Staysail
Astaysail( "stays'l" ) is afore-and-aft riggedsailwhoseluffcan be affixed to astayrunning forward (and most often but not always downwards) from amastto thedeck,thebowsprit,or to another mast.
Description
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Most staysails are triangular; however, some are four-cornered, notably somefisherman's staysails.
Triangular staysails set forward of the foremost mast are calledjibs,headsails, or foresails. The innermost such sail on acutter,schooner,and many other rigs having two or more foresails is referred to simply asthe staysail,while the others are referred to as jibs, flying jibs, etc.
Types of staysail include the tallboy staysail (a narrow staysail carried between the spinnaker and the mainsail on racing yachts), thegenoa staysail(a larger one carried inside the spinnaker when broad reaching), and the bigboy staysail (another name for the shooter or blooper, carried on theleewardside of the spinnaker). Unlike the cutter staysail, none of these sails have their luff affixed to a stay.
On large rigs, staysails other than headsails are named according to the mast and mast section on which they are hoisted. Thus, the staysail hoisted on a stay that runs forward and downwards from the top of themizzen topgallant mastis themizzen topgallant staysail.If two staysails are hoisted to different points on this mast, they would be themizzen upper topgallant staysailand themizzen lower topgallant staysail.
Uses
[edit]In square rigged ships the staysails can help in tacking, overcoming the lumbering square sails' tendency to prevent bearing up to windward, especially in light winds. Where a ship attempts to tack but fails and has to bear away again on the original tack, she is said to have missed her stays. In cutter rigged yachts the genoa will often need to be furled before changing tack due to the difficulty in passing the big sail between the two forestays. Here the staysail can help bring the bow through the wind more effectively.[citation needed]
In addition to providing more overallsailing force,a staysail can be used to modify a ship'ssail planto be more efficient in different types of weather. For example, in high winds a captain might reef a headsail, but that impacts the sail shape and can result in slower ship speed. Instead, the headsail could be furled entirely and a staysail used instead, resulting in higher ship speed.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Pingel, Bob."Adding a staysail".SAILING Magazine.Retrieved15 September2023.
Everyone knows what to do when the wind pipes up: take a reef in the main and roll in some headsail...A better solution is to use a staysail, the center of effort will be low and the shape perfect.