A Solent stay can also be rigged to accommodate a second hanked-on headsail. The drifter also has the ability to drive the boat on any point of sail - not just a limited reach - and this is, in our opinion, the biggest draw over that of a large asymmetrical spinnaker (which may be two to three times the size of our drifter and more powerful on a reach, but not nearly as versatile, overall).Ī drifter can simply hank on to a headstay without an existing furler. With a moderately-sized drifter, the total square footage of the sail plan can be adjusted effectively, in increments. And, once again, it can work quite effectively on its own. For upwind work, it may be combined with mainsail or mainsail and staysail. It can work downwind, as one element in a double-headsail setup (either with or without the addition of the mainsail), and it can work, capably, all by itself. In very light air, our drifter is certainly our most versatile sail. And it’s surprisingly effective over a large range of wind angles: from 45° to 180° off the wind, close hauled to dead downwind. When our heavier, 9-oz Dacron cruising sails stall out, too heavy to be effective in much less than five knots of breeze, the drifter goes to work it will fill and hold its shape in the slightest wind. Upwind, downwind, any time the air gets light. A 100 percent, bi-radial cut, drifter does the job on our Tayana 37 cutter Anna - it’s a lightweight headsail, constructed of 1.5-oz nylon and can be used on the open ocean or along protected coastlines. Preventer - line deployed to prevent the mainsail boom from accidentally gybing or control the speed of the boom's transition during a gybe.A versatile, light-air sail can keep a heavy-displacement rig moving, or drifting under control, even in a breeze just two knots beyond dead calm. Running Backstays or Checkstays - adjustable version of the backstay, generally consisting of a very low stretch standing part (single line) attached to a purchase system for adjusting the tension. Lazyjack Line - used for guiding and controlling the mainsail as it is dropped. Reefing Line or Reefing Pennant - Lines reeved through the boom and the mainsail to facilitate a reduction in mainsail area. Outhaul - generally attached to the clew of a mainsail to adjust the foot tension. Kicker or Vang - diagonal line or purchase system (block and tackle) from base of mast to a point on the underside of the boom - used to create downward tension on the boom and subsequently the leach of the sail. In Hauler or Tweaker - attached to a headsail (jib/genoa/yankee/code zero) sheet and used to bring the angle of the lead nearer to the centreline than the normal setting.īarber Hauler - attached to a headsail sheet and used to create more downward pressure and generally from a point further outboard than the normal fairlead setting.ĭownhaul or Cunningham - attached to the tack of a mainsail and used to create tension in the luff. gennakers but also used on more traditional rigs e.g. Tack Line - attached to the tack of a sail to make the length of the luff adjustable - common on loose footed reaching/running headsails e.g. a rope that is preventing something or control lines i.e. However, most of the ropes that comprise a yacht's running rigging can be described as preventers i.e. Sheets and halyards are part of a more generic category: Control Lines or a little more obscurely, Preventers.Ĭontrol Lines include sheets and halyards and all the other ropes and wires that contribute to the efficient mangement of a yacht's sail area.Ī rope that stops an accidental gybe is commonly referred to as a preventer. HalyardsĪttached to the head of a sail and used to haul a sail up the mast - in the same way as sheets, each halyard is identified by the name of the sail as a prefix e.g. Spinnaker Sheets are used in conjunction with Spinnaker Guys and a spinnaker pole to control the shape of the spinnaker on either gybe. Jib sheets, genoa sheets, yankee sheets, staysail sheets, code zero sheets, gennaker sheets, cruising chute sheets, mainsheets, mizzen sheets - where these are a pair, they may also be classified as port or starboard. Normally attached to the clew of the sail and control the shape and angle to the wind - each individual sheet is identified by the name of the sail as a prefix e.g. The most common generic terms are sheets and halyards. There are a large number of different terms that cover the use for which each rope is employed. Running Rigging - the ropes (and wires) that control the sails on a yacht. Standing Rigging - the wires and ropes that hold up the mast, also known as shrouds or stays. Running Rigging Glossary Sailboat Rigging can be divided in to 2 categories:
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