Forestay
![Sailboat diagram. The forestay is identified by the number 16.](/Images/godic/202501/13/Sailingboat-lightning-num.svg2559.png")
On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the top of the mast. The other end of the forestay is attached to the bow of the boat.