmast until the mizzen mast was no longer a separate mast but was instead made fast at the main mast top As such in the 17th century the snow used to be sometimes classified as a three masted vessel 2 The snow dates back to the late 17th century and originally had a loose footed gaff sail the boom was introduced somewhere in the 18th century It was a popular type of vessel in the Baltic Sea and was employed by a large number of nations during its time The snow was considered a handy and fast sailing vessel typically the largest two masted vessel around and was employed in both navy and merchant service 3 When used as a naval vessel snows were in the early 18th century typically fitted with 5 to 16 guns Naval snows were mostly used for coastal patrols and privateering while in the merchant service snows traded all the way to the Mediterranean and sometimes even sailed as far as the West Indies Two views of a naval snow by Charles Brooking 1759 Snow the largest of all old two masted vessels The sails and rigging on the main mast of a snow are exactly similar to those on the same masts in a full rigged ship only that there is a small mast behind the mainmast of the former which carries a sail nearly resembling the mizzen of a ship Captain Charles Johnson A General History of the Pyrates 4 Comparison with brig Edit The snow brig USS Niagara center in 1913 While the snow and the brig might appear closely related this is in fact not the case The two rigs developed from different directions the brig evolving from the generally smaller brigantine and the much older snow evolving from the larger three masted ship 1 The most visible difference between the brig and the snow is the latter s snow mast stepped directly behind the main mast 5 In contrast to the brig where the gaff and boom attach directly to the main mast a snow s gaff and in later times its boom were attached to the snow mast The use of this characteristic snow mast offered several advantages over attaching the gaff directly to the main mast 6 The yoke or jaw of the gaff and the lacing of the gaff sail on a snow could move freely on the snow mast unhindered by the iron bands that held together the main mast nor limited by the main yard The gaff on the snow mast could be raised higher than the main yard and independently of it The resulting freedom allowed a snow in contrast to a brig to fly a main course without complications as they typically did 7 However in the late 18th century brigs started to set main courses as well which gave rise to the term snow brig The differences lessened even further when the snow mast was replaced by a steel cable at which point the term snow brig gradually became interchangeable with the term brig and the term snow fell in disuse The twin brigs Lawrence and Niagara American warships which participated in the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813 were both snow brigs See also EditBrig Brigantine Full rigged shipNotes Edit a b c Hans Haalmeijer 2009 Pinassen fluiten en galjassen the Netherlands Uitgeverij De Alk B V Dik Vuik Hans Haalmeijer 2006 Aken tjalken en kraken Alkmaar the Netherlands Uitgeverij De Alk B V Oude zeegaande schepen Johnson Charles 16 September 2012 First published 1724 The Introduction A General History of the Pyrates p xlviii ISBN 978 1479322572 Retrieved 19 June 2011 Snow Question on the rigging of the Mainsail of a Brigantine Dik Vuik Hans Haalmeijer 2006 Aken tjalken en kraken Alkmaar the Netherlands Uitgeverij De Alk B V References EditHans Haalmeijer Pinassen fluiten en galjassen Uitgeverij De Alk B V Alkmaar the Netherlands 2009 Karl Heinz Marquardt Bemastung und Takelung von Schiffen des 18 Jahrhunderts Weltbild Verlag Augsburg 1994 John Robinson George Francis Dow The Sailing Ships of New England 1607 1907 Marine Research Society Salem Mass 1922 Dik Vuik Hans Haalmeijer Aken tjalken en kraken Uitgeverij De Alk B V Alkmaar the Netherlands 2006 External links Edit The dictionary definition of snow at Wiktionary Media related to Snows ship at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Snow ship amp oldid 1038602658, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
