Square rig

A Square rigger during the Parade of Sail on 4 July 1976 (US Bicentennial)

Square rig refers to a type of sail and rigging where the sails are mounted on horizontal spars.^[1] The number of masts, the square sails and how the yards (spars) are set out distinguishes a square-rigged ship.^[2] The classic example of a square-rig is a three masted fully rigged ship.^[2] The square-rigger descends from the lateen-rig.^[1] Its angled sails became square sails.^[1] The full-rigged ship is a ship with square-rigged sails on all its masts.^[3] The square rig with all its sails and rigging is hard to handle when tacking or "coming about".^[4] In the trade winds, square-rigged ships have an advantage, especially in deep water.^[5]

References

1. Gershom Bradford, 'Rigs of Vessels', The Rudder, Volume 23, ed. Thomas Fleming Day (1910), p. 505
2. Otmar Schäuffelen, Chapman Great Sailing Ships of the World (New York: Hearst Books, 2005), p. xxi
3. "The Rigging of a Sailing Ship". ThePirateKing.com. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
4. Fred B. Jacobs, 'The Modern Sailor is Economical—II', Marine Review, Volume 50 (1920), p. 459
5. "About Tall Ships". Sail Baltimore. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2017.

Other websites

• How to sail a Full-Rigged-Ship - The Sørlandet Part 1
• Star of India tacking and wearing: YouTube