Reading masts, sails, and rigging

A detailed rig diagram provides the vocabulary for reading a square-rigged warship. The fore, main, and mizzen masts carry royals, topgallants, topsails, and lower sails, while each mast is built from several sections rather than one continuous timber. The absence of a large lower sail on the mizzen is deliberate: it would hang over the usual conning position, so the aftermost spanker fills that role. Headsails extend forward from the bowsprit and jib boom. Phrases such as "splice the main brace" refer to real rigging, and the main brace and backstays are among the many individually named lines used aboard ship. The exact rig evolved over time, so familiar names do not prove that every earlier ship carried the same sail plan.