spanker. SPANKER!

[silent-e at myrealbox.com]

>thirl - (n.) On a three-masted schooner, the third sail.
>
>Linda: After voting, I looked into The Sea Scout Manual of 1943.  I found:
>"It is now seriously agreed that in all vessels carrying a fore and aft
>sail on the aftermost mast, this shall be known as The Spanker!"  I
>couldn't find a picture of a 3-masted schooner, but on the three-masted
>frigate, the aft mast was called the mizzen.

If I recall correctly, the distinction would be that if your first 
two masts are square-rigged, then the (gaff-rigged) largest sail on 
your mizzen mast would be the spanker.  On a schooner, all three 
masts will be fore-and-aft rigged, and the big sail on each mast 
would be (in order) the foresail, mainsail, and mizzensail.

Unless I'm wrong.  Only one person ever really understood rigging, 
and he's dead.

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silent-e@ | a normal condition among adult human beings; but perhaps
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