sailboat forward stay

Standing Rigging (or ‘Name That Stay’)

Published by rigworks on november 19, 2019.

Question: When your riggers talk about standing rigging, they often use terms I don’t recognize. Can you break it down for me?

From the Rigger: Let’s play ‘Name that Stay’…

Forestay (1 or HS) – The forestay, or headstay, connects the mast to the front (bow) of the boat and keeps your mast from falling aft.

Your forestay can be full length (masthead to deck) or fractional (1/8 to 1/4 from the top of the mast to the deck).
Inner forestays, including staysail stays, solent stays and baby stays, connect to the mast below the main forestay and to the deck aft of the main forestay. Inner forestays allow you to hoist small inner headsails and/or provide additional stability to your rig.

Backstay (2 or BS) – The backstay runs from the mast to the back of the boat (transom) and is often adjustable to control forestay tension and the shape of the sails.

A backstay can be either continuous (direct from mast to transom) or it may split in the lower section (7) with “legs” that ‘V’ out to the edges of the transom.
Backstays often have hydraulic or manual tensioners built into them to increase forestay tension and bend the mast, which flattens your mainsail.
Running backstays can be removable, adjustable, and provide additional support and tuning usually on fractional rigs. They run to the outer edges of the transom and are adjusted with each tack. The windward running back is in tension and the leeward is eased so as not to interfere with the boom and sails.
Checkstays, useful on fractional rigs with bendy masts, are attached well below the backstay and provide aft tension to the mid panels of the mast to reduce mast bend and provide stabilization to reduce the mast from pumping.

Shrouds – Shrouds support the mast from side to side. Shrouds are either continuous or discontinuous .

Continuous rigging, common in production sailboats, means that each shroud (except the lowers) is a continuous piece of material that connects to the mast at some point, passes through the spreaders without terminating, and continues to the deck. There may be a number of continuous shrouds on your boat ( see Figure 1 ).

Cap shrouds (3) , sometimes called uppers, extend from masthead to the chainplates at the deck.
Intermediate shrouds (4) extend from mid-mast panel to deck.
Lower shrouds extend from below the spreader-base to the chainplates. Fore- (5) and Aft-Lowers (6) connect to the deck either forward or aft of the cap shroud.

Discontinuous rigging, common on high performance sailboats, is a series of shorter lengths that terminate in tip cups at each spreader. The diameter of the wire/rod can be reduced in the upper sections where loads are lighter, reducing overall weight. These independent sections are referred to as V# and D# ( see Figure 2 ). For example, V1 is the lowest vertical shroud that extends from the deck to the outer tip of the first spreader. D1 is the lowest diagonal shroud that extends from the deck to the mast at the base of the first spreader. The highest section that extends from the upper spreader to the mast head may be labeled either V# or D#.

A sailboat’s standing rigging is generally built from wire rope, rod, or occasionally a super-strong synthetic fibered rope such as Dyneema ® , carbon fiber, kevlar or PBO.

1×19 316 grade stainless steel Wire Rope (1 group of 19 wires, very stiff with low stretch) is standard on most sailboats. Wire rope is sized/priced by its diameter which varies from boat to boat, 3/16” through 1/2″ being the most common range.
1×19 Compact Strand or Dyform wire, a more expensive alternative, is used to increase strength, reduce stretch, and minimize diameter on high performance boats such as catamarans. It is also the best alternative when replacing rod with wire.
Rod rigging offers lower stretch, longer life expectancy, and higher breaking strength than wire. Unlike wire rope, rod is defined by its breaking strength, usually ranging from -10 to -40 (approx. 10k to 40k breaking strength), rather than diameter. So, for example, we refer to 7/16” wire (diameter) vs. -10 Rod (breaking strength).
Composite Rigging is a popular option for racing boats. It offers comparable breaking strengths to wire and rod with a significant reduction in weight and often lower stretch.

Are your eyes crossing yet? This is probably enough for now, but stay tuned for our next ‘Ask the Rigger’. We will continue this discussion with some of the fittings/connections/hardware associated with your standing rigging.

Ask the Rigger

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Selecting Rope – Length, Diameter, Type

Question: Do you have guidelines for selecting halyards, sheets, etc. for my sailboat? From the Rigger: First, if your old rope served its purpose but needs replacing, we recommend duplicating it as closely as possible Read more…

Spinlock Deckvest Maintenance

Question: What can I do to ensure that my Spinlock Deckvest is well-maintained and ready for the upcoming season? From the Rigger: We are so glad you asked! Deckvests need to be maintained so that Read more…

What is a Sailboat Stay?

Last Updated by

Daniel Wade

June 15, 2022

A sailboat stay is a cable or line that supports the mast. Stays bear a significant portion of the mast load.

Stays are a significant part of a sailboat's standing rigging, and they're essential for safe sailing. Stays support the mast and bear the stress of the wind and the sails. Losing a stay is a serious problem at sea, which is why it's essential to keep your stays in good condition.

Table of contents

‍ How to Identify Sailboat Stays

Sailboat stays connected to the top of the mast to the deck of the sailboat. Stays stabilize the mast in the forward and aft directions. Stays are typically mounted to the very front of the bow and the rearmost part of the stern.

Sailboat Forestay

The forestay connects the top of the mast to the bow of the boat. The forestay also serves an additional purpose—the jib sail luff mounts to the forestay. In fact, the jib is hoisted up and down the forestay as if it were a mast.

Boats equipped with roller furlings utilize spindles at the top and base of the forestay. The spindles rotate to furl and unfurl the jib. Roller furlings maintain the structural integrity of a standard forestay.

Sailboat Backstay

Backstays aren't as multifunctional as forestays. The backstay runs from the top of the mast (opposite the forestay) to the stern of the sailing vessel, and it balances the force exerted by the forestay. Together, the forestay and the backstay keep the mast upright under load.

Sailboat Stay vs. Shroud

Stays and shrouds are often confused, as they essentially do the same thing (just in different places). Stays are only located on the bow and stern of the vessel—that's fore and aft. Shrouds run from the port and starboard side of the hull or deck to the top of the mast.

Best Sailboat Stay Materials

Traditional sailboat stays were made of rope and organic line. These materials worked fine for thousands of years, and they still do today. However, rope has limitations that modern sailboat stays don't.

For one, traditional rope is organic and prone to decay. It also stretches, which can throw off the balance of the mast and cause serious problems. Other materials, such as stainless steel, are more ideal for the modern world.

Most modern fiberglass sailboats use stainless steel stays. Stainless stays are made of strong woven stainless steel cable, which resists corrosion and stress. Stainless cables are also easy to adjust.

Why are Stays Important?

Stays keep the mast from collapsing. Typical sailboats have lightweight hollow aluminum masts. Alone, these thin towering poles could never hope to withstand the stress of a fully-deployed sail plan. More often than not, unstayed masts of any material fail rapidly under sail.

When properly adjusted, stays transfer the force of the wind from the thin and fragile mast to the deck or the hull. They distribute the power of the wind over a wider area and onto materials that can handle it. The mast alone simply provides a tall place to attach the head of the sail, along with a bit of structural support.

Sailboat Chain Plates

Sailboat stays need a strong mounting point to handle the immense forces they endure. Stays mount to the deck on chainplates, which further distribute force to support the load.

Chainplates are heavy steel mounting brackets that typically come with two pieces. One plate mounts on top of the deck and connects to the stay. The other plate mounts on the underside of the deck directly beneath the top plate, and the two-bolt together.

Mast Stay Mounting

Stays mount to the mast in several ways depending on the vessel and the mast material. On aluminum masts, stays often mount to a type of chain plate called a "tang." A tang consists of a bracket and a hole for a connecting link. Aluminum masts also use simple U-bolts for mounting stays.

Wooden masts don't hold up to traditional brackets as well as aluminum. A simple u-bolt or flat bolt-on bracket might tear right out. As a result, wooden masts often use special collars with mounting rings on each side. These collars are typically made of brass or stainless steel.

Sailboat Stays on Common Rigs

Stays on a Bermuda-rigged sailboat are critical. Bermuda rigs use a triangular mainsail . Triangular sails spread their sail area vertically, which necessitates a tall mast.

Bermuda rig masts are often thin, hollow, and made of lightweight material like aluminum to avoid making the boat top-heavy. As a result, stays, and shrouds are of critical importance on a Bermuda rig.

Traditional gaff-rigged sail plans don't suffer as much from this issue. Gaff rigs use a four-pointed mainsail. This sail has a peak that's taller than the head and sometimes taller than the mast.

Gaff-rigged cutters, sloops, schooners, and other vessels use comparatively shorter and heavier masts, which are less likely to collapse under stress. These vessels still need stays and shrouds, but their stronger masts tend to be more forgiving in unlucky situations.

How to Adjust Sailboat Stays

Sailboat stays and shrouds must be checked and adjusted from time to time, as even the strongest stainless steel cable stretches out of spec. Sailboats must be in the water when adjusting stays. Here's the best way to keep the proper tension on your stays.

Loosen the Stays

Start by loosening the forestay and backstay. Try to do this evenly, as it'll reduce the stress on the mast. Locate the turnbuckles and loosen them carefully.

Match the Turnbuckle Threads

Before tightening the turnbuckle again, make sure the top and bottom threads protrude the same amount. This reduces the chance of failure and allows you to equally adjust the stay in both directions.

Center the Mast

Make sure the mast is centered on its own. If it's not, carefully take up the slack in the direction you want it to go. Once the mast is lined up properly, it's time to tighten both turnbuckles again.

Tighten the Turnbuckles

Tighten the turnbuckles as evenly as possible. Periodically monitor the direction of the mast and make sure you aren't pulling it too far in a single direction.

Determine the Proper Stay Pressure

This step is particularly important, as stays must be tightened within a specific pressure range to work properly. The tension on a sailboat stay ranges from a few hundred pounds to several tons, so it's essential to determine the correct number ahead of time. Use an adjuster to monitor the tension.

What to Do if you Lose a Stay

Thankfully, catastrophic stay and shroud failures are relatively rare at sea. Losing a mast stay is among the worst things that can happen on a sailboat, especially when far from shore.

The stay itself can snap with tremendous force and cause injury or damage. If it doesn't hurt anyone, it'll certainly put the mast at risk of collapsing. In fact, if you lose a stay, your mast will probably collapse if stressed.

However, many sailors who lost a forestay or backstay managed to keep their mast in one piece using a halyard. In the absence of a replacement stay, any strong rope can offer some level of protection against dismasting .

How to Prevent a Stay Failure

Maintenance and prevention is the best way to avoid a catastrophic stay failure. Generally speaking, the complete failure of a stay usually happens in hazardous weather conditions or when there's something seriously wrong with the boat.

Stays sometimes fail because of manufacturing defects, but it's often due to improper tension, stripped threads, or aging cable that hasn't been replaced. Regular maintenance can prevent most of these issues.

Check the chainplates regularly, as they can corrode quietly with little warning. The deck below the chainplates should also be inspected for signs of rot or water leakage.

When to Replace Standing Rigging

Replace your stays and shrouds at least once every ten years, and don't hesitate to do it sooner if you see any signs of corrosion or fraying. Having reliable standing rigging is always worth the added expense.

Choosing a high-quality stay cable is essential, as installing substandard stays is akin to playing with fire. Your boat will thank you for it, and it'll be easier to tune your stays for maximum performance.

I've personally had thousands of questions about sailing and sailboats over the years. As I learn and experience sailing, and the community, I share the answers that work and make sense to me, here on Life of Sailing.

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Sailboat Stays and Shrouds: Essential Rigging Components Explained

by Emma Sullivan | Aug 21, 2023 | Sailboat Maintenance

Short answer: Sailboat stays and shrouds

Sailboat stays and shrouds are essential components of the rigging system that provide support and stability to the mast. Stays run from the masthead to various points on the boat, preventing forward and backward movement, while shrouds connect the mast laterally to maintain side-to-side stability. Together, they help distribute the forces acting on the mast and ensure safe sailing .

Understanding Sailboat Stays and Shrouds: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction: Sailing is an exhilarating experience, but it requires a deep understanding of the various components that make up a sailboat . One crucial aspect that every sailor should grasp is the concept of stays and shrouds. These vital elements not only provide support and stability to the mast but also play a significant role in determining the overall performance of the sailboat. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore everything you need to know about sailboat stays and shrouds.

What are Stays and Shrouds? Stays and shrouds are essential rigging components that hold the mast in place and control its movements during sailing. They primarily serve two distinct purposes – providing support for the mast against excessive sideways forces (known as lateral or side-to-side loads) while allowing controlled flexing, and keeping the mast aligned with respect to both pitch (fore-aft) and roll (side-to-side) axes.

The Difference between Stays and Shrouds: Although often used interchangeably, stays and shrouds have specific functions on a sailboat rigging system. Stays usually refer to those wires or cables that run forward from the head of the mast, attaching it to various points on the bow or foredeck. They help resist fore-and-aft loads placed upon the mast, such as when sailing upwind, preventing it from bending too much under pressure.

On the other hand, shrouds typically refer to rigging lines connecting laterally from both sides of the masthead down towards deck level or chainplates located on either side of the boat’s cabin top or hull. Unlike stays, they primarily counteract side-to-side forces acting on the mast due to wind pressure exerted against sails during different points of sail.

Types of Stays: A typical sailboat may consist of different types of stays based on their location on the mast. Some of the common types include:

1. Forestay: The forestay is a prominent stay that runs from the top of the mast to the bow or stemhead fitting at the boat’s front . It is responsible for supporting most of the fore-and-aft loads acting upon a sailboat rigging system, keeping the mast in position while under tension from sails .

2. Backstay: The backstay runs from the top of the mast to either stern or transom fittings at the aft end of a sailboat. It acts as an opposing force to counteract forward bending moments occurring on larger boats when sailing into a headwind or during heavy gusts.

3. Inner Stays: Found on some rigs with multiple masts or taller sailboats, inner stays run parallel to and inside other stays (such as forestay and backstay). These provide additional support and rigidity when deploying smaller headsails closer to centerline during specific wind conditions.

Types of Shrouds: Similar to stays, shrouds can vary based on their positioning on each side of the masthead and hull structure. Some commonly used shroud types are:

1. Upper Shrouds: These are positioned higher up on a sailboat mast , connecting near its upper section down towards deck level or chainplates for lateral stability against the force exerted by sailing sails.

2. Lower Shrouds: Positioned lower down on a sailboat’s mast , these connect near its midpoint and extend towards lower deck sections or chainplates. They serve mainly as reinforcing elements against lateral forces experienced while sailing in strong winds .

3. Jumpers/Checkstays: Jumpers (or checkstays) are typically temporary shroud additions used when depowering or controlling mast bend in certain wind conditions or point of sail, especially during racing events where fine-tuning sail shape is critical.

Conclusion: Sailboat stays and shrouds are essential components that provide critical support, stability, and control to the mast. Understanding their purpose and types is crucial for every sailor looking to optimize their vessel’s performance while ensuring safe sailing. By comprehensively knowing the role of stays and shrouds, you can confidently navigate the waters while harnessing the power of wind in pursuit of your sailing adventures.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Proper Installation of Sailboat Stays and Shrouds

Installing sailboat stays and shrouds may seem like a daunting task, but with the right knowledge and proper instructions, it can be accomplished smoothly. Stays and shrouds are crucial components of a sailboat’s rigging system that provide support and stability to the mast. In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through the process of installing these vital elements for safe and efficient sailing.

Step 1: Prepare your Equipment

Before beginning any installation, ensure that you have all the necessary tools and materials at hand. This includes stay wires, turnbuckles, cotter pins, wire cutters, measuring tape, swage fittings (if applicable), wrenches appropriate for your boat’s hardware sizes, and a well-organized workspace. Having everything prepared ahead of time allows for smoother progress throughout the installation procedure.

Step 2: Measure & Cut Stay Wires

Accurate measurements are crucial when it comes to stays and shrouds installation. Using a measuring tape, determine the required length for each stay wire by taking precise measurements from their designated attachment points on deck to the masthead or other relevant attachment points. It is important to leave room for tension adjustment using turnbuckles later on.

After obtaining accurate measurements, use wire cutters to trim each stay wire accordingly. Be sure to trim them slightly longer than measured lengths initially indicated because precision can only be achieved once all connections are made.

Step 3: Attach Wires to Mast Fittings

Now that you have your measured and cut stay wires ready, it’s time to attach them securely to the appropriate mast fittings . Depending on your boat’s design and specific rigging details, this step can vary slightly. Look for pre-existing attachment points designed specifically for stays or fittings specifically configured for thread-on stays if applicable.

Ensure each connection is secure by threading or whatever means necessary as per your boat’s requirements . Double-check that there is no unwanted slack while leaving space for later tension adjustments.

Step 4: Deck Attachment Points

Move on to attaching the stay wires to their designated deck attachment points. These points are usually found near the bow area, and there may be specific fittings designed just for this purpose. Follow your operational manual or consult experienced sailors if you are unsure about the correct attachment points.

Again, double-check that all connections are securely fastened, without any excess slack. It is always better to have a slight bit of extra wire length here than have inadequate length at this stage.

Step 5: Install Turnbuckles

With the stays securely connected at both ends, it’s time to insert turnbuckles. Turnbuckles are essential tools for adjusting the tension in stay wires. Attach these devices to each stay wire by screwing them into the corresponding threaded fitting on either end of the stays. Ensure they are tightened securely but not over-tightened at this stage; you still need room for adjustments and tuning.

Step 6: Secure with Cotter Pins or Locking Nuts

To prevent accidental loosening of turnbuckles due to vibrations or rough sail conditions, make sure to secure them using cotter pins or locking nuts provided by your boat’s manufacturer. Place a cotter pin through the hole located in one side of the turnbuckle and bend it back upon itself, ensuring that it does not interfere with adjacent rigging components or sails.

Alternatively, locking nuts can be used by tightening them against each side of the turnbuckle threads once adjusted correctly –This provides an additional layer of security against unexpected loosening during sailing adventures !

Step 7: Inspect & Adjust Tension

Before hitting the water and setting sail , take a moment to inspect all connections thoroughly. Verify that each wire is properly aligned and does not show signs of damage like frays or kinks—Pay attention to potential chafe points where movement can wear against another object or surface.

To adjust tension, gradually tighten or loosen the turnbuckles as necessary. Be cautious and make small adjustments while periodically checking for an evenly balanced mast, ensuring that it remains straight and true.

By following these step-by-step instructions meticulously, you can ensure a proper installation of sailboat stays and shrouds. Remember to take your time, double-check all connections, and consult with professionals or experienced sailors if any doubts arise. With a meticulous approach and attention to detail, your sailboat rigging will be safe, stable, and ready for smooth sailing adventures!

Frequently Asked Questions about Sailboat Stays and Shrouds: Everything You Need to Know

Have you ever found yourself marveling at the majesty of a sailboat, wondering how it is able to harness the power of the wind and navigate through vast oceans? If you are a sailing enthusiast or considering embarking on a sailing adventure, understanding the intricacies of sailboat stays and shrouds is paramount. In this comprehensive blog post, we will address frequently asked questions about sailboat stays and shrouds, equipping you with everything you need to know.

1. What are Sailboat Stays and Shrouds?

Sailboat stays and shrouds are vital components of a boat’s standing rigging system that help support the mast while ensuring stability during sailing. Simply put, they prevent the mast from toppling over under excessive pressure from the sails or adverse weather conditions. While these terms may sound interchangeable to novices, there are important distinctions between them.

Stays: Stays are tensioned cables or wires attached to various points on the mast and radiate outwards in multiple directions supporting it against fore-and-aft movement. The most common types include forestays (located at the bow), backstays (attached to the stern), side stays (running sideways along both port and starboard sides), and inner forestays.

Shrouds: On the other hand, shrouds provide lateral support to counteract sideways forces acting on the mast. They run diagonally from their connection points on deck-level chainplates outwards towards optimized positions along the spreaders near midway up the mast.

2. What materials are used for Sailboat Stays and Shrouds?

Traditionally, steel wire was predominantly used for both stays and shrouds due to its strength and durability. However, modern advancements have introduced alternative materials such as synthetic fibers like Dyneema or carbon fiber composites. These lightweight alternatives possess remarkable tensile strength while offering corrosion resistance advantages over traditional wire options.

3. How tight should Sailboat Stays and Shrouds be?

Maintaining the appropriate tension in your sailboat’s stays and shrouds is crucial for maintaining integrity and overall sailing performance. Correct tension ensures that the mast remains properly aligned while allowing it to flex as required, absorbing dynamic forces from wind gusts.

To determine optimal tension, consult your sailboat’s manufacturer guidelines or consult with a professional rigging specialist. Adjustments may also vary depending on sea state or anticipated weather conditions . Proper tuning necessitates periodic evaluation to ensure the stays and shrouds’ tension remains within specifications.

4. How do Sailboat Stays and Shrouds affect sailing performance ?

The correct alignment, tautness, and positioning of sailboat stays and shrouds significantly impact sailing performance due to their influence on mast bend characteristics. Adjusting stay tension can control how much a mast bends under load: tightened stays flatten the mainsail’s profile for increased pointing ability in light winds, while looser tensions promote fuller profiles for enhanced power in heavier winds .

Shroud positions also dictate sideways motion of the mast; fine-tuning their tension governs how efficiently a boat can maintain a desired course when encountering various wind strengths and angles.

5. What are some common signs of wear or damage in Sailboat Stays and Shrouds?

As essential as they are, sailboat stays and shrouds are subjected to immense loads that can lead to wear over time. Routine inspection is vital to identify any potential issues before they escalate into major rigging failures.

Signs of wear or damage may include rust or corrosion on metal components, cracked insulation around terminals, broken strands on wire rigging, visible rigging deformation or elongation under load, unusual vibrations onboard while sailing, or creaking noises originating from the mast during maneuvers.

In such instances, swift action should be taken by replacing affected parts immediately or seeking assistance from experienced rigging professionals.

By familiarizing yourself with the essentials of sailboat stays and shrouds, you empower yourself to enjoy a safer and more rewarding sailing experience. Remember to conduct regular inspections, adhere to manufacturer recommendations, and consult professionals when necessary. Now, set sail with confidence as you venture into the salty unknown!

Exploring the Importance of Sailboat Stays and Shrouds in Ensuring Safety at Sea

When it comes to sailing, safety should always be the number one priority. The open waters of the sea can be unpredictable and unforgiving, making it crucial for sailors to have a thorough understanding of their sailboat ‘s rigging system. One vital component of this system is sailboat stays and shrouds, which play a significant role in ensuring safety onboard.

Sailboat stays and shrouds are specialized cables or wires that support the mast, providing stability and preventing it from collapsing under the pressure of wind forces. These essential rigging elements act as a lifeline for the entire vessel, keeping everything intact during even the toughest conditions at sea.

The primary purpose of stays and shrouds is to distribute the load evenly throughout the mast structure. By doing so, they prevent excessive stress on specific areas and reduce the risk of structural failure. This balance is especially critical when sailboats encounter strong winds or rough seas that can exert immense pressure on the mast.

Imagine cruising along peacefully when suddenly you encounter strong gusts of wind. Without properly tensioned stays and shrouds, your mast could bend or break under these intense forces, compromising your safety and potentially causing severe damage to your vessel. Well-maintained stays and shrouds ensure that your mast remains stable even in adverse weather conditions by withstanding these forces without deformation.

However, ensuring that your sailboat’s rigging is reliable isn’t just about maintaining functionality—it demands meticulous attention to detail as well. Stays and shrouds need periodic inspection to identify any signs of wear or corrosion that may weaken their integrity over time. A frayed cable or rusty hardware might not seem like much at first glance, but they could lead to catastrophic failures when put under stress.

Safety at sea also requires understanding how different types of stays and shrouds work together to optimize performance in varying sailing conditions. While staying safe is crucial, performance matters too! Different sailboat designs accommodate different rigging configurations, and knowledgeable sailors carefully select the right combinations to enhance their vessel’s maneuverability. The strategic placement of stays and shrouds aids in controlling the shape and orientation of sails, enabling efficient sailing even in challenging weather.

In this era of advanced technologies, some sailors may wonder if traditional stays and shrouds are still essential with other innovations available. However, it’s crucial to remember that age-old methods often endure for a reason: their reliability. Modern alternatives might offer convenience or weight-saving benefits, but they seldom match the robustness and simplicity of time-tested techniques.

The exploration of the importance of sailboat stays and shrouds ultimately emphasizes the significance of investing time and resources into proper knowledge, maintenance, and selection. As a sailor, prioritizing safety by ensuring the integrity of these critical components can mean all the difference between a pleasurable voyage adrift on calm seas versus surviving treacherous storms.

So, before embarking on any maritime adventure, take a moment to appreciate the unsung heroes that uphold your mast—the sailboat stays and shrouds—and make sure they are ready to bear any challenges that await you on your journey to ensure both safe passage and endless memories at sea.

How Sailboat Stays and Shrouds Impact Performance: Tips for Maximizing Efficiency

Sailboats are fascinating vessels that harness the power of the wind to propel through the water. While many factors contribute to a sailboat’s performance, one often overlooked aspect is the impact that stays and shrouds have on its efficiency. In this blog post, we will dive into the intricacies of sailboat stays and shrouds, exploring how they affect performance and providing valuable tips for maximizing efficiency.

To understand the significance of stays and shrouds, let’s first clarify their definitions. Stays are essentially wires or ropes that provide support to keep a mast in place, preventing excessive bending or swaying. Shrouds, on the other hand, refer specifically to those stays that extend from either side of the boat to stabilize the mast laterally.

While seemingly simple components, stays and shrouds play a crucial role in determining a sailboat’s overall performance. Here’s how:

1. Structural stability: Sailboat stays act as primary supports for the mast, ensuring it remains upright against powerful winds . Without adequately tensioned stays and shrouds, masts can buckle or sway excessively under load, compromising sailing performance and even risking structural damage.

2. Sail shape control: Proper tensioning of stays and shrouds directly influences the shape of your sails while underway. By adjusting their tension appropriately, you can manipulate how your sails fill with wind , optimizing their aerodynamic profile for maximum efficiency. Expert sailors effectively use this control mechanism to fine-tune their boat ‘s speed and responsiveness.

3. Windward performance: Efficiently rigged sailboat stays help maintain proper alignment between mast and sails when sailing upwind (also known as pointing). Tensioned shrouds ensure that minimal lateral movement occurs during tacking or jibing maneuvers when changing direction against the wind. This prevention of excess mast movement translates into less energy lost due to unnecessary drag – ultimately improving windward efficiency .

Now that we’ve established the importance of sailboat stays and shrouds let’s delve into some tips for optimizing their performance:

1. Regular inspections: Routine visual inspections are essential to identify any signs of wear, corrosion, or fatigue on your stays and shrouds. Replace frayed ropes or wires promptly, ensuring that all components remain robust and reliable.

2. Correct tensioning: Achieving the optimal tension in your stays and shrouds is vital. Too loose, and you risk mast instability; too tight, and excessive stress loads are placed on the rigging components. Aim for a tension that allows slight flexibility while maintaining structural integrity – seeking advice from an experienced rigger can help find the sweet spot.

3. Invest in quality materials: The quality of your rigging directly impacts its longevity and performance . Opt for high-quality stainless steel wires, synthetic fibers like Dyneema, or carbon fiber alternatives when replacing old rigging components, as these materials offer superior strength-to-weight ratios.

4. Tuning adjustments: To maximize sail shape control, experiment with adjusting the tension of your stays and shrouds during different weather conditions or sailing angles. Fine-tuning these tensions can lead to significant improvements in both speed and responsiveness while ensuring optimum aerodynamic performance at all times.

5. Seek professional advice: Don’t hesitate to reach out to experts in yacht rigging or naval architects for specialist input regarding optimizing your sailboat’s rigging setup. Their expertise can guide you towards refined techniques tailored to suit specific vessel designs or sailing goals.

In conclusion, understanding how sailboat stays and shrouds impact performance is crucial for any sailor aiming to maximize efficiency on the water. By recognizing their significance as key structural supports influencing sail shape control and windward performance, you can optimize your vessel’s potential while enjoying more thrilling voyages than ever before! So make sure to prioritize regular inspections, correct tensioning methods, high-quality materials, tuning adjustments, and professional guidance to unlock the true potential of your sailboat.

Essential Maintenance Tips for Maintaining the Integrity of Sailboat Stays and Shrouds

Sailboat owners and enthusiasts know the importance of regular maintenance to keep their vessels in top condition. Among the vital components that require particular attention are the stays and shrouds – key structural elements that ensure the integrity of a sailboat’s mast and rigging system.

Stays and shrouds are essentially wires or cables that provide crucial support to the mast, allowing it to properly withstand wind pressures and maintain stability during sailing. As they play such a pivotal role in your sailboat’s performance and safety, it is essential to implement regular maintenance practices to ensure their longevity and functionality.

To help you maintain the integrity of your sailboat’s stays and shrouds, we have compiled some essential tips that will not only enhance their lifespan but also contribute to your overall sailing experience:

1. Visual Inspection: Regularly conduct visual inspections of all stays and shrouds with an eagle eye for any signs of wear or damage. Look for frayed or broken strands, corrosion, stretched areas, or loose fittings. It is better to address minor issues early on rather than waiting for them to become major problems.

2. Tension Monitoring: Check the tension of your stays regularly using a suitable tension gauge or by following manufacturer guidelines. Proper tension ensures optimal performance while avoiding excessive strain on both mast and rigging components.

3. Corrosion Control: Saltwater exposure can accelerate corrosion on metal components like turnbuckles, shackles, or terminals. Routinely clean these parts using freshwater after each outing while inspecting them for signs of rust. Applying protective coatings like anti-corrosion sprays can also significantly extend their lifespan.

4. Lubrication: Maintaining a smooth operation within turnbuckles is crucial for proper tension adjustment as well as preventing corrosion seizing between threaded components (e.g., adjusters). Apply marine-grade lubricants periodically, ensuring even distribution across all moving parts.

5. Regular Rig Tuning: Appreciate the importance of proper rig tuning to optimize sail shape and overall stability. Work with a professional rigger to adjust the tension on your sails and shrouds, correcting any sag or excessive flex.

6. Replacing Components: If you notice any signs of wear that cannot be resolved through cleaning, lubrication, or tension adjustment, consider replacing the affected components immediately with high-quality replacements. Neglecting worn stays or shrouds can compromise your sailboat ‘s safety and performance.

7. Professional Rig Inspection: Schedule a professional rig inspection at least once every two years, especially if you engage in more frequent or rigorous sailing activities. Rigging experts have the experience and knowledge to detect potential weaknesses that may not be readily evident to an untrained eye, helping you avoid costly breakdowns during crucial moments.

Remember, maintaining the integrity of sailboat stays and shrouds should be an ongoing priority for all passionate sailors. By following these essential maintenance tips and providing regular care to these vital elements, you can ensure your vessel is ready to conquer waves with reliability and grace. So set sail with confidence knowing that your rigging system is in optimal condition!

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The DIY Solent Stay or Inner Forestay

Among the many rigging improvements I’m pondering for my Yankee 30 Opal the year ahead is installing a second forestay to allow more flexibility in my sail plan.

A few years ago we dove into this topic in a two-part series on headsails. Two articles discussed the advantages of retrofitting a sloop with an inner forestay so that a smaller headsail could be set in higher winds. In the first part, technical Editor Ralph Naranjo discussed the Solent stay. In the the second part if the series , sailmaker Butch Ulmer wrote about the advantages of an inner forestay or staysail stay.

A Solent stay is a stay that sets between the mast and the forestay. It connects to the mast at a point that is only slightly below the existing backstay, and meets on the deck only slightly abaft of the existing forestay. Under such an arrangement, the mast requires no additional support. The existing backstay provides adequate tension to counteract the loads of any sail that is set from the new stay. Because it requires no additional backstay support, a Solent stay is a slightly less expensive option than the more common staysail stay, and it offers many of the same advantages.

An staysail stay also sets between the mast and the forestay. As the name implies, a staysail stay is where you would set a staysail, although it is also commonly used for setting a storm jib. In this modification, the forestay joins to the mast much closer to the deck than the Solent stay, so that some support aft is needed, usually in the form of running backstays-backstays that can be tensioned when needed, and slacked out of the way when they are not required. The staysail stay meets at the deck further aft than the Solent stay, thus bringing the center of effort further aft, which is usually desirable in heavy weather.

Why add an additional stay? As we saw in part one of our report, a Solent sail or staysail stay resolves the difficulty in managing a boat in winds at the upper range of a roller-furling jib’s designed parameters (usually above around 30 knots). The failings of a roller-reefed headsail become especially apparent when trying to work to windward. Even the best-cut furling jib will not furl down to the same efficient shape of a sail designed to perform in higher winds. There is also the risk of the furling gear itself failing, or the jib unfurling to its full dimensions.

It is important to keep in mind that most coastal sailors don’t need to bother with either of these stays. If you a prudent near-shore sailor, a well-designed and constructed furling jib will usually serve just fine. Butch Ulmer’s report discussed several methods sailmakers use to improve the performance of the roller-furling headsail when reefed down. A padded foam luff, conservative sizing (so reducing the size of the furled sail), stiffer sail material, and more sophisticated construction can all help make the furled sail more efficient. However, several of the sailmakers we spoke with suggested that a second forestay would be a welcome addition aboard a boat that has aspirations for a long offshore cruise.

The most common question we were asked in the wake of our recent two-part series on headsails was, “How do I install an inner forestay or Solent stay?” Because either of these stays might one day be depended upon in the direst of circumstances, and because every boat presents different challenges for this project, it’s important to do your research and investigate other boats that have carried out this retrofit. Once you have a general idea of what features you like, consult a rigger for the initial design.

The rigger can also help you source the parts you need, and hopefully point out other details you might overlook, such as where to install the sheet leads, how to prevent corrosion of the new hardware, and what deck reinforcements might be required. If you are having a sail made for the new stay, then getting the sailmaker involved in the design will also help.

Once you have your measurements and hardware, you can carry out the installation, depending upon your ability. In some cases, you may need some fiberglassing skills, since the padeye/chainplate for the new stay must be adequately reinforced. Usually, fiberglass work can be avoided by transferring the load to the hull or a stout bulkhead, but as Brion Toss demonstrated in his recent article on the hidden causes of rig failure , this requires a general understanding of common installation errors and potential trouble spots.

For those who are considering an upgrade here are some other resources to consult as you begin your search.

Don Casey’s This Old Boat Casey’s comprehensive book on upgrading an old sailboat dedicates several pages to adding an inner forestay. This comprehensive book is a must-have for anyone planning to turn a run-down sailboat into the pride of the marina. You can probably find a used copy on Amazon, but if you buy new from our bookstore , it helps support more Practical Sailor tests and special reports.
PS Advisor Adding a Staysail Back in 1999, when former editor Dan Spurr was refitting his sloop Viva , he pitched this same question to naval architect Eric Sponberg, who offered some sage advice. This article also references three books that will be of help to anyone considering a retrofit, among the Understanding Rigs and Rigging by Richard Henderson.
Whence Thou Comest, Highfield? We don’t know what was in the (former) editors water bottle when he came up with the headline for this test of quick releases for stays and shrouds back in 1999. After evaluating several devices, the test team concluded that ABI’s Highfield lever to be the best of the bunch. The company has since gone out of business, but the as the Rigging Company describes, three other worthy substitutes are now available. We routinely turn to the Rigging Company for advice on hardware and installations and its website has a section dedicated to installing an inner forestay that covers many of the hardware details, including devices for storing the inner forestay when not in use.
Spar specialists Selden has a number of informative articles on rigging installation and maintenance. It offers step-by-step advice on installing an inner forestay fitting (nose tang) on the mast. For those who are dealing with a classic boat, fabricating their own chainplates or tangs, or simply enjoy digging into archaic, yet still valuable advice. Skene’s Elements of Yacht Design offers tips on calculating loads and fabricating hardware. It is still relevant enough to pick up from a used book store. Rig-Rite also offers a selection of staysail tangs.
Rigger and sailmaker websites In addition to its discussion of stay releases the Rigging Company has additional information on adding a Solent stay. Brion Toss’s Spartalk discussion board (log-in required) has several threads dealing with inner forestays, Solent stays, and related hardware. Among them is Toss’s rant against the ABI forestay release . He prefers the babystay releases from Wichard (see page 9 of the catalog), available in wheel, ratchet, or lever designs, depending on the size of the boat. And sailmaker Joe Cooper describes a lightweight Solent stay retrofit using fiber instead of wire for the stay. (Because of unknowns regarding fiber stays, PS still prefers wire for this use.)
Owner retrofits A number of blogs and archive articles from old magazines offer insight into what a retrofit entails. The Windrope family has done an excellent job documenting the addition of a Solent stay to Aeolus , their Gulf 32 Pilothouse sloop.

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Staying Power – Adding an Inner Forestay

Posted by Ed Zacko | BWI Award-Winning Articles , Projects , Rigging

Adding an inner forestay expands sail plan options and can make for better boathandling.

W hen my wife, Ellen, and I began our search for an ocean-going cruising boat, high on our list of requirements was that it be a cutter—a simple, single-mast rig with one mainsail and two headsails and a mast set further aft than on a sloop.

The cutter has several benefits. The larger foretriangle allows the total sail area to be proportioned more equally between the three sails. Two ready headsails offer flexibility and efficiency, precluding the hassle of swapping a large genoa for a smaller jib when conditions warrant. The dedicated intermediate stay set aft and closer to the mast permits a staysail in strong winds, and pairing it with a deeply reefed main (or trysail) better balances the helm. And the added forestay offers security when going to windward and makes for easy short tacking in harbors under staysail alone.

Unfortunately, we never found a cutter that satisfied our other requirements. And, when we fell in love with the Lyle Hess-designed Nor’Sea 27, we bought a bare hull and deck to complete in our backyard, figuring we could fairly easily build a cutter rig for it. Our ideas were quickly dashed by Lyle himself. He pointed out that designing and building a cutter rig would result in a domino effect of additional changes that just weren’t worth it.

So, we went sailing on Entr’acte the sloop, and four years later, found ourselves in Portugal anchored next to world-cruising veterans Hal and Margret Roth. Their sloop, Whisper , proudly sported an intermediate forestay they had added, which Hal said provided nearly all of the advantages of a full-fledged cutter. I wondered about doing the same aboard Entr’acte . “It won’t be a cutter,” Hal said, “but it will be pretty close. You just have to be very clever about how you do it—and keep things simple!”

That meeting and conversation came full circle as Ellen and I prepared Entr’acte for our second voyage and debated adding roller furling. An intermediate stay like the Roth’s, we reasoned, would offer redundancy if the headsail furler broke, and it would let us set a smaller headsail in windy conditions, taking the burden off that single headstay.

Attaching an inner forestay between the mast and deck would be easy. Our challenge was to position it correctly to gain the best possible sail plan options and to make it easy to stow when not in use.

Forestay Positions

In the forward position, the stay is attached to a permanent toggle installed in the stemhead fitting’s aft-most opening. The stay is just clear of the furling drum and allows for easy hoisting and lowering of sails.

Our inner forestay would have three positions. The first would attach immediately to the main stemhead fitting just aft of the roller furling drum. In this position we could hank on the 110 percent working jib or a large nylon drifter. This would also be a better location to attach the sliding tack strap of our new asymmetric cruising chute. This strap is designed to wrap around a furled genoa and slide up and down to adjust the shape of the cruising chute’s luff, which might be all right for a Sunday afternoon. But for long passages we did not like the idea of that strap chafing mile after mile on a furled, expensive genoa and imparting needless wear on furling gear bearings for thousands of miles when not in use. Far better to have that tack strap ride on its own forestay to save the wear and tear.

The second position was 3 feet back from the primary forestay. From this position we could set our storm jib as a staysail for short tacking into an anchorage. It would also improve the boat’s handling in heavy winds. As a mainsail is reefed, the length of the foot decreases and moves forward, shifting that sail’s center of effort toward the mast. But when a headsail is furled under the same conditions, its center of effort remains unchanged, so the net movement of the center of effort is forward, which tends to unbalance the helm. Setting a headsail 3 feet further aft brings that sail’s center of effort aft, helping to balance the helm in heavier winds.

The staysail rigged, with the inner stay set in the aft position. To use this, Ed rolls in the genoa and stows the sheets forward, out of the way.

The third position would be stowed for when this stay is not needed. In our case, the wire, detached from its turnbuckle, was just the right length to clip onto a 1⁄4-inch turnbuckle attached to a bail on the starboard middle stanchion. The turnbuckle would provide just enough tension to keep it from slopping around, allowing the stowed stay to serve also as a stable handhold when needed. Attached in a straight line to the stanchion, the new stay would be out of the way until needed with no bends or extra hardware.

Fortuitously, measurements landed the aft attachment point for the new headstay between the two large cleats at the narrowest clear point on the foredeck. This is where the deck is least likely to flex under load, and the foredeck remains clear.

Stay Installation

Deciding where exactly to mount the stay was a product of trial and error with cheap line. We finally determined it was best to mount the deck attachment 3 feet aft of the main stemhead fitting and the mast band 3 feet below the masthead. This positioning would keep the new stay parallel to, and far enough away from, the main forestay to prevent the two from tangling with each other, a common problem with double forestays. With the judicious use of extra toggles, we could easily move the lower attachment point from the fore to aft positions, ensuring it fit perfectly in either location.

The mast band is attached with 1⁄4 x 20 machine screws drilled and tapped. It’s further secured through a 1⁄2-inch stainless steel stud that passes completely through the mast and compression tube. The stud also provides an attachment for tangs for running backstays.

The standing rig consisted only of the forestay and a 7⁄16-inch bronze turnbuckle. (The price of a proper “highfield lever” to tension the new stay took our breath away. We opted instead for a spare turnbuckle with toggle and quick release pins. Simple, yet effective.)

The running rig was simply a halyard and two jib sheets. We didn’t add additional winches or lead blocks, figuring that both headsails would never be used on the same tack at the same time. When we wanted to hoist a staysail, we employed the unused genoa winch.

Ed added a robust deck plate under the foredeck with an eye to accept a turnbuckle and wire that transfers the load to the foremost interior bulkhead, which is glassed to the hull.

Below decks, we installed a 1 x 6-inch white oak plank which completely traversed the deck. This one large beam effectively increased our deck thickness and served as a substantial backing plate not only for the forestay but for the deck cleats as well. This was a distinct improvement from the two smaller individual backing blocks we had before.

A 1 x 6-inch oak plank added beneath the foredeck replaced two smaller backing blocks and beefed up the entire area where two bow cleats and the forestay are attached.

To prevent leaks and mold, we thoroughly bedded the oak beam and both deck plates with Dolphinite compound. We always use Dolphinite whenever we bed wood to fiberglass or wood to metal because, unlike other compounds, it soaks into the wood to best seal out water. It also boasts anti-fungicidal properties that prevent rot. Dolphinite never gets hard and has always proved easy to disassemble, even after many years in place.

Putting it to Work

Over time we have experimented with the inner forestay and have learned a lot. We discovered an especially interesting setup on our 2003 Atlantic crossing. The wind was in just the wrong place, not quite dead astern but far enough on the quarter so the mainsail completely blanketed the genoa, rendering it quite useless. Poling out the genoa on the other side for a dead run would require a course change 15 degrees to port of our rhumb line. To get the genoa to draw properly would likewise mean a 15- or 20-degree alteration to starboard.

Because of the relatively light wind and pronounced cross swell, the large cruising chute was not a viable option. We certainly could have sailed a day at a time gybing onto alternating tacks, but there had to be a better solution. Finally, we came onto our desired course, trimmed the mainsail and genoa on starboard tack, hoisted our 110 percent working jib as a staysail with the inner forestay in aft position, and poled it out to starboard. Because the jib was small and sailing by the lee, it did not drive us very well, but it did funnel the wind quite nicely into the large genoa, tricking it into drawing properly. Once set, we continued comfortably on our way for the next five days.

Our inner forestay has been a rousing success with results far better than we had imagined. It’s a simple and economical addition to our cruising rig and gives us most of the advantages of a proper cutter. After sailing thousands of miles with this system, the only improvement we might make would be to add a dedicated halyard winch.

Storing the Stay

When it came to storing our inner stay when not in use, we got lucky and were able, by removing its turnbuckle, to attach it to a stanchion with a shorter turnbuckle and provide enough tension to keep it safely snug.

But, storing the inner forestay is usually easier said than done. Once disconnected at the deck fitting, the stay is too long to stow in a straight line from the mast fitting. Bending the stiff and inflexible 1 x 19 rigging wire causes work hardening, which dangerously weakens the wire. If your wire stay is too long to stow in a straight line, it must be led around a large, smooth radius before it is put under tension for stowage.

A stowage clip, also known as an inner forestay clip or inner stay storage bridle, solves the problem. This simple piece of gear clips onto the stay and features an eye for a strop that can be used to draw the stay away from the mast. With the strop leading forward to one anchor point on deck, the stay can be tensioned with its turnbuckle to a second attachment point slightly aft.

Wireless Options—Jamie Gifford

An inner forestay adds options for sail plan and mast control. But the location of an inner forestay can mean that it’s sometimes an inconvenience when not in use. It can interfere with tacking or prohibit dinghy storage on the foredeck. Making the inner forestay removeable alleviates some of these drawbacks but creates new challenges. Stowing the detached forestay can be difficult if long length requires deflecting wire around to its anchor point. And once stowed, the stay may bang into the mast and spreaders or chafe against a tightly sheeted genoa.

Using high-strength, low-stretch line instead of traditional wire mitigates these problems.

Dyneema or Spectra line (same fiber, different manufacturers) offers several excellent characteristics for this application. Single-braid construction is very easy to splice. It has a soft hand and is so lightweight that it floats. This makes for easier stowing than wire and less chafing against rig and sail surfaces. These high-tech lines have good UV resistance, with tests revealing that 10 years of exposure degrades the material by about 50 percent. This isn’t insignificant, but stainless steel also degrades (from corrosion and work hardening), and the line is easier to inspect.

All materials have their Achilles’ heel. For these lines, it’s chafe. Though very slippery and chafe resistant, an edgy object pressed against a loaded low-stretch line will damage it quickly. These same lines are available as double-braided and with a polyester cover, but while these features offer some chafe protection and UV blocking, they also are harder to splice and less slippery (important when hoisting/dropping sails). In my opinion, the gains don’t warrant the compromises. It’s best to minimize chafe by attaching sails using soft hanks of either webbing loops or soft shackles (made from Dyneema or Spectra) and to keep running gear from wearing against a low-stretch line stay.

On Totem , the Stevens 47 that my wife, Behan, and our three children circumnavigated on, the removeable inner forestay is made from Dyneema SK75. Three grades of Dyneema have appropriate strength and stretch characteristics for this application: SK75, SK78, and SK90. One-quarter-inch-diameter SK75 has a breaking strength of 8,600 pounds.

Totem also has a removable Solent stay, set parallel and close to the forestay and made from Dynex Dux. This is Dyneema line put through additional treatment that makes it even stronger and with lower constructional stretch.

In sizing Dyneema or Dynex Dux, I recommend increasing the diameter to account for the inevitable UV damage. And splice the ends around a thimble. No knots! Thimble-less or knotted ends result in tight bend radiuses that significantly weaken the line.

High-tech line is a nice solution for a removable inner forestay and has many other applications onboard. And besides, who doesn’t like to show off a little DIY traditional ropework in techy materials?

About The Author

Ed Zacko is a Good Old Boat contributing editor. Ed, the drummer, and Ellen, the violinist, met in the orchestra pit of a Broadway musical. They built their Nor'Sea 27, Entr'acte, from a bare hull, and since 1980 have made four transatlantic and one transpacific crossing. After spending a couple of summers in southern Spain, Ed and Ellen shipped themselves and Entr‚Äôacte to Phoenix, where they have refitted Entr'acte while keeping up a busy concert schedule in the Southwest US. They recently completed their latest project, a children's book, The Adventures of Mike the Moose: The Boys Find the World.

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MODERN SAILBOAT DESIGN: Form Stability

Stability, fundamentally, is what prevents a boat from being turned over and capsized. Whether you are a cruiser or a racer, it is a desirable characteristic. A boat’s shape, particularly its transverse hull form, has an enormous impact on how stable it is. This so-called “form stability” is one of the primary reasons you should be interested in the shape of a boat’s hull.

The basic principle is self-evident: an object that is wide and flat is harder to overturn than one that is narrow and round. With this in mind, you can usually see at a glance what hull shapes have the greatest form stability. Wide hulls are inherently more stable than narrow ones; given two hulls of equal width, the one with less deadrise and a flatter bottom is more stable than one with more deadrise and a rounder bottom.

The controlling dimension, when considering width, is always waterline beam. Do not jump to conclusions based on a boat’s published maximum beam, as boats with the same maximum beam can easily have very different waterline beams. Another important factor is how a boat’s beam is distributed along the length of its hull. A hull that carries more waterline beam into its bow and stern sections–that is, a hull with a larger waterplane–has more form stability than a hull with a wide midsection and narrow ends. The classic example of the latter are the IOR boats that dominated racing during the 1970s. Because the IOR rating rule favored beamy boats but measured beam only in the midsection, designers thought they could have their cake and eat it, too. By making their boats fat in the middle they could gain a rating advantage; by pinching the ends they could reduce displacement and wetted surface area. Such hulls, however, as demonstrated during the 1979 Fastnet Race, are often not very stable.

Form stability is an important component of what is termed initial stability, which refers to a boat’s ability to immediately resist heeling when pressure is applied to its sails. A boat with lots of initial stability is said to be stiff; one with little initial stability is tender. Stiffness is a desirable feature, as a boat never sails as well when it’s heeled way over on its ear. The keel’s effective area and draft and its capacity for generating lift are reduced, as are the effective height and area of the sail plan (by about 10 percent, for example, when a boat is heeled to an angle of 25 degrees). A stiff boat that stays more upright not only retains more keel and rig efficiency, it can also stand up to a larger sail plan in the first place. In many cases, particularly if a boat is light, this negates any loss of performance caused by an increase in beam and wetted surface area.

Stiff boats with good form stability in one sense are more comfortable, especially for novice sailors, than boats that heel easily. In another sense, however, they can be very uncomfortable. Though they are rolled to less severe angles, they snap back from those lesser angles more quickly and abruptly than boats with less form stability that are rolled to greater angles. The resulting motion can seem jerky and violent, and this is reflected in a boat’s motion-comfort ratio . This quick motion, combined with the tendency of a flat-bottomed boat to pound in a steep head sea, may lead some to conclude that there can be such a thing as too much form stability.

The most important thing to remember about form stability is that it does not translate into ultimate stability. A sailboat’s hull form can help it resist heeling up to a point, but past that point all bets are off. A boat that depends too much on form stability to stay upright will be capable of supporting an enormous sail plan in moderate conditions, but when caught in a sudden squall with all its sail up, it can be laid over and capsized very quickly.

Capsized Open 60s can potentially be as stable upside down as they are right-side up. These days boats most undergo a righting test before competing

In a worst-case scenario, after a hull like this has capsized, its form stability may even help keep it inverted. Fans of singlehanded ocean racing will recall a dramatic series of Open 60 capsizes in the mid- to late-1990s. These extremely wide, flat monohulls, designed to surf at high speeds off the wind in the Southern Ocean, stayed upside down after being flipped over in spite of the very deep (or tall, as the case may be) ballast keels attached to their bottoms.

The ultimate in form stability

Multihulls, of course, rely entirely on form stability to stay upright. They are extremely stiff, and it takes an enormous amount of energy to heel them to any appreciable degree. Once pushed to the limit, however, they must flip over and must remain flipped over until an even greater amount of energy arrives to right them. Monohull cruisers, of course, point to this as the Achilles heel of the multihull. Multihull cruisers respond by noting that in a worst-case scenario their boats at least will still be floating (albeit upside down) while the monohull sailor’s craft will be sitting (albeit somewhat upright) at the bottom of the sea.

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Capsize is still better than swimming

I delight in designing model gaff rig yachts that carry a large sail plan, so this article was extremely helpful. This will be my third boat, on which I intend the rig to massively overhang the hull length fore and aft, so waterline beam will be critical. Thank you very much.

Damn Paul. Can we see a photo of one of those models???

Sorry Charles I ‘lost ‘ this site – so never saw your comment. My previous boat was based on a pilot cutter style with a slightly adventurous keel shape in order to deepen it and get the weight down low. I’ve spent the last 8 months on this third boat with a much greater waterline beam and a deeper bulb keel with the hope that it can carry 30 percent more sail. It has turned out a bit bulky looking but I’ll be interested to see how she performs – should be ready in a month or so. I see this site doesn’t enable upload of pics otherwise I’d be pleased to show you. Thanks for your interest.

Backstays to the Future

By Alvah Simon
Updated: March 28, 2013

backstay setup

A running backstay is a removable stay that provides aft support to the mast from either the masthead or the point at which an inner forestay is attached. It originated as a response to the material limits of the period. At that time, solid wooden masts, for example, were either too weak or too heavy to be made particularly tall. Therefore, to achieve an acceptable area of sail for the heavy-displacement boats of the day, either the boom had to be extended beyond the transom or a gaff had to be added to the top of the sail—or both. This precluded the use of fixed backstays because the boom and gaffs had to be free to swing across the vessel when it tacked and jibed. As a tack or jibe was initiated, the burdened backstay had to be released and, as the spars swung through, the new, now windward, stay had to be fastened quickly before the entire rig came tumbling down.

With the advent of hollow masts, first of wood and then of alloy, and stainless-steel wire, the aspect ratio of the rigs began to extend to 3-to-1 and beyond. This allowed for the development of the Bermuda or Marconi rig, which eliminated gaffs and shortened the booms considerably without the loss of sail area or performance.

Running backstays, or runners, were then generally found only on cutter-rigged vessels. But through the 1960s and 1970s, the sloop became the rig du jour, and running backstays fell from favor. With the introduction of Freedom Yachts’ freestanding mast and Hunter’s B&R rig, the trend veered toward eliminating backstays, running or not, altogether.

Where are we today? Are running backstays now simply anachronisms that add unnecessary weight, windage, and clutter? I think not, especially in the context of bluewater cruising.

Sloops are fast around the buoys, but in the open sea, they display two disadvantages. First, the sail area is shared by only two large and therefore more difficult to handle sails. Second, in storm conditions, a sloop’s headsail, no matter how much it’s furled, still leaves the center of effort too far forward and too high to produce a safe and comfortable motion.

The cutter rig distributes the sail area over an additional sail, and that inner forestay is a superior position from which to hank on a low-flown storm sail. But with any real force upon it, the inner forestay can distort the shape of the mast; this will require a countereffort. Enter the intermediate running backstay. The arguable benefit of a staysail aside, this lower triangulation of support adds strength and stability to the mast, which translates into a better chance of coming up from a knockdown with the rig intact. Think sailing in the South Atlantic Ocean —it matters.

But alas, when you’re sailing off the wind, these same runners will have to be attended to on each and every tack. In open-ocean situations, this might not happen for days at a time. In confined waters, however, it’s necessary to have a quick and efficient method for setting and stowing runners.

Ideas and hardened opinions on running backstays are diverse and plentiful enough to keep seaside barstools warm all night. See the accompanying images and diagrams to learn about some of the most common approaches to setup and stowage.

If you’re considering adding an inner forestay and running backstays, I recommend that you get professional advice addressing the minimum engineering angles required, appropriate deck hardware, proper tangs and toggles needed at the mast, and wire types and diameters.

I don’t mean to imply that running backstays are suitable for all boats and applications. But if your interests lie in bluewater passagemaking and you take a belt-and-suspenders approach to your safety, I believe that you’ll agree that the added weight, windage, cost, and inconvenience are more than justified.

Alvah Simon, a CW contributing editor, is the author of North to the Night .

Click here for more pictures of running backstay setups . Click here to read about how an inner forestay and staysail can help you beat along in a blow.

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Guide to Understanding Sail Rig Types (with Pictures)

There are a lot of different sail rig types and it can be difficult to remember what's what. So I've come up with a system. Let me explain it in this article.

What are the different types of sail rig? The sail rig is determined by the number of masts and the layout and shape of sails. Most modern ships are fore-and-aft rigged, while old ships are square-rigged. Rigs with one mast are sloops and cutters. Ketches, yawls, brigs, and schooners have two masts. Barques have three masts. Rigs can contain up to seven masts.

'Yeah, that's a gaff brig, and that a Bermuda cutter' - If you don't know what this means (neither did I) and want to know what to call a two-masted ship with a square-rigged mainsail, this article is definitely for you.

Sailboat in front of NYC with Bermuda mainsail and Jib

The Ultimate Guide to Sail Types and Rigs (with Pictures)

First of all, what is a sail rig? A sail rig is the way in which the sails are attached to the mast(s). In other words, it's the setup or configuration of the sailboat. The rig consists of the sail and mast hardware. The sail rig and sail type are both part of the sail plan. We usually use the sail rig type to refer to the type of boat.

Let's start by taking a look at the most commonly used modern sail rigs. Don't worry if you don't exactly understand what's going on. At the end of this article, you'll understand everything about rig types.

Diagram of most common rig types (Bermuda sloop, gaff cutter, gaff ketch, gaf schooner, full rigged ship)

The sail rig and sail plan are often used interchangeably. When we talk of the sail rig we usually mean the sail plan . Although they are not quite the same. A sail plan is the set of drawings by the naval architect that shows the different combinations of sails and how they are set up for different weather conditions. For example a light air sail plan, storm sail plan, and the working sail plan (which is used most of the time).

So let's take a look at the three things that make up the sail plan.

The 3 things that make up the sail plan

I want to do a quick recap of my previous article. A sail plan is made up of:

Mast configuration - refers to the number of masts and where they are placed
Sail type - refers to the sail shape and functionality
Rig type - refers to the way these sails are set up on your boat

I'll explore the most common rig types in detail later in this post. I've also added pictures to learn to recognize them more easily. ( Click here to skip to the section with pictures ).

How to recognize the sail plan?

So how do you know what kind of boat you're dealing with? If you want to determine what the rig type of a boat is, you need to look at these three things:

Check the number of masts, and how they are set up.
You look at the type of sails used (the shape of the sails, how many there are, and what functionality they have).
And you have to determine the rig type, which means the way the sails are set up.

Below I'll explain each of these factors in more detail.

The most common rig types on sailboats

To give you an idea of the most-used sail rigs, I'll quickly summarize some sail plans below and mention the three things that make up their sail plan.

Bermuda sloop - one mast, one mainsail, one headsail, fore-and-aft rigged
Gaff cutter - one mast, one mainsail, two staysails, fore-and-aft rigged
Gaff schooner - two-masted (foremast), two mainsails, staysails, fore-and-aft rigged
Gaff ketch - two-masted (mizzen), two mainsails, staysails, fore-and-aft rigged
Full-rigged ship or tall ship - three or more masts, mainsail on each mast, staysails, square-rigged

The first word is the shape and rigging of the mainsail. So this is the way the sail is attached to the mast. I'll go into this later on. The second word refers to the mast setup and amount of sails used.

Most sailboats are Bermuda sloops. Gaff-rigged sails are mostly found on older, classic boats. Square-rigged sails are generally not used anymore.

But first I want to discuss the three factors that make up the sail plan in more detail.

Ways to rig sails

There are basically two ways to rig sails:

From side to side, called Square-rigged sails - the classic pirate sails
From front to back, called Fore-and-aft rigged sails - the modern sail rig

Almost all boats are fore-and-aft rigged nowadays.

Square sails are good for running downwind, but they're pretty useless when you're on an upwind tack. These sails were used on Viking longships, for example. Their boats were quicker downwind than the boats with fore-and-aft rigged sails, but they didn't handle as well.

The Arabs first used fore-and-aft rigged sails, making them quicker in difficult wind conditions.

Quick recap from part 1: the reason most boats are fore-and-aft rigged today is the increased maneuverability of this configuration. A square-rigged ship is only good for downwind runs, but a fore-and-aft rigged ship can sail close to the wind, using the lift to move forward.

The way the sails are attached to the mast determines the shape of the sail. The square-rigged sails are always attached the same way to the mast. The fore-and-aft rig, however, has a lot of variations.

The three main sail rigs are:

Bermuda rig - most used - has a three-sided (triangular) mainsail
Gaff rig - has a four-sided mainsail, the head of the mainsail is guided by a gaff
Lateen rig - has a three-sided (triangular) mainsail on a long yard

The Bermuda is the most used, the gaff is a bit old-fashioned, and the lateen rig is outdated (about a thousand years). Lateen rigs were used by the Moors. The Bermuda rig is actually based on the Lateen rig (the Dutch got inspired by the Moors).

Diagram of lateen, gaff, and bermuda rig

Other rig types that are not very common anymore are:

Junk rig - has horizontal battens to control the sail
Settee rig - Lateen with the front corner cut off
Crabclaw rig

Mast configuration

Okay, we know the shape of the mainsail. Now it's time to take a look at the mast configuration. The first thing is the number of masts:

one-masted boats
two-masted boats
three-masted boats
four masts or up
full or ship-rigged boats - also called 'ships' or 'tall ships'

I've briefly mentioned the one and two mast configurations in part 1 of this article. In this part, I'll also go over the three-masted configurations, and the tall ships as well.

A boat with one mast has a straightforward configuration because there's just one mast. You can choose to carry more sails or less, but that's about it.

A boat with two masts or more gets interesting. When you add a mast, it means you have to decide where to put the extra mast: in front, or in back of the mainmast. You can also choose whether or not the extra mast will carry an extra mainsail. The placement and size of the extra mast are important in determining what kind of boat we're dealing with. So you start by locating the largest mast, which is always the mainmast.

From front to back: the first mast is called the foremast. The middle mast is called the mainmast. And the rear mast is called the mizzenmast.

Diagram of different mast names (foremast, mainmast, mizzenmast)

What is the mizzenmast? The mizzenmast is the aft-most (rear) mast on a sailboat with three or more masts or the mast behind the mainmast on a boat with two masts. The mizzenmast carries the mizzen sail. On a two-masted boat, the mizzenmast is always (slightly) smaller than the mainmast. What is the purpose of the mizzen sail? The mizzen sail provides more sail area and flexibility in sail plan. It can be used as a big wind rudder, helping the sailor to have more control over the stern of the ship. It pushes the stern away from the wind and forces the bow in the opposite way. This may help to bring the bow into the wind when at anchor.

I always look at the number of masts first, because this is the easiest to spot. So to make this stuff more easy to understand, I've divided up the rig types based on the number of masts below.

Why would you want more masts and sail anyways?

Good question. The biggest advantage of two masts compared to one (let's say a ketch compared to a sloop), is that it allows you to use multiple smaller sails to get the same sail area. It also allows for shorter masts.

This means you reduce the stress on the rigging and the masts, which makes the ketch rig safer and less prone to wear and tear. It also doesn't capsize as quickly. So there are a couple of real advantages of a ketch rig over a sloop rig.

In the case of one mast, we look at the number of sails it carries.

Boats with one mast can have either one sail, two sails, or three or more sails.

Most single-masted boats are sloops, which means one mast with two sails (mainsail + headsail). The extra sail increases maneuverability. The mainsail gives you control over the stern, while the headsail gives you control over the bow.

Sailor tip: you steer a boat using its sails, not using its rudder.

The one-masted rigs are:

Cat - one mast, one sail
Sloop - one mast, two sails
Cutter - one mast, three or more sails

Diagram of one-masted rigs (bermuda cat, bermuda sloop, gaff cutter)

The cat is the simplest sail plan and has one mast with one sail. It's easy to handle alone, so it's very popular as a fishing boat. Most (very) small sailboats are catboats, like the Sunfish, and many Laser varieties. But it has a limited sail area and doesn't give you the control and options you have with more sails.

The most common sail plan is the sloop. It has one mast and two sails: the main and headsail. Most sloops have a Bermuda mainsail. It's one of the best racing rigs because it's able to sail very close to the wind (also called 'weatherly'). It's one of the fastest rig types for upwind sailing.

It's a simple sail plan that allows for high performance, and you can sail it short-handed. That's why most sailboats you see today are (Bermuda) sloops.

This rig is also called the Marconi rig, and it was developed by a Dutch Bermudian (or a Bermudian Dutchman) - someone from Holland who lived on Bermuda.

A cutter has three or more sails. Usually, the sail plan looks a lot like the sloop, but it has three headsails instead of one. Naval cutters can carry up to 6 sails.

Cutters have larger sail area, so they are better in light air. The partition of the sail area into more smaller sails give you more control in heavier winds as well. Cutters are considered better for bluewater sailing than sloops (although sloops will do fine also). But the additional sails just give you a bit more to play with.

Two-masted boats can have an extra mast in front or behind the mainmast. If the extra mast is behind (aft of) the mainmast, it's called a mizzenmast . If it's in front of the mainmast, it's called a foremast .

If you look at a boat with two masts and it has a foremast, it's most likely either a schooner or a brig. It's easy to recognize a foremast: the foremast is smaller than the aft mast.

If the aft mast is smaller than the front mast, it is a sail plan with a mizzenmast. That means the extra mast has been placed at the back of the boat. In this case, the front mast isn't the foremast, but the mainmast. Boats with two masts that have a mizzenmast are most likely a yawl or ketch.

The two-masted rigs are:

Lugger - two masts (mizzen), with lugsail (a cross between gaff rig and lateen rig) on both masts
Yawl - two masts (mizzen), fore-and-aft rigged on both masts. Main mast is much taller than mizzen. Mizzen without a mainsail.
Ketch - two masts (mizzen), fore-and-aft rigged on both masts. Main mast with only slightly smaller mizzen. Mizzen has mainsail.
Schooner - two masts (foremast), generally gaff rig on both masts. Main mast with only slightly smaller foremast. Sometimes build with three masts, up to seven in the age of sail.
Bilander - two masts (foremast). Has a lateen-rigged mainsail and square-rigged sails on the foremast and topsails.
Brig - two masts (foremast), partially square-rigged. The main mast carries small lateen-rigged sail.

Diagram of two-masted rigs (gaff yawl, gaff ketch, gaff schooner, and brig)

The yawl has two masts that are fore-and-aft rigged and a mizzenmast. The mizzenmast is much shorter than the mainmast, and it doesn't carry a mainsail. The mizzenmast is located aft of the rudder and is mainly used to increase helm balance.

A ketch has two masts that are fore-and-aft rigged. The extra mast is a mizzenmast. It's nearly as tall as the mainmast and carries a mainsail. Usually, the mainsails of the ketch are gaff-rigged, but there are Bermuda-rigged ketches too. The mizzenmast is located in front of the rudder instead of aft, as on the yawl.

The function of the ketch's mizzen sail is different from that of the yawl. It's actually used to drive the boat forward, and the mizzen sail, together with the headsail, are sufficient to sail the ketch. The mizzen sail on a yawl can't really drive the boat forward.

Schooners have two masts that are fore-and-aft rigged. The extra mast is a foremast which is generally smaller than the mainmast, but it does carry a mainsail. Schooners are also built with a lot more masts, up to seven (not anymore). The schooner's mainsails are generally gaff-rigged.

The schooner is easy to sail but not very fast. It handles easier than a sloop, except for upwind, and it's only because of better technology that sloops are now more popular than the schooner.

The brig has two masts. The foremast is always square-rigged. The mainmast can be square-rigged or is partially square-rigged. Some brigs carry a lateen mainsail on the mainmast, with square-rigged topsails.

Some variations on the brig are:

Brigantine - two masts (foremast), partially square-rigged. Mainmast carries no square-rigged mainsail.

Hermaphrodite brig - also called half brig or schooner brig. Has two masts (foremast), partially square-rigged. Mainmast carries a gaff rig mainsail and topsail, making it half schooner.

Three-masted boats are mostly barques or schooners. Sometimes sail plans with two masts are used with more masts.

The three-masted rigs are:

Barque - three masts, fore, and mainmast are square-rigged, the mizzenmast is usually gaff-rigged. All masts carry mainsail.
Barquentine - three masts, foremast is square-rigged, the main and mizzenmast are fore-and-aft rigged. Also called the schooner barque.
Polacca - three masts, foremast is square-rigged, the main and mizzenmast are lateen-rigged.
Xebec - three masts, all masts are lateen-rigged.

Diagram of three-masted rigs (barque, full rigged ship)

A barque has three or four masts. The fore and mainmast are square-rigged, and the mizzen fore-and-aft, usually gaff-rigged. Carries a mainsail on each mast, but the mainsail shape differs per mast (square or gaff). Barques were built with up to five masts. Four-masted barques were quite common.

Barques were a good alternative to full-rigged ships because they require a lot fewer sailors. But they were also slower. Very popular rig for ocean crossings, so a great rig for merchants who travel long distances and don't want 30 - 50 sailors to run their ship.

Barquentine

The barquentine usually has three masts. The foremast is square-rigged and the main and mizzenmast fore-and-aft. The rear masts are usually gaff-rigged.

Faster than a barque or a schooner, but the performance is worse than both.

The polacca or polacre rig has three masts with a square-rigged foremast. The main and mizzenmast are lateen-rigged. Beautiful boat to see. Polacca literally means 'Polish' (it's Italian). It was a popular rig type in the Mediterranean in the 17th century. It looks like the xebec, which has three lateen-rigged masts.

Fun fact: polaccas were used by a Dutch sailor-turned-Turkish-pirate (called Murat Reis).

The xebec is a Mediterranean trading ship with three masts. All masts are lateen-rigged. I couldn't find any surviving xebecs, only models and paintings. So I guess this rig is outdated a long time.

A boat with three or more masts that all carry square-rigged sails is called a ship, a tall ship, or a full-rigged ship. So it's at this point that we start calling boats 'ships'. It has nothing to do with size but with the type of rigging.

More sails mean less stress on all of them. These ships use a lot of sails to distribute the forces, which reduces the stress on the rigging and the masts. Square sails mean double the sail area in comparison to triangular sails.

They are quite fast for their size, and they could outrun most sloops and schooners (schooners were relatively a lot heavier). The reason is that tall ships could be a lot longer than sloops, giving them a lot of extra hull speed. Sloops couldn't be as large because there weren't strong enough materials available. Try making a single triangular sail with a sail area of over 500 sq. ft. from linen.

So a lot of smaller sails made sense. You could have a large ship with a good maximum hull speed, without your sails ripping apart with every gust of wind.

But you need A LOT of sailors to sail a tall ship: about 30 sailors in total to ie. reef down sails and operate the ship. That's really a lot.

Tall ships are used nowadays for racing, with the popular tall ship races traveling the world. Every four years I go and check them out when they are at Harlingen (which is very close to where I live).

Check out the amazing ships in this video of the tall ship races last year near my hometown. (The event was organized by friends of mine).

What is the difference between a schooner and a sloop? A schooner has two masts, whereas the sloop only has one. The schooner carries more sails, with a mainsail on both masts. Also, sloops are usually Bermuda-rigged, whereas schooners are usually gaff-rigged. Most schooners also carry one or two additional headsails, in contrast to the single jib of the sloop.

What do you call a two-masted sailboat? A two-masted sailboat is most likely a yawl, ketch, schooner, or brig. To determine which one it is you have to locate the mainmast (the tallest). At the rear: schooner or brig. In front: yawl or ketch. Brigs have a square-rigged foremast, schooners don't. Ketches carry a mainsail on the rear mast; yawls don't.

What is a sloop rig? A sloop rig is a sailboat with one mast and two sails: a mainsail and headsail. It's a simple sail plan that handles well and offers good upwind performance. The sloop rig can be sailed shorthanded and is able to sail very close to the wind, making it very popular. Most recreational sailboats use a sloop rig.

What is the difference between a ketch and a yawl? The most important difference between a ketch and a yawl are the position and height of the mizzenmast. The mizzenmast on a yawl is located aft of the rudder, is shorter than the mainmast and doesn't carry a mainsail. On a ketch, it's nearly as long as the mainmast and carries a mainsail.

Pinterest image for Guide to Understanding Sail Rig Types (with Pictures)

There are a wonderful lots of DIY changeability shows on the cable airwaves these days.

Rick the rigger

There are SO many errors on this site it really should be taken down.

First major mistake is to say you are no longer afraid of the sea.

One that truly gets up my nose is the term ‘fully’ rigged ship. It’s a FULL rigged ship!! Your mast names are the wrong way round and just because there may be 3 it doesn’t automatically mean the one in the middle is the main.

I could go on and totally destroy your over inflated but fragile ego but I won’t. All I will say is go learn a lot more before posting.

Shawn Buckles

Thanks for your feedback. If you like to point out anything more specific, please let me know and I will update the articles. I’ve changed fully-rigged to full-rigged ship - which is a typo on my part. I try to be as concise as I can, but, obviously, we all make mistakes every now and then. The great thing about the internet is that we can learn from each other and update our knowledge together.

If you want to write yourself and share your knowledge, please consider applying as a writer for my blog by clicking on the top banner.

Thanks, Shawn

Well, I feel that I’ve learned a bit from this. The information is clear and well laid out. Is it accurate? I can’t see anything at odds with the little I knew before, except that I understood a xebec has a square rigged centre mainmast, such as the Pelican ( https://www.adventureundersail.com/ )

Hi, Shawn, You forgot (failed) to mention another type of rig? The oldest type of rig known and still functions today JUNK RIG!

Why are so many of the comments here negative. I think it is wonderful to share knowledge and learn together. I knew a little about the subject (I’m an Aubrey-Maturin fan!) but still found this clarified some things for me. I can’t comment therefore on the accuracy of the article, but it seems clear to me that the spirit of the author is positive. We owe you some more bonhomme I suggest Shawn.

As they say in the Navy: “BZ” - for a good article.

Been reading S.M. Stirling and wanted to understand the ship types he references. Thank you, very helpful.

This site is an awesome starting point for anyone who would like to get an overview of the subject. I am gratefull to Shawn for sharing - Thanks & Kudos to you! If the negative reviewers want to get a deeper technical knowledge that is accurate to the n-th then go study the appropriate material. Contribute rather than destroy another’s good work. Well done Shawn. Great job!

Good stuff Shawn - very helpful. As a novice, it’s too confusing to figure out in bits and pieces. Thanks for laying it out.

First of all I have to say that Rick ‘the rigger’ is obviously the one with the “over inflated but fragile ego” and I laughed when you suggested he share his knowledge on your blog, well played!

As for the content it’s great, hope to read more soon!

Alec Lowenthal

Shawn, I have a painting of a Spanish vessel, two masted, with. Lateen sails on both masts and a jib. The mainsail is ahead of the main mast (fore) and the other is aft of the mizzen mast. Would this be what you call lugger rig? I have not seen a similar picture. Thanks, Alec.

Thank you for your article I found easy to read and understand, and more importantly remember, which emphasises the well written.. Pity about the negative comments, but love your proactive responses!

This vessel, “SEBASTIAN” out of Garrucha, Almería, España, was painted by Gustave Gillman in 1899.

Sorry, picture not accepted!

Thank you for a very informative article. I sail a bit and am always looking for more knowledge. I like the way you put forth your info and I feel if you can’t say anything positive, then that person should have their own blog or keep their opinions to their-self. I will be looking for more from you. I salute your way of dealing with negative comments.

Thank you for a great intro to sailing boats! I searched different sailboats because I use old sails tp make bags and wanted to learn the difference. Way more than I ever expected. Thanks for all the work put in to teach the rest of us.

Your description of a cutter is lacking, and your illustrations of “cutters” are actually cutter-rigged sloops. On a true cutter, the mast is moved further aft (with more than 40% of the ship forward of the mast). A sloop uses tension in the backstay to tension the luff of the foresail. The cutter can’t do this.

Also, a bermuda-rigged ketch will have a line running from the top of the mainmast to the top of the mizzenmast.

wow great guide to rig types! thanks

Interesting guide, however I am confused about the description of the brig. You say the main mast on a brig can have a lateen sail, but in your picture it looks like a gaff sail to me. How is it a lateen sail?

Hi Shawn, thank you for taking the time to share this information. It is clear and very helpful. I am new to sailing and thinking of buying my own blue water yacht. The information you have supplied is very useful. I still am seeking more information on performance and safety. Please keep up the good work. Best Regards

mickey fanelli

I’m starting to repair a model sailboat used in the lake I have three masts that have long been broken off and the sails need replacement. So my question is there a special relationship between the three masts I do have reminents of where the masts should go. they all broke off the boat along with the sails I can figure out where they go because of the old glue marks but it makes no sense. or does it really matter on a model thank you mickey

Cool, total novice here. I have learnt a lot. Thanks for sharing - the diagrams along with the text make it really easy to understand, especially for a beginner who hasn’t even stepped on a sailing boat.

Daryl Beatt

Thank you. Cleared up quite a few things for me. For example, I was familiar with the names “Xebecs” and “Polaccas” from recent reading about the Barbary War. I had gathered that the two Barbary types were better suited to sailing in the Med, but perhaps they were less able to be adaptable to military uses,(but one might assume that would be ok if one plans to board and fight, as opposed to fight a running gun duel). Specifically, the strangely one sided August 1, 1801 battle between the USS Enterprise under Lt. John Sterett and the Polacca cruiser Tripoli under Admiral Rais Mahomet Rous. On paper both ships seemed nearly equal in size, guns and crew, but pictures of the battle are confusing. While the Enterprise is usually rendered as the familiar schooner, the polacca Tripoli has been pictured in radically different ways. Thus the Wikipedia picture by Hoff in 1878 used to illustrate the Battle shows a Brig design for Tripoli, indicating 77 years later, polaccas were no longer common.

Lee Christiansen

I am curious as to what you would call a modern race boat with a fractional jib,not equipped for full masthead hoist? Thanks Lee

Thanks Guy: The information and pictures really eliminate a lot of the mystery of the terminology and the meanings. Also appreciate the insight of the handling idiosyncrasies “hand” (staff) requirements to manage a vessel for one that has not been on the water much. I long to spend significant time afloat, but have concern about the ability to handle a vessel due to advancing age. The Significant Other prefers to sit (in AC comfort)and be entertained by parties of cruise line employees. Thanks again for the information.

Gordon Smith

Your discussion made no mention of the galleon, a vessel with either square-rigged Fore and Main masts and a shorter lateen-rigged Mizzen, or, on larger galleons, square-rigged Fore and Main masts, with a lateen-rigged Mizzen and a lateen-rigged Bonaventure mast, both shorter than either the Fore or Main masts. Also, it was not uncommon for a galleon to hoist a square-rigged bowsprit topsail in addition to the usual square-rigged spritsail.

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Quick release for the forstay

Thread starter piedpiperIII
Start date Jun 18, 2017
Catalina Owner Forums
Catalina 22

piedpiperIII

I plan to go with the quick disconnect for my forstay but I do not see them for the forward shrouds. I do see quick release pins but does that mean I don't have to loosen my forward shrouds ? Or can I get away with leaving tension on them and just pull the pin? I find that to be difficult thank you all for your information

You will have to release tension on the forward lowers in order to pull the pins. What you are planning - quick release lever on the forestay, but not the forward lowers - is exactly what I have. I bought Johnson levers for all three, but soon found the Johnsons much too cumbersome to tune on the forward lowers, and a PITA to deal with in general when trailering.

Thank you I saw your video for the forstay but didn't see what you did about the lowers but I figured I had to loosen them thank you

Google "shroud adjusters" you're not looking for quick disconnect but rather tension release for quick adjusting.

Those may work. What I am going to be doing is to trailer sail this way I can choose between 3 lakes neer me and I want to save time rigging etc. I have a very fast mast raising system so I want to save time on the rest.

ShotgunSlim

I bit the bullet and bought 3 quick releases from Catalina Direct for the Fore stay and forward lower shrouds since I trailer sail exclusively and usually solo. They make everything so much easier despite the high cost. After a bit of experience, I sewed up some Sunbrella and velcro covers to go over the fwd lower quick releases to keep the head sail sheets from hanging up on them.

ShotgunSlim said: I bit the bullet and bought 3 quick releases from Catalina Direct for the Fore stay and forward lower shrouds since I trailer sail exclusively and usually solo. They make everything so much easier despite the high cost. Click to expand

I'm planning on getting all 3 as I am trying to save as much time as possible. Plan to be sailing alone a lot.

Shotgunslim. Do you post YouTube videos?

One thing I love to do is never admit to my mistakes and then manipulate them into a great idea that I will claim was my intention from the beginning... So, I'm using Dyneema to make my own rigging. I may have 'accidentally' spliced my forestay 2 inches short of the stock measurement because I 'may' have miscalculated how much line would be sucked up by the locking Brummel splice... Anyway, I have a 2 inch long shackle that will easily remedy that, but I was seriously considering an alternative; I might get the Colligo Marine terminators and just leave out the turnbuckle and use lashings instead. I can put on a nice long piece of Dyneema lashing line so it will be really easy to pin the forestay, then just pull and lash to get the mast vertical. Most of the for-aft tension will remain adjustable from the back-stay.

Lol Gene. I am going with three quick release but I have a lot of things I want to do to my boat in next few months

Gene Neill said: I would never make standing rigging out of material which can be cut with scissors by some angry drunk chick who may or may not even be on the right boat. Click to expand

piedpiperIII said: Shotgunslim. Do you post YouTube videos? Click to expand

Thank you

Funny I'm already subscribed

Leeward Rail

Gene Neill said: You don't find the quick release levers to be a pain to adjust on the foreward lowers? Release the tension lever, disconnect lever from the chainplate, rotate the lever, reconnect to the chainplate, close the lever, recheck the tension ... and repeat several times until properly tuned? Click to expand

From what I have read is that the quick release in any brand is adjusted one time only upon installation then you just snap them shut and that is it. It's the whole reason for them anyway

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Adjustable back stay

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Did I get that right? The back stay in the line from the top of the mast to the stern? Anyway I thought I read somewhere where there are cases, maybe racing, where you would tighten or loosen the back stay while sailing???

olsenkent911 said: Did I get that right? The back stay in the line from the top of the mast to the stern? Anyway I thought I read somewhere where there are cases, maybe racing, where you would tighten or loosen the back stay while sailing??? Click to expand...

Jeff_H said: It bends the mast, which pulls the middle of the mast forward and the head of the mast aft and downward. It tensions the forestay as well. When the mast bends, the middle of the mast moving forward pulls fabric out of the sail horizontally, thereby flattening the sail as needed in higher winds. The head of the mast moving aft and downward loosens the leech of the sail changing the angle of attack and so reduces leeway, weather helm, and heel. Click to expand...

Not necessarily a racing thing, its a sailing thing. My 235 is a fractional rig and has an adjustable back stay. Came that way from the factory. Now, making your back stay Dyneema instead of SS wire, that's a racing thing....

Agreed, but they are FAR more common on race boats and performance cruisers. Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

I guess I always thought you could just turn one way or the other to dump some air out of the sail or tighten or loosen the sails. If you have to adjust the back stay that means someone or an autopilot needs to be steering, right?

Its right in the back where you are steering from. Its not that difficult to loosen or tighten a back stay and steer. Adjustable backstays are not new "tech", been around for quite some time. You need to dump the main on the up wind if over powered, drop the traveller is also an option. On the downwind, dump the vang to depower. This is why it is best to have your control lines run back to the cock pit. Ease of accessibility. If the breeze is up, tighten it, if not, you can loosen it. You learn what you need for your boat, for the most part it is not a continual adjustment. If the breeze builds, turn around and give it a pull to tighten it, likewise when the breeze drops, turn around and loosen it. If yours isn't adjustable, no worries then.

How you use the adjuster really depends on the boat. Some boats just have a threaded adjuster, and when you want to adjust it you need 2 hands to turn a wheel on the backstay. In that case you are likely going to make an adjustment based on average conditions and then leave it. You bend the mast to flatten the sail, tension the sheet for desired twist, and then control angle of attack with the traveler. My 20ft race boat had the purchase system lead right to the helm position, so adjustments were one handed and instantaneous, so I used it all the time. If I was fully powered up I would leave the backstay on hard, and drop the traveler to depower when needed. When racing upwind you don't typically want to alter course to compensate for gusts, other than sometimes pinching. Ideally you want to keep the boat going close hauled. In terms of " spilling wind" you can do that by dropping the traveler, or in the case of quick adjust backstays by pulling it on to bend the mast which opens the leech at the top of the main. What you DON'T typically want to do is start easing sheets because that can cause you to lose the nice flat foil shape in the sail, and it is the hardest one to get back on when the gust passes. Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

Next spring I'm going to the sailing school/club and get back into it. I remember back in the 70's when I was getting interested in this sailing thing I went over to Coronado, Calif where they had a place that rented sailboats, I had never been out on the bay. Nice 20ft boat with a jib, never sailed with one, and a club foot, easy for one crew. This boat had a center board, cool, and the fellow told me to be careful as if I go hit with a gust it might capsize. Wonderful, well it was fun but I held the line to the main all the time and if I did get a gust I just let it out and spilled the main. Capsizing, wait a minute, that's something I didn't want to experience . So here I was 50 years later and I bought an 11 ft Joel White Shellback with a lug sail. It was great. My second time on a local lake I was about to jibe back to work upwind. Well a line on the main boom went slack as I turned and snagged the back/top of my life vest. As I reached up to try to untangle it I let go the tiller and guess what, she turned down wind and capsized. I did the deal I had been told about, swim around, release the sail and then stand on the center board and right the boat. A nice guy in a power boat came by and towed me in. I found some local sailing experience and re-rigged the sails, tightened everything up and found a tiller lock. After that I enjoyed this little boat for 3 years.

on a mast head rig when you tighten the backstay the mast does not move backward, the forestay gets tighter and the downward force on the mast crane causing it to bend the center section of the mast forward. this stretches the fabric and flattens the sail

My current boat does not have an adjustable back stay. I admit, previously I always wondered if this repeated cycling of load did anything to weaken the mast over time. On the other hand, pre-bend is pretty common and never had the same concern. Probably just bad intuition.

Adjustable back stay for fractional rig only?

No, they are useful on masthead boats too. My last boat was masthead and had a hydraulic adjuster. I could still get significant mast bend with it. Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

My boat is a 7/8 fractional rig.... tightening the back stay is used to curve the mast and luff of the main and flatten it. Tightening has little to no effect on the head stay tension... shrouds on swept back spreaders do that.

You may not have observed it, but I seriously doubt that tightening the backstay has little to no effect on the head stay tension. If you are tightening the backstay enough to bend the mast, then the forestay is the fulcrum pulling forward in resistance to the combined aftward reactions from the backstay and the pin at the mast step or partners. The net result of those combined loads that allow the mast to be bent is that the forestay is experiencing a much higher tension increase than the tension increase exerted on the backstay. If in fact the forestay is minimally tensioning, then your lowers are way too loose. But even in that case, the sag in forestay would still be visibly reduced in order to provide enough resistance to permit the mast to be bent. I will note that in the Video shown in in Post 13, Alex has it wrong when he says that tensioning the backstay does not tighten the forestay. (He and I talked about it at the time that he first posted that video). If we look at a 7/8 fractional rig, and assume that the proportion of the forces would be such that if the top of the mast is pulled aft by the backstay with a force of 7 units, the resultant force at the bottom of the mast pulling aft in order to resist rotation would be 1 unit. Therefore, the horizontal force exerted by the forestay pulling forward in order to resist these aft forces will by necessity be 8 units. But because the forestay is generally more vertical than the backstay, and the tension on the forestay is a vector analysis with the forestay as the hypotenuse, the actual tension increase on the forestay will be significantly larger than the tension increase on the backstay. (i.e. in the range of +/- 15-20%) When I am teaching people to sail, I often have them walk to the mast and sight up the track as I tension the backstay and release it. At max bend, there is about a foot of horizontal difference between the mid-mast pre-bent position and the full mast bend that is easily observable. I then have the student walk to the bow and watch the forestay during the same experiment. Having looked at this myself, In a stiff breeze, roughly half of the luff sag comes out when the backstay is fully applied. That is roughly 3" to 4" of movement which is enough to dramatically flatten the sail. But additionally, applying backstay on fractional rig has other benefits to sail shaping, because as the head of the mast moves aft due to bend, the leech of the mainsail is opened up. Similarly, as the forestay is tensioned the hounds move aft opening the leech of the jib. Additionally, as most of the mast bends forward and as the luff of the jib straightens and moves towards the bow, the bulk of the luffs of both sails move forward. In combination, these factors (flattening the sail, opening the leech of the mainsails and jib, and moving the luff areas forward) work to reduce heel, leeway, and weather helm. These same things happen on a masthead rig that is designed with a bendable spar only the baby stay acts as the forestay as the fulcrum around which the mast bend is controlled. On older masthead designs with stiff masts, the backstay only controls the forestay tension and position of the hounds so is less effective in reducing weather helm, heeling and leeway. Jeff

Attachments

SanderO said: I believe the shrouds on the swept back spreaders would have to tension when the mast "moves" forward at the point of their attachment which is the location of my forestay. This is my conception of what happens: The forestay essentially has the same tension / same length (of course) and doesn't "move". The mast BOWS and with it the main changes shape. Click to expand...

I know it's an elementary question but since we're on the subject, would someone mind telling me if adjustable back stays are primarily (not exclusively or anything) meant for fractional rigs?

To a lesser extent, a backstay adjuster does the same things on a masthead rig , especially on a masthead rig that is designed with a bendable spar. In the case of the masthead rig that is designed with a bendable spar, the baby stay acts like the forestay becoming the fulcrum around which the mast bend is controlled. The net result even on a masthead rig that is designed with a bendable spar is that an adjustable backstay is still good at reducing weather helm, heeling and leeway. On older masthead rig designs with stiff masts, there is no mast bend available so the backstay only controls the forestay tension and position of the hounds. It is still very helpful, but is less effective in reducing weather helm, heeling and leeway. Jeff

No, most sailboats that have a backstay can benefit from having a backstay that can be adjusted. if nothing else it allows the forestay to be tensioned to the wind strength to have the correct forestay sag that matches the cut of the head sail. bends the mast to flatten the mainsail for higher wind speeds, for less heel and forward boat speed

Forces on the forestay tang when sailing are 3 to 5 times the static load on the forestay. this tension is what shortens the length between the bow tang and the forestay tang and curves the forestay. this brings the mast forward at the forestay attach and bends the mast . the tension required to hold the mast up are very light compared to the sailing loads. I am very aware of the loads on a boat with swept back spreaders as our boat has them and no backstay. our adjustable backstay is the mainsheet and boom vang. we have a load cell on the forestay to tell the load which is used to help set the forestay curve for different wind speeds.

We did consider installing a hydraulic forestay but that has been tabled mostly because we are not racing as much and when we do it is mostly downwind races.

Thank you. That make sense.

Okay I get why you are having a tough time understanding how this works. You are right that there are boats that don't have backstays, but those boats have rig geometry that makes that work. Your boat and my boat, were not designed that way. And yes with swept back spreaders, and a fractional rig, the mast won't fall down when unloaded, and may even stay up when sailing in light air. But as the wind picks up, boats like ours count on backstay tension to minimize headstay sag. Headstay sag isn't a bad thing reaching in moderate winds since it powers up the sail. But upwind excessive sag results in poor pointing and a large amount of a mix of weather helm, heeling, and leeway. So you if you can't track through the load diagram, you will need to take my word for it. When you tighten the backstay tension enough to bend the mast, the forestay tension increases orders of magnitude more than the aft forces exerted by the shrouds. And while you may not be convinced that the magenta lines start where the headstay exits the forestay foil, and passes through the point where the headfoil enters the top of the furler. But the purpose of the magenta line is solely show the curvature of the forestay and I think it shows that sag pretty clearly. So, cutting to the chase, if we can agree in principle that there is an increased forestay tension when the backstay is tensioned. (Since there is no other part of the rig that is able to counteract the force of the backstay) And if we agree that there is sag in the forestay, and if we can agree that there will be proportionately less sag in the stay with greater headstay tension, then it should be pretty easy to understand that the hounds will move aft as the sag in the forestay is reduced. The hounds is the generic term for the point at which a stay attaches to the mast. In this case I am referring to the point at which the forestay attaches to the mast. Jeff

SanderO said: Jeff, I am still trying to understand the forces in the rigging. forestay sag - sag can only be caused by: catanary forces movement of the hounds forward (moving aft would "remove" sag) lengthening mast at dockside is held vertical (guyed) by the shrouds and the forestay. The backstay is not supporting the mast. In fact when hauling the backstay is "removed" so the travel lift can get in position. Under sail upwind sail will exert a force along the luff (I am unsure how those forces are distributed. Intuitively I would guess that the forces approach 0 at the upper swivel fitting of the roller furler... and increase to max near the furler drum. Sheet angle is supposed to be "aligned" to the mid point of the luff. The "loaded" sail will cause the forestay to sag. The sag is somewhat analogous the the deflection of a loaded floor joist. The lee shrouds slacken and the windward shrouds take additional load. The shrouds are tuned to the mast straight as the boat heels and the shroud loads shift to the windward side. You don't want the lee shrouds too loose or the swage connection will fatigue from movement of the shroud. Tensioning the backstay (shortening) will pull the top of the mast aft causing it to bend... because it is "fixed" at the hounds... where the forestay and the upper shrouds are located. Compression forces (vertical from tensioning the backstay) will also contribute to the mast "bowing". Mainsail flattens when mast bows... draft is reduced. To remove sag from forestay, tighten windward runners and check stays which at attached above and below the "hounds" and pull the mast at this location aft. So... the fuzzy thing in my mind is how much do the hounds move aft by tensioning the backstay. If the hounds to move aft...the shrouds will slacken a bit and the mast will lose aft support mid length. I am thinking why runners are important in more than moderate winds. If the hounds don't move aft... the forestay lengthening is likely only from loading by the sail. What is the effect of sag? Is or can the sail be designed to take the forestay sag into consideration.. ie it is designed such that a loaded luff is slightly bowed in shape. The vector diagram... not to scale.... shows the fore and aft forces counteract and net force is 0... hounds is not moving forE or aft. To add tension... ir reduce forestay sag the hounds MUST move aft. How far aft must it move to reduce sag? Seems to me that moving aft an inch or two will have a very very little impact on forestay sag/tension. It's like rotating a rigid "column" a small fraction of a degree. So... in a masthead rig... the forestay when loaded and sagged will pull at the masthead (forward). Adding backstay tension counteracts the sag by pulling the masthead aft. This is what runners do in a fractional. I am not understanding your explanation... because I don't see how the hounds move enough to add tension to the forestay. Click to expand...

SanderO, What type of boat do you have? I want to look up pics of it to help me understand. I have little to no experience with fractional rigs. Am I understanding correctly the following correctly? You have a backstay that attaches at the masthead. You have running backstays that attach to the mast at the same height as the fractional headstay. You also have check stays attached to the mast at a point lower than the headstay.

Looking at the photo of SanderOs boat I am surprised at how "sporty" the rig looks. It appears to be a pretty bendy section, and a fairly extreme fractional rig. Having so much un-stayed mast above the forestay must allow significant mast bend with backstay tension. The spreaders are swept, but not radically so. I would imagine that running backstays on that rig would contribute significantly to forestay tensioning. Certainly more so than on a 7/8 frac rig. It also looks like the rig would be prone to pumping in heavy air and seas, hence the need for check stays. Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

SchockT said: Looking at the photo of SanderOs boat I am surprised at how "sporty" the rig looks. It appears to be a pretty bendy section, and a fairly extreme fractional rig. It is. I can bend the top with a 6:1 block&tackle Having so much un-stayed mast above the forestay must allow significant mast bend with backstay tension. The spreaders are swept, but not radically so. I would imagine that running backstays on that rig would contribute significantly to forestay tensioning. Agreed Certainly more so than on a 7/8 frac rig. It also looks like the rig would be prone to pumping in heavy air and seas, hence the need for check stays. It is called a 7/8 rig. It's a Selden spar. The shrouds are 9 or10 mm Ø 1x19), I've never notice the mast pumping. The mast is deck stepped. Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk Click to expand...

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Forward-Facing Sonar Tactics for Saltwater

By Ric Burnley
August 30, 2024

“Saltwater anglers are so far behind freshwater fishing it’s hilarious,” Capt. Spenser Samplawski laughs.

Of course, he’s talking about forward-facing sonar. The all-seeing fish finder has changed freshwater fishing. You may have heard it mentioned a time or two when watching a bass fishing tournament. Now the technology is taking over saltwater. But finding fish with forward-facing sonar isn’t as easy as it looks, so Samplawski and other crossover anglers are developing tactics to bring the new technology to the brine.

Chronicling the Sonar Revolution

Forward-facing sonar has only been available for a few years and freshwater anglers were the first to take advantage. As the technology improves, and the systems become more robust, saltwater anglers are experimenting with the powerful fish-finding tool.

Unlike traditional sonar — which only shows structure and fish below the boat — side-scan, forward-facing and 360 sonar locate targets hundreds of feet from the boat. Forward-facing sonar is the most powerful, allowing an angler to direct the sonar beam and detect fish in real time. It’s like an underwater video camera, watching how a fish reacts to a lure. Some anglers and electronics manufacturers also call it “ live sonar ,” for obvious reasons.

Spenser Samplawski is a pro guide in Door County, Wisconsin, but he’s brought his sonar skills to the Gulf Coast. “If saltwater anglers learn to use forward-facing sonar, they will dominate,” he says. To unlock the potential of forward-facing sonar, anglers have to solve the problem of rigging the transducer and display, learning to interpret the data and using tactics that complement the technology.

Rigging for Salt

One of the biggest challenges is rigging a forward-facing transducer to a saltwater fishing boat. To show a 360-degree view of structure and fish, the forward-facing transducer needs to rotate below the water. To accomplish this, anglers mount the transducer on a pole or a trolling motor . On his bass boat, Samplawski uses the trolling motor mount. “As the trolling motor turns, it directs the sonar signal,” he explains.

Samplawski says a foot-pedal controlled trolling motor and bow-mount display are an advantage. “When I’m searching for fish, I can stand on the bow, use my foot to direct the transducer, watch the display for fish and fire off casts,” he explains.

Another option is mounting the transducer to a pole connected to the boat with a bracket. “I can control the trolling motor with a remote and turn the pole to direct the transducer signal,” Samplawski says. “When the trolling motor is in anchor lock, I can still turn the transducer to search for fish.”

Sam Root, a photographer and writer from Miami, Florida, installed forward-facing sonar on his flats boat. “I use a pole mount and a portable fish finder so I don’t have to run wires to my console,” he says. The portable fish finder comes with a battery and transducer cable. Root used an aftermarket pole to attach the transducer to his boat. “When I’m not using it, I remove the transducer and fish finder so it doesn’t get in the way.”

Another option is mounting the transducer on the stern. Captain Chris Britton uses his forward-facing sonar to target tarpon and snook around Stuart, Florida.

“Most of my fishing is out of the back of the boat,” he says. When he’s searching for snook near bridge pilings or positioning the boat up current of rolling tarpon, the stern mount is easier to control and closer to the action. He adds, “When I’m not using the transducer it doesn’t interfere with fishing.”

Reading the Data

One of the biggest misconceptions is that forward-facing sonar is easy to use. Samplawski says, “You can’t just turn on the fish finder and expect to catch more fish.” Interpreting the data requires a little practice.

The latest sonar systems offer several modes: 360 view, down view, wide-angle, and forward view. Explained: The 360 view is good for locating structure, down view marks fish below the boat, wide-angle gives a view of fish and structure in a large area ahead of the transducer, while forward-facing offers the most detail.

Gerald Spohrer is a Louisiana inshore guide and professional angler on the bass tournament scene. “On the bass tour, I fish against the best anglers who use forward-facing sonar to make a living,” he says.

Unlike clear, clean freshwater, Spohrer says denser saltwater makes interpreting the data more difficult. “In freshwater, I’m looking for individual fish reacting to my lure, but in saltwater I don’t get as precise target separation,” he says.

For a better view, Spohrer says, “Using the sonar in ‘auto’ mode may not work.” By adjusting the gain and contrast, he can dial the sonar into a school of trout or a single tripletail hiding in structure.

“In freshwater I can turn up the gain to make the transducer ping hotter, but in saltwater the screen gets brighter but I don’t get the target separation.” Instead, he balances the settings to produce a sharper image.

Live Sonar Inspired Tactics

After spotting fish with forward-facing sonar, anglers still have to catch them. To take advantage of the tech, anglers spawned new tackle and tactics optimized for the all-seeing sonar. Forward-facing sonar tactics, lures and even fishing line are readily available in the freshwater scene. Some of the stuff transfers to salt, but saltwater anglers have modified or developed their own techniques for inshore and offshore fishing. For example, in early 2024, Berkley introduced three specialized lures for forward facing sonar.

Jose Chavez, director of product development at Z-Man Fishing, has two years of forward-facing sonar experience focused on designing lures and tactics to complement the technology. The result is Z-Man’s new Graph ShadZ , a swimbait optimized to appear on forward-facing sonar with a flat-sided jig head, large profile and internal air bladder. To stay in the strike zone longer, the lure has a unique line-through jig head that encourages the lure to fall flat and suspend horizontally.

“I often use the forward-facing sonar to fish a channel edge,” Chavez says. The sonar shows exactly where the fish are hanging on the depth change. “I use a lure size with a sink rate that reaches the depth where the fish are holding.” With the lure suspending in front of the fish, Chavez watches the reaction on his fish finder. “If the fish aren’t interested, I can move on,” he says.

Forward-facing sonar really shines at finding fish hiding in structure. Down in Louisiana, Spohrer sees through the dirty Mississippi River outflow to find tripletail holding to inshore structure. “I can see the fish react to my bait, sometimes it takes 15 minutes to get a bite,” he says. Without the sonar, Spohrer wouldn’t bother to target tripletail in dirty water.

In Florida, Britton uses his sonar for vertical jigging . “When I’m on a wreck, I point the transducer down and watch the fish attack my lure.” He also uses forward sonar when he’s following tarpon just off the beach. “I can see the tarpon cutting in and out of bait and drop my lure right in front of the fish,” he says.

Most anglers use a one-two approach to find fish. Sam Root starts with side-imaging sonar until he marks a snook or tarpon, then switches to forward facing to dial in the bite. “I set my trolling motor on anchor lock and use the forward-facing sonar to identify the precise location,” he says. By observing the fish on the sonar, he can choose the best lure and make an accurate cast.

All of the anglers agree, forward-facing sonar brings the excitement of sight fishing when they can’t actually see the fish. Maximizing the effectiveness of forward-facing sonar makes it an even more powerful tool for finding fish and structure, even if the new tech has a learning curve.

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COMMENTS

Forestay
Forestay. On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the top of the mast. The other end of the forestay is attached to the bow of the boat. [ 1][ 2]
Standing Rigging (or 'Name That Stay')
A sailboat's standing rigging is generally built from wire rope, rod, or occasionally a super-strong synthetic fibered rope such as Dyneema ®, carbon fiber, kevlar or PBO. 1×19 316 grade stainless steel Wire Rope (1 group of 19 wires, very stiff with low stretch) is standard on most sailboats. Wire rope is sized/priced by its diameter which ...
What is a Sailboat Stay?
A sailboat stay is a cable or line that supports the mast. Stays bear a significant portion of the mast load. Stays are a significant part of a sailboat's standing rigging, and they're essential for safe sailing. Stays support the mast and bear the stress of the wind and the sails. Losing a stay is a serious problem at sea, which is why it's ...
Stays (nautical)
Stays (nautical) Stays are ropes, wires, or rods on sailing vessels that run fore-and-aft along the centerline from the masts to the hull, deck, bowsprit, or to other masts which serve to stabilize the masts. [ 1] A stay is part of the standing rigging and is used to support the weight of a mast . It is a large strong rope, wire or rod ...
How Tight Should Your Stays Be?
To answer the original question of "How tight should the rigging be?" The cap shrouds will be the tightest, the intermediates (if present) will be a bit looser, the forward lowers will be a bit lower again, and the aft lowers will be the loosest. The tension of the cap shrouds is set to be "tight enough" that the spreaders don't rattle, and the ...
Sailboat Stays: Everything You Need to Know
Short answer sailboat stays: Sailboat stays, also known as rigging stays, are structural wires or ropes used to support the mast of a sailboat. They provide lateral stability and prevent excessive vertical movement of the mast. Stays generally run from various points on the mast to different parts of the hull or deck, ensuring the.
How to Tune a Sailboat Mast
1. Check by sighting up the backside of the mast to see how straight your spar is side to side. You can take a masthead halyard from side to side to ensure that the masthead is on center. Do this by placing a wrap of tape 3′ up from the upper chainplate pin hole on each upper shroud. Cleat the halyard and pull it to the tape mark on one side ...
cutter staysail
On a cutter the forward-most stay is the headstay; the inner stay is the forestay. (The staysail's full name is forestay-sail). On sloops, the forward-most stay is still technically the headstay, but is often referred to as the forestay, since the chance of confusing this stay with anything else is zero (and it is the first stay forward of the ...
Sailboat Stays and Shrouds: Essential Rigging Components Explained
Short answer: Sailboat stays and shrouds Sailboat stays and shrouds are essential components of the rigging system that provide support and stability to the mast. Stays run from the masthead to various points on the boat, preventing forward and backward movement, while shrouds connect the mast laterally to maintain side-to-side stability.
The DIY Solent Stay or Inner Forestay
A Solent stay is a stay that sets between the mast and the forestay. It connects to the mast at a point that is only slightly below the existing backstay, and meets on the deck only slightly abaft of the existing forestay. Under such an arrangement, the mast requires no additional support. The existing backstay provides adequate tension to ...
Staying Power
In the forward position, the stay is attached to a permanent toggle installed in the stemhead fitting's aft-most opening. The stay is just clear of the furling drum and allows for easy hoisting and lowering of sails. Our inner forestay would have three positions. The first would attach immediately to the main stemhead fitting just aft of the ...
Rig for a Staysail
The removable stay and bagged sail are stored by the mast when not in use and then brought forward, and the stay is tensioned using a lever that is powerful enough to properly tighten the wire without the need to adjust a turnbuckle or other tensioning device. ... The staysail stay's attachment point on deck must be reinforced and either tied ...
The Ultimate Guide to Sail Types and Rigs (with Pictures)
The headsail is the front sail in a front-and-aft rig. The sail is fixed on a stay (rope, wire or rod) which runs forward to the deck or bowsprit. It's almost always triangular (Dutch fishermen are known to use rectangular headsail). A triangular headsail is also called a jib. Headsails can be attached in two ways:
MODERN SAILBOAT DESIGN: Form Stability
A sailboat's hull form can help it resist heeling up to a point, but past that point all bets are off. A boat that depends too much on form stability to stay upright will be capable of supporting an enormous sail plan in moderate conditions, but when caught in a sudden squall with all its sail up, it can be laid over and capsized very quickly.
Sailing Terms: Sailboat Types, Rigs, Uses, and Definitions
The headstay carries the jib and the inner stay carries the staysail. This is often a favorite rig for cruising sailing boats because it offers an easily managed range of sail combinations for different wind strengths. ... Cat A cat rig has only one sail, and the mast is located well forward. This is a popular rig on smaller boats, which are ...
Aft Cabin vs. Forward: Which Is Right for Your Cruise?
If seasickness is a worry, beware: The movement in aft cabins is less drastic than in forward cabins, but they do move. If you don't like motion at all -- and especially if your itinerary is prone ...
How to set up running backstays on your sailboat
Updated: March 28, 2013. backstay setup. The lazy runner can be walked forward and attached to the lower aft shrouds via a bronze snap swivel, then tensioned via the tackle. I separate the two metals via a strong rope strop tied to the stay, using a prusik knot to prevent it from creeping up when tensioned. Tim Barker.
Guide to Understanding Sail Rig Types (with Pictures)
The function of the ketch's mizzen sail is different from that of the yawl. It's actually used to drive the boat forward, and the mizzen sail, together with the headsail, are sufficient to sail the ketch. The mizzen sail on a yawl can't really drive the boat forward. Schooner. Schooners have two masts that are fore-and-aft rigged.
How Much Tension on Inner Forestay?
First off the SHAPE of the two forward (jib, staysl, etc.) on a 'double headed' rig is entirely dependent on the tension in those two stays forward of the mast. If these multi-stays forward of the mainmast are not each at near correct tension, the boat will either be vulnerable to skidding off leewards when beating, develop a tendency to heel over aggressively, be 'damn slow' when going upwind.
Know how: Sailing 101
Know how: Sailing 101. To begin You don't need to know much about how a piston engine works in order to drive a car. You get in, turn on the engine, shift into gear, step on the gas, and off you go. In a sailboat, though, you play a far more active role in harnessing the energy that propels you forward. You can get.
Quick release for the forstay
1988 Catalina 22 North Florida. Jun 18, 2017. #2. You will have to release tension on the forward lowers in order to pull the pins. What you are planning - quick release lever on the forestay, but not the forward lowers - is exactly what I have. I bought Johnson levers for all three, but soon found the Johnsons much too cumbersome to tune on ...
Adjustable back stay
Like the mainsail tensioning the forestay moves the middle of the luff of the sail forward, and moving forward pulls fabric out of the sail horizontally, thereby flattening the sail again as needed in higher winds. ... My current boat does not have an adjustable back stay. I admit, previously I always wondered if this repeated cycling of load ...
Live Sonar Saltwater Fishing Tactics
When searching for snook near bridge pilings, forward-facing sonar tells you exactly which structures are holding fish. Sam Hudson. One of the biggest challenges is rigging a forward-facing transducer to a saltwater fishing boat. To show a 360-degree view of structure and fish, the forward-facing transducer needs to rotate below the water.
New Zealand rush to rebuild America's Cup boat after crane crunch
New Zealand were rushing to repair their America's Cup boat on Friday, a day after the AC75 was damaged while being lifted out of the water following the first day of racing in Barcelona.
Air Jordan 5 "El Grito" 'Sail and Dark Pony' (HF8833-100 ...
Explore and buy the Air Jordan 5 "El Grito" 'Sail and Dark Pony'. Stay a step ahead of the latest sneaker launches and drops. ... Sail and Dark Pony. $210.00. Available 9/12 at 2:00 PM. This special AJ5 pays tribute to Mexico's heritage and culture, including streets, colors and textures. It represents a symbol of identity, progress and pride ...