A gasket holding the main-royal on a modern square-rigged training ship.

In sailing, gaskets are lengths of rope or fabric used to hold a stowed sail in place. Sailing is the art of controlling a Sailing vessel. By changing the Rigging, Rudder and dagger or centre board a Sailor manages the force In modern use, the term is usually restricted to square-rigged ships, the equivalent items on yachts being referred to by the more prosaic "sail ties". Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal Spars which are perpendicular or square

On most ships, gaskets are made of rope. A rope is a length of Fibers twisted or Braided together to improve strength for pulling and Connecting. They are attached to the top of the yard and, left loose, would hang behind the sail. A yard is a Spar on a mast from which Sails are set It may be constructed of timber steel or from more modern materials like Aluminum or Gaskets should never be left dangling, however, so when the sail is set they are brought around underneath the yard and up the back of it and then tied to the jackstay (metal rod) where they originated. Alternatively, longer gaskets - particularly the clew gaskets described below - can be secured using a gasket coil. When the sail is to be stowed it is first folded and bagged neatly within itself, pulled onto the top of the yard, and then the gaskets are brought round over it and secured to the jackstay to hold it in place. Gaskets should be tied with a slippery hitch to enable them to be let off quickly, though if the yard is large there may only be enough rope to form a clove hitch when the gasket is brought round it. A slippery hitch is a knot used to attach a line to a rod or bar The clove hitch is a type of Knot. Along with the Bowline and the Sheet bend, is often considered one of the most essential knots

Most ships are equipped with clew gaskets at the outer ends of the yards. In Sailing the parts of a Sail have common terminology for each corner and edge of the sail These do not pass around the sail, but through a shackle or ring on the blocks of the sheet. In Sailing, a sheet is a line ( Rope, Cable or Chain) used to control the moveable corner(s of a Sail. Pulled tight and secured to the jackstay or the yard's lift, this takes the load off the clewline and sail, and should allow the blocks to be lifted higher, dragging the sail down less and enabling a neater stow. For the revolver see Colt Buntline Clewlines and buntlines are lines used to handle the Sails of a Square rigged ship

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