Dirk (sailing)

Dirk (5)

The dirk is a line on a sailing yacht that holds the tree in its horizontal position when the sail is recovered .

The dirk runs from the end of the tree, the boom , over the top of the mast , the masthead, back to deck . When sailing , the tree is held by the sail and the dirk is loose. In order to prevent the tree from falling on deck when the sail is retrieved , the boom is knocked on , i.e. the tree is raised by pulling in the dirk.

The Dirk holds the boom with the main sail secured

The dirk can also be used to trim the sail . On a downwind course , the penetration of the dirk results in a greater curvature in the sail, and thus possibly more propulsion .

Smaller dinghies often do not have a dirk; the tree is simply taken out of the slouch fitting . Sometimes a tree support takes over the support of the tree when the sail is recovered, or the main halyard is used as a dirk. Larger ships can also have two dirks per tree.

A special form of a dirk is the toppnant , which holds the spinnaker tree upwards.

Web links

Wiktionary: Dirk  - Explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

literature

• David J. Harbord (arr.): Seafaring A – Z. Ships, sailors, seamanship . Schneider, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-505-09664-4 .