Nomenclature for a square-head sail?

[Jdege]

Most boats have triangular sails, these days, and hence their parts are referred to by their well-known names, luff, leach, foot, head, tack, does.

Mine was originally gaff-rigged, and gaffs use head to refer to the top edge of the sail, and to the two corners as the throat and peak.

But my boat isn't gaff-rigged, anymore. The sails it came with are still gaff-shaped, but the peak is held up by a full-length diagonal batten.

I'm not sure that either the traditional triangular or gaff sail names really fit the shape of these sails. What is common?

[Benz]

On modern square-topped sails, the diagonal batten is often called the "gaff batten"
Depending on the exact configuration, your sail might be a "standing lug," a "dipping lug," or a spritsail.

[Bowdrie]

Perhaps only worth a farthing instead of 2 cents.
They can call it a gaff or a gaff-batten, or a just a batten, does it matter much?
Of course battens generally are allowed to bend, gaffs don't bend.
The sail has 4 corners, tack, clew, peak, throat.
The sail has 4 sides, luff. leach, foot, head.

[Benz]

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

Perhaps only worth a farthing instead of 2 cents.
They can call it a gaff or a gaff-batten, or a just a batten, does it matter much?
Of course battens generally are allowed to bend, gaffs don't bend.
The sail has 4 corners, tack, clew, peak, throat.
The sail has 4 sides, luff. leach, foot, head.

The difference between a square-topped main with a gaff batten and a real gaff sail is that a gaffer had both throat and peak halyards; the square-toppers have some complicated solutions to hoist such a sail with only one halyard.

[thomm225]

We on beach cats raced with square top mains as far back at the late 90's, but I never heard anyone refer to that diagonal batten as anything special.

I bought my Nacra 17 in 2001. It was my fourth beach cat, but first with a square top Technora Main.

Most of us had 2-3 sets of tapered battens for the different wind conditions we might have to deal with at a particular race.

As far as the rest of the sail, we referred to the nomenclature the same as with our traditional triangular sails

It looks like though that the diagonal batten has been lengthened from the 2001 model Nacra I17R which I had to the newer 2 man Nacra 17.

And/or the square top section is slightly wider.

The boardless boat is a 570 with the newer style

[thomm225]

A couple more on different boats.

[Jdege]

I have two sets of sails. One is a fully battened square head much like this pictured above:



Then other has only a single full-width diagonal batten, creating a distinctly four-sided sail:

[Benz]

The one without full battens requires a real gaff with throat and peak halyards. But a mast suitable for the one sail will not be so for the other--they require vastly different arrangements of halyards and such.

[Jdege]

Originally Posted by Benz

The one without full battens requires a real gaff with throat and peak halyards. But a mast suitable for the one sail will not be so for the other--they require vastly different arrangements of halyards and such.

Actually, it doesn't. That "peak" corner is supported by a full batten, there's no attachment point for a second halyard.

It may not be clear from the picture, but the luff is on the right, the leach to the left.

[Benz]

Originally Posted by Jdege

Actually, it doesn't. That "peak" corner is supported by a full batten, there's no attachment point for a second halyard.

It may not be clear from the picture, but the luff is on the right, the leach to the left.

Amazing. I've never seen a sail cut like that before.

[Jdege]

There are a lot of odd things about this boat...