In sailing

Sailing

Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

, the peak halyard

Halyard

In sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line that is used to hoist a sail, a flag or a yard. The term halyard comes from the phrase, 'to haul yards'...

(or peak for short) is a line that raises the end of a gaff

Gaff rig

Gaff rig is a sailing rig in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar called the gaff...

 further from the mast, as opposed to the throat halyard

Throat halyard

In sailing, the throat halyard is a line that raises the end of a gaff nearer to the mast, as opposed to the peak halyard which raises the end further from the mast. Such rigging was normal in classic gaff-rigged schooners and in other ships with fore-and-aft rigging. It is absent in Bermuda...

which raises the end nearer to the mast. Such rigging was normal in classic gaff-rigged schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

s and in other ships with fore-and-aft rigging. It is absent in Bermuda rigged boats.

The peak halyard is either bent to the gaff itself or to a wire gunter

Gunter

In sailing, a gunter is used for two main configurations of rig:#The gunter is defined as a wire that leads from one point near the end of a gaff to a point near the other end. A block travels along this wire, and a halyard is attached to this block...

depending upon the mode of rigging.