Editing Topsail

{{Short description|Sail set above another sail}}
{{about|sailing||Topsail (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Sails 19th century ship.jpg|thumb]]
A '''topsail''' ("tops'l") is a [[sail]] set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails.

== Square rig ==
[[Image:USS Constitution 1997.jpg|right|thumb|[[USS Constitution|USS ''Constitution'']] sailing under (bow to stern) [[jib]]s, '''topsails''', and [[Spanker (sail)|spanker]].]]
On a [[square rig]]ged vessel, a topsail is a typically trapezoidal shaped sail rigged above the [[Course (sail)|course sail]] and below the [[topgallant sail]] where carried, on any mast (i.e., a [[fully rigged ship]] would have a [[foremast]] topsail, a [[mainmast]] topsail, and a [[mizzen]] topsail). A full rigged ship will have either single or double (i.e., "split" upper and lower) topsails on all masts, the single or lower topsail being the second sail above the deck and the upper topsail where so rigged being the third.

Although described as a "square" sail, a topsail on a full rigged ship refers not to the sail's shape but to it and its [[Yard (sailing)|yard]] being rigged square (i.e., at a right angle) to the vessel's [[keel]] rather than in line with it (in which case it would be called a [[fore-and-aft rig]] or a fore-and-aft rigged sail) ; a square rigged topsail is nearly always trapezoidal in shape, with the lengths of the upper yards being progressively smaller the higher they are on the mast. The bottom edge of the topsail, like that of other square rigged sails, is slightly concave which allows the rigging to connect to the mast.  The principal exception to this trapezoidal rule is the [[raffee]] sail, which is a square rigged topsail that is triangular (such as is seen on the foremast of the ship ''[[Denis Sullivan (schooner)|Denis Sullivan]]'', a [[topsail schooner]]).  A topsail which is fore-and-aft rigged is usually also triangular, but has its longest edge oriented vertically rather than horizontally as seen in the raffee sail.

Although the early Romans used a sort of fore-and-aft rigged topsail on some vessels, this sail came into prominent use in Europe some time in the 15th century. Initially small and carried only on main and fore masts, they gradually increased in size and importance until by the middle of the 17th century and were the principal and largest sails of the ship, the first sails to be set and the last to be taken in. It was quite common for a ship to sail with topsails and [[jib]]s alone; the position of the topsails well above the sea ensured that they received a steady breeze even if the seas were rough.

Because of their ability to drive a ship in lighter winds than the course sail below or any sail above, the topsail quickly became enormous and was soon difficult and dangerous to handle in strong winds. Sometime in the 1680s, [[reef-band]]s were introduced to tie up part of the sail, with topsails eventually getting four of these. In the mid 19th century topsails of merchant vessels were split into separate upper and lower topsails that could be managed independently and far more easily by significantly smaller crews (see ''[[Cutty Sark]]'' for a prominent example).  Such sails were still often referred to as a single "topsail", however.

Competing versions of this double topsail were invented by [[Robert Bennet Forbes]] and [[Captain Frederic Howes]]. Although Forbes strove to defend his rig, the Howe rig dominated.<ref>
{{Cite web
  | last = Bruzelius
  | first = Lars
  | title = Letter from R.B. Forbes to Captain Bradbury, 1855
  | publisher = The Maritime History Virtual Archives
  | year = 1996
  | url = http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Rigging/Masting/USNM-3%281855%29_p31.html
  | access-date = March 23, 2016}}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite web
  | last = Bruzelius
  | first = Lars
  | title = A Letter from Geo. H. Bradbury to R.B. Forbes, 1855
  | publisher = The Maritime History Virtual Archives
  | year = 1996
  | url = http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Rigging/Masting/USNM-3%281855%29_p32.html
  | access-date = March 23, 2016}}
</ref> In the Forbes rig, both topsail yards are fixed vertically.<ref>{{cite book
 | title=The Masting of American Merchant Sail in the 1850s: An Illustrated Study
 | author=William L. Crothers  | page=70ff
 | publisher=Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub | year=2014
 | isbn= 978-0786493999
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T2QMBAAAQBAJ&q=frederic+Howes&pg=PA71
}}</ref> In the Howe rig, the upper topsail yard slides on the topmast so it can be lowered in a few seconds to close reef the upper topsail.  Howe had the foot of the upper topsail closely attached to the lower topsail yard. In 1865 the British clipper ''Ariel'' introduced a gap there.<ref>{{Cite web
 | url=http://mcjazz.f2s.com/ClipperRigs.htm
 | title=Clipper Rigs
| access-date = March 23, 2016
}}</ref> Forbes first tried his rig in the topsail schooner ''Midas'' in 1844.The clipper ''Climax'' built in 1853 under the supervision of Howes was the first ship with Howe rig.<ref>{{cite book
 | title=American-Built Packets and Freighters of the 1850s: An Illustrated Study of Their Characteristics and Construction
 | author=William L. Crothers | page=342
 | publisher=Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub | year=2013
 | isbn=978-0786470068
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qTZPsctuutwC&q=howe+rig+topsail&pg=PA342
 }}</ref>

== Gaff rig ==
[[Image:La Recouvrance.JPG|right|thumb|''[[La Recouvrance (schooner)|La Recouvrance]]'' with both a gaff topsail and two square topsails; the partly obscured sail between the topmasts is a topmast staysail]]
Gaff topsails, like [[gaff rig]]s in general, may still be seen at [[tall ship]]s gatherings.  The gaff rig has been largely superseded by the [[Bermuda rig]], which has no topsails. On a gaff-rigged sailing boat, topsails may take a few different forms:

* A jib-headed topsail is generally a triangular sail set between the gaff and the top of the [[mast (sailing)|mast]] or [[topmast]]. A gaff-rigged vessel might have a gaff topsail above any or all of its gaff sails.<ref>{{cite book
 | last    = Leather
 | first   = John
 | title   = The Gaff Rig Handbook
 | edition = second
 | year    = 2001
 | publisher = Woodenboat Books
 | isbn    = 0-937822-67-1
 | page    = 54
}}</ref>

* A yard topsail is similar, but set on a [[yard (sailing)|yard]]. Early 19th-century topsail yards were set almost horizontally, but gradually increased in angle until they became almost vertical extension of the [[topmast]].<ref>{{cite book
 | last    = Leather
 | first   = John
 | title   = The Gaff Rig Handbook
 | edition = second
 | year    = 2001
 | publisher = Woodenboat Books
 | isbn    = 0-937822-67-1
 | page    = 56
}}</ref>

* A jack-yard topsail (or club topsail) instead has its lower edge (or [[foot (sail)|foot]]) extended out beyond the end of the gaff with a short yard, called a "jack-yard". A jack-yard topsail may also have the aforementioned vertical yard, although this makes for a very large topsail.<ref>{{cite book
 | last    = Leather
 | first   = John
 | title   = The Gaff Rig Handbook
 | edition = second
 | year    = 2001
 | publisher = Woodenboat Books
 | isbn    = 0-937822-67-1
 | page    = 58
}}</ref>

* A cornish topsail is a triangular sail having its [[Parts of a sail#Edges|luff]] extended well above the masthead by being laced to a yard hoisted by a [[halyard]] that is [[Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z)#rove|rove]] through a [[sheave]] fitted diagonally in the mast. The [[heel (sailing)|heel]] of the yard fits immediately about the gaff and is kept in place by a [[tackline]] called a ''timminoggy''.<ref>{{cite book
 | last    = Leather
 | first   = John
 | title   = The Gaff Rig Handbook
 | edition = second
 | year    = 2001
 | publisher = Woodenboat Books
 | isbn    = 0-937822-67-1
 | page    = 59
}}</ref>

* A square topsail is a square-rigged sail carried above the foresail only on [[gaff schooner]]s. (A [[brigantine]] is an example of a two-masted vessel with a forward [[course (sail)|course]].) Schooners carrying square tops are referred to as  "[[topsail schooner]]s"; gaff topsails are taken for granted on gaff-rigged vessels and pass without comment in a vessel description.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cunliffe |first=Tom |title=Hand, Reef and Steer |year=1992 |publisher=Sheridan House |isbn=1-57409-203-0 |page=21}}</ref>

==Other uses==

On rigs having multiple [[jib]]s or [[staysail]]s of which at least one is set high, such as many late 19th and 20th Century racing [[cutter (ship)|cutters]], the uppermost of these, set flying or on a topmast [[stays (nautical)|stay]], is often called the '''jib topsail'''.

== Roman navigation ==
Topsails ([[Greek language|Greek]]: ''sipharos''; [[Latin]]: ''siparum'') in the form of an [[isosceles triangle]] set above the square [[mainsail]] were used in [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] navigation.<ref>[[Lionel Casson|Casson, Lionel]] (1995): "Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World", Johns Hopkins University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5130-8}}, pp.&nbsp;240–241</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
;Bibliography
* {{cite book|last1=March|first1=Edgar J|title=Spritsail barges of the Thames and Medway|date=1948|publisher=Percival Marshall|location=London}}
* [[John Harland (naval author)|John Harland]] & Mark Myers, ''Seamanship in the Age of Sail''; Lees "Masting & Rigging"; "The Young Sea-Officer's Sheet Anchor"

{{Sail Types}}

[[Category:Sailing rigs and rigging]]