ship's rigging
Sails and ropes
Ship's rigging is the system of ropes, cables, chains, and hardware that support and control a sailing vessel's masts and sails.
Standing rigging holds the masts in place; running rigging adjusts the sails.
The term appears in nautical contexts and metaphorically for any complex system of interconnected lines: The stage crew checked the rigging before the show.
- mastVessel's sail support
- crow's nestElevated ship observation platform
- sailsWind-catching boat fabric
- ropesBraided flexible cords
- linesStrokes connecting two points
shrouds · halyard · boom · sheets · knots · canvas · stays · ratlines · rope ladder · pulleys · tackle · belaying pin · yardarm · bowsprit · jib · spars · blocks · cordage