Sheet (sailing)

In sailing, a sheet is a line (or rope) used to control a sail or part of a sail. The most common sheets on a sloop-rigged sailboat are the mainsheet, the jib sheet, and the spinnaker sheet.

• The mainsheet is attached to the boom, and is used to control the mainsail.
• The jib sheet attaches to the clew of the headsail, and controls the headsail.
• The spinnaker sheet attaches to the clew(s) of the spinnaker, and controls the spinnaker. On a symmetrical spinnaker, there are a actually two sheets: the active sheet which is is used to control the clew of the spinnaker opposite the spinnaker pole, and the lazy sheet which is the sheet attached to the clew closest to the spinnaker pole.