This sail plan on a three masted square rigged ship, typical of Loch Line vessels, uses a print from a 'pierhead artist' painting of the Loch Garry in full sail as an illustration.

Minor variations were to be found from ship to ship. Some (including the Loch Garry herself) also carried skysails above the royals, and even studding sails or stunsails set from booms rigged out from both yardarms of the topsail and topgallant yards of the fore and mainmasts to temporarily extend the area of the topsails and topgallants. Further additional small sails or 'kites' had many romantic sounding names - moonsails, heavenpoker, angelpoker, cloud disturber and so on, but were very rarely used.

'The twist in the sail'. Most photographs of windjammers under sail (including this family photograph of the Loch Long entering Port Phillip Bay) show a 'twist in the sails'. The sails are set in 'corkscrew' fashion with the upper yards progressively trimmed further aft than the lower ones. This was always deemed to be the most efficient trim, but there was always much discussion as to exactly why this was..

 

 

1. Fore mast 12. Fore upper topgallant 23. Mizzen royal staysail 2. Main mast 13. Fore royal 24. Mizzen topgallant staysail 3. Mizzen mast 14. Main royal staysail 25. Mizzen topmast staysail 4. Flying jib 15. Main topgallant staysail 26. Main spencer 5. Outer jib 16. Main topmast staysail 27. Crossjack, mizzen course 6. Inner jib 17. Main course 28. Mizzen lower topsail 7. Fore topmast staysail 18. Main lower topsail 29. Mizzen upper topsail 8. Fore course 19. Main upper topsail 30. Mizzen lower topgallant sail 9. Fore lower topsail 20. Main lower topgallant 31. Mizzen upper topgallant 10. Fore upper topsail 21. Main upper topgallant 32. Mizzen royal 11. Fore lower topgallant 22. Main royal 33. Spanker

 

 

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