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Sailboat rigging can look complex, and for certain types of boats can be very complex, but if we just look at the basics it's not that hard to understand.

Rigging consists of two components; standing rigging and running rigging. The name of each tells us a bit about what they do. Standing rigging helps hold the mast up, helps it stand. Running rigging is what is used to make the boat go, or run. If you think of them in this manner it is easy to tell them apart.

Standing rigging isn't adjusted very much. Since its primary purpose is to hold up the mast, once it is set properly most of the parts are left alone. There are some exceptions on specialized rigs, mostly used for racing, but to understand the concept it is best to just think that standing rigging is left standing.

The main components of standing rigging, those that are common to most all sailboats, are the stays and the shrouds.

Stays are used to hold the mast up fore and aft, or front to back. The forestay pulls the mast forward and keeps it from falling backwards. The backstay pulls the mast backwards and keeps it from falling forward. When these are adjusted properly and balanced the mast is held upright fore and aft.

Shrouds hold the mast up port and starboard, or left and right. Most sailboats have more than one set of shrouds, upper and lower. Sometimes there are even more in the middle. The shrouds must be adjusted so the mast is straight all the way to the top. If the shrouds aren't set correctly the mast could have bends in it or, even worse, the mast could fall over the side.

Running rigging is what is adjusted to bring the sails up and down and adjust the angles of the sails for different wind conditions. The most common items in the running rigging are the halyards and the sheets. Once again there are a lot of variations and additional items that can be added for special circumstances, but halyards and sheets are the basics.

Halyards are used to pull the sails up and down. Most sailboats have at least two halyards, one for the front sail, or foresail, and one for the back sail, or mainsail. Pulling the halyards raises the sails and slacking the halyards lowers the sails. It's that simple.

Sheets aren't the big flat pieces of cloth that make the sailboat go, those are sails. Sheets are the lines that are used to control the sails. There are usually two sheets for the foresail and one sheet for the mainsail.

On the foresail, depending on the direction of the wind relative to the boat, one sheet, the one downwind, will be used to control the sail, and the other will be kept slack. As the direction of the wind changes the foresail sheets are adjusted to take the best advantage of the wind. When the sail is tight and not flapping, but not too tight, is where you want the sheets on the foresail to be adjusted.

The sheet on the mainsail is adjusted in a similar way. As the sheet is drawn tighter the sail is pulled toward the center of the boat. When the sheet is loosened, or slacked, the sail swings out to one side or the other, whichever is downwind. Again these sheets are adjusted to take the greatest advantage of the direction the boat is going.

While things can get far more complex, understanding this bit of information about the rigging on sailboats can make you a more valuable guest if you're ever invited to go sailing. Once the skipper has pointed out where the various halyards and sheets are led, you can start to help out. When he or she shouts "slack the mainsheet", you can jump right up and lend a hand.

Learn more about this author, Keith Hamburger.
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