A gaff sail is a fore-and-aft sail with four corners and four edges. The lowest edge is called the foot and is attached to a horizontal spar called a boom. The vertical edge that is attached to the mast is called the luff; the upper edge is called the head and is attached to a spar called a gaff. The remaining edge is the leech. The corner between the luff and the head is called the throat, between the head and the leech is the peak, between the leech and the foot is the clew, and the remaining corner is called the tack.
Schooners are usually rigged with gaff sails, and most square rigged vessels have a gaff sail on their aft mast called the spanker.
Above the gaff is often rigged a triangular sail called a gaff topsail.
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