Main-mast of a square-rigged ship, with all square sails set except the course.

Square rig is a generic type of sailing vessel in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular to the keel of the ship. These spars are called yards the tips of which are called yardarms. Square rig was the main design in the age of sail. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1536x2048, 1116 KB) Summary Mainmast of the Prince William, from aft. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1536x2048, 1116 KB) Summary Mainmast of the Prince William, from aft. ... In sailing, a course sail is the principal sail on a mast. ... This article is about the convenience store. ... // In boats and ships, keel can mean either of two parts; a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element; these parts overlap. ... Italian ship-rigged vessel Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976 A ship is a large, sea-going watercraft. ... This article is about the unit of measure known as the yard. ... Look up Rig in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In Norse mythology, see Ríg. ... The age of sail is the period in which international trade and naval warfare were both dominated by sailing ships. ...

Square rig can also describe individual four-cornered sails suspended from yardarms, and carried on either a square rigged or a mainly fore-and-aft rigged vessel, such as one with either a bermuda rigged or gaff rigged mainsail. A sail is any type of surface intended to generate thrust by being placed in a wind — in essence a vertically-oriented wing. ... A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing rig consisting mainly of sails that are set along the line of the keel rather than perpendicular to it. ... In sailing, a bermuda rig is: A rig of mainsail or course that consists of a triangular sail set aft of the mast, with its head raised to the top of the mast, its luff running down the mast and normally attached to it for all its length, its tack... Gaff rig is a sailing rig in which the mainsail is a four-cornered fore-and-aft rigged sail controlled at its head by a spar called the gaff. ... A mainsail is the most important sail raised from the main (or only) mast of a sailing vessel. ...

A mast is considered square rigged if its course is square rigged, but normally if this is the case it will have a complete set of square rigged sails. If the course is fore-and-aft, square topsails can still be carried in front of the mast. mizzen mast, mainmast and foremast Grand Turk The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical pole which supports the sails. ... In sailing, a course sail is the principal sail on a mast. ...

A de-rigged square rigger in London.

Square rigged vessels range in size from small sloops to full rigged ships. However even for the largest vessels, the rig has been largely replaced by fore-and-aft gaff rigs and bermuda rigs. In the past, these more efficient rigs were impractical on larger vessels because of the loads that must be handled in hoisting and trimming the few large sails that are used. The square rig breaks up the sail area into many smaller sails, each of which can be individually handled by a manageable team hauling by hand on the lines. With the development of more advanced fittings and equipment, particularly geared winches, the load in an individual line became less of an issue, and the focus moved to minimising the number of lines and hence the size of the crew needed to handle them - a situation that favoured a few large sails instead of many small ones. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1215x1800, 1578 KB) The rigging of an old Square rig in London, United Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1215x1800, 1578 KB) The rigging of an old Square rig in London, United Kingdom. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... A sloop-rigged J-24 sailboat A sloop (From Dutch sloep) in sailing, is a vessel with a fore-and-aft rig. ... A full rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a square rigged sailing vessel with three or more masts, all of them square rigged. ... Gaff rig is a sailing rig in which the mainsail is a four-cornered fore-and-aft rigged sail controlled at its head by a spar called the gaff. ... In sailing, a bermuda rig is: A rig of mainsail or course that consists of a triangular sail set aft of the mast, with its head raised to the top of the mast, its luff running down the mast and normally attached to it for all its length, its tack...

Similarly, hybrid vessels carrying some square-rigged sails have largely disappeared. The low aspect ratio of square rigged sails (usually 1/2 to 1/3) produce large amounts of drag for the lift they produce, and thus give very poor performance to windward. The Bermuda rig is the (nearly) undisputed champion of windward performance in soft sails, due to its very low drag and high lift to drag ratio. Square rigs do have their advantages, however; they are more efficient when running, where the high lift to drag is irrelevant and the total lift is the most important issue. Not only do square rigged sails provide better downwind performance, but they also are less prone to broaching when running than Bermuda rigs. The low aspect ratio wing of a Piper PA-28 Cherokee In aerodynamics, the aspect ratio is an airplanes wings span divided by its standard mean chord (SMC). ... Windward is the side of a boat into which the wind is blowing. ... Points of sail is the term used to describe a sailing boats course in relation to the wind direction. ... Broaching is a sudden change in heading angle of a sailboat, caused by a number of wind/sail interactions. ...

Tending sail

A square rigged sail is not in fact square, but more nearly trapezoidal, being symmetrical but longer in the foot than the head. Like all sails it is three-dimensional, and its curve or belly means its foot is not a straight line at all. It is fixed to a spar along its head, and its clews are controlled by sheets, often run to blocks on the spar immediately below the sail. The lower sails, without a spar below them, may also have tacks. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2372x1587, 2207 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Square rig ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2372x1587, 2207 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Square rig ... A trapezoid (in North America) or trapezium (in Britain and elsewhere) is a quadrilateral two of whose sides are parallel to each other. ... diagram showing the names of the parts of a sail The lower edge of a triangular sail is called the foot of the sail, while the upper point is known as the head. ... In sailing: The head of a sail is its uppermost corner or, in the case of four-cornered sails, sometimes its uppermost edge, see parts of a sail. ... In sailing, the clew is the lower aft corner of the sail. ... In sailing, a sheet is a line (or rope) used to control the moveable corner(s) of a sail. ... In sailing, a block is a pulley or a number of pulleys enclosed in sheaves so as to be fixed to the end of a line or to a spar or surface. ... The starboard tack of Prince Williams forecourse. ...

Modern square rigged ships are still used for training, tourism and ceremonial purposes. From its modern interpretations to its antecedents when maritime nations would send young naval officer candidates to sea (e. ...

Types of square rig

Principally square rigged types

• A barque has three or more masts, with the aftermost entirely fore-and-aft rigged, while the fore, main and any others are square rigged.
• A brig has two masts, both square rigged.
• A full rigged ship has three or more masts, including a foremast, mainmast and mizzen, and all masts are square rigged.
• A sloop has only one mast.

All the above rigs normally carry a number of jibs and at least one spanker, and may also carry fore-and-aft staysails between the masts. A barc is a type of sailing vessel. ... The Brig Lady Washington For other uses, see Brig (disambiguation). ... A full rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a square rigged sailing vessel with three or more masts, all of them square rigged. ... A sloop-rigged J-24 sailboat A sloop (From Dutch sloep) in sailing, is a vessel with a fore-and-aft rig. ... A typcial jib on a small yacht A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremost mast of a sailing boat. ... A spanker is either of two kinds of sail. ... A staysail is a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff is affixed to a stay running forward (and most often but not always downwards) from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit or to another mast. ...

Fore-and-aft rigs with some square rigged sails

• A barquentine has three or more masts, the fore square rigged, the main, mizzen and any others fore-and-aft rigged.
• A brigantine has two masts: A square rigged foremast and a fore-and-aft rigged mainmast.
• A square-topsail ketch carries one or more square-rigged topsails (commonly two, an upper and a lower topsail) on its mainmast, in addition to its mainsail, mizzen sail and jibs.
• A square-topsail schooner carries one or more square-rigged topsails on its foremast. This rig is often simply called a topsail schooner as topsails above the gaff-rigged sails are a standard part of the schooner rig.
• A square-topsail cutter or sloop carries one or (less commonly) two square topsails on its only mast, in addition to its mainsail and jib or jibs.

This article is about the ship. ... Description In sailing, a brigantine is a vessel with two masts, at least one of which is square rigged. ... Square Topsl Gaff Ketch Hawaiian Chieftain on San Francisco Bay A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: A main mast, and a mizzen mast abaft the main mast. ... A topsail is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails. ... Two-masted fishing schooner A schooner (IPA: ) is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts. ... A topsail is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails. ... An American-looking gaff cutter with a genoa jib set This French yawl has a gaff topsail set. ... A sloop-rigged J-24 sailboat A sloop (From Dutch sloep) in sailing, is a vessel with a fore-and-aft rig. ...

External links

• The Maltese Falcon, a modern square rigged yacht
• Sail Training Ships, Square rigged training ships