The most familiar type of sailboat, a small pleasure yacht, usually has a sail-plan called a sloop. This has two sails in a fore-and-aft arrangement: the mainsail and the jib.

The mainsail extends aftward and is secured the whole length of its edges to the mast and to a boom also hung from the mast. The sails of tall ships are attached to wooden timbers or “spars”.

The jib is secured along its leading edge to a forestay (strong wire) strung from the top of the mast to the bowsprit on the bow (nose) of the boat. A genoa is also used on some boats. It is a type of jib that is larger, and cut so that it is fuller than an ordinary jib.

Fore-and-aft sails can be switched from one side of the boat to the other in order to provide propulsion as the sailboat changes direction relative to the wind. When the boat’s stern crosses the wind, this is called jibing; when the bow crosses the wind, it is called tacking. Tacking repeatedly from port to starboard and/or vice versa, called “beating”, is done in order to allow the boat to follow a course into the wind.

A primary feature of a properly designed sail is an amount of “draft”, caused by curvature of the surface of the sail. When the leading edge of a sail is oriented into the wind, the correct curvature helps maximise lift while minimising turbulence and drag, much like the carefully designed curves of aircraft wings. Modern sails are manufactured with a combination of broadseaming and non-stretch fabric. The former adds draft, while the latter allows the sail to keep a constant shape as the wind pressure increases. The draft of the sail can be reduced in stronger winds by use of a cunningham and outhaul, and also by bending the mast and increasing the downward pressure of the boom by use of a boom vang.

Other sail powered machines include ice yachts, windmills, kites, signs, hang gliders, electric generators, windsurfers , and land sailing vehicles. Sail construction is governed by the science of aerodynamics.