The mast of a sailing ship is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship.

Until the 20th century, ships’ masts were wooden. Originally, they were formed from single piece of timber, typically the trunks of fir trees. From the 16th century, ships were often built of a size requiring masts taller and thicker than could be made from single tree trunks. On these larger ships, to achieve the required height, the masts were built from up to four sections (also called masts), known in order of rising height about the decks as the lower, top, topgallant and royal masts. Giving the lower sections sufficient thickness necessitated building them up from separate pieces of wood. Such a section was known as a made mast, as opposed to sections formed from single pieces of timber, which were known as pole masts.

In a three-masted, square-sail carrying ship, the masts, given their standard names in bow to stern (front to back) order, are:

1) Fore-mast: the first mast, or the mast fore of the main-mast.

2) Main-mast: the tallest mast, usually located near the center of the ship.

3) Mizzen-mast: the third mast, or the mast immediately aft of the main-mast. Typically shorter than the fore-mast.

Some two-masted schooners have masts of identical size, but the aftmost is still referred to as the main-mast, and normally has the larger course. Schooners have been built with up to seven masts in all, with several six-masted examples.

On square-rigged vessels, each mast carries several horizontal yards from which the individual sails are rigged.

MODERN MASTS

Although sailing ships were superseded by engine-powered ships in the 19th century, recreational sailing ships and yachts continue to be designed and constructed. In the 1930s aluminium masts were introduced on large J-class yachts. Aluminium has considerable advantages over wooden masts, being lighter, stronger and impervious to rot; further, aluminium can be extruded as a single piece for the entire height of the mast. After the Second World War, extruded aluminium masts became common on all dinghies and smaller yachts. Higher performance yachts would use tapered aluminium masts, constructed by removing a triangular strip of aluminium along the length of the mast and then closing and welding the gap.

From the mid 1990s racing yachts introduced the use of carbon fibre and other composite materials to construct masts with even better strength-to-weight ratios. Carbon fibre masts could also be constructed with more precisely engineered aerodynamic profiles.

Modern masts form the leading edge of a sail’s airfoil and tend to have a teardrop-shaped cross-section. On smaller racing yachts and catamarans, the mast rotates to the optimum angle for the sail’s airfoil. If the mast has a long, thin cross-section and makes up a significant area of the airfoil, it is called a wing-mast; boats using these have a smaller sail area to compensate for the larger mast area.

On modern warships, the mast still exists but does not serve the purpose of holding sails, since all modern warships are engine-powered. Instead, the mast serves as a mounting point for radar and telecommunication antennas. This is beneficial because generally, the higher an antenna is mounted, the farther its range is.

RIGGING

Rigging is, on sailboats and sailing ships, the collection of apparatus through which the force of the wind is transferred to the ship in order to propel it forward. This includes masts, yardarms, sails, and cordage.

Rigging is the mechanical sailing apparatus attached to the hull in order to move the boat as a whole. This includes cordage (ropes attached to the spars and sails in order to manipulate their position and shape), sails (aerofoils, usually made of fabric, used to catch the wind), and spars (masts and other solid objects sails are attached to). Cordage is more usually the term for stocks of rope, yarn, or other types line in storage, before it has been put to some use in a vessel, whereafter is commonly referred to as the rigging. In this article, Rigging denotes the full set of cordage, sails and spars, except when it is part of another term (see running rigging and standing rigging).

Certain sail-plans are used for certain purposes according to their aerodynamic properties. All sailing vessels are classified according to their hull design and rigging.

PARTS OF RIGGING

1) Cordage – The term cordage refers to the ropes, called lines, that connect and manipulate sails. Cordage is attached to the spars and sometimes the sails by systems of metal pulleys and clips. The materials chosen for cordage are determined by the strength and weight of the rope. Cordage is divided into two types: running rigging and standing rigging.

Standing rigging is cordage which is fixed in position. Standing rigging is almost always between a mast and the deck, using tension to hold the mast firmly in place. Due to its role, standing rigging is now most commonly made of steel cable. It was historically made of the same materials as running rigging, only coated in tar for added strength and protection from the elements.

Running rigging is the cordage used to control the shape and position of the sails. Running rigging must be flexible in order to allow smooth movement of the spars and sails, but strong enough for the role it plays. For instance, a halyard, used to hoist heavy yards up and down, must be very strong and durable. On the other hand, a sheet, used to control the orientation of a triangular sail, must be very flexible and smooth, and need only be strong enough to support the tension caused by the wind.

2) Sails – Sails are fabric aerofoils designed to catch the wind and manipulate the air currents surrounding the vessel. They are attached to spars and rigging in various ways, such as metal clips, rope hoops, or in a luff-groove. Sails are usually rectangular or triangular in shape, which determines their use and placement. Rectangular sails attached to yards, and hanging perpendicular to the keel line are referred to as square sails, because they are “square” to the keel line (not because of their shape); and this type of sailplan is known as square-rigged. Sails hanging along the keel line at rest are known as “fore-and-aft” sails, and the sailplan as fore-and-aft rig; although when under way both square and fore-and-aft sails can fly at a variety of angles relative to the vessel. Fore-and-aft sails may be triangular (see Bermuda rig), or quadrilateral (see Gaff rig).

Sail material must be durable against weather, lightweight, and non-porous. Common materials include kevlar, twaron, dacron, and canvas.

Sails are classified according to their shape and location. The name of a sail on a square-rigged vessel with multiple masts consists of the mast name and the sail’s vertical position. On a three-masted vessel the masts are, from bow to stern, Fore, Main and Mizzen; the “plain” square sails are, bottom to top, Course, Topsail, Topgallant, Royal and Sky. Thus the sail second up the mizzen-mast is the “mizzen topsail”, and the third sail up the fore-mast is the “fore topgallant sail”. Sails set in other positions, or only in special circumstances, have a variety of other names, for instance: a triangular sail set on a stay might be called a staysail, or jib if the stay in question runs to the prow or bowsprit; sails set either side of square sails to increase sail area in light winds are called studding-sails, qualified by the side and the plain sail name (such as “port topgallant studding-sail”, but more likely to be pronounced “port t’gallant stun’sl”); a gaff sail set aft of the mizzen mast may be called a Spanker or Driver.

On a modern fore-and-aft rigged boat the largest sail set on the main-mast is known as the mainsail, rather than main course. Sails set forward of the foremost mast are known generically as headsails, and might include jibs, genoas and spinnakers. Fore-and-aft rigged boats setting both a jib and staysail are known as Cutter rigged.

3) Spars – Spars are solid beams used to stabilize and manipulate sails. Masts, yards, booms, gaffs and battens are the most commonly encountered spars. Spars are attached to the sails by systems of clips and cordage designed to allow an appropriate range of motion while maintaining the aerodynamic properties of the sails. Spars can be made of any sufficiently strong material. Flexibility and weight are primary concerns for materials; ideally, spars would be sufficiently rigid to maintain control over the shape of the sail, as well as lightweight in order to maintain a low and stable center of balance. Commonly used materials include wood, steel, aluminum and fiberglass.

Masts are spars firmly attached to the deck of the ship. They are the main support for most sails, and all but the most speculative sailboats have at least one, generally set along the keel line. The classification of a mast is determined by its position, size and use.

A ship’s vertical masts are named, from bow to stern, the fore-mast, the main-mast, the mizzen-mast and the jigger-mast. There may also be a bowsprit, which extends forward past the bow.

Masts carrying rectangular or square sails have horizontal yards to stabilize the top and bottom edges of the sails. These yards can rotate around the mast, allowing the sails to be oriented horizontally, usually up to 45 degrees from perpendicular to the keel line. Some yards can be tilted vertically. Cordage associated with yards includes clew lines, bunt lines, the halyard, and lifts.

Masts carrying triangular sails have a horizontal boom to stabilize the foot of the sail. It is connected to the base of the mast at the gooseneck, a device designed to allow the boom to pivot about the mast. Cordage associated with booms includes the outhaul, the sheet, the boomvang, and the traveller.

Gaffs and battens are spars attached to the mast in a similar manner to the boom, but hinge vertically. Gaffs “joint” sails, allowing for two smaller sails (one above the gaff and one below) rather than one large, triangular sail. Battens are flexible gaffs included within the sail, and are found most notably in Chinese junks. Cordage associated with gaffs and battens includes halyards and the gunter line.

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