2 –staysail 3 –spinnaker 5 –keel 6 –rudder 7 –skeg 9 –spreader 10 –shroud 12 –boom 13 -mast 15 –backstay 17 –boom vang On asailing vessel, aforestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece ofstanding rigging which keeps amast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or infractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the top of the mast. The other end of the forestay is attached to thebow of the boat.[1][2]
Often asail is attached to the forestay. This sail may be ajib or agenoa.[3][4] In acutter rig, the jib or jibs are flown from stays in front of the forestay, perhaps going from the masthead to abowsprit. The sail on the forestay is then referred to as thestaysail or stays'l.
A forestay might be made from stainless steel wire on a modern yacht, solid stainless steel rod, carbon rod, orultra high molecular weight polyethylene (such as Spectra or Dyneema) on a high-performance racing boat, and galvanised wire or natural fibers on an older cutter or square-rigged ship.[5]
The dictionary definition offorestay at Wiktionary