What Are Spars On A Sail Ship?

A spar is a pole made of wood, metal, or lightweight materials like carbon fiber used in the rigging of a sailing vessel to support its sail. It includes yards, booms, and masts, which serve to deploy the sail and resist compressive and bending forces. A mast is a tall vertical structure on a ship for holding sails or antennae, while a spar is any strong pole used in the rigging of ships.

Sailing boats have evolved from large square canvas suspended from a single yard (top spar) to complex arrangements intended to pivot on the mast depending on the direction and force of the wind. Racing spars are fitted with a hook-in-block and a wind pennant plug masthead system, allowing all fittings to be removed, allowing the sail to slide freely.

A spar is a pole made of wood, metal, or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used in the rigging of a sailing vessel to carry or support its sail. These include yards, booms, masts, bowsprit, and spinnaker poles. The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected vertically on the center-line of a ship or boat.

A boom is a spar along the foot of a fore and aft rigged sail that greatly improves control of the angle and shape of the sail. Spare spars were an exception, carried on top of deck houses, frames between the bridge and foremast called gallows, and lashed to the sides.

In summary, a spar is a crucial part of a sailing boat’s rigging system, providing necessary support for the sails and enabling the ship to catch wind and propel forward.

What is the difference between a yard and a spar?

A yard is a spar on a mast from which sails are set. It may be constructed of timber or steel or from more modern materials such as aluminium or carbon fibre. Although some types of fore and aft rigs have yards, the term is usually used to describe the horizontal spars used on square rigged sails. In addition, for some decades after square sails were generally dispensed with, some yards were retained for deploying wireless (radio) aerials and signal flags.

Note that these terms refer to stretches of the same spar, not to separate component parts.

The yard can rotate around the mast to allow the direction of the vessel to be changed relative to the wind. When running directly downwind the yards are ‘squared’, pointing horizontal to the ship’s centre line. As the ship is steered closer to the wind the yards are braced round using the braces. When further rotation is obstructed by other bits of rigging (typically the shrouds), the yard is said to be braced “hard round” or “sharp up”, as in “sharp up to port”. This angle (normally about 60 degrees) limits how close to the wind a square rigged ship can sail.

What is the difference between a boom and a spar?

Boom: Spar to which a sail’s lower edge or foot is attached. The boom is attached to the mast at the gooseneck. Boom vang: Lines that control the boom. These lines run from the boom to the base of the mast and are used when reaching and running.

Blanketing: A tactical maneuver in which one boat slows a competitor by positioning itself to obstruct the competitor’s wind.

Block: An assemblage of one or more sheaves (pulleys) housed in a plastic or metal case that changes the direction of travel of a line (rope) and may be attached to a boat’s deck,sparor other stationary object.

Boom:Sparto which a sail’s lower edge or foot is attached. The boom is attached to themastat thegooseneck.

What is the difference between a mast and a spar?

The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light, look-out position, signal yard, control position, radio aerial or signal lamp. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship. Nearly all sailing masts are guyed.

Until the mid-19th century, all vessels’ masts were made of wood formed from a single or several pieces of timber which typically consisted of the trunk of a conifer tree. From the 16th century, vessels were often built of a size requiring masts taller and thicker than from single tree trunks. On these larger vessels, to achieve the required height, the masts were built from up to four sections (also called masts). From lowest to highest, these were called: lower, top, topgallant, and royal masts. Giving the lower sections sufficient thickness necessitated building them up from separate pieces of wood. Such a section was known as a made mast, as opposed to sections formed from single pieces of timber, which were known as pole masts.

Those who specialised in making masts were known as mastmakers.

Where is the spar on a ship?

Quick Reference. In its strict maritime meaning a temporary deck laid in any part of a ship, the beams across which it is laid being known as skid beams. But the term was often used to describe the quarterdeck or forecastle deck of a deep-waisted ship, possibly because in the days of sail spare spars could be lashed to these decks as replacements for those damaged in use, rather than in the ship’s waist. In the US Navy the term applied to the weather deck of its frigates, where the flimsy gangways formerly used to connect the forecastle and quarterdeck had been so expanded and strengthened as to create a continuous deck capable of supporting guns. The ships themselves were sometimes referred to as ‘spar deck frigates’. In modern usage, the term is sometimes employed to describe the upper deck of a flush-decked ship.

Spar deck. in The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military Length: 11 words.

Spar deck. in The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea Length: 144 words.

What is a spar on a sailboat?

A spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fibre used in the rigging of a sailing vessel to carry or support its sail. These include yards, booms, and masts, which serve both to deploy sail and resist compressive and bending forces, as well as the bowsprit and spinnaker pole.

In larger vessels during the age of sail, spare spars could be roped together to provide a temporary surface known as a “spar deck”. These served as jury-rigged repairs for permanent decks, or as an additional platform under which to shelter goods or crew. The term was also informally applied to areas of the forecastle or quarterdeck where spare spars were stored by laying them flat against the existing decking. In the modern era the term has been used to describe the uppermost deck on flush decked vessels.

^ Kemp, Peter, ed.. The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. p.820. ISBN0192820842.;

What is a ship spar?

A spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fibre used in the rigging of a sailing vessel to carry or support its sail. These include yards, booms, and masts, which serve both to deploy sail and resist compressive and bending forces, as well as the bowsprit and spinnaker pole.

In larger vessels during the age of sail, spare spars could be roped together to provide a temporary surface known as a “spar deck”. These served as jury-rigged repairs for permanent decks, or as an additional platform under which to shelter goods or crew. The term was also informally applied to areas of the forecastle or quarterdeck where spare spars were stored by laying them flat against the existing decking. In the modern era the term has been used to describe the uppermost deck on flush decked vessels.

^ Kemp, Peter, ed.. The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. p.820. ISBN0192820842.;

What is a ship’s front spar called?

The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel’s prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay that counteracts the forces from the forestays. The bowsprit’s purpose is to create anchor points for the sails that extend beyond the vessel’s bow, increasing the size of sail that may be held taut.

The word bowsprit is thought to originate from the Middle Low German word bōchsprēt – bōch meaning “bow” and sprēt meaning “pole”.

^ “Bowsprit”. Dictionary.com. Retrieved 15 November 2012.;

What is the purpose of a spar?

In a fixed-wing aircraft, the spar is often the main structural member of the wing, running spanwise at right angles (or thereabouts depending on wing sweep) to the fuselage. The spar carries flight loads and the weight of the wings while on the ground. Other structural and forming members such as ribs may be attached to the spar or spars, with stressed skin construction also sharing the loads where it is used. There may be more than one spar in a wing or none at all. Where a single spar carries most of the force, it is known as the main spar.

Spars are also used in other aircraft aerofoil surfaces such as the tailplane and fin and serve a similar function, although the loads transmitted may be different from those of a wing spar.

The wing spar provides the majority of the weight support and dynamic load integrity of cantilever monoplanes, often coupled with the strength of the wing ‘D’ box itself. Together, these two structural components collectively provide the wing rigidity needed to enable the aircraft to fly safely. Biplanes employing flying wires have much of the flight loads transmitted through the wires and interplane struts enabling smaller section and thus lighter spars to be used at the cost of increasing drag.

What is a 3 masted ship called?

Barque or Bark, usually a three masted vessel, the fore and main masts square rigged and the mizzen mast or after mast rigged fore and aft. The four masted barque was a relatively common rig on the oceans, but only two were built in Canada.

The sail plans of sailing vessels were many and varied. Beside differences in original design, a ship might undergo a number of changes, depending upon the whims of her owner, captain, or builder, the trade she was used in, or local traditions. These changes were introduced to improve sailing qualities and to provide a rig that could be handled by a smaller crew, thus paying higher returns to shareholders.

The silhouettes of vessels overleaf represent different rigs of ships on the east coast of North America during the mid 1800s to the early 1900s, a period in marine history often referred to as the “golden age of sail”.

Sailing ship rigs can be divided into two broad categories: the “fore and aft rig” (left), in which the sails lie along the same plane as the ship’s fore and aft line; and the “square rig” (right), in which the sails are rigged athwart (across) the ship. Each rig had certain advantages.

What is a spar?

1. : a movement of offense or defense in boxing. 2. : a sparring match or session.

: a stout rounded usually wood or metal piece (such as a mast, boom, gaff, or yard) used to support rigging.

: any of the main longitudinal members of the wing of an airplane that carry the ribs.

Especially : to gesture without landing a blow to draw one’s opponent or create an opening.

Why is it called spar?

The 1930s. The first SPAR branded store opened in the Netherlands in 1932. It was initially launched as DESPAR, an acronym of a slogan created by van Well to describe the organisation: Door Eendrachtig Samenwerken Profiteren Allen Regelmatig, which translates into English as All Benefit from Joint Co-operation Regularly.

In the late 1940s, the decision was made to abbreviate the brand DESPAR to SPAR.

The popularity of the SPAR voluntary retail trading system in the Netherlands did not go unnoticed. In 1947, Belgian wholesalers were licensed to operate under the brand, establishing the SPAR brand in that market and marking the start of the brand’s internationalisation.

What does spar stand for?

Etymology. The name was originally DESPAR, an acronym of the Dutch phrase Door Eendrachtig Samenwerken Profiteren Allen Regelmatig (English: “Through united co-operation everyone profits equally “), which was used by Van Well to describe the brand.

SPAR, originally “DESPAR”, styled as “DE SPAR” (Dutch pronunciation: (də ˈspɑr)), is a Dutch multinational franchise that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, and as of 2022 consists of 13,996 stores in 48 countries.

Its headquarters are in Amsterdam. The company operates a partnership programme and has a presence in most European countries, as well as many others throughout Asia, Africa and Oceania.

In fiscal year 2022, SPAR earned €43.5 billion in global sales, which represented a 5.6 percent increase over the previous year.