A staysail ("stays'l") is a

fore-and-aft rig A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing vessel rigged mainly with sails set along the line of the keel, rather than perpendicular to it as on a square rigged vessel. Description Fore-and-aft rigged sails include staysails, Bermuda rigged sails, gaff ...

ged

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

whose luff can be affixed to a

stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

running forward (and most often but not always downwards) from a mast to the deck, the

bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay that counteracts the forces from the forestays. The word ''bowsprit'' is thought to originate from the Middle L ...

, or to another mast.

Description

Most staysails are triangular; however, some are four-cornered, notably some

fisherman's staysail A fisherman staysail is a sail placed between the fore and main masts of a sailing ship, usually a schooner but also including brigantines. All four of its sides are typically set flying, although the luff may be attached to the mast (possi ...

s. Triangular staysails set forward of the foremost mast are called

jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsails ...

s, headsails, or foresails. The innermost such sail on a cutter,

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 ...

, and many other rigs having two or more foresails is referred to simply as ''the 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), the genoa staysail (a larger one carried inside the spinnaker when broad reaching), and the bigboy staysail (another name for the shooter or blooper, carried on the

leeward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

side 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 the ''

mizzen topgallant mast The mast of a Sailing ship, sailing vessel is a tall spar (sailing), spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessa ...

'' is the ''mizzen topgallant staysail''. If two staysails are hoisted to different points on this mast, they would be the ''mizzen upper topgallant staysail'' and the ''mizzen lower topgallant staysail''.

Uses

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.

References

{{Sail Types Sailing rigs and rigging

Description

Uses

See also

References