Mr. Reader Eric Mesa’s Reviews > The History Of American Sailing Ships > Status Update

Covered the chapter on merchant ships, with special emphasis on the trade-offs in design. Of special note to me is the clipper design (like the Cutty Sark), which were designed to be fast. Chapelle notes that boat builders took clipper ships to the extreme, sacrificing cargo space to speed with no real economic gain. I thought that was simply fascinating.

The American Schooner has a vivid and extraordinary history!

Getting to slavers and privateers. It definitely makes the history come alive by understanding the small details between ships.