On a three-masted sailing ship, what name is given to aftermost mast?
"medieval two-masters earlier than the foremast, a process which can be traced back by pictorial evidence from Venice and Barcelona to the mid-14th century. To balance out the sail plan the next obvious step was to add a mast fore of the main-mast, which first appears in a Catalan ink drawing from 1409. With the three-masted ship established, propelled by square rig and lateen, and guided by the pintle-and-gudgeon rudder, all advanced ship design technology necessary for the great transoceanic voyages was in place by the beginning of the 15th century. The first hollow mast was fitted on the American"
"Mainsail A mainsail is a sail located behind the main mast of a sailing vessel. On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest and often the only sail rigged aft of the main mast, and is controlled along its foot by a spar known as the boom. A sail rigged in this position without a boom is generally called a trysail, and is used in extremely heavy weather. Traditional fore-and-aft rigs used a four-sided gaff rigged mainsail, sometimes setting a gaff"
"raised no higher than the first point a rope or wire was required to keep the mast upright. Mainsail A mainsail is a sail located behind the main mast of a sailing vessel. On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest and often the only sail rigged aft of the main mast, and is controlled along its foot by a spar known as the boom. A sail rigged in this position without a boom is generally called a trysail, and is"
"foremast, the staysails between the masts are named from the sail immediately ""below"" the highest attachment point of the stay holding up that staysail. Thus, the mizzen topgallant staysail can be found dangling from the stay leading from ""above"" the ""mizzen"" (third) mast's ""topgallant"" sail (i.e., from the mizzen topgallant yard) to at least one and usually two sails down from that on the ""main"" mast (the slope of the top edge of all staysail lines runs from a higher point nearer the stern to a lower point towards the bow). The jibs --staysails between the first mast and the"
"mizzenmast. On ships with fewer than three masts, the tallest is the mainmast. Ships with more masts number them. From bottom to top, the sails of each mast are named by the mast and position on the mast, e.g. for the mainmast, from lowest to highest: main course, main topsail, main topgallant (""t'gallant""), main royal, main skysail, and main moonraker. Since the early nineteenth century, the topsails and topgallants are often split into a lower and an upper sail to allow them to be more easily handled. This makes the mast appear to have more ""sails"" than it officially has."
"behind the mainsail. In sailing, a full-rigged brig is a vessel with two square rigged masts (fore and main). The main mast of a brig is the aft one. To improve maneuverability, the mainmast carries a small (gaff rigged) fore-and-aft sail. Brig sails are named after the masts to which they are attached: the mainsail; above that the main topsail; above that the main topgallant sail; and occasionally a very small sail, called the royal, is above that. Behind the main sail there is a small fore-and-aft sail called the spanker or boom mainsail (it is somewhat similar to the"
"fifth mast on a ship-rigged vessel (though this may be called the spanker mast on a barque, schooner or barquentine). Only one five-masted full-rigged ship (the Flying P-Liner ""Preussen"") had ever been built until recent years, when a few modern five-masted cruise sailing ships have been launched. Even a fourth mast is relatively rare for full-rigged ships. Ships with five and more masts are not normally fully rigged and their masts may be numbered rather than named in extreme cases. If the masts are of wood, each mast is in three or more pieces. They are (in order, from bottom"
"mast. Aftercastle An aftercastle (or sterncastle, sometimes aftcastle) is the stern structure behind the mizzenmast and above the transom on large sailing ships, such as carracks, caravels, galleons and galleasses. It usually houses the captain's cabin and perhaps additional cabins and is crowned by the poop deck, which on man-of-wars provided a heightened platform from which to fire upon other ships; it was also a place of defence in the event of boarding. More common, but much smaller, is the forecastle. As sailing ships evolved, the aftercastle gave way to the quarterdeck, whose span ran all the way to the"
"is set from midway down the topgallant mast. A staysail set on a stay running forward and downwards from the top or midpoint of the topgallant mast is called a topgallant staysail. Topgallant sail On a square rigged sailing vessel, a topgallant sail (topgallant alone pronounced ""t'gallant"", topgallant sail pronounced ""t'garns'l"") is the square-rigged sail or sails immediately above the topsail or topsails. It is also known as a gallant or garrant sail. Later full rigged ships split the topsail (and often the topgallant sail) for easier handling. They thus fly two topsails (and possibly two topgallant sails) per mast."
"Topmast The masts of traditional sailing ships were not single spars, but were constructed of separate sections or masts, each with its own rigging. The topmast is one of these. 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. In accordance with the standard square rig sail plan, the topmast carries the topsail. In the late 19th century,"
"Aftercastle An aftercastle (or sterncastle, sometimes aftcastle) is the stern structure behind the mizzenmast and above the transom on large sailing ships, such as carracks, caravels, galleons and galleasses. It usually houses the captain's cabin and perhaps additional cabins and is crowned by the poop deck, which on man-of-wars provided a heightened platform from which to fire upon other ships; it was also a place of defence in the event of boarding. More common, but much smaller, is the forecastle. As sailing ships evolved, the aftercastle gave way to the quarterdeck, whose span ran all the way to the main"
"vessel. This rig was called the Grand Haven Rig or (Jack Ass Rig)..."" It was said to have been the result of a serendipity, when the master of a three-masted schooner had its mainmast removed due to rot, and found how well the ship sailed. There ""were at least a dozen craft with this rig many of them in Lake Michigan."" Similar rigs might be called a ""jackass schooner."" Jackass-barque A jackass-barque, sometimes spelled jackass bark, is a sailing ship with three (or more) masts, of which the foremast is square-rigged and the main is partially square-rigged (topsail, topgallant, etc.)"
"Staysail A staysail is a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward (and most often but not always downwards) from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit, or to another mast (the mast is item 13 in the illustration right). Most staysails are triangular, however some are four-cornered, notably some fisherman's staysails. Triangular staysails set forward of the foremost mast are called jibs, headsails, or foresails. The innermost such sail on a cutter, schooner, and many other rigs having two or more foresails is referred to simply as ""the staysail"", while the others are"
"indicated their vertical position on the mast. The lowest square sail was the course, the next sail up the mast was called the topsail, the next the topgallant sail. Many vessels shipped a fourth sail called the royal, above the other three, some even more on trades with light winds. Sometimes a vessel might put out studding sails which would be fixed outboard of these sails along the yards. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, the topsails and topgallants were each split into upper and lower sails; this allowed smaller crews to tend the sails and provided captains with a greater"
"Barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively ""barkentine"" or ""schooner bark"") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. While a full-rigged ship is square-rigged on all three masts, and the barque is square-rigged on the foremast and main, the barquentine extends the principle by making only the foremast square-rigged. The advantages of a smaller crew, good performance before the wind and the ability to sail relatively close to the wind while carrying plenty of cargo made it a popular rig at the end of"
"Barrymore. In the film, the boat was named the ""Sea Serpent"". Ketch A ketch is a two-masted sailing craft whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast). The name ""ketch"" is derived from ""catch"" or fishing boat. Historically the ketch was a northern European square-rigged vessel, often a freighter or fishing boat, particularly in the Baltic and North seas. Nowadays, a ketch tends to be a fore-and-aft rigged pleasure yacht, similar to a yawl; but a ketch's mizzen mast is taller and its mizzen sail is larger than a yawl's. The large fore-and-aft sail on the mainmast is"
"Mast aft rig A mast aft rig, alternately referred to as aft-mast rig, is a sailboat sail-plan that uses a single mast set in the aft half of the hull. The mast supports fore-sails that may consist of a single jib multiple staysails, or a crab claw sail. The mainsail is either small or completely absent. Mast aft rigs are uncommon, but are found on a few custom, and production sailboats. Many mast-aft rigs utilize a small mainsail and multiple staysails that can resemble some cutter rigs. A cutter is a single masted vessel, differentiated from a sloop either by"
"Trysail A trysail (also known as a ""spencer"") is a small triangular or square fore-and-aft rigged sail hoisted in place of a larger sail when winds are very high. The trysail provides enough thrust to maintain control of the ship (e.g. to avoid ship damage, and to keep the bow to the wind). It is hoisted abaft (i.e., directly behind) the mainmast (taking the place of the much larger mainsail) or, on a brig, abaft the foremast. In the Royal Navy in the late nineteenth century, the term ""trysail"" came to denote the main fore-and-aft sail on any mast. This"
"abaft the foremast. An alternatively light-air sail is a triangular mule. Some Bermuda schooners have (instead of a main staysail) a rectangular boomed sail clewed to the foremast; but although it can be self-tacking, it will be smaller in area than a main staysail and its use complicates flying a fisherman. Sailing vessels with a single mast will typically be sloops or cutters, either with a Bermuda or gaff mainsail. There is little justification for the cost and complexity of a second mast unless the vessel is reasonably large, say above 50 feet (15 m) LOA. If a vessel's size"
"adjacent sail and the side of the vessel on which they are set, for example ""main topgallant starboard stu'nsail"". One or more spritsails may also be set on booms set athwart and below the bowsprit. One or two spankers are carried aft of the aftmost mast, if two they are called the ""upper spanker"" and ""lower spanker"". A fore-and-aft topsail may be carried above the upper or only spanker, and is called the ""gaff sail"". To stop a full-rigged ship except when running directly down wind, the sails of the foremast are oriented in the direction perpendicular to those of"
"and have varying naming conventions. Staysails may be carried between any other mast and the one in front of it or from the foremast to the bowsprit. They are named after the mast from which they are hoisted, so for example a staysail hoisted to the top of the mizzen topgallant on a stay running to the top of the main topmast would be called the ""mizzen topgallant staysail"". In light winds studding sails (pronounced ""stunsls"") may be carried on either side of any or all of the square rigged sails except royals and skysails. They are named after the"
"for transoceanic voyages. This is a classic windjammer rig. A three-masted vessel, square-rigged on the foremast and fore-and-aft rigged on the main and mizzen masts. Some sailors who have sailed on them say it is a poor-handling compromise between a barque and a ship, though having more speed than a barque or schooner. A three master with a narrow hull, carrying a square-rigged foremast, followed by two lateen sails. The same vessel, if she substituted her square-rigged mast with another lateen rigged one, would be called a xebec. Three or more masts, square-rigged on all, usually with stay-sails between masts."
"schooner may carry a square topsail atop the foremast. A schooner with no bowsprit is known as a ""knockabout"" schooner. A ""cat-rigged"" schooner not only has no bowsprit but has no headsails, and has the foremast set as far forward as possible. While schooners were initially defined as having two masts, three-masted schooners were first introduced around 1800. In the late 19th century, additional masts were added as schooners were built with as many as six masts (e.g., the wooden six-masted ""Wyoming"") or seven masts to carry a larger volume of cargo. The only seven-masted schooner, the steel-hulled ""Thomas W."
"(the rear end of the forecastle with the main deck behind and below) relative to a flush deck structure. Some sailing ships and many modern non-sail ships have no forecastle as such at all but the name is still used to indicate the foremost part of the upper deck – although often called the ""foredeck"" – and for any crews quarters in the bow of the ship, even if below the main deck. Forecastle The forecastle ( ; abbreviated fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a"
"however, topsails became so big that merchant ships began to divide them into two separate sails for easier handling; since these were still on the topmast they were known as upper and lower topsails to preserve the consistency of the naming scheme. The majority of large square-riggers today carry separate upper and lower topsails. The main topmast carries the upper end of the main-topmast-staysail; a mizzen-topmast may carry the equivalent. The fore-topmast will carry a staysail, but depending on where the lower end of the stay is attached it may be called a fore-topmast-staysail or an inner jib. When steel"
"and to the corners of the sails. Each sail may or may not have a boom along its foot. In Scotland, when constructed with a main ""dipping"" lug sail and a mizzen ""standing"" lug sail, such vessels are known as fifies, ""sailing fifies"", or ""herring drifters""; they were often used for herring fishing. A small ship, fore-and-aft rigged on its two masts, with its mainmast much taller than its mizzen and with or without headsails. The mizzen mast is located aft of the rudderpost, sometimes directly on the transom, and is intended to help provide helm balance. A small ship"
"often one spar even in the days of wood. A common arrangement on tall ships now in use is a steel spar as lower and topmast, surmounted by a wooden mast as topgallant and royal. Topmast The masts of traditional sailing ships were not single spars, but were constructed of separate sections or masts, each with its own rigging. The topmast is one of these. 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"
"Barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore-and-aft. The word ""barque"" entered English via French, which in turn came from the Latin ""barca"" by way of Occitan, Spanish or Italian. The Latin ""barca"" may stem from Celtic """"barc"""" (per Thurneysen) or Greek """"baris"""" (per Diez), a term for an Egyptian boat. The ""Oxford English Dictionary"", however, considers the latter improbable. The word ""barc"" appears to have come from Celtic languages. The form adopted by English,"
"requires a second mast, the sail plan will usually be a schooner, ketch or yawl, all of which are fore-and-aft rigged, although the ""topsail schooner"" variant carries one or more square topsails on its foremast. The two-topsail schooner variant carries square topsails on both the mainmast and the foremast. The schooner may be distinguished from both the yawl and the ketch by the disposition of its masts, and thus the placement of the mainsail. On the yawl and ketch, the mainsail is flown from the forward mast, or mainmast, and the aft mast is the mizzen-mast. A two-masted schooner has"
"Unstayed mast An unstayed mast (also known as a freestanding mast) is a type of mast on a boat that is not supported by any stays. Unstayed masts are often seen with smaller sailing dinghies such as the Optimist, Topper and the Laser, but can also be used on larger vessels. Traditional American catboats and Dutch fishing vessels ranging up to 60 feet have been built with unstayed wooden masts and recently schooners in the 70 foot range have been built with unstayed carbon fibre masts. Freedom Yachts produced a large number of yachts up to 44 feet with unstayed"
"let it fall. The topsail a fore and aft sail. The jib topsail a staysail set between the topmast and the bowsprit. On rigs having multiple jibs or staysails of which at least one is set high, such as many late 19th and 20th Century racing cutters, the uppermost of these, set flying or on a topmast stay, is often called the jib topsail. Topsails (Greek: ""sipharos""; Latin: ""siparum"") in the form of an isosceles triangle set above the square mainsail were used in Roman navigation. Topsail A topsail is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further"
"Stay mouse The nautical term ""stay mouse"" refers to an antiquated part of a sailing vessel<nowiki>'s</nowiki> standing rigging. On all sailing ships built before about the 19th century, the stays were of natural cords. These lines were looped around the top of each section of the wooden masts using a spliced loop or seized loop in their ends. During the 16th century some riggers began to attach stays by splicing or seizing only a small loop into the end of the stay then passing the rope's tail around the mast and back through the small loop, like a slip-knot. To"
"main sail of a schooner). On the foremast is a similar sail, called the trysail. Attached to the respective yards of square-rigged ships are smaller spars, which can be extended, thus lengthening the yard, thus receiving an additional sailing wing on each side. These are called studding sails, and are used with fair and light wind only. The wings are named after the sails to which they are fastened, i.e. the main studding sails, main top studding sails, and the main top gallant studding sails, etc. The brig's foremast is smaller than the main mast. The fore mast holds a"