|
Fractional Rig
A fractional rig on a sailing vessel consists of a foresail, such as a jib or genoa sail, that does not reach all the way to the top of the mast. The forestay is a wire that secures the mast to the front of the boat. With a fractional rig, the forestay is attached between about 1/8 and 1/4 of the length of the mast lower down, rather than being attached to the top of the mast as in a masthead rig. The foresail (jib or genoa) is then rigged to this stay. The mast is farther forward on the boat than on a masthead rig and so it has a larger mainsail. Masthead rigs are most common on larger keelboats or cruisers. A fractional rig is typically used on sailing dinghies and racing oriented keelboats, such as the J/24. Fractional rigs were introduced on race boats in order to allow more controllability of the surface of the mainsail and also less drag when sailing upwind. According to one manufacturer, "a key to making fast boats easier to sail than slow boats is the 'fraction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gennaker
A gennaker is a sail that was developed before the 1980s. Used when sailing downwind, it is a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is not symmetric like a true spinnaker but is asymmetric like a genoa, but the gennaker is not attached to the forestay like a jib or genoa. The gennaker is rigged like a spinnaker but the tack is fastened to the hull or to a bowsprit. It has greater camber than a genoa (but significantly less camber than a spinnaker). This is optimal for generating lift at larger angles of attack. An early form of gennaker was the "gollywhomper", used briefly in the 1870s. The gennaker is a specialty sail primarily used on racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ... boats to bridge the performance gap between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spreader (sailboat)
A spreader is a spar on a sailing boat used to deflect the shrouds to allow them to better support the mast. The spreader or spreaders serve much the same purpose as the crosstrees and tops in a traditional sailing vessel. Spreaders are used to increase the angle between the rigging and the mast, providing better support, and to adjust the mast's shape and bend. This allows the mast and rigging to be lighter and thinner, reducing their total weight. Spreaders may be made of metal, often aluminium; wood, often spruce; or composite material such as carbon fiber. Spreader design and tuning can be quite complex. The spreaders may be fixed (rigid) or swinging (pivoted at the mast). Most cruising boats have fixed spreaders, but swinging spreaders are found on some racing boats. The length of a boat's beam determines how long the spreaders may be, so some boats have multiple sets of spreaders so the shroud can reach the desired angle from the mast. Boats with tall masts, such as r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windage
In aerodynamics, firearms ballistics, and automobiles, windage is the effects of some fluid, usually air (e.g., wind) and sometimes liquids, such as oil. Aerodynamics Windage is a force created on an object by friction when there is relative movement between air and the object. Windage loss is the reduction in efficiency due to windage forces. For example, electric motors are affected by friction between the rotor and air. Large alternators have significant losses due to windage. To reduce losses, hydrogen gas may be used, since it is less dense. Causes of windage are: * The object is moving and being slowed by resistance from the air. * A wind is blowing, producing a force on the object. The term can refer to: * The effect of the force, for example the deflection of a missile or an aircraft by a cross wind. * The area and shape of the object that make it susceptible to friction, for example those parts of a boat that are exposed to the wind. Aerodynamic streamlining can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Backstay
A backstay is a piece of standing rigging on a sailing vessel that runs from the mast to either its transom or rear quarter, counteracting the forestay and jib. It is an important sail trim control and has a direct effect on the shape of the mainsail and the headsail. Backstays are generally adjusted by block and tackle, hydraulic adjusters, or lines leading to winches. Types Backstays may be ''permanent'' or ''running''. Permanent backstay A permanent backstay is attached to the top of the mast. Running backstays appear in pairs attached about two-thirds of the way up the mast (sometimes at multiple locations along the length of the mast). In general, most modern sailboats have a permanent backstay and some have a permanent backstay combined with running backstays. Backstays are not always found on all vessels, especially smaller ones. A permanent backstay is attached at the top of the mast and may or may not be readily adjustable. In a masthead rig, tensioning the perma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sailcloth
Sailcloth is cloth used to make sails. It can be made of a variety of materials, including natural fibers such as flax, hemp, or cotton in various forms of sail canvas, and synthetic fibers such as nylon, polyester, aramids, and carbon fibers in various woven, spun, and molded textiles. History Western traditions Viking longships used wool for sailcloth. The cloth was woven in one of three ways, according to locality and tradition: plain weave with individual threads going over and under each other, three-shaft twill with two threads going over and under at each cross thread, and four-shaft twill with thread interwoven with two threads at a time in either direction. Such was the practice from the 11th through the 14th centuries. Doek is Dutch for cloth, which evolved into the English word "duck" in reference to sail canvas. Duck was typically made from cotton or linen (flax), with some use of hemp. These natural fibers have poor resistance to rot, UV light and water absor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boom (sailing)
In sailing, a boom is a spar (sailing), spar (pole), along the of a fore and aft rigged sail, that greatly improves control of the angle and shape of the sail. The primary action of the boom is to keep the ''foot'' flatter when the sail angle is away from the centerline of the boat. The boom also serves as an attachment point for more sophisticated control lines. Because of the improved sail control it is rare to find a non-headsail without a boom, but lateen sails, for instance, are loose-footed. In some modern applications, the sail is rolled up into the boom for storage or reefing (shortening sail). Boom attachment The forward end of the boom attaches to a Mast (sailing), mast just below the sail, with a joint called the Gooseneck (sailing), gooseneck. The gooseneck pivots allowing the other end of the boom to move freely. The Parts of a sail#Corners, clew (back corner) of the sail attaches to the free end of the boom. The entire ''foot'' of the sail may be attached t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bowsprit
The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar (sailing), spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay that counteracts the forces from the forestay, forestays. The bowsprit’s purpose is to create anchor points for the sails that extend beyond the vessel’s bow, increasing the size of sail that may be held taut. The word ''bowsprit'' is thought to originate from the Middle Low German word ''bōchsprēt'' – ''bōch'' meaning "bow" and ''sprēt'' meaning "pole". On some square-rigged ships a Spritsail (square-rigged), spritsail is flown below the bowsprit; these are sometimes accompanied by a sprit topmast, which serves to assist the spritsail while tacking (sailing), tacking. The bowsprit may also be used to hold up the Figurehead (object), figurehead. References External links * {{Sailing ship elements Sailboat components ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaff Rig
Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and shape of the sail, a gaff rig will have running backstays rather than permanent backstays. The gaff enables a fore-and-aft sail to be four sided, rather than triangular. A gaff rig typically carries 25 percent more sail than an equivalent Bermuda rig for a given hull design. A sail hoisted from a gaff is called a gaff-rigged sail. Description Gaff rig remains the most popular fore-aft rig for schooner and barquentine mainsails and other course sails, and spanker sails on a square rigged vessel are always gaff rigged. On other rigs, particularly the sloop, ketch and yawl, gaff rigged sails were once common but have now been largely replaced by the Bermuda rig sail, which, in addition to being simpler than the gaff rig, usually all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Multihull
A multihull is a boat or ship with more than one Hull (watercraft), hull, whereas a vessel with a single hull is a monohull. The most common multihulls are catamarans (with two hulls), and trimarans (with three hulls). There are other types, with four or more hulls, but such examples are very rare and tend to be specialised for particular functions. Multihull history Single-outrigger boats, double-canoes (catamarans), and double-outrigger boats (trimarans) of the Austronesian peoples are the direct antecedents of modern multihull vessels. They were developed during the Austronesian Expansion (c. 3000 to 1500 BC) which allowed Austronesians to colonize maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, Island Melanesia, Madagascar, and Polynesia. These Austronesian vessels are still widely used today by traditional fishermen in Austronesian regions in maritime Southeast Asia, Oceania and Madagascar; as well as areas they were introduced to by Austronesians in ancient times like in the East ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reefing
Reefing reduces the area of a sail, usually by folding or rolling one edge of the canvas in on itself and attaching the unused portion to a Spar (sailing), spar or a , as the primary measure to preserve a sailing vessel's stability in strong winds. Restoring full sail area is termed ''shaking out'' a . Whereas Fore-and-aft rig, fore-and-aft rigged vessels store the unused portion of the sail on a boom (sailing), boom (below the sail), square rig, square-rigged vessels stow the unused portion on a spar above the sail. Reefing may occur by rolling the sail around its Sail components, luff or Foot (sailing), foot, either on a rotating stay or within a spar. Fore-and-aft rigs Sails may have built-in alternative attachment points that allow their area to be reduced. In a mainsail, reefing cringles may be installed in the sail; a cruising boat will typically have two to three pairs. These are pulled down to the boom to form a new tack and clew, reducing the sail's area. The first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
