The favored ship of the Renaissance explorers of Europe was the Caravel, developed in the mid 15th century in Portugal. They were about 70 feet long, 25 feet wide, and weighed around 100 to 200 tons. The main innovation of the Caravel was the rear-mounted, single-post rudder, which allowed the ship to make sharp turns and steer into the wind. 
Christopher Columbus and his crew sailed to the New World on 3 Caravels, and the peak of the Caravel period was from the 1430s to the 1530s, when all of Europe (not just Spain and Portugal) used Caravels. Caravels were valued for their speed and relative ease of sailing in contrary winds. Their small size, however, limited the cargo capacity and Caravels gradually disappeared in the late 16th century.
