noun Nautical. the second mast from forward in any ship having two or more masts, except for a yawl, ketch, or dandy. the larger forward mast of a yawl, ketch, or dandy.
What is the main mast called?
mainmast
mast nomenclature
termed the foremast and the mainmast; when the aftermast is considerably smaller they are named the mainmast and the mizzenmast. In all three-masted vessels the names of the masts are foremast, mainmast and mizzenmast.
What is the mast of a ship?
Definition of mast
(Entry 1 of 3) 1 : a long pole or spar rising from the keel or deck of a ship and supporting the yards, booms, and rigging. 2 : a slender vertical or nearly vertical structure (such as an upright post in various cranes)
What does the main mast do?
Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation light, look-out position, signal yard, control position, radio aerial or signal lamp. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship.
What are the 3 masts called?
Barque
Barque: A vessel that has at least three masts with the fore and main masts being square. Today many “sailing school” ships are barques.
Where is the top mast on a ship?
The topmast is semi-permanently attached to the upper front of the lower mast, at the top. Its shrouds run to the edges of the top, rather than to the sides of the hull, though long shrouds leading well aft to the hull, more in the manner of backstays, are sometimes seen.
What are sails on a ship?
A sail is a tensile structure—made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles.
What holds a sail to the mast?
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.
What is the bow of a ship?
The front of a boat is called the bow, while the rear of a boat is called the stern. When looking towards the bow, the left-hand side of the boat is the port side. And starboard is the corresponding word for the right side of a boat.
Why do ships have masts?
Masts allow for better range of acquisition for radar and elevated position allows the use of directional communications through microwave links, and other very high frequency directed communications for longer ranges and at rougher seas. Radio communications also benefit from height from the sea level.
What is the largest sail on a ship called?
The lowest and normally largest sail on a mast is the course sail of that mast, and is referred to simply by the mast name: Foresail, mainsail, mizzen sail, jigger sail or more commonly forecourse etc.
What is the pole on a sailboat that holds the sails called?
Mast: The mast is a large, vertical pole that holds the sails up. Some boats have more than one mast. Painter: This is a line positioned at the front of small boats. It is used to tie the boat to a dock or another boat.
How tall is a mast on a ship?
Average Mast Height by Sailboat Length
| Overall Length | Mast Height (from deck) | High Range |
|---|---|---|
| >10 ft | 7 ft | 12 ft |
| 15 ft | 12 ft | 18 ft |
| 20 ft | 22 ft | 26 ft |
| 25 ft | 28 ft | 33 ft |
What is a 2 masted sailing ship called?
A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast).
What is a 4 masted ship called?
9) The Bark (Barque)
They had four masts, each bearing square sails on the fore topmast and fore-and-aft sails on the aft mast. These vessels were commonly used by traders to carry extremely high volumes of cargo from Australia to Europe.
What is a 2 masted ship called?
Schooner. When it comes to a two-mast schooner (a schooner can have two or more masts), the foremast is usually smaller than the aft most mast, which is essentially the mainmast. As such, the main characteristic of a schooner is that the masts are almost of the same height but the foremost mast is slightly smaller.
What is the very top of a ship called?
The deck at the top, which bears maximum exposure to weather, is the main deck or weather deck.
What is the top sail called?
topsail
A topsail (“tops’l”) is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails.
What are Royals on a ship?
A royal is a small sail flown immediately above the topgallant on square rigged sailing ships. It was originally called the “topgallant royal” and was used in light and favorable winds. Royal sails were normally found only on larger ships with masts tall enough to accommodate the extra canvas.
Why is poop deck called poop deck?
We quote verbatim: “The name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis. Thus the poop deck is technically a stern deck, which in sailing ships was usually elevated as the roof of the stern or “after” cabin, also known as the “poop cabin”.
Why are sails white?
This is due to a combination of the sun itself and the reflection of UV rays from the water. Dacron, the main fabric used for modern-day sails, is naturally white, reflecting damaging rays and heat effectively. So cruising sails are usually white.
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