Snotter
Encyclopedia
A snotter is a rope or tackle used in sailing
to tension the sprit on a spritsail
, or a sprit boom on a sprit-boomed sail. It is also used in a junk rig
.
There are a great many variations on the snotter arrangement, and some more fastidious authors have referred to it as a snouter or snorter.
The origin of the nautical term is obscure. Hauling on the snotter sets the tension in the spar and thus governs how the sail is set.
On very small boats, typically with a single boomless spritsail, the snotter is a rope with eyes spliced into it, and is merely hooked into the fore end of the sprit and then jammed up the mast to force the upper end of the sprit into a pocket in the sail.
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
to tension the sprit on a spritsail
Spritsail
The spritsail is a form of three or four-sided, fore-aft sail and its rig. Unlike the gaff where the head hangs from a spar along its edge, this rig supports the leech of the sail by means of a spar or spars named a sprit...
, or a sprit boom on a sprit-boomed sail. It is also used in a junk rig
Junk Rig
The Junk rig, also known as the Chinese lugsail and Sampan rig, is a type of sail rig in which rigid members, called battens, span the full width of the sail and extend the sail forward of the mast....
.
There are a great many variations on the snotter arrangement, and some more fastidious authors have referred to it as a snouter or snorter.
The origin of the nautical term is obscure. Hauling on the snotter sets the tension in the spar and thus governs how the sail is set.
On very small boats, typically with a single boomless spritsail, the snotter is a rope with eyes spliced into it, and is merely hooked into the fore end of the sprit and then jammed up the mast to force the upper end of the sprit into a pocket in the sail.
Spritsail
There are boomed spritsails, loose-footed spritsails and boomless spritsails.Sprit Booms
The most common sprit-boom is found on a sprit-boomed leg-of-mutton sail. Sprit booms have been combined with a leech spar called a club; they have been used on foresails, like the jib. Some sailors have used a sprit boom on the standing lugsail.Further reading
- Emiliano Marino, Sailmaker's Apprentice, International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press (2001), ISBN 0071376429