A fairlead is a device to guide a line, rope or cable around an object, out of the way or to stop it from moving laterally. Typically a fairlead will be a ring or hook. The fairlead may be a separate piece of hardware, or it could be a hole in the structure. There are two types of fairlead: roller and fixed. In a roller fairlead, there are four rollers in total. The first two are vertically mounted and the other two are horizontally mounted. A fixed fairlead is one piece of smooth, rounded metal with no moving parts. A fixed fairlead may be open or closed. Compared to a roller fairlead, a fixed fairlead is extremely simple. A fairlead can also be used to stop a straight run of line from vibrating or rubbing on another surface. An additional use on boats is to keep a loose end of line from sliding around the deck (''e.g.'' the windward (inactive) jib

sheet Sheet or Sheets may refer to: * Bed sheet, a rectangular piece of cloth used as bedding * Sheet of paper, a flat, very thin piece of paper * Sheet metal, a flat thin piece of metal * Sheet (sailing), a line, cable or chain used to control the cle ...

). If the line is meant to be moved while in the fairlead, the angle in the line created by the fairlead must be shallow to minimize friction. For larger angles a block or pulley is used as a fairlead to reduce friction. Where the line is removed from a hook fairlead before using, the angle is not an issue. While fairleads are most frequently found in nautical applications, they can be found anywhere

rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat's masts—''standing rigging'', including shrouds and stays—and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they are ...

is used. In off-roading, a fairlead is used to guide the winch cable and remove lateral strain from the winch. A roller fairlead is used with steel cable and a hawse fairlead is used with synthetic cable. Fairleads are used on almost every sailboat. Even as simple a sailboat as a Sunfish has a fairlead for each of its two lines. A ring fairlead holds the halyard parallel to the mast so its cleat can be located near to the

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

. On models without a deck block for the sheet, a hook fairlead in the forward edge of the cockpit gives the sailor options when handling the

. An example of hook fairlead can be seen on buildings with an angled flagstaff mounted over a door. At the base of the flagstaff is usually a hook so the flag halyard can be held parallel to the pole, and still tied off to a cleat beside the door, rather than above.

References

{{Sail types Sailing rigs and rigging es:Gatera (náutica) fr:Chaumard (accastillage) sv:Halkip