 The fore royal yard on the Prince William. The royal yards are the highest and smallest yards on the ship, are made of wood, and are "lifting yards" that can be raised along a section of the mast. Here it is in the lowered position. A yardarm (often shortened to just yard) is a horizontal spar on a mast from which square sails are rigged. The yardarm is normally constructed of wood or metal. Numerous bits of standing and running rigging are attached to the yardarm to allow the crew to work aloft and to control the sails. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 947 KB) Three Prince William crew out on the fore-royal yard in its lowered position. ...
ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 947 KB) Three Prince William crew out on the fore-royal yard in its lowered position. ...
Prince William alongside in Fredrikstad at the end of the Tall Ships Race 2005. ...
mizzen mast, mainmast and foremast Grand Turk The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical pole which supports the sails. ...
A sail is a surface intended to generate thrust by being placed in a wind; basically it is a vertically oriented wing. ...
This article is about the rigging of ships, and is based on the detailed article in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, now in the public domain. ...
Controlling the yard To allow the direction of the vessel relative to the wind to be changed the yard can rotate around the mast. When running directly downwind the yards are 'squared', pointing perpendicular to the ship's centre line. As the ship wants to sail closer to the wind the yards are braced around using the braces. When further rotation is obstructed by other bits of rigging (typically the shrouds), the yard is said to be braced hard round. This angle (normally about 45 degrees) limits how close to the wind a square rigged ship can sail. This article is about the rigging of ships, and is based on the detailed article in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, now in the public domain. ...
A shroud is typically something, usually a cloth, that covers or protects some other object. ...
The yards represent a considerable weight high above the vessel's centre of gravity. To increase stability, especially in heavy weather, some means is normally provided to lower the yards when they are not being used to set sails. In Nineteenth century warships (where a large crew was available) this was generally by physically taking the upper yards down from the masts and storing them on deck - along with, in many cases, the upper sections of the mast itself. Merchant ships in the age of sail would also do this before sailing in the Southern Ocean. On modern tall ships the yards are not designed to be brought down on deck, but 'lifting yards' that can be raised and lowered along a short section of mast are often used. Kaskalot at the 2004 Bristol Harbour festival in England. ...
Setting square sails
 The forecourse is stowed neatly on top of its yard. On the Prince William this yard is made of steel, does not lift, and weighs around two tons. The two people higher up are working on the fore lower topsail yard. The yardarm exists to allow square sails to be set to drive the ship. The top edge of the sail is 'bent on' (attached) to the yard semi-permanently. Clewlines (attached to the clews - the bottom corner of the sail) and buntlines (attached to the bunt - bottom edge - of the sail) run up the yard and from there to the mast and down to deck. These allow the bottom of the sail to be hoisted up to the yard, so the sail is effectively folded in two. In this state the sail is said to be "in its gear", that is ready for setting or stowing. To set the sail the clewlines and buntlines are let go, and the sheets (attached to the bottom corner of the sail) are adjusted to shape the sail to best catch the wind. For lifting yards the yard must be hauled up to the top of its travel to set the sail. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 947 KB) Prince William crew making a neat harbour-stow of the forecourse (plus two on the fore lower topsail). ...
ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 947 KB) Prince William crew making a neat harbour-stow of the forecourse (plus two on the fore lower topsail). ...
To stow (hand) the sail the sheets are released and the clewlines and buntlines are pulled tight. The sail folds in half - back in its gear - and no longer catches the wind. The crew must then go out along the yardarm in order to bundle the sail up tightly and tie it down with gaskets. To do this the crew stand in footropes suspended beneath the yardarm and balance themselves between that and the yard itself. The person working at the end of the yard has a separate footrope known as the flemish horse. On modern ships a steel wire jackstay runs along the length of the yard, onto which the crew clip their safety harnesses. During the age of sail no such provision was made, and falling from the yard was a real risk. A gasket holding the main-royal on a modern square-rigged training ship. ...
The footrope (lightly outlined in red) on the topgallant yard, far above the water. ...
A flemish horse is a footrope on a square rigged sailing ship that is found at the extreme outer end of the yard. ...
Manning the yards When coming into port, especially during the Tall Ships' Races many modern square riggers will 'man the yards'. All the crew not required on deck to handle the ship will go aloft and spread out along the yards. This manoeuvre was originally used to display the whole crew to the harbour authorities and the other ships present, to show that the ship's guns were not manned and hence her intentions were peaceful. The Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race is a long-distance race for sailing ships. ...
The Mexican Navy's training ship Cuauhtémoc is famous for manning its yards with its crew standing ontop of the yards, rather than in footropes. The Cuauhtémoc is a Sail Training vessel similar to the USCGC Eagle, designed to train officers and cadets of the Mexican Navy. ...
"Sun over the yardarm" In sailing tradition, when the sun's orb is over the foreyardarm when viewed from the quarterdeck, it is acceptable to begin drinking.
See also A list of nautical terms; some remain current, many date from the 17th-19th century. ...
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