{{Short description|Viking ship part}}A '''beitass''', or a stretching pole, is a wooden spar used on Viking ships that was fitted into a pocket at the lower corner of the sail. This innovation was used to stiffen and hold the edge of the sail when sailing close to the wind.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alisons-world.net/vglossary.html|title=Glossary of Viking Words|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930011735/http://www.alisons-world.net/vglossary.html|archive-date=2007-09-30}}</ref><ref name="Grambs">{{cite book | title = Did I Say Something Wrong? | last = Grambs | first = David | year = 1993 | publisher = Penguin Group | isbn = 0-452-26831-1 | pages = 75}}</ref><ref name="Gedney">{{cite book|url=http://members.iconn.net/~gedney/Docs/ShipsandNavigationoftheSCAPeriod.pdf|title=Ships and Navigation of the SCA Period|last=Gedney|first=Elias|publisher=East Kingdom Guild of St Erasmus|pages=11}}</ref>
==References== <references/>
{{Sailing ship elements}}
Category:Sailboat components Category:Sailing ship components