Masthead rig

A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast.^[1]

The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, and a smaller mainsail, compared to the fractional rig.

The major advantage a masthead sloop has over a fractional one, is that the jib is larger. Since the jib has no mast in front of it to cause turbulent airflow over it, it is considered much more efficient than the main, especially for sailing up wind. Also, since the fore stay is attached to the top of the mast, it pulls directly against the back stay. Tightening the back stay, then, increases the tension on the fore stay. This is useful because the jib needs considerable fore stay tension to set well. This need increases in direct proportion to the wind speed and jib size. Increasing the tension on the back stay does not tend to bend the mast, as it would on a fractional sloop. It puts the mast in compression instead. For this reason the mast on a mast head rig has has a thicker section at the top to stand this load.

One reason this rig is used on ocean going boats is that it can be made quite strong as every part of it, except the boom, is in either tension or compression. This rig requires a much stiffer hull than a fractional sloop rig to take these rigging loads, so is not well suited for lightly built boats.

A major disadvantage is that, to shorten sail, the jib must be reefed as well as the main. If the jib is taken in and the main left standing, the main will have a strong tendency to weathercock the boat into the wind, making it uncontrollable. There are four typical remedies used: 1.) put reef points in the jib, 2.) have a smaller jib to set in place of the full sized one, 3.) have a roller furling mechanism that rolls up the jib like window shade, and 4.) have two jibs instead of one (often referred to as a 'cutter' rig), so one of the jibs can be taken in.

See also

• Gaff rig

References

1. ^ Dedekam, Ivar (2000). Sail and Rig Tuning. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 62. ISBN 1898660670. 

This article related to water transport is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Sailing rigs and rigging Water transport stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Masthead Studios Masthi Look at other dictionaries: Masthead-rig — Rigning, hvor forstaget går helt op til toppen af masten (modsat brøkdelsrig) …   Danske encyklopædi Masthead — may refer to: Media the masthead (publishing), a list, usually found on the editorial page of a newspaper or other periodical, listing the publisher, editorial board, advertising rates, etc. a masthead (web design), is a graphic image or text… …   Wikipedia masthead — /mast hed , mahst /, n. 1. Also called flag. a statement printed in all issues of a newspaper, magazine, or the like, usually on the editorial page, giving the publication s name, the names of the owner and staff, etc. 2. Also called nameplate. a …   Universalium Fractional rig — A fractional rig on a sailing vessel consists of a foresail, such as a jib or genoa sail, that does not reach all the way to the top of the mast.In the picture to the right, the forestay that secures the mast at the front of the boat is attached… …   Wikipedia Bermuda rig — Diagram of a Bermuda or Marconi rig, on a typical monohull sloop. The term Bermuda rig refers to a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is also known as a Marconi rig; this is the typical configuration for most modern… …   Wikipedia E•boat — The E Boat, was designed by Julian Everitt, and went into production in 1976 and there are in excess of 250 E Boats built between 1976 and 1984 of which around one hundred and fifty were in the UK. She was designed to comply with IOR rules and is …   Wikipedia MacGregor Yacht Corporation — The MacGregor Yacht Corporation is a manufacturer of sailing yachts, located in southern California.HistoryMacGregor Yacht Co. was founded by Roger MacGregor as part of a Stanford University MBA class project in the early 1960s. The company has… …   Wikipedia Glossary of nautical terms — This is a glossary of nautical terms; some remain current, many date from the 17th 19th century. See also Wiktionary s nautical terms, Category:Nautical terms, and Nautical metaphors in English. Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R …   Wikipedia Hartley TS16/18/21 — This range of multichine plywood trailer sailers were designed by Richard Hartley beginning in the late 1950s for home construction. The TS16 was the first truly trailable sailing boat which incorporated accommodation. His genius for design and… …   Wikipedia Maritime mobile amateur radio — An emergency portable boat radio transceiver, Museal ship S/S Sołdek in Gdańsk, Poland Most countries amateur radio licences allow licensed operators to install and use radio transmission equipment while at sea. Such operation is known as… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”