It's pretty straight forward that you take in the top sails in heavy wind, but why? Is it because they will tear and blow away, or for some other reason?
2007-09-09 11:19:48 · 5 answers · asked by Joe S 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
It's not so much that you ship has to be powerful it is the strain that the Mast can take.
Losing a mast can force a ship to lay over for repairs for months of hard work. Since many masts are anchored to the keel it can tear the entire ship apart if you lose the mast at a point below the decks.
In physics we have what is called a moment arm. You have seen it as a lever. When you are on a see-saw you can lift more weight if you are further from the pivot point. Now imagine the pivot point is the deck of the ship and you top sails are on top of the mast. The larger moment arm means you are putting much more force on the mast and you could break it easily.
So you reef in your top sails if the wind is going to be too much. Losing a sail is expected or a rip in it is common. Most sails have a special seam in the middle of them to stop long rips. If you have a rip in the sail then you replace it with another in your sail locker and have a deck hand sew the rip back up--no big deal. If you lose a mast then you are stuck in dock until it is replaced and that IS A BIG DEAL.
2007-09-09 11:33:33 · answer #1 · answered by Dan S 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The topsails are the last to be set and the first to be reefed on a schooner in part because they are high where the wind is stonger but also because they are more prone to heel the ship with a larger moment arm then other sails. They are also the most difficult to work with as they are high above the deck and pitch violently in rough seas.
However, this saying actually refers to the strength of the approaching storm. Generally, when wind appears before rain, the storm is weak and short lived. If rain appears before wind, it indicates the approach of a strong front accompanied by strong winds. There are many variations in this. "Wind before rain, soon set sail again."
2015-07-24 11:21:41 · answer #2 · answered by Douglas 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2016-10-10 06:45:24 · answer #3 · answered by warford 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's because your ship has to be pretty powerful to handle all that wind and the mast might go boom boom!
(sorry about the sarcasm sources =D)
2007-09-09 11:25:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You got it
2007-09-09 11:35:25 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋