Top (sailing ship)

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The top on a traditional square-rigged ship is a platform at the upper end of the mast, not the crow’s nest. It sits about a quarter to a third of the way up the mast and mainly serves to anchor the shrouds that hold the topmast above it. Because the shrouds wouldn’t run well directly to the hull, cross-trees stretch out from the mast and rest on trestle trees on top of the hounds, creating the top platform. The futtock shrouds take the load down into the mast below.

Until the late 1600s, the top helped with sail handling. Earlier, sails were lifted to the yard near the mast; later, sailors pulled sails up to the yard more simply. Other changes at the time included reefing (instead of bonnets), making the topsail the main working sail, and adding footropes. At the upper ends of the topmast and topgallant, a smaller top might be added, but often the shroud-bearing struts are left as crosstrees. Access to the top is by a Jacob’s ladder, lubber’s hole, or via the futtock shrouds. A foremast could have a fore-top, and the mizzenmast a mizzen-top.

On steam and motor ships, these tops are still used as preferred places for radar antennas. A fighting top was a larger top with swivel guns to fire at enemy ships, and could also hold musketeers or marines; Nelson was fatally shot by a sniper from the fighting top of the Redoutable at Trafalgar.