Sailing parlance can be very confusing at times as the same thing onboard can be called a number of different names (e.g. a kicker, boom vang, gnav, thingme giggy etc). When learning to sail this doesn't help your speedy understanding of the technicalities of sail setting. Another example is the downhaul; on the Topper Xenon which is called a cunningham!
The cunningham differs from a typical downhaul in the way that it attaches to the sail. The system usually consists of a line which is secured at one end to the mast or boom below the foot of the mainsail. It is then passed through a cringle in the luff of the sail near the foot, but above the tack, and then led down on the other side to a fitting on the mast or boom or on deck.
It is named after its inventor, Briggs Swift Cunningham II, a victorious America Cup skipper, who was a yacht builder and sailor, as well as being a racecar enthusiast, driver, team owner, and racecar owner and builder. The yacht, Columbia, was led to victory by Cunningham in the America Cup competition of 1958. Briggs was inducted into the America Cup Hall of Fame in 1993. He is also in the international and American motorsports halls of fame and when innovating devices for yachting, called on the specialized talents of automobile racing friends to solve problems such as metal stress and selection.
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