Full-rigged Ship - Masts

Masts

The masts of a full-rigged ship, from bow to stern, are:

• Foremast, which is the second tallest mast
• Mainmast, the tallest
• Mizzenmast, the third tallest
• Jiggermast, which may not be present but will be fourth tallest if so

There is no standard name for a fifth mast on a ship-rigged vessel (though this may be called the spanker mast on a barque, schooner or barquentine). Only one five-masted full-rigged ship (the Flying P-Liner Preussen) had ever been built until recent years, when a few modern five-masted cruise sailing ships have been launched. Even a fourth mast is relatively rare for full-rigged ships. Ships with five and more masts are not normally fully rigged and their masts may be numbered rather than named in extreme cases.

If the masts are of wood, each mast is in three or more pieces. They are (in order, from bottom up):

• The lowest piece is called the mast or the lower.
• Topmast
• Topgallant mast
• Royal mast, if fitted

On steel-masted vessels, the corresponding sections of the mast are named after the traditional wooden sections.