Fore-and-aft rigging

A fore-and-aft sail is a sail that can take the wind from either side of the sail, depending on the direction of the wind, as opposed to the square sail that is always turned so that it takes the wind on the same side of the sail.

A vessel can be rigged with only fore-and-aft sails, for example fore-and-aft schooners and ketches, but also square rigged vessels carry fore-and-aft sails in the form of staysails.
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