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 sails ...
). 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. It was typically used in light winds.
moonraker
Moonraker may refer to:
* Moonrakers, a colloquialism for people from Wiltshire, England
''James Bond'' media franchise
* ''Moonraker'' (novel), a 1955 James Bond novel by Ian Fleming
* ''Moonraker'' (film), a 1979 film based on the novel
* ...
, lower skysail and royal sail.
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