This long wooden spar attaches to the mast at an angle to hold the upper edge of a lateen sail. It functions similarly to a yard on a square-rigged ship but sits diagonally to catch the wind efficiently on a fore-and-aft axis. Crews hoist the entire assembly up the mast using halyards once the sail is laced to the spar.
Heard on the job
Secure the sail to the antenna before we hoist it up the mainmast.
Insider tip
Because it is often made of two pieces of wood lashed together, it flexes under heavy wind loads to give the sail its aerodynamic shape.
Also heard as
- lateen yard