Gaff Rigged Schooner, detail from a painting by Winslow Homer, Breezing Up (Fair Wind), 1873-76. The Schooner was a sailing ship rigged with fore-and-aft sails on its two or more masts. Although ships with square-rigged sails are excellent for long voyages before trade winds, they are poor for coastal sailing, where all varieties of winds must be dealt with. Fore-and-afters, or schooners, handle better in coastal winds, have shallower drafts for shallow waters, and require a smaller crew in proportion to their size. By the end of the 18th century the schooner had become the most important North American ship, used for the coastal trade and for fishing, as on the Grand Banks, off Newfoundland; and soon after 1800 the schooner caught the attention of European shipwrights, who built versions of their own.