What Does “Luff” Mean in Sailing?

 

🌬️ What Does “Luff” Mean in Sailing?

The sailing world is full of magical words — and luff is one of the most interesting!

Luff has two key meanings in sailing:

1️⃣ As a noun — the leading edge of a sail
The luff is the front edge of a fore-and-aft sail — that’s the part closest to the wind and usually attached to the mast or forestay. It’s one of the main edges of a sail, alongside the leech (aft edge) and the foot (bottom). American Sailing+1

2️⃣ As a verb — to turn towards the wind
When your boat luffs up, you steer closer to the wind so that the sails start to flap or “luff.” This happens when the wind comes too far forward of the sail or the sail is not trimmed correctly for the wind direction. Wikipedia+1

🚤 Why does this matter?

• If you luff too much, the sail loses its shape and power, and the boat slows down. NauticEd Sailing Blog

• Skilled sailors use luffing deliberately to slow the boat, adjust heading, or sail as close to the wind as possible. Wikipedia

So next time you hear someone say “don’t luff the sails,” you’ll know they’re talking about keeping the sail set just right so it doesn’t flutter and lose power — and you’ll know exactly where the luff is on the sail too!

👉 Want to explore 80+ weird and wonderful sailing terms like this? Head over to our Sailing Terms page:
https://pmrsailing.uk/sailing-lessons/Sailing-Terms.html