sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture.
Types
Although sailboat terminology ...
. It is an element of the
running rigging
Running rigging is the rigging of a sailing, sailing vessel that is used for raising, lowering, shaping and controlling the sails on a sailing vessel—as opposed to the standing rigging, which supports the Mast (sailing), mast and bowsprit. Runn ...
, used to attach the
mainsail
A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast (sailing), mast of a sailing vessel.
* On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast.
* On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. T ...
clew
Sail components include the features that define a sail's shape and function, plus its constituent parts from which it is manufactured. A sail may be classified in a variety of ways, including by its orientation to the vessel (e.g. ''fore-and-a ...
foot
The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up o ...
of the sail. It commonly uses a
block
Block or blocked may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting
* W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...
at the boom end and a cleat on the boom, closer to the mast, to secure the line.
The outhaul is loosened to provide a fuller camber or tightened to give the sail foot a flatter camber. Depending on the wind, this will increase or decrease boat speed.Sailboat designer and sailing theorist,
Frank Bethwaite
Francis Dewar Bethwaite (26 May 1920 – 12 May 2012) was a New Zealand naval architect, author and Olympic meteorologist.racing sailboat, should be knotted and the boom marked with the settings for different wind speeds.