Yard (sailing)

The fore royal yard on the Prince William. Prince William's royal yards are the highest and smallest yards on the ship, are made of wood, and are "lifting yards" that can be raised along a section of the mast. Here it is in the lowered position.

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.[1] In addition, for some decades after square sails were generally dispensed with, some yards were retained for deploying wireless (radio) aerials and signal flags.

  1. ^ Keegan, John (1989). The Price of Admiralty. New York: Viking. p. 281. ISBN 0-670-81416-4.