Boating In Style

Watching a narrow and sleek sailboat glide up the coast is a beautiful summer sight. However, just like our clothes, the styles of sailboats have gone through trends over the years. At first, sailboats were built to be large and wide to transport materials and settlements across the world. Mostly made of wooden planks, these vessels moved slowly being led by two massive sails. Over time, mechanical engines began taking the place of sails in transportation. But, sailing remained a prominent part of the boating world. Sailboats were then built smaller and narrower with a single, easy to maneuver sail, in hopes of increasing speed as they were being used for racing. The flatter hulls (or bottoms of the boat) allowed sailors to glide on the surface of the water to make the boat go faster. Today some of these smaller racing boats are still being used; however, many sailboats are long and narrow with two sails, one being much larger called “the main sail”. They are made of aluminum and fiberglass and many have two hulls that are more curved and come to a point at the bottom. What will sailboats look like 100 years from now?