Jib
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A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremost mast of a sailing boat. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsails on a modern boat.
On a boat with two staysails the inner sail is called the staysail, and the outer (foremost) is called the jib. This combination of two staysails is called a cutter rig (or a yankee pair) and a boat with one mast rigged with two staysails and a mainsail is called a cutter.
A fully rigged schooner has three jibs. The foremost one sets on the topmast forestay and is called the jib topsail, a second on the main forestay is called the jib, and the innermost is called the staysail. Actually, all three sails are both jibs and staysails in the generic sense.
A square-rigged ship typically has four jibs (though vessels with more or fewer exist). Starting from the inside, these sails are called:
- Fore (topmast) staysail
- Inner jib
- Outer jib
- Flying jib
On boats with only one jib, it is common for the clew of the jib to be further aft than the mast, meaning the jib and mainsail overlap. An overlapping jib is called a genoa jib or simply a genoa (see illustration).
On cruising yachts with more than one jib, it is common for the innermost jib to be self-tacking, either by using a boom along the foot of the sail, or by cleating the jib sheet to a track, or both. On other cruising yachts, and nearly all racing sailboats, the jib needs to be worked when tacking. On these yachts, there are two sheets attached to the clew of the jib. As the yacht comes head to wind during a tack, the active sheet is released, and the other sheet (the lazy sheet) on the other side of the boat is pulled in. This sheet becomes the new active sheet until the next tack.
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