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[[Image:Wind sail Eole.jpg|right|230px]]

[[Image:Wind sail Eole.jpg|right|230px]]

A '''Sail''' is any surface used to harness [[wind]] power in order to provide propulsion.  The most common sails are made of cloth, though modern sails are made of various man-made materials. The most basic arrangement on a sailing vessel is a single sail called a mainsail, though this arrangement does not allow a [[ship]] to sail against the [[wind]]. The addition of a second sail on the forward part of a ship, called a jib, allows the ship to tack against the wind (moving in a zig-zag pattern along a central axis with the ultimate result being forward movement against the wind).  During the Age of Sail, ships would use dozens of sails to most effectively harness the wind and thus achieve superior speeds.

A '''Sail''' is any surface used to harness [[wind]] power in order to provide propulsion.  The most common sails are made of cloth, though modern sails are made of various man-made materials, including some very high-tech composite solid "wing sails". In most modern boats, a sail works on similar principles to an airplane wing when the vessel is pointed towards the wind, and more like a parachute when the vessel is pointed away. The most common modern arrangement of sails for pleasure craft is called a sloop rig, in which a single large triangular mainsail is placed aft (behind of) the mast, and a smaller triangular foresail, usually called a jib or genoa, depending on its size, is mounted forward of the mast, attached to a cable called a forestay.

[[Category:Ships]]

[[Category:Ships]]