Peaks of madness to blow the gaff

[rotrax]

Shades of a jackyard topsail.

Check out the topsails used by Chesapeake Bay log canoes

And AIUI, Thames Barges used to sail under topsail alone occasionally - using only the highest sail.

Dead on- Thames Barges would use the topsail for ghosting up creeks and rivers on the tide to give steerage way, especialy where there were high banks stopping the wind lower down.

 

[Greenheart]

And, presumably even by the sea, if it's very calm, there'll be more movement higher than lower?

 

[mjf107]

topsl combined with main

Some modern large broads cruisers with gaff rig have the top'sl and main combined into one sail hauled up in one go, IIRC a wire strop is used to hold the top mast to the main mast when reefed, the fist reef drops the the top mast to height of the main mast. Roller bearing cars run in modern track for the portion of the sail up to the top of the main mast. The diagonal yard (cant think of the correct name) looks lighter than a traditional gaff item, more like an over sized sail baton. I also believe the sail in the topmast is in a simple luff groove
I think the wire strop must be fixed to the topmast and run between 2 of the cars, when the Top mast goes above the main mast the wire strop slides through the top car, if this is indeed the case you would need 2 halyards, first to raise sail to the top of the main mast and a second to raise to full height

Michael