2 min read · Updated 19 May 2026
A staysail is a small sail set low and inside a larger reaching sail — a Code 0 or an asymmetric spinnaker — to fill the otherwise dead air between that big sail and the deck. It is a specialist, gain-the-last-few-percent sail rather than a primary one, and it rounds out the reaching end of the sail wardrobe.
What the staysail does
When a boat reaches under a large free-flying sail, that sail does its work up high and out front, and there is often unused airflow lower down, close to the deck. A staysail sits in that gap — a smaller, flatter sail set inside and below the big one — and converts some of that wasted air into a little extra drive. It also helps organise the airflow onto the back of the larger sail.
The gain is real but modest, which places the staysail among the optimisations a crew reaches for when the conditions are right rather than a sail in constant use.
When it earns its place
The staysail is most useful on a sustained reach, where the boat is settled on one angle for long enough to set and trim it and there is genuine airflow low down for it to work. That makes it more relevant to offshore and coastal reaching legs than to short windward-leeward inshore racing, where there is little time to deploy it and the angles change constantly.
Whether a boat carries one depends on its rules and the kind of racing it does. A strict one-design such as the Melges 40 races a defined class inventory, while an offshore handicap yacht is more likely to add specialist sails like a staysail to squeeze out reaching performance. For the full inventory and how it fits together, see the sails pillar, and for the boat itself, the boat page.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a staysail?
- A staysail is a smaller sail set low and inside a larger headsail or spinnaker, typically while reaching. It fills the otherwise dead air between the big sail above and the deck below, adding a little extra drive and tidying the airflow. On race boats it is most often used under a Code 0 or an asymmetric spinnaker on a reach.
- When do you use a staysail?
- A staysail is set on reaching legs when the boat is already flying a Code 0 or a reaching spinnaker and there is room and airflow low down for an extra sail to work. It is a gain-the-last-few-percent sail rather than a primary one, and crews set it when conditions and the angle suit.
- Does a staysail make much difference?
- On the right angle it can add a useful, if modest, increment of speed by using airflow that would otherwise be wasted between the big reaching sail and the deck. It is one of the small optimisations that distinguish a fully developed sail wardrobe, more relevant offshore and on longer reaching legs than in short windward-leeward racing.