Shroud (sailing)

Shroud (sailing)
Shrouds as they might have looked on a 16th century tall ship.

On a sailboat, the shrouds are pieces of standing rigging which hold the mast up from side to side. There is frequently more than one shroud on each side of the boat.

Usually a shroud will connect at the top of the mast, and additional shrouds might connect partway down the mast, depending on the design of the boat. Shrouds terminate at their bottom ends at the chain plates, which are tied into the hull. They are sometimes held outboard by channels, a ledge that keeps the shrouds clear of the gunwales.[1][2]

Shrouds are attached symmetrically on both the port and starboard sides. For those shrouds which attach high up the mast, a structure projecting from the mast must be used to increase the angle of the shroud at the attachment point, providing more support to the mast. On most sailing boats, such structures are called spreaders, and the shrouds they hold continue down to the deck. On large sailing ships, however, particularly square-riggers, the shrouds end at the projections (called tops or crosstrees) and their loads are carried into the mast slightly further down by futtock shrouds.

Contrast with forestay and backstay.

References

  1. ^ The Free Dictionary - Channel
  2. ^ The Lore of Ships, ed. by Bengt Kihlberg. Göteborg :Tre tryckare & New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1963.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Shroud (disambiguation) — A shroud is a burial cloth. Shroud may also refer to:* Shroud (comics), a fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics universe * Shroud (sailing), a rope that gives support to the masts in sailing ships * Shroud of Turin, an ancient linen cloth… …   Wikipedia

  • shroud — ► NOUN 1) a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial. 2) a thing that envelops or obscures. 3) technical a protective casing or cover. 4) (shrouds) a set of ropes forming part of the rigging of a… …   English terms dictionary

  • shroud — noun 1》 a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial. 2》 a thing that envelops or obscures: a shroud of mist. 3》 technical a protective casing or cover. 4》 (shrouds) a set of ropes forming part of the… …   English new terms dictionary

  • sailing — noun 1. the work of a sailor (Freq. 2) • Syn: ↑seafaring, ↑navigation • Derivationally related forms: ↑navigational (for: ↑navigation) • …   Useful english dictionary

  • Mast (sailing) — Sails on a small ship as seen from below The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the …   Wikipedia

  • Sheet (sailing) — This article is about the sailing term. For other uses, see Sheet. The piece of chain running diagonally up and right from the bottom left of this picture to the upper of the two yards is the fore lower topsail sheet. Some of the lines on Prince… …   Wikipedia

  • Cunningham (sailing) — Cunningham downhaul In sailing, a cunningham or cunningham s eye is a type of downhaul used on a Bermuda rigged sailboat to change the shape of a sail. Sailors also often refer to the cunningham as the smart pig . It is named after its inventor,… …   Wikipedia

  • 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… …   Wikipedia

  • Top (sailing ship) — The foretop of the Prince William. Note the futtock shrouds (white painted rods angling inwards) and jacob s ladders; extending upwards are the topmast shrouds with their rope ratlines. On a traditional square rigged ship, the top is the platform …   Wikipedia

  • Glossary of nautical terms — This is a glossary of nautical terms; some remain current, many date from the 17th 19th century. See also Wiktionary s nautical terms, Category:Nautical terms, and Nautical metaphors in English. Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”