book to explain old rigs?

[benz]

I have found an older edition of an unabridged ecyclopedic dictionary to be most useful in my quest to ferret out obscure nautical terms; often they will even have an illustration of a cathead or a spanker or a jibbom. I picked up my copy for a dollar at a thrift store.
Along the lines of the Aubrey books Brion recommended, there are also the Hornblower series, by CS Forester--older, but just as exciting and instructive.
Happy reading!
Ben