In
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...
, the peak
halyard
In sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line (rope) that is used to hoist a ladder, sail, flag or yard. The term ''halyard'' comes from the phrase "to haul yards". Halyards, like most other parts of the running rigging, were classically made of n ...
(or peak for short) is a line that raises the end of a
gaff
Gaff may refer to:
Ankle-worn devices
* Spurs in variations of cockfighting
* Climbing spikes used to ascend wood poles, such as utility poles
Arts and entertainment
* A character in the ''Blade Runner'' film franchise
* Penny gaff, a 19th- ...
which is further from the mast,
as opposed to the
throat halyard
In sailing, the throat halyard (or throat for short) is a line that raises the end of a gaff nearer to the mast, as opposed to the peak halyard which raises the end further from the mast. Such rigging was normal in classic gaff-rigged schooners ...
which raises the end which is nearer to the mast. Such rigging was normal in classic gaff-rigged
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
s and in other ships with fore-and-aft rigging. It is absent in
Bermuda rig
A Bermuda rig, Bermudian rig, or Marconi rig is a configuration of Mast (sailing), mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats. This configuration was developed in Bermuda in the 1600s; the t ...
boats.
The peak halyard is either bent to the gaff itself or to a wire
gunter depending upon the mode of rigging.
References
{{Sail Types
Sailing rigs and rigging
Xephos