thumb|right|The fore royal yard on the [[PNS Rah Naward|Prince William. Prince Williams royal yards are the highest and smallest yards on the ship, are made of wood, and are "lifting yards" that can be raised along a section of the mast. Here it is in the lowered position.]]

A yard is a spar on a mast from which sails are set. It may be constructed of timber or steel or from more modern materials such as aluminium or carbon fibre. Although some types of fore and aft rigs have yards, 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.

Parts of the yard

thumb|right|A view of [[Stavros S Niarchoss main-topgallant yard shortly after maintenance, clearly showing its various parts. On relatively "modern" late-nineteenth-century rigs like this, the quarters make up almost all of it. Click the picture for more details.]]

; Bunt : The short section of the yard between the slings that attach it to the mast.

; Quarters : The port and starboard quarters form the bulk of the yard, extending from the slings to the fittings for the lifts and braces.

; Yardarms : The outermost tips of the yard: outboard from the attachments for the lifts.

The yardarm's use in maritime punishment

The yardarm has found use in maritime punishment. In the Royal Navy, offences such as murder, mutiny, desertion or striking an officer carried the death penalty, which at sea would usually be carried out by hanging from the yardarm itself. Instead of the usually quick death a hanging ashore ensured, the condemned man would have the noose placed around his neck, before the end of the rope was passed over the yardarm. A group of sailors would then pull him into the air where he would remain for at least half an hour. The last man hanged in this manner in the Royal Navy was Private John Dalliger in 1860, after stealing brandy and shooting two officers aboard HMS Leven.

Another less common punishment, notably practised upon mutineers from the Dutch East India Company ship Batavia as well as captured pirates, was to be dropped or ducked from the yardarm. This entailed the accused having a rope fixed to the yardarm and tied under their arms, before being dropped into the sea. They would then be hauled back onto the ship, where the punishment could be repeated up to three times. In more severe cases, the offender would then be keelhauled.

See also

  • Full-rigged ship
  • Glossary of nautical terms (A–L)
  • Glossary of nautical terms (M–Z)
  • Lateen
  • Square rig
  • Squaring a yard
  • Lugger

Notes

References

  • Anon. B.R. 67(1/51), Manual of Seamanship Volume I (1951) HMSO
  • M.Quinion (2000), "World Wide Words", retrieved 3 May 2006.