Posts Tagged ‘1822 George Cruikshank painting’

Hauling braces – the ropes that hauled the yards from which the sails hung – was hard and very strenuous work. Generally, on each mast of a square-rigged ship, from top to bottom, there was a yard (also known as a spar) for the royal, top-gallant, topsail, and main sail. These yards were heavy and made from oak. Yards for the royals were often 100 feet or more above the main deck. Then, each sail had lines that were sheeted home (tied) to fittings or racks of belaying pins mounted port and starboard.