Bowsprit
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Bowsprit of the Falls of Clyde, showing the dolphin striker, the use of chain for the bobstays, and three furled jibs. (The yellowish pole is the bowsprit of a different vessel.) |
The
bowsprit, or
boltsprit, of a
sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay(s), allowing the
fore-mast to be stepped further forward on the hull.
On large
tall ships the bowsprit may be a considerable length and have several
forestays attached. When not in use the
foresails are stowed by being tied onto the bowsprit. The crew must then work out on the bowsprit to stow or prepare the sails. To minimise the risk of the bowsprit (and any crew working on it) being buried in large waves, the bowsprit is normally angled upwards from the horizontal.
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Bowsprit of the Dar Pomorza as seen from the deck, showing safety netting. |
Early ocean-going vessels tended to tilt the bowsprit at a high angle, and hung one or two square
spritsails from yards. In the
17th century and early
18th century a vertical
sprit topmast was added near the end of the bowsprit and another square sail added to it; this is not a particular successful design however, the mast tending to carry away in heavy weather. Fore-and-aft
jibsails hung from the stays proved more useful for speed and maneuvering, and the basic bowsprit was lengthened with a
jibboom and then even further with a
flying jibboom, resulting in bowsprits of tremendous length, up to 30 meters total.
On smaller vessels, where the bowsprit is not used for stowing sails, it is often horizontal. Bowsprits are rare on modern
yachts; the forestay merely runs down to the tip of the bow. On some modern racing yachts and
dinghys, the bowsprit is retractible and primarily used to fly an
asymetrical spinnaker.
The very end of the bowsprit is traditionally painted white on
tall ships, unless the ship in question has ventured into either the Arctic or Antarctic circles, in which case it is painted blue.
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Glossary of Sailing and Nautical Terms
