Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A stay extending from the head of the foremast to the bowsprit of a ship.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Nautical, a strong rope (now generally of wire, and double) extending forward from the head of the foremast to the knight-heads to support the mast.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Naut.) A large, strong rope, reaching from the foremast head to the bowsprit, to support the mast. See
Illust. undership .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun nautical A
stay that extends from the top of theforemast to thebow orbowsprit of asailing ship - verb transitive To
stay beforehand;secure orfasten with or as with a forestay. - verb transitive To
stay ,delay ,postpone , orhinder beforehand;forestall ;prevent .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an adjustable stay from the foremast to the deck or bowsprit; controls the bending of the mast
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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We had to adjust the lengths of strops from which our so-called forestay hangs several times in order to create the right bend in the mast again.
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• New watertight bulkhead glassed in to hold new inner forestay chainplate
True Spirit Jessica Watson 2010
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In fact, because I have an overcautious habit of pulling up the storm jib on the inner forestay whenever the weather forecast is bad and the wind rises above about 25 knots, I can actually claim to have left the safety of the cockpit in over 35 knots of wind only once.
True Spirit Jessica Watson 2010
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Set foresail and forestay – sail and steered south – east by south.
South: the story of Shackleton’s last expedition 1914–1917 2006
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The bow is long, and curves into a lofty stem, like that of a Roman galley, finished with a beak head, to secure the forestay of the mast.
Unbeaten Tracks in Japan Isabella Lucy 2004
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Burke and Sandon proceeded to tie a rope round his waist, which they afterwards fastened to the forestay; then, in a way which provoked shouts of laughter from their mates, they gave the unfortunate man a shove, and sent him rolling down like a bundle of dirty clothes on to the forecastle.
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There are four major parts of the rig that may fail: the mast, forestay, backstay, and shrouds.
Sailing Fundamentals Gary Jobson 1998
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If the foresails are labeled according to their foot length relative to the distance between the mast and forestay, then percentages are used-100 percent, 120 percent, 150 percent, etc.
Sailing Fundamentals Gary Jobson 1998
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As the sail drops to the deck, one of the crew pulls the luff of the sail down the forestay.
Sailing Fundamentals Gary Jobson 1998
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The forestay is attached to the stem fitting, an integral part of the bow construction.
Sailing Fundamentals Gary Jobson 1998
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