Float Your Boat!

The Evolution and Science of Sailing

Sailing craft have evolved over millennia from prehistoric rafts to modern 
yachts. What were the key innovations that made sailboats more efficient--why 
were Age of Sail brigs (a modern brig is pictured above) better ships than the 
Ancient Greek triremes, or the caravels that Columbus made famous? Why did fore-
and-aft sails replace the older square-riggers, such as the brig? How do boats 
and ships that are powered by sail travel against the wind?

Float Your Boat! (2009) is published by Johns Hopkins University Press.