Apart from the monohulls, multihulls and catamarans, sailing yachts are also described by the configuration of their masts.

There are a variety of distinct types, and each has their own remarkable features. Some are very common, others are rarely seen, but all have their enthusiasts.

Sloop
It is a single-masted, fore-and-aft-rigged sailing vessel with a short standing bowsprit or none at all and a single headsail set from the forestay. As today it is the most typical kind of yacht, sloop has the basic design for most modern boats. The boat also usually has a spinnaker for sailing downwind.

Ketch
Ketch is a two-masted fore-and-aft-rigged yacht with a mizzenmast stepped aft of a taller mainmast which is forward of the steering wheel. The mast in a ketch is in front of the rudder. These are rather elegant vessels, although ketches are rather hard to sail.

Yawl
Yawl is a two-masted fore-and-aft-rigged sailing vessel similar to the ketch but which has a smaller jigger- or mizzenmast stepped abaft the rudder. The boat is also sometimes dubbed dandy. It is a quite unique boat, frequently having a small mast perched on the stern, which are often seen out in gale winds with only the storm jib and the mizzenmast rigged.

Schooner
A fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel having at least two masts, with a foremast that is usually smaller than the other masts. The ketch and yawl both have two masts, but the smaller mast is usually at the stern. In this case the smaller mast is usually forward. Usually schooners are described as Tall Ships, or luxury yachts.

Till the 1950s nearly all yachts were made of wood. Today the main material of modern yacht building is fibreglass, steel and aluminum. Contemporary yachts have efficient sails that allow them to float into the wind. It is the result of a sail plan and hull design (typically a sloop rig) that utilizes Bernoulli's principle to generate lift.