forestay

{{Recreational yacht}}

On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the top of the mast. The other end of the forestay is attached to the bow of the boat.{{cite book |author1= Richard O. Claus |author2=William B. Spillman |author3= U.S. Air Force Wright Laboratory |location= Intelligent Materials Forum (Mitō Kagaku Gijutsu Kyōkai) |title=Smart Structures and Materials: Sensory phenomena and measurement instrumentation for smart structures and materials|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cflRAAAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=SPIE|isbn=9780819436047 }}{{cite book|author1=Bo Streiffert|author2=Dag Pike|author3=Loris Goring|title=Modern Boat Maintenance: The Complete Fiberglass Boat Manual|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Kg9CvvTbWwC&pg=PT80|date=September 1994|publisher=Sheridan House|isbn=978-0-924486-71-5|pages=80–}}

Often a sail is attached to the forestay. This sail may be a jib or a genoa.{{cite book|author=Jeremy Evans|title=The Sailing Bible: The Complete Guide for All Sailors from Novice to Experienced Skipper|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LQlSubH-u8C&pg=PT185|date=March 2009|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4081-0249-7|pages=185–}}{{cite book|author=Bob Bond|title=The Handbook of Sailing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3KxF37t7W4IC&pg=PA51|year=1992|publisher=Knopf|isbn=978-0-679-74063-6|pages=51–}} In a cutter rig, the jib or jibs are flown from stays in front of the forestay, perhaps going from the masthead to a bowsprit. The sail on the forestay is then referred to as the staysail or stays'l.

A forestay might be made from stainless steel wire on a modern yacht, solid stainless steel rod, carbon rod, or ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (such as Spectra or Dyneema) on a high-performance racing boat, and galvanised wire or natural fibers on an older cutter or square-rigged ship.{{cite book|author=Roger Barnes|title=The Dinghy Cruising Companion: Tales and Advice from Sailing a Small Open Boat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TaNdAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA45|date=2 January 2014|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4081-8027-3|pages=45–}}