Sailing rigs and rigging

A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may be made from a combination of woven materials—including canvas or polyester cloth, laminated membranes or bonded filaments, usually in a three- or four-sided shape.

type of vessel typically of Southeast Asian or East Asian origin

thumb|300px|Keel laying|Keel laid for the in [[drydock]] The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The laying of the keel is often the initial step in constructing a ship. In the British and American shipbuilding traditions, this event marks the beginning date of a ship's construction.

vertical pole used as the main support of a sailing vessel's rigging

thumb|Lewis R. French (schooner)|Lewis R. French, a gaff-rigged schoonerthumb|Oosterschelde (ship)|Oosterschelde, a topsail schooner thumb|Orianda, a staysail schooner, with Bermuda mainsail

thumb|The South Shields collier brig Mary, painted by John Scott in 1855, showing two views of the same vessel. A [[Bentinck boom is fitted to the foot of the fore-course as a labour saving device when tacking.]] thumb|A small trading brig entering the River Avon, Bristol|Bristol Avon, painted by Joseph Walter A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part of the 19th century. In commercial use, they

thumb|A Bermuda sloop, the most common version of the sloop in modern sailing vessels thumb|Gaff rigged sloop, 1899

thumb|The rigging of a square rigger in [[London.]] thumb|Standing rigging on a fore-and-aft rigged sailboat. Key: 1. Forestay 2. Shroud 3. (Spreaders) 4. Backstay 5. Inner forestay 6. Sidestay 7. (Boom) 8. Running backstays thumb|Bermuda rigged sloop at Convict Bay, [[Bermuda, circa 1879]] thumb|Standing rigging on a square-rigged vessel. thumb|Running rigging on a sailing yacht:1. Main sheet 2. Jib sheet 3. Boom vang 4. Downhaul 5. Jib halyard

thumb|Swan 65 ketch flying a [[spinnaker]] thumb|Fisher30 motorsailer ketch

rigging pole

sail-carrying part of the rigging of a sailing ship

right|thumb|Staysails

thumb|upright=1.0|Amante, a 1983 "Choate 48" in Newport Beach, California, in February 2015 flying a symmetric spinnaker thumb|Bear of Britain, a Farr Yacht Design|Farr 52 with masthead spinnaker in front of [[Calshot Spit]]

thumb|300px|A square-rigged vessel A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel.

in sailing, a spar along the bottom edge of a fore and aft rigged sail

thumb|right|A yawl setting a Genoa (sail)|genoa, main, and mizzen thumb|The lines plan of a Royal Navy yawl, dated 1799. The transom stern differentiates this type from the double-ended, clinker-built working craft.

generic type of sail and rigging arrangement

A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its forward corner (tack) is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsails on a modern boat.

rope or wire running from the mast to the sides of a watercraft

thumb|Different types of shackles. The yellow cable ties indicate the date of the last tool inspection. thumb|A well-used shackle.

thumb|325px|Sailors hauling a halyard

300px|thumb|right|Small turnbuckle,

thumb|The foresail (in pink) of a full rigged ship.

type of large jib or staysail

one of the lines on a sail ship

thumb|Turnbridge windlass lifting road bridge over [[Huddersfield Broad Canal]] thumb|200px|Differential windlass

thumb|right|Reaper (sailing vessel)|Reaper, a Fifie, a type of sailing drifter built in the Northeast of Scotland

a heavy rope, wire, or rod running lengthwise of a sailing vessel, securing a spar to the hull, as braces for keeping stretching forces together

thumb|Pinisi boats at the port of Paotere in Makassar, 1994

configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat

sailing rig configuration

On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the top of the mast. The other end of the forestay is attached to the bow of the boat.

type of sail

movable cleat

sailing vessel

platform at the upper end of a mast on a traditional square rigged ship

sailing rig consisting mainly of sails

right|300px|thumb|49er (dinghy)|49er with a gennaker (yellow)

thumb|left|A triple deadeye without a lanyard A deadeye is an item used in the standing and running rigging of traditional sailing ships. It is a smallish round thick wooden (usually lignum vitae) disc with one or more holes through it, perpendicular to the plane of the disc. Single and triple-hole deadeyes are most commonly seen. The three-holed blocks were called deadeyes because the position of the three holes resemble the eye and nose sockets of a sheep's skull.

line which applies upward force on a boom on a sailboat

thumb|Line art drawing of crosstrees.

thumb|A diagram of the three spars and some of the rigging that can make up a bow: A.) Bowsprit, B.) Jibboom, C.) Flying jib-boom, D.) Jibstay. E.) Fore Topgallant Stay, F.) Flying Jibstay, G.) Fore Royal Stay, H.) Topmast stays, I.) Outer Forestay, J.) Inner Forestay A jibboom (also spelled jib-boom) is a spar used to extend the length of a bowsprit on sailing ships. It can itself be extended further by a flying jib-boom. The heel (i.e. rear and lower) end of the flying jib-boom is attached to the jib-boom, and the heel of the jib-boom to the bowsprit. The point (i.e. higher and fore end) of

ship element; rope (line) used to rotate a yard around the mast, to allow the ship to sail at different angles to the wind

thumb|Diagram of a four-cornered spritsail The spritsail is a four-sided, fore-and-aft sail that is supported at its highest points by the mast and a diagonally running spar known as the sprit. The foot of the sail can be stretched by a boom or held loose-footed just by its sheets. A spritsail has four corners: the throat, peak, clew, and tack. The Spritsail can also be used to describe a rig that uses a spritsail.

spar used in sailboats to help support and control a variety of headsails, particularly the spinnaker

A backstay is a piece of standing rigging on a sailing vessel that runs from the mast to either its transom or rear quarter, counteracting the forestay and jib. It is an important sail trim control and has a direct effect on the shape of the mainsail and the headsail. Backstays are generally adjusted by block and tackle, hydraulic adjusters, or lines leading to winches.

thumb A topsail ("tops'l") is a sail set above another sail. On square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails.

diagram of the masts, spars, rigging, and sails of a sailing vessel

large, traditionally-rigged sailing vessel

sail or sails above topsails and below royals

sailing part

windward side of a sailing craft

thumb|Chainplate on a Bavaria 35 Match without shrouds mounted. A chainplate is a metal plate used to fasten a shroud or stay to the hull of a sailboat to support the mast that sails are attached to. One end of the chainplate is normally fastened to a turnbuckle which is connected to the shroud or stay, whereas the remainder of the chainplate normally has multiple holes that are bolted to the hull, or the chains. This distributes the load across the hull, making it possible for a somewhat lighter hull to support the load of the shrouds and stays. Chainplates are commonly made from stainless st

thumb|right|300px

Extra sail on a sailing ship

rope sewn around the edges of a sail

Type of sail

type of downhaul

thumb|The outhaul on a US Yachts US 22 sailboat. This design uses a braided steel cable, with a swaged thimble and clevis to attach to the sail clew grommet. An outhaul is a control line found on a sailboat. It is an element of the running rigging, used to attach the mainsail clew to the boom and tensions the foot of the sail. It commonly uses a block at the boom end and a cleat on the boom, closer to the mast, to secure the line.