Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 12, 2026

Square rig

Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which a sailing vessel uses square sails which are carried on horizontal spars that, when at rest, are perpendicular to the centre line of the vessel. This is in contrast to fore and aft rig, where the sails are on the vessel's centre line when at rest. A consequence of this is that square sails have a front and a back surface, with the back always facing the wind when used to drive the ship forward, whilst fore and aft sails have a left and right surface, either of which may face the wind. The majority of square sails are symmetrical about an axis parallel to the mast, whilst most fore and aft sails are asymmetrical in shape.

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Main-mast of a square-rigged brig, with all square sails set except the course source ↗

Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which a sailing vessel's primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars that are perpendicular (or square) to the median plane of the keel and masts of the vessel. These spars are called yards and their tips, outside the lifts, are called the yardarms.1 A ship mainly rigged so is called a square-rigger.2

In "Jackspeak" (Royal Navy slang), it also refers to the dress uniform of junior ratings.

History

The single-masted, square-rigged Humber keel performed well to windward.3: 54  source ↗

Single sail square rigs were used by the ancient Egyptians, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, and the Celts. Later the Scandinavians, the Germanic peoples, and the Slavs adopted the single square-rigged sail, with it becoming one of the defining characteristics of the classic "Viking" ships.4

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Oxford English Dictionary
  2. Keegan, John (1989). The Price of Admiralty. New York: Viking. p. 280. ISBN 0-670-81416-4.
  3. Mannering, Julian, ed. (1997). The Chatham directory of inshore craft : traditional working vessels of the British Isles. London: Chatham Pub. ISBN 1-86176-029-9.
  4. The Viking ship's single square-rigged sail. http://Longshipco.org/sail.html Retrieved 2018-8-20
External links