Bowsprit of the
Falls of Clyde, showing the dolphin striker, the use of chain for the bobstays, and three furled
jibs. (The yellowish pole is the bowsprit of a different vessel.)
The
bowsprit, or
boltsprit, of a
sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's
prow. It provides an anchor point for the
forestay(s), allowing the
fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.
Tall Ships
On large
tall ships the bowsprit may be a considerable length and have several forestays attached. When not in use the
headsails are stowed by being tied onto the bowsprit. The crew must then work out on the bowsprit to stow or prepare the sails. To minimise the risk of the bowsprit (and any crew working on it) being buried in large waves, the bowsprit is normally angled upwards from the horizontal.
Bowsprit of the
Dar Pomorza as seen from the deck, showing safety netting.
Sea-worthy vessels
Early ocean-going vessels tended to tilt the bowsprit at a high angle, and hung one or two square
spritsails from yards. In the 17th century and early 18th century a vertical
sprit topmast was added near the end of the bowsprit and another square sail added to it; this was not a particularly successful design however, the mast tending to carry away in heavy weather. Fore-and-aft sails known as
jibs hung from the stays proved more useful for speed and maneuvering, and the basic bowsprit was lengthened with a
jibboom and then even further with a
flying jibboom, resulting in bowsprits of tremendous length, up to 30 meters total.
Small Ships
On smaller vessels, where the bowsprit is not used for stowing sails, it is often horizontal. Bowsprits are rare on modern
yachts, the forestay merely running down to the tip of the bow, though they were typical of traditional Bermudian design; the
Bermuda rig having become the most common yacht rig during the 20th Century. On some modern racing yachts and
dinghies, the bowsprit is retractable and primarily used to fly an
asymmetrical spinnaker.
The very end of the bowsprit is traditionally painted white on
tall ships, unless the ship in question has ventured into either the Arctic or Antarctic circles, in which case it is painted blue (i.e. bluenose).
Hang Gliders
Some
hang gliders use a bowsprit, rather than a spar to spread their wings. The bowsprit is formed by extending the keel tube about a meter beyond the [leading edge] of the wing. Notable examples of this design are the gliders manufactured by
Bautek in the 1980's
