A staysail is a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward (and most often but not always downwards) from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit, or to another mast. Most staysails are triangular, however some are four-cornered, notably some fisherman`s staysails. Triangular staysails set forward of the foremost mast a.... Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staysail