Studding Sails, Small Sails - South Seas Companion Cultural Artefact

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Studding Sails

Small Sails

Studding sails, or 'small sails' as they were often called by eighteenth-century mariners, were sails made of a lighter weight of canvass that were extended beyond the principal sails of a ship when there was a moderate, steady breeze.

Details

Topmast studding sails were spread from below by a boom, that was slid out from the ends of the main and fore-yards so as to push out the lower corners of the sail. The upper edges of the sail were attached to a light pole and hoisted up to the topsail-yard-arms.

Lower studding-sails were spread beyond the skirts of the main-sail and fore-sail in much the same way, although the boom extending their bottoms was either hooked to the ship's chains, or fixed to the sail to which it was suspended, and steadied from behind by a rope.

Online Sources

Falconer, William, Online edition of William Falconer's Universal Dictionary of the Marine, or, a Copious Explanation of the Technical Terms and Phrases employed in the Construction, ...of a Ship...derived from the text of the London 1780 edition published by Thomas Cadell, 2004 edn, South Seas, http://paulturnbull.org/projects/southseas/refs/falc/contents.html. [ Details ]

Prepared by: Turnbull, P.
Created: 3 November 2001
Modified: 1 December 2001

Published by South Seas, 1 February 2004
Comments, questions, corrections and additions: Paul.Turnbull@jcu.edu.au
Prepared by: Paul Turnbull
Updated: 28 June 2004
To cite this page use: http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ss-biogs-P000115

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