Headsail
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As a headsail those are sail denotes the front of the main mast of a sailing ship , or in front of the mast of a slupgetakelten sailing boat or a sailing boat to be driven.
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A foresail can be a staysail , which means that it is attached to a stay (jib stay, usually a wire rope between the bow and the upper end of the mast). A foresail of this type is traditionally attached to the stay with many small “hooks”, so- called stay riders , or even lugs. Thereafter, the sail to the case at the Stag along by drawn above are (set).
Another possibility is the use of a furling system , with which many cruising yachts in particular are now equipped, which value ease of use. With the furling system, the headsail can be set from the cockpit , i. H. be unrolled. To recover the foresail, it is rolled back around its stay with the furling system. With a furling system, the sail can be reefed steplessly even in strong winds . The disadvantage of a furling system is that the profile of a partially furled sail is not optimal in the wind. As a rule, it brings speed advantages to set a smaller sail instead, which is designed for higher winds and can fully utilize its profile. For this reason, furling systems are largely dispensed with on regatta yachts.
Larger ships often have several headsails. They therefore react to weather conditions primarily by setting the foresail more or less. For tall ships with four foresails, a distinction is made:
- Jager or Flieger : The Jager as the largest headsail is driven on the foremost stay of a ship, its leading edge is pulled up along the outermost stay; this stay extends from the very end of the jib boom to near the top of the uppermost extension ( stanchion ) of the foremost mast. Due to its size, the Jager is only set in light winds. If the wind is a little stronger, a plane can be set up in the same place instead. However, this is not attached to the stay, but rather stretched “freely” between the end of the jib boom and the stanchion. Because the plane is shorter than the distance between the jib boom and the stern, the plane is pulled up further so that the sail “flies” high above the jib boom and most of the other sails.
- Outside jib: The outside jib is set on the second foremost stay, the lower end of which is attached to the jib boom (usually at a little distance from the foremost stay) and the upper end of which is attached to the tip of the foremost mast (but not the stanchion).
- Inner jib : The inner jib is driven on the third foremost stay, which runs from the jib boom (again at a distance from the second foremost stay) to the top of the foremost mast.
- Jib or forestay sail : The jib is set on the innermost forestay, which runs roughly from the bow of the ship to the tip of the lowest bar of the front mast. The stage for the outer and inner jib and jib converge on the mast on some ships at roughly the same point. As a rule, however, the masts are divided into several stanchions (also in the case of historic ships) and each stem tip is supported forwards by at least one stay (for example Vorstengestag, Bramstengestag, Royalstengestag)
Changing the headsail on ships with a headstay
Especially on regatta ships, the headsail is not attached to the forestay with stay riders, but rather threaded into a profile forestay made of plastic (which surrounds the forestay made of wire or cold drawn steel = rod). There are 2 grooves available for this purpose, so that when you change sails you do not have to retrieve the old sail before the new one can be set. This would mean sailing for some time without a headsail, which would cost time and impair the controllability of the ship.
There are various strategies for changing headsails on ships with a headstay:
inside up - outside down : The new sail is pulled up inside (towards the middle of the ship) of the already standing sail, which is relatively easy. On the other hand, recovery on the outside is very difficult.
outside up - inside down : In contrast to inside up - outside down , the new sail is pulled up outside the set sail, which is very tedious. In return, however, the old sail can be salvaged on the inside.
inside up - inside down (with turning ) : First the new sail is pulled up on the inside of the old sail, then turned and then the old sail is recovered. This method makes setting and hoisting the sails easier, but requires space and time to turn.
