A jib, left, compared to a (roughly 150%) genoa, right. The genoa or jenny was originally referred to as the 'overlapping jib' or the Genoa jib, being named after the city of Genoa as explained below The foretriangle is outlined in red.

A typical jib on a small yacht

A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremost mast of a sailing boat. A staysail is a fore-and-aft rigged Sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward (and most often but not always downwards from a The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. The bowsprit, or boltsprit, of a Sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow The bow (pronounced &mdashrhymes with how) is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a Ship or Boat, Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsails on a modern boat. A spinnaker is a special type of Sail that is designed specifically for Sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind i A headsail of a Sailing vessel is any Sail set forward of the foremost mast.

On a boat with two staysails the inner sail is called the staysail, and the outer (foremost) is called the jib. A staysail is a fore-and-aft rigged Sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward (and most often but not always downwards from a 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. When used in a nautical sense a cutter is a small single-masted vessel Fore-and-aft rigged with two or more Headsails a Bowsprit, and

A fully rigged schooner has three jibs. A schooner (ˈskuːnɚ is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts Schooners were first used by the 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. On a Sailing vessel a forestay, sometimes just called a stay is a piece of Standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards 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). 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 Starting from the inside, these sails are called:

1. Fore (topmast) staysail
2. Inner jib
3. Outer jib
4. 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. The masts of traditional sailing ships were not single spars but were constructed of separate sections or masts each with its own Rigging. In Sailing the parts of a Sail have common terminology for each corner and edge of the sail An overlapping jib is called a genoa jib or simply a genoa (see illustration). The genoa or jenny was originally referred to as the 'overlapping jib' or the Genoa jib, being named after the city of Genoa as explained below

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. A yacht is a recreational boat It designates two rather different classes of Watercraft, sailing and power yachts In Sailing, a boom is a Spar (pole along the foot (bottom of a Fore and aft rigged Sail, that greatly improves control of the angle A sail is any type of surface intended to generate Thrust by being placed in a Wind &mdashin essence a vertically-oriented Wing. In nautical contexts a cleat is a device attaching a Rope. The traditional design is attached to a flat surface and features two “horns” extending parallel to the deck In Sailing, a sheet is a line ( Rope, Cable or Chain) used to control the moveable corner(s of a Sail. 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. In Sailing the parts of a Sail have common terminology for each corner and edge of the sail 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. Points of sail describes a sailing boat's course in relation to the wind direction This sheet becomes the new active sheet until the next tack.

See also

• Lateen sail
• Sail-plan