Square-rigged sail parts and running rigging

zoly99sask

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Forum Moderator
Joined
Apr 13, 2015
Messages
7,793
Points
738

Location
Saskatoon,Canada
English: Edges and corners of a square sail are shown on the uppermost sail:
  • The sail is attached to a spar (or yard) at its head and tensioned outwards at the head cringles.
  • The side edges are the leeches.
  • The bottom edge is the foot and is attached to the yard below by sheets (not labelled) at the clews which are the corners.
Running rigging is shown on the lower sail:
  • The lifts are shown slack, because the spar (or yard) is raised, but would support the lowered spar, as shown on the topmost spar.
  • The sheets pull the clews down to the yard below when setting sail.
  • The clewlines raise the clews to the yard above when dousing (striking or furling) sail.
  • The halyard raises a yard into place, seen as two line converging on a block, which is attached to a line that goes up to the crosstrees and through a sheave to raise the yard.
  • The braces adjust the sail side-to-side by tension applied from below to a block on the spar, countered by tension at the other end on a mast behind the spar, pulling one end aft and allowing the other end to rotate forward.
References:

 
English: Edges and corners of a square sail are shown on the uppermost sail:
  • The sail is attached to a spar (or yard) at its head and tensioned outwards at the head cringles.
  • The side edges are the leeches.
  • The bottom edge is the foot and is attached to the yard below by sheets (not labelled) at the clews which are the corners.
Running rigging is shown on the lower sail:
  • The lifts are shown slack, because the spar (or yard) is raised, but would support the lowered spar, as shown on the topmost spar.
  • The sheets pull the clews down to the yard below when setting sail.
  • The clewlines raise the clews to the yard above when dousing (striking or furling) sail.
  • The halyard raises a yard into place, seen as two line converging on a block, which is attached to a line that goes up to the crosstrees and through a sheave to raise the yard.
  • The braces adjust the sail side-to-side by tension applied from below to a block on the spar, countered by tension at the other end on a mast behind the spar, pulling one end aft and allowing the other end to rotate forward.
References:

 
Dear zoly99sask,
While reading some of the forums, I noticed the one about square rigged sailing with a picture to back it up.
Very informative and helpful. Thank you for this article of Apr 20 - 2018.
Regards, John.
 
Dear zoly99sask,
While reading some of the forums, I noticed the one about square rigged sailing with a picture to back it up.
Very informative and helpful. Thank you for this article of Apr 20 - 2018.
Regards, John.

Hello John, your welcome. I have completely forgotten about this article.
 
I've been reading a few novels about the Royal Navy circa 1790s thru 1820s and in these novels it is mentioned that when expecting to encounter a heavy storm the captain orders not only the upper sails to be detached from the yards but also the upper yards to be brought down and stowed. Also the upper mast sections to be removed and stowed. I am at a loss to figure out how the running and standing rigging were relocated during that time and how the rigging was reattached when the need for those sails presented itself. My curiosity is due to the fact that I am considering finishing a frigate with the topgallant mast and yards removed.
 
I take it that although my post has been read, so far no one who read it knows how those tasks were done. It's probably a lost skill as no modern square rigged sailing vessel would need to have yards and upper masts taken down in the face of an impending storm.
 
Back
Top