A skysail is the uppermost sail in many old square-rigged

sail-plan A sail plan is a description of the specific ways that a sailing craft is rigged. Also, the term "sail plan" is a graphic depiction of the arrangement of the sails for a given sailing craft.> In the English language, ships were usually describe ...

s (though sometimes topped by a

moonsail A moonraker, also known as a moonsail, hope-in-heaven, or hopesail, is a square sail flown immediately above a skysail (see sail-plan) on the royal masts of a square rigged sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sai ...

). It was also on the

royal mast Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

above the

royal sail A royal is a small sail flown immediately above the topgallant on square rigged sailing ships. It was originally called the "topgallant royal" and was used in light and favorable winds. Royal sails were normally found only on larger ships with m ...

. It was typically used in light winds. Image:Regina Maris moonraker and studding 2.jpg, The highest sail is moonraker, lower skysail and

. Image:Clipper (PSF).jpg, Skysail is the highest on the main (middle) mast. Image:Square rig names.gif Image:Moonraker skysail.JPG

References

{{water-transport-stub Sailing rigs and rigging