Truck (rigging)

Short description: Part of ship's rigging

A truck is a wooden ball, disk, or bun-shaped cap at the top of a mast, with holes in it through which flag halyards are passed.[1] Trucks are also used on wooden flagpoles, to prevent them from splitting.[citation needed]

Without a masthead truck, water could easily seep into the circular growth rings of a wooden mast. However, the grain in the truck is perpendicular to that of the mast, allowing the water to run off it.[citation needed]

## Flagpoles

Flagpoles often have a truck on top of them which often holds a decorative piece above, known as a finial, which is usually a ball. They are usually made of solid metal, however a tradition in the United States is to sometimes put a razor, a penny, or a grain of rice inside.[2]

## References

1. ↑ Harold A. Underhill (1946). Masting and Rigging the Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier. Brown, Son and Ferguson. ISBN 0-85174-173-8.
2. ↑ Milzarski, Eric (2018-05-15). "This is what is actually inside the top of the flag pole" (in en). https://www.wearethemighty.com/military-life/this-is-what-is-actually-inside-the-top-of-the-flag-pole/.

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