Topgallant/royal mast

[Don Case]

Does the topgallant mast always also support the royal sails? Put another way, are the topgallant and royal masts always one mast? This is for English late 18th century. I've looked through all my rigging books and they seem to indicate this but don't seem to come right out and say it. The Swan series builds show one mast.

 

[Corsair]

In "Eighteenth Century Rigs & Rigging" by Marquardt, page 102 has this to say about Royal Masts:

"When a topgallant mast had a normal masthead with a royal mast stepped, instead of a long polehead, the the royal mast was rigged similar to a topgallant mast. Steel noted, however, that East Indiamen often carried a royal mast stepped abaft the topgallant mast."
So, it would reason that no, the topgallant and royal masts are not always one mast.
I would venture that the Steel mentioned is D. Steel of the books "Elements of Mastmaking, Sailmaking and Rigging" and "The Art of Rigging"

I hope that helps.

Jeff

 

[Don Case]

Thanks Jeff, I have looked through Steel but it's a LOT of looking . Most (if not all) of the pictures I have seen for ships of this size and era (340 tons and England1789) show a single mast so I'll probably go that way but I'll keep looking for a bit'