... a slip, drop the board so that it touched bottom, and, using the large rudders, bring the boats into the wind by spinning them almost within their length. This could be done because there was no skeg. When sharpies had skegs, as they did in some localities, they were not so sensitive as the New Haven boats. If a sharpie had a skeg, it was possible to use one sail without shifting the mast, but at a great sacrifice in ... — The Migrations of an American Boat Type • Howard I. Chapelle
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