A
moonsail, also known as a
moonraker,
hope-in-heaven, or
hopesail, is a
sail flown immediately above the
skysail (see
sail-plan) on the very top of the
royal mast on large,
square rigged sailing ships of the
clipper era. None of the four and five masted square-rigged ships carried a moonsail.
This is a relatively unusual sail only used on ships built primarily for speed.