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backstay
backstay, a part of the standing rigging of a sailing vessel to support the upper part of a mast from aft, while forestays support it from forward. In square-rigged sailing ships, backstays are taken from the heads of all the component mastheads of each mast, or the equivalent in pole-masted vessels, and are brought back to each side of the ship. In antiquity they were set up with deadeyes and lanyards to chain-plates and in modern vessels with rigging screws that are made up to chain-plates. In fore-and-aft-rigged vessels backstays are fitted to the mast(s) to balance the forestay(s). In old-fashioned vessels these are usually running, that is, made up at the deck with a tackle or backstay lever. This allows the lee backstay to be released so that the sail and its boom, and gaff if fitted, are not constrained by it. Modern Bermudan-rigged yachts have permanent backstays from the masthead to the counter, called preventer backstays, inside which the mainsail and boom can move without hindrance. For illus. see rigging: standing rigging.
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Cite this article
"backstay." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "backstay." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-backstay.html "backstay." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-backstay.html |
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backstay
backstay n. a stay on a sailing ship leading downward and aft from the top or upper part of a mast.
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Cite this article
"backstay." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "backstay." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-backstay.html "backstay." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-backstay.html |
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backstay
backstay
•latte, maté, pâté, pattée, satay
•concertante • backstay • commedia dell'arte, écarté, Jubilate
•fouetté, jeté, mantellette
•Deo volente • mainstay • décolleté
•cinéma-vérité • diamanté • bobstay
•forte, panforte, prêt-à-porter
•forestay • sauté • velouté
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Cite this article
"backstay." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "backstay." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-backstay.html "backstay." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-backstay.html |
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