The top on a traditional

square rigged Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which a sailing vessel's primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars that are perpendicular (or square) to the median plane of the keel and masts of the vessel. These spar ...

ship is the platform at the upper end of each (lower)

mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mas ...

. This is not the masthead "

crow's nest A crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the main mast of a ship or a structure that is used as a lookout point. On ships, this position ensured the widest field of view for lookouts to spot approaching hazards, other ships, or land b ...

" of the popular imagination – above the mainmast (for example) is the main-topmast, main-topgallant-mast and main-royal-mast, so that the top is actually about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way up the mast as a whole. An important purpose of the top is to anchor the

shrouds Shroud usually refers to an item, such as a cloth, that covers or protects some other object. The term is most often used in reference to ''burial sheets'', mound shroud, grave clothes, winding-cloths or winding-sheets, such as the Jewish '' ...

of the topmast that extends above it. Shrouds down to the side of the hull would be at too acute an angle from the mast, so

crosstrees Crosstrees are the two horizontal spars at the upper ends of the topmasts of sailing ships that are used to anchor the shrouds from the topgallant mast. They may also be mounted at the upper end of the topgallant to anchor the shrouds from the ...

run sideways out from the mast to spread the topmast shrouds. These crosstrees rest on two

trestle tree Trestle or Trestles may refer to: : Structures and structural elements: ** Trestle support, the structural element that supports a trestle bridge, trestle desk, trestle table, or similar structures ** Trestle bridge, a bridge composed of trestle s ...

s running fore and aft, which themselves are placed on top of the cheeks of hounds, bolted to the sides of the mast. Placing a few timbers onto the crosstrees produces a useful platform, the top. The

futtock shrouds {{distinguish, text ={{nautical term, futtock, the hull frame component Futtock shrouds are rope, wire or chain links in the rigging of a traditional square rigged ship. They run from the outer edges of a top downwards and inwards to a point ...

carry the load of the upper shrouds into the mast below. 1972P53 The English Ship Hampton Court in a Gale detail

Up until late in the 17th century, the top served as a platform that assisted in sail handling. Prior to this time, square sails were stowed by lifting them up to the yard and in towards the mast. In contrast, the later stowage method simply pulled the sail up to the yard. The older method meant that much of the work was close to the mast, so the platform provided by the top greatly assisted this process. Other changes to sail handling at about the same time were the introduction of reefing (replacing the use of s), the transition to the topsail to being the main working sail (first to be set and last to be ed), and the introduction of

footrope A footrope is a rope suspended underneath a yard or bowsprit for sailors to stand on while working on the sails. It is a feature of square rigged sailing vessels from the middle of the 17th century onwards. Before its invention, sailors would li ...

s. At the upper end of the topmast and topgallant, there is a similar situation regarding the next mast up (topgallant and royal respectively). At these points a smaller top might be constructed, but it is more usual simply to leave the shroud-bearing struts open, in which case they are known as crosstrees. Access for sailors to the top may be by a

Jacob's ladder Jacob's Ladder () is a ladder or staircase leading to Heaven that was featured in a dream the Biblical Patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis (chapter 28). The significance of the dream has been de ...

, lubber's hole, or the

. A foremast might be stepped into a similar fore-top platform on the foremast. A mizzen-top would be a platform on the mizzenmast. Similar main-top and fore-top platforms have been retained on steam ships and motor vessels as preferred locations for installing rotating

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

antennae.

Fighting top

A fighting top was an enlarged top with

swivel gun A swivel gun (or simply swivel) is a small cannon mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rot ...

s, designed to fire down at the deck of enemy ships. They could also hold sailors or marines armed with

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

s or

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

was mortally wounded at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

by a sniper firing from a fighting top of the ''Redoutable''.

External links

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Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Top (Sailing Ship) Sailing rigs and rigging