The Main Spars
A mast is the vertical pole that holds the sails up. The boom is the horizontal pole at the base of the mainsail — it swings side to side as you change course. Watch your head around the boom during manoeuvres.
The two main sails on a typical cruising yacht:
- Mainsail — the primary sail, attached to the mast and boom. Historically the largest sail on the boat.
- Headsail — the sail forward of the mast. When it's small it's called a jib; when it's larger and overlaps the mast it's called a genoa.
Watch
The Three Corners of a Sail
Every sail has three corners. Learn these and you'll understand every instruction about sail trim immediately.
| Corner | Location |
|---|---|
| Head | Top of the sail |
| Tack | Front bottom corner |
| Clew | Back bottom corner |
The Three Edges of a Sail
| Edge | Location |
|---|---|
| Luff | Front edge (the edge closest to the wind) |
| Leech | Back edge (the trailing edge) |
| Foot | Bottom edge |
When a sail starts to flap at the luff — that front edge — we say it's luffing. It means the sail is too far into the wind and not generating power. We'll use this a lot in the trim lesson.
The Control Lines
Lines (ropes, on a boat) have specific names depending on what they do. The ones you'll use most often:
- Main halyard — hauls the mainsail up the mast.
- Jib halyard — hauls the headsail up the forestay.
- Outhaul — controls the tension along the foot of the mainsail, pulling the clew toward the end of the boom.
- Jib sheet — controls the clew of the headsail. The working sheet is the one on the active side; the lazy sheet is the one waiting to be used after a tack.
On a boat, ropes only get called "ropes" when they're unattached. Once a line has a job, it has a name. You'll hear mainsheet, halyard, sheet, vang, outhaul — never just "the rope".
Further reading