What is the difference between a brig and a snow

Load extra weight on the top when testing weight and place camera for top view. Transfer all this to pc and draw arcs and record time. A brig two masted square sail could turn around with proper sail handling without moving relative position. This was due to the fore and main masts being usually equal distance from the the rotation point of the ship's keel. A ship rig couldn't really manage this due to interference from the main mast onto the mizzen or foremast leading to unavoidable leeway. Brigs Not brigantine, there is a difference in the two where very easy and quick to handle a jibe.

This trait eventually led to the three masted barquentine which combined the handling efficiency of a brig with the against the wind capability of the schooner while needing far less crew then a ship rig.

Compared to a ship rig 3 masted square sail there was some negatives. First off being that a Brig carried far less sail area and could not take as heavy a press of sail in heavy winds. Additionally if a mast toppled due to being over pressed, damage to stays or hoops, or etc.

Either all the bowsprit jibs would be lost with it or the spanker, and all the stay sails whichever fell. Additionally the other mast if it was not taken by the one that toppled would be significantly weakened due to the loss of the standard rigging between the two. This would make a brig very difficult to manage in any capacity. Note that for the circumnavigation and research mission where she was expected to venture into unknown waters, the Cherokee class Beagle was converted from a brig-sloop into a ship-rigged-sloop.

The author writes about the advantages of ship-rigged-sloops :. A great weight of water could become trapped in the very high bulwarks on the main deck, and the brig would wallow and lose steerage way, with the resulting danger that it would turn broadside to the weather.

With the bulwarks only 6 feet from the water line, a second wave shipped before the first had cleared the deck could bring it to a standstill; a third would have it completely at its mercy, and it would probably founder. Therefore, very careful sailing was necessary in bad weather.

Source :. PS : Several nations used indeed ship-rigged-sloops for exploration purposes, e. So I guess maybe there would need to be strong winds and storms ingame for a three mast corvette to outdo brigs. Has somebody got some information about that especially in the case of such a small and slender ship as the Rattlesnake? There is much information on vessel speed through reports by navigations. The speeds that I give are obviously not invented, I've searched and found French Navy archives.

On the turn rate, I associate the radius of gyration of a vessel and the time of a veering about, the informations are almost nonexistent. In fact, there is information that the ship veers well luff to luff or front wind. Or poorly or just ordinary. Maybe, but as then you do not have GPS, it is impossible to control the radius of gyration of a ship.

We do not give no more comparisons between several ships of the same squadron during this type of maneuver. I would say that over the ship is small it has less water resistance and thus a turn rate of better quality.

A schooner will be more interesting than brig bigger, but if you compare to the same shell a cutter and lugger, the radius gyration will be very different, because of the type of rigging.

So the ship's center of gravity is differant. This is a difficult subject. I ran some questions by my in-house naval architect read: nuclear family member.

Hopefully this information is still useful. So although Rattlesnake the ship-rig may require more men than Rattlesnake the brig-rig, brigs as large as Niagara probably have no labor cost savings anymore. Also, if windforce gets implemented, the more numerous, smaller sails of a ship rig will be superior in heavy weather. The larger sails of a brig might be better in light winds. Of course, all of this applies only when all other things are equal. For instance, a brig that is converted to a ship or vice versa, with the same hull.

I don't think the Rattlesnake is a good comparison for brigs. Yes she is very small for a three masted ship but she's built like a frigate. Quarter deck, gangways over the gun deck, forecastle. Her beam to length ratio is high to improve speed as she was designed as a privateer to hunt down trade ships.

While brigs in naval service or more general purpose ships and generally had fairly wide beams. They excelled at coming to and from smaller ports with tricky winds due to being able to handle a jibe to turn around in a cove far more able then a schooner. If you tried to brig rig the Rattlesnake the sail handling would become quite cumbersome due to the spanker interfering with the quarter deck which would likely need to be cut down, setting the main back would require extensive modifications.

Snow rig would be more efficient in putting the gaff on the snow mast behind the main but then she'd have been slower with the wind since the spanker would be shadowing the mainsail. Sometimes sail plan is simply determined by other features of the ship themselves. Ironically Rattlesnake was captured by the two decker HMS Leander 50 because her heavier rigging and spars could press more sail in the weather then Rattlesnake could.

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Forgot password? Don't have an account? Sign in via your Institution. From the stats, it looks like Snow is better, but I've heard mixed opinions. Showing 1 - 12 of 12 comments. The Snow got 2 decks, so is bigger and that makes it a much easier target to hit. Bill View Profile View Posts. Ink View Profile View Posts. I prefer Snow to any brig, even Mercury. Last edited by Ink ; 28 Jan, am.

Kaspa View Profile View Posts. Snow is more suited to my tastes. Chasing trader ships made easy.. If you have the money try both! I prefer the snow because of the higher damage output, but the navy brig is also a good ship. Mansen View Profile View Posts. Originally posted by Arpone :. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time in irons, or turning the wrong way with sails vs the rudder.

Snow is I never hated nor loved her. It has some firepower, it's not an immovable object like the brick, but it's too high and easy to hit from afar.