Yard (sailing)
A yard is a spar on a mast from which sails are set. It may be constructed of timber, steel, or from more modern materials, like aluminium or carbon fibre. Although some types of fore and aft rigs have yards (see below), the term is usually used to describe the horizontal spars used on square rigged sails. In addition, for some decades after square sails were generally dispensed with, some yards were retained for deploying wireless (radio) aerials and signal flags.
Read more about Yard (sailing): Parts of The Yard, Controlling The Yard, Going Aloft, Setting Square Sails, Manning The Yards, Fore and Aft Yards, "Sun Over The Yardarm"
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