Gaff rig

Reliance, a competitor in the 1903 America's Cup and the largest gaff-rigged cutter ever built
A gaff-rigged sail and its surrounding spars
Gaff sail -
  1. Mast
  2. Gaff
  3. Peak
  4. Throat
  5. Boom
  6. Clew
  7. Tack
  8. Saddle
  9. Parrel
  10. Sail
  11. Bridle
  12. Peak Halyard
  13. Throat Halyard

Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the gaff. Because of the size and shape of the sail, a gaff rig will have running backstays rather than permanent backstays.

The gaff enables a fore-and-aft sail to be four-sided, rather than triangular. A gaff rig typically carries 25 percent more sail than an equivalent Bermuda rig for a given hull design.

A sail hoisted from a gaff is called a gaff-rigged sail.

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