Gaff rig is a sailing rig in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the gaff. Because of the size and shape of the sail, a gaff rig will have running backstays rather than permanent backstays.
Reliance, a competitor in the 1903 America's Cup and the largest gaff rigged cutter ever built
A gaff rigged sail and its surrounding spars
The gaff-rigged schooner Rose Dorothea won the 1907 Lipton's Cup, despite a broken foretopmast (pictured)
Gaff rigged schooner J. & E. Riggin. Her sails, from left to right, are: jib, staysail, gaff foresail, gaff mainsail, and, above that, a main gaff topsail
A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may be made from a combination of woven materials—including canvas or polyester cloth, laminated membranes or bonded filaments, usually in a three- or four-sided shape.
Square rigged frigate
Bermuda-rigged yawl.
Sailing hydrofoil catamaran with wingsail.
Egyptian sailing ship, ca. 1422–1411 BCE
