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moonraker (MOON-ray-kuhr) - n., a small square sail set high on the mast above a skysail.
Also called a moonsail or hopesail, and used only on three-masted square-rigged ships built specifically for speed, and only when conditions were just right, for that last extra knot. This is the sixth sail, set on the royal mast (which is the third extension of the lower mast), above the course sail, topsail, topgallant sail, royal sail, and skysail, going from the deck up -- waaaaay the high up.
Not to be confused with the derogatory name for people from Wiltshire.
---L.
Also called a moonsail or hopesail, and used only on three-masted square-rigged ships built specifically for speed, and only when conditions were just right, for that last extra knot. This is the sixth sail, set on the royal mast (which is the third extension of the lower mast), above the course sail, topsail, topgallant sail, royal sail, and skysail, going from the deck up -- waaaaay the high up.
Not to be confused with the derogatory name for people from Wiltshire.
---L.
