Outhaul
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An outhaul is a control line found on a sailboat. It is an element of the running rigging, used to attach the mainsail clew to the boom and tensions the foot of the sail. It commonly uses a block at the boom end and a cleat on the boom, closer to the mast, to secure the line.[1][2]
The outhaul is loosened to provide a fuller camber or tightened to give the sail foot a flatter camber. Depending on the wind, this will increase or decrease boat speed.[3]
Sailboat designer and sailing theorist, Frank Bethwaite, recommended that the outhaul, along with the other sail controls on a racing sailboat, should be knotted and the boom marked with the settings for different wind speeds.[4]