What is "brails"

Usage examples of "brails".

All hands obeyed, and at once the eight or ten seamen who composed the crew, sprang to their respective stations at the spanker brails and outhaul, topsail sheets and halyards, the jib downhaul, and the topsail clewlines and buntlines.

Cugel dropped the blue silk mainsail from its brails and sheeted home the clews.

At the same time the main began to shake and thunder with the brails let fly.

Descending to the midship deck, Cugel dropped the blue silk mainsail from its brails and sheeted home the clews.

The breeze was light and visibility good, but the ship proceeded with only two brails of the mainsail clewed down from the yard because the captain believed Erdin was just over the horizon.