Snow vs Brig

[Oftengoofenoff]

Just did some reading into old time sailing ship, and came across a point of confusion and was hoping some one here might be able to help. Both a brig and a snow (rigs) have the same basic description, so, whats the difference?

[gwboats]

There is very little difference between a Brig and a Snow.
The spanker (the fore and aft sail behind the lower part of the mainmast) is set on a separate pole running behind, and parallel to, the lower mast on a Snow.
On a brig the spanker hoops run on the lower part of the mast itself as with most gaff rigged sails.
Hope this helps.

Graham Westbrook
Naval Architect