Editing Course (sail)

{{Short description|Type of square sail}}
[[Image:Sails and Yards on the Stavros S Niarchos.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Illustration of the foremast of the [[Stavros S Niarchos (ship)|Stavros S Niarchos]].  The course sail is the lowermost sail.]]

In [[sailing]], a '''course''' is a type of [[square rig|square sail]]. It is the sail set on the lowest [[Yard (sailing)|yard]] on a mast. The courses are given a name derived from the mast on which they are set, so the course on the foremast may be called the fore-course or the foresail; similarly main-course or mainsail for that carried on the mainmast. On the mizzen, a course is not usually carried. If it is, it is called the crossjack (or cro'jack) or mizzen sail. The lower yard on the mizzen takes the same name (crossjack). When there is no sail set from this yard it is still needed to sheet home the topsail. In that case, a clue to the arrangement is the absence of footropes.<ref name="Undehill 1955">{{cite book |last1=Underhill |first1=H. A. |title=Sailing ship rigs and rigging. |date=1955 |publisher=Brown Son & Ferguson |location=Glasgow |isbn=0-85174-176-2 |edition=2nd}}</ref>{{rp|p87}}<ref name="Bennett 2005">{{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=Jenny |title=Sailing Rigs, an Illustrated Guide |date=2005 |publisher=Chatham Publishing |location=London |isbn=1-86176-243-7}}</ref>{{rp|8}}[[File:Ansted Sea Terms 1898 - Fore sails and head sails of a square rigged ship.jpg|thumb|Sketch of a square rigged foremast. The course is numbered 5]]

==References==
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{{Sail Types}}

[[Category:Sailing rigs and rigging]]