Ajib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of theforemast of asailing vessel. Its forward corner (tack) is fixed to thebowsprit, to thebows, or to thedeck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs andspinnakers are the two main types ofheadsails on a modern boat.
Boats may be sailed using a jib alone, but more commonly jibs make a minor direct contribution to propulsion compared to amain sail. Generally, a jib's most crucial function is as anairfoil, increasing performance and overall stability by reducingturbulence on the main sail'sleeward side.[1]
On boats with only one jib, it is common for theclew of the jib to be abaft the mast, meaning the jib and mainsail overlap. An overlapping jib is called agenoa jib or simply agenoa[2] (see illustration). These are efficiently used whenreaching more broadly than aclose reach. Alternatively, a boat may carry smaller jibs, to compensate aerodynamics when the main sail isreefed; these more rugged sails are calledstorm jibs orspitfires.[3]
On a boat with twostaysails the inner sail is called thestaysail, and the outer (foremost) is called the jib. This combination of two staysails is called acutter rig (or in North America ayankee pair) and a boat with one mast rigged with two staysails and a mainsail is called acutter.
On cruising yachts, and nearly all racing sailboats, the jib needs to be worked when tacking. On these yachts, there are two sheets attached to theclew of the jib. As the yacht comeshead to wind during a tack, the active sheet is released, and the other sheet (thelazy sheet) on the other side of the boat is pulled in. This sheet becomes the newactive sheet until the next tack.
Schooners typically have up to three jibs. The foremost one sets on the topmastforestay and is generally called thejib topsail, a second on the main forestay is calledthe jib, and the innermost is calledthe staysail. Actually, all three sails are both jibs andstaysails in the generic sense.
Original usage in 18th and 19th centurysquare-rigged ships distinguished between the fore staysail, set on theforestay running from the foremast head to the ship's peak, the foremost part of the hull, and the jibs set on stays running to the bowsprit. Jibs, but not staysails, could also be "set flying," i.e. not attached to the standing rigging. Sails set beyond the peak were typically called jibs, set on stays running from the foretopmast to thebowsprit, or the foretopgallant mast to thejibboom or even the fore royal mast to the flying jibboom. A largesquare-rigged ship typically has four jibs, but could have as many as six.[4][5]
From forward to aft, these sails are called:
The first two were rarely used except byclipper ships in light winds and were usually set flying.[4][5] A storm jib was a small jib of heavy canvas set to a stay to help to control the ship in bad weather.[4]
The jib is referenced in the idiom usually spoken as "I like the cut of your jib", generally seen as signifying approval of one's general appearance or respect for their character. The phrase alludes to the maritime practice of identifying far-away ships by noting the "cut" (general shape and configuration) of their sails to determine their status as friend or foe. One such report from theNaval Chronicle (1805)—"we perceived by the cut of their sails, then set, that they were French Ships of War"—is often cited as an early inspiration for the idiom.[6][7]
Sir Walter Scott used the expression to denote approval in the 1824 novelSt. Ronan's Well: "If she disliked what the sailor calls thecut of their jib".[8]John Russell Bartlett later defined the idiom in his 1848Dictionary of Americanisms as "The form of his profile, the cast of his countenance". This usage alludes to a frequent variation of meaning which describes approval, specifically, of the shape of one'snose, which roughly approximates the frontal position and triangular shape of the jib sail on a boat.[9]
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