Spritsail

The spritsail is a four-sided, fore-and-aft sail that is supported at its highest points by the mast and a diagonally running spar known as the sprit.

[1] Historically, spritsails were the first European fore-and-aft rigs, appearing in Greco-Roman navigation in the 2nd century BC.

The sprit is steadied and controlled from the deck by a pair of wire vangs (/wæŋ/ WANG) attached to the peak of the sail.

[5] The instability caused by allowing such a weighty spar to extend too far away from the vessel's centreline, however, had to be borne in mind when designing hull and rigging.

The spritsail was a feature of the Cromster where the ability to furl the foot of the sail and raise the sheets, made gunnery much more readily possible.

The sheet will be eased and the aft end of a boom could drag in the water making the rudder ineffective and a capsize inevitable.

The vangs control the head of the sail which can be set so as to make use of the air above the wind-shadow of moored ships, warehouses and so on.

This technique is an effective way of stowing the mainsail and gives fine control over the power obtained from the sail.

In narrow channels, and in the lee of tall buildings the mailsail and mizzen are brailed and the bowsprit topped up, and she sails on topsail and foresail alone.

In keeping with the general philosophy of working boats, all sails would therefore be traditionally treated with red oxide and other substances.

[14] The spritsail is also commonly used in a fore-and-aft rig (along with a staysail) on local traditional wooden boats of the west coast of Norway, most notably the faering variant of the Oselvar.