Abobstay is a part of therigging of a sailing boat or ship. Its purpose is to counteract the upward tension on thebowsprit from thejibs andforestay. A bobstay may run directly from thestem to the bowsprit,^[1] or it may run to adolphin striker, aspar projecting downward, which is then held to the bowsprit orjibboom by a martingale stay.

• Bill Bobstay is a character in the operettaH.M.S. Pinafore (1878) by Gilbert and Sullivan.
• Bobstay was a 1977 detonation in the United States'Operation Cresset nuclear test series.

The dictionary definition ofbobstay at Wiktionary

• Nautical terminology
• Sailing rigs and rigging

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