Chapter XX (4)

Beating to windward may be described as the method by which a vessel forces her way by a series of angles in the direction from which the wind is blowing. Some vessels will sail closer to the wind than others. That is to say, with their sails full they will head a point or more nearer to the direction from which the wind comes than vessels of different rig.

Diagram No. 2.
Running Before the Wind.
]

Broadly speaking, an ordinary fore-and-aft rigged yacht with the wind due north, will head northwest on the starboard tack, and northeast on the port tack. That is, she will head up within four points of the wind. Some will do better than this by a good half point. The famous old sloop _Maria_, owned by Commodore J. C. Stevens, founder of the New York Yacht Club, is said to have sailed within three points and a half of the wind, and I am informed that _Constitution_, in her races this year, achieved a similar remarkable feat.

A square-rigger, because the sails cannot be trimmed to form so sharp an angle to the breeze as a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, rarely sails closer than six points of the wind. Consequently, she has to make more tacks and consume a longer time in accomplishing a similar distance in the teeth of the breeze than a vessel driven by fore-and-aft canvas. It is possible to make my meaning clearer by means of simple diagrams, and to these I refer the reader.

Diagram No. 3.
Gybing.
]

A vessel is said to be close-hauled when the sheets are trimmed flat aft and the boat is headed as near to the wind as the sails will permit without their luffs shaking. When a vessel is so trimmed, she is said to be sailing "full and bye," which means as close to the wind as the craft will point with the sails bellying out and full of wind. If a vessel is sailed so close to the wind that the sails quiver, the pressure is diminished and speed is decreased. Thus the art of beating to windward successfully consists in keeping the boat's sails full, while her head should not be permitted to "fall off" for an instant. This requires a watchful eye and an artistic touch. To become an adept, one should have plenty of practice.

Diagram No. 4.
Close Hauled on Port Tack.
]

A boat is on the starboard tack when the main boom is over the port quarter and the port jib sheet is hauled aft. The wind is then on the starboard bow. The conditions are reversed when the craft goes on the port tack. In diagram No. 1, four conditions of sailing are shown, the figures representing a boat sailing with the wind astern, on the quarter, abeam, and close hauled. It will be observed how the main boom is trimmed to meet the varied changes of wind or course.

Diagram No. 5,
Close Hauled on Starboard Tack.
]

Diagram No. 2 shows a racing yacht running before the wind with all her balloons expanded to the breeze. The spinnaker set to starboard not only adds greatly to her speed, but it also makes the steering easier, as it counteracts the pressure of the huge mainsail and club topsail on the port side, thus causing a nicely-adjusted balance. The balloon jibtopsail catches every stray breath of air that is spilled out of the spinnaker, and it also has considerable possibilities as a steering sail, in addition to its splendid pulling power. For a vessel, however finely balanced and carefully steered, owing to various conditions of breeze and sea, has a tendency to yaw and fly up in the wind. Thus a strong puff or a heavy sea striking the boat may make her swerve from her course in an effort to broach to. Then the jibtopsail does good service as, when it gets full of wind, it pays the head of the boat off the wind, and materially assists the helmsman in steadying the vessel on her course.

Diagram No. 6.
Dead Beat to Windward.
]

It may be remarked that steering a yacht under these conditions, in a strong and puffy breeze with a lumpy, following sea, calls for the best work of the ablest helmsman. A boat will generally develop an inclination to broach to, which means to fly up in the wind. Sometimes, however, the notion may strike her to run off the wind so much as to bring the wind on the other quarter, causing her to gybe. This would mean disaster, probably a broken boom and a topmast snapped off short like a pipe-stem, with other incidental perils.

Diagram No. 3 shows the manœuvre of gybing, which is to keep the vessel away from the wind until it comes astern, and then on the opposite quarter to which it has been blowing. Fig. 1 shows a boat sailing before the wind with the main boom over to starboard. Fig. 2 shows the operation of luffing to get in the main sheet. Fig. 3 shows the boom over on the port quarter, and the operation complete, except trimming sail for the course to be steered.

It may be remarked that gybing a racing yacht "all standing" in a strong wind requires consummate skill and care. A cool hand at the helm is the prime requisite, but smart handling of the main sheet is of scarcely less importance. The topmast preventer backstays should be attended to by live men. When a vessel is not racing, gybing in heavy weather may be accomplished without the slightest risk; the topsail may be clewed up and the peak of the mainsail lowered, and with ordinary attention the manœuvre is easily performed.

Diagrams Nos. 4 and 5 show the same racing yacht close hauled on the port and starboard tack. The spinnaker and balloon jibtopsail are taken in. A small jibtopsail takes the place of the flying kite. This sail, however, is only carried in light winds, as it has a tendency, when a breeze blows, to make a craft sag off to leeward.

Diagram No. 6 shows a boat beating out of a bay with the wind dead in her teeth, a regular "nose-ender" or "muzzler." She starts out from her anchorage on the port tack, stands in as close to the shore as is prudent, goes about on the starboard tack, stands out far enough to weather the point of land, then tacks again, and on the port tack fetches the open sea.

Diagram No. 7 illustrates a contingency frequently met with in beating to windward, when a vessel can sail nearer her intended course on one tack than another. Thus suppose her course is East by South and the wind SE, she would head up East on one tack (the long leg) and South on the other (the short leg).

Diagram No. 8 depicts the manœuvre of tacking that is the method of "going into stays," or shifting from one tack to the other. Fig. 1 shows a boat steering "full and bye" on the starboard tack. It becomes necessary to go about. "Helm's a-lee!" cries the man at the tiller, at the same time easing the helm down to leeward and causing the boat's head to fly up in the wind. The jib sheet is let go at the cry "Helm's a-lee!" decreasing the pressure forward and making the boat, if well balanced, spin round. A modern racer turns on her heel so smartly that the men have all they can do to trim the head sheets down before she is full on the other tack. Some of the old style craft, however, hang in the wind, and it sometimes becomes necessary to pay her head off by trimming down on the port jib sheet and by shoving the main boom over on the starboard quarter (Fig. 3). Soon she fills on the port tack, and goes dancing merrily along, as shown in Fig. 4.

In beating to windward in a strong breeze and a heavy sea leeway must be considered.

Leeway may be defined as the angle between the line of the vessel's apparent course and the line she actually makes good through the water. In other and untechnical words, it is the drift that the ship makes sideways through the water because of the force of the wind and the heave of the sea, both factors causing the craft to slide bodily off to leeward.

This crab-like motion is due to a variety of causes, to the shape of the craft, to her trim, and to the amount of sail carried, and its quality and sit. Boats deficient in the element of lateral resistance, such as a shallow craft with the centerboard hoisted, will drift off to leeward at a surprising rate. A deep boat of good design and fair sail-carrying capacity will, on the other hand, if her canvas is well cut and skillfully trimmed, make little or no leeway. In fact, she may, under favorable circumstances, eat up into the wind and fetch as high as she points.

Diagram No. 7.
A Long Leg and a Short Leg.
]

Leeway is always a dead loss, and to counteract it is always the aim of the practical seaman and navigator. Captain Lecky, in his admirable work, "Wrinkles in Practical Navigation," puts the case clearly, and his advice should be followed whenever feasible. He says: "Suppose a vessel on a wind heading NW by N, under short canvas and looking up within three points of her port, which, accordingly, bears north; but, owing to its blowing hard, she is making 2-1/2 points leeway. Clearly this vessel is only _making good_ a NW by W1/2W course, which is 5-1/2 points from the direction of port. Let her speed under these conditions be, say, four knots per hour. Now, if the yards are checked in a point or so, and the vessel be kept off NW by W, she will slip away much faster through the water, and probably will make not more than half a point leeway. This keeps the course _made good_ exactly the same as before, with the advantage of increased speed. Therefore, if you can possibly avoid it, do not allow your vessel to sag to leeward by jamming her up in the wind. Keep your wake right astern, unless it be found from the bearing of the port that the course _made good_ is actually taking the vessel away from it, in which case it is obvious that the less the speed the better."

This excellent counsel applies to every kind of sailing vessel, whether square-rigger or fore-and-after, whether used for business or pleasure. It is of no avail to pinch a boat for the purpose of keeping her bowsprit pointed for her destination, when it is obvious that she will only fetch a point several miles to leeward. Keep the sails clean full and the boat will make better weather of it, as well as greater speed. It may frequently be necessary to "luff and shake it out of her" when struck by a hard squall, or, by the aid of a "fisherman's luff," to clear an object without tacking, but a good rule is to keep a sailing craft moving through the water and not permit her to pitch and rear end on to the sea.

Diagram No. 8.
The Manœuvre of Tacking.
]

X.

COMBINATION ROWING AND SAILING
BOATS.

Whip purchase
and traveler.
Fig. 1.
]

A boat intended for both rowing and sailing should be partly decked, and have as high a coaming as possible round the cockpit. A folding centerboard should be fitted as in Fig. 10, so as to avoid the awkwardness of a trunk, which in a small craft takes up too much room. Outside ballast is not necessary; a few bags of sand will do instead. An open boat under sail is dangerous except in the hands of a skilled boatman. In a scrub race the helmsman cracks on until the lee gunwale is almost on a level with the water. He may go along like this for some time, but if the water is rough, ten to one a sea will sooner or later come in over the lee bow, and the weight of water to leeward may cause the boat to capsize before the sheet can be let go and the helm put hard down to bring her head to wind. This in itself is not agreeable; and failing to right the boat one may be compelled to cling to the keel or rail until relief comes, or till he gets too tired to hang on any longer. The excellent sport of sailing in a stiff breeze is obtained at its best only in a partly decked boat. The half-decked craft may also be made into a life-boat with the aid of water-tight boxes of tin or zinc. The cockpit should be made as narrow as is compatible with comfort.

The combination rowing and sailing boat should have as little gear as possible. Sheets and halyards should always be kept clear for running and never be allowed to get foul. If you are so unlucky or so imprudent as to meet with a capsize, keep clear of the ropes, for a turn of one round the leg may send you to Davy Jones's locker.

In writing of rigs suitable for small craft I shall not weary my readers with descriptions of sails that are not at all adapted for practical use in American waters. The amateur desirous of becoming acquainted with the rig of boats suitable for Bermuda waters, the Norfolk Broads, the Nile, or the inland lakes of Timbuctoo must look elsewhere. Nevertheless the amateur may rest confident that I give practical instructions for the best possible rigs, and he may adopt any one of them after due consideration of the comments on each variety without any fear of future regret.

The mast of the combination sailing and rowing boat which is shown in Fig. 2, should be so stepped that it can be taken down at a moment's notice. It should not be stepped into the keelson through a hole in the thwart, but should be fitted with a strong iron clamp and pin screwed to the after part of the thwart, so that it may be unshipped in a hurry. The mast should be light and strong. The sheave-hole in the head should be fitted with a galvanized-iron or yellow-metal sheave, and should be sufficiently large for the halyards to travel freely when the rope is swollen with water. A block may be fitted to the mast-head for the jib halyards. The boat should be provided with a galvanized-iron horse for the lower block of the mainsheet to travel on. This is a great convenience in beating to windward as the boom will go over by itself without the aid of the helmsman. The sail also sets better with the aid of a horse to keep the boom down.

The jib sheets and all halyards should lead aft within easy reach of the helmsman so that he may be able to handle them without letting go the tiller. The cushions of the stern sheets should be stuffed with cork shavings such as grapes come packed in from Spain. They should have life lines sewed to them so that in case of need they may be used as life-preservers.

The boat should be equipped with three oars (as one may be broken), a boat-hook and a baler; and the plug in the bottom should be secured to the boat by a lanyard and screw-eye. A tiller should be used for steering when sailing and not a yoke and lines.

Remember that you must luff when the first breath of the squall strikes the boat, for if way is lost and the boat is hove down on her beam ends, lee helm ceases to possess its virtue and the boat may capsize. This is a sound and wise axiom and one that a beginner should impress rigidly on his mind. Never allow skylarking in a boat. Never attempt to climb the mast of an open boat, as it is an operation fraught with danger. Rather unstep the mast for any repairs that may be necessary. Never stand on the thwarts of a small boat when under way.

If women and children are on board never gybe the boom over. Many accidents have happened through the neglect of this precaution. No matter how expert a boat-sailer you may be, never take women and children out in a boat with only yourself to handle her. Always take care that you have with you either a skilled professional hand or an amateur who knows the ropes, can take his trick at the tiller and does not lose his head in a squall or other emergency of sea, lake, sound or river. In default of being able to command the services of such a man, leave the women and children ashore and postpone the excursion heedless of the tears and entreaties of your best girl and the black looks of your prospective mother-in-law. A lovers' quarrel is easily made up, but a capsized boat may mean loss of life and agonies of regret and self-reproach.

I was once persuaded against my better judgment to take out a party of ladies for a sail in a jib-and-mainsail boat. We put out from a dock at Perth-Amboy in the afternoon, with a cloudless sky and a soft, sweet summer zephyr blowing. There was one other of my sex aboard and he told me he perfectly understood the handling of a boat. He wore a yachting suit and cocked his eye aloft in a knowing and nautical manner that deceived even an old stager like myself. A huge black bank of clouds arose in the northwest presaging the speedy approach of a savage thunder-squall. I told my nautical-looking shipmate to lower the jib, but he did not know how to find the halyards, and he was equally ignorant of the whereabouts of the sheet. I gave the tiller to one of the girls to hold, hauled down the jib, made it fast, lowered the mainsail and furled it as snugly as I could and then let go the anchor which, luckily, hadn't been left ashore. All this time my nautical-looking chum was star-gazing. As a matter of fact he knew no more about a boat than a bull knows of trigonometry. His specialty, I was afterwards informed, was measuring off tape by the yard and ogling his customers. I had to do a good deal of hustling to get the craft snug for the squall and to stow away my girl guests in the shelter of the little half-deck forward, where they fitted as tight as sardines in a box.

When the squall struck us it was a hummer and no mistake. I veered out all the cable there was and she rode to it quite well. There came a deluge of rain with the blast, and the boat was soon nearly half full. The girls screamed and prayed. The counter-jumper looked pale about the gills and being too scared to bail flopped on his marrow-bones. Now praying on shipboard is not to be scoffed at, but it should be delayed until man has exhausted every possible means of saving the ship. I had to do all the bailing myself and when the squall had blown itself out I had to set the sails and hoist the anchor without any aid from the linen-draper.

That is one reason why I don't go sailing single-handed anymore with a boatload of girls. Do you blame me, shipmates? They are as likely to get cranky as the boat herself, and one female at a time is all the average man can keep on an even keel. Of course I know many girls who can give me points and beat me easily in yachting and all that appertains thereto; but fair ones of that sort are not so plentiful as they might be.

It should be remembered that these small rowing and sailing boats are not intended for a spin round Sandy Hook lightship. They are for smooth water and in their place are capable of affording their owners an immense amount of wholesome enjoyment. On a pinch they will stand a hard tussle with wind and wave, but it is never wise to tempt Providence. I once knew an Irishman who often declared that he was so favored by fortune that he could fall off a dock into the water and not get wet, but the average man is not built that way. An ambitious amateur may well begin his career on the water with one of these interesting little toys I have described, and even if he aspires to become the owner of a stouter and more seaworthy craft in which to essay adventurous cruises of great emprise, he will learn much that is of value from her.

With these cautionary remarks I will proceed to describe the rigs which in my judgment are suitable for boats measuring from twelve to seventeen feet over all.

The leg-of-mutton rig, whether combined with a jib or not, is the simplest and safest known, for there is no weight aloft such as is inevitable with a gaff. It is a sail exactly adapted to the requirements of a learner. The most nervous mother need not be alarmed if her boy goes sailing in a boat equipped with this rig. The sail is hoisted by a single halyard bent to the cringle at the head of the sail and rove through either a sheave or a block at the masthead. Sometimes the luff is laced to the mast, but it is better that it should be seized to hoops, as shown in Fig. 4. If a boom is used a larger sail can be carried, but it should be only a light spar and the foot of the sail should be laced to it. The boom may be fitted with a topping lift and the sheet be rove as shown in the illustration. In a small open boat no stays are necessary for the mast, but the jib halyards should be belayed to a cleat on one gunwale of the boat and the main halyards on the other, so as to afford support to the mast.

The jib and leg-of-mutton sail is a deservedly popular rig. A short bowsprit may be fitted to a boat and secured to an eyebolt in the stem by a wire bob-stay. A wire forestay may be set up to the bowsprit end and a jib may be bent to iron hanks on it and hoisted by a single halyard. Or it may be set flying.

The advantages of the cat rig (Fig. 9) for general handiness have been often explained. I should advise that the sail be hoisted by both throat and peak halyards and not by a single halyard as is sometimes the case. It is often most convenient to be able to drop the peak, when gybing, for instance, or when struck by a squall. A single topping lift should be fitted with an eye splice to the end of the boom and rove through a block at the masthead and belayed to a cleat on the mast. The main sheet should travel on an iron horse. A short boomkin, with forestay and bob-stay, may help to secure the mast.

The balance lug, which is illustrated in Fig. 8, is quite a popular rig, and it has much in its favor. The sail is laced to a yard and boom and is hoisted by a single halyard rove through a sheave-hole in the masthead and spliced to the eye of the hook of a galvanized-iron traveler, to which a strop on the yard is hooked, as shown in the illustration. On the other end of the halyard a single block is turned in, through which a rope is rove, the standing part of which is made fast to an eyebolt at the foot of the mast and the hauling part rove through a block and led aft within easy reach of the helmsman. The tack should be made fast to the boom and set up to the mast thwart after being passed round the mast. The main sheet should work on a galvanized-iron horse. This rig is quite handy and a boat so equipped is smart in stays.

Balance Lug Rig. Fig. 8.
Showing Traveler and Halyards.
]

The sliding gunter rig, which is shown in Fig. 5, has this much to recommend it: it is easily set if rigged as shown in the illustration and it can quickly be reefed. It will be seen that the mast is in two pieces, the topmast sliding up and down the lower mast on two wrought-iron rings or travelers. The halyards are sometimes made fast to the lower traveler and sometimes to the upper. They reeve through a sheave-hole in the lower masthead and may be set up with a single whip purchase. The lower mast may be supported with a single wire shroud on each side and, if the double headrig is carried, with a wire stay to the stem head. The sail should be laced to the topmast and secured to the lower mast by hoops or iron rings leathered. These should be large enough to slide easily up and down the mast, which should be kept well greased. The topmast should be so rigged that the upper iron can be unclamped and the topmast lowered down so as to permit the sail to be stowed like a gaff-sail along the boom. With the sail thus furled the boat will ride much easier in a breeze or a seaway. In Fig. 6 the working of the rig is shown: 1 is the lower mast, 2 the topmast, 3 the halyards, 4 the upper ring, or traveler, with a clamp and pin to permit the lowering of the topmast, 5 the lower ring or traveler, which is fitted with a hinge at 6; 7 is the gooseneck of the boom to which the foot of the sail is laced. Reefing is simple. Lower away on the halyards, make fast the cringle on the luff of the sail, at whatever reef band is desired, to the gooseneck on the boom. Haul out the corresponding reef earing, make it fast, tie your reef points and hoist up the sail again by the halyards. A topping lift is necessary.

The spritsail is not often seen in these waters, but it is a good sail for a small boat. I warn the beginner, however, against its use in a craft of any pretensions to size, for he will find the heavy sprit much more difficult to handle than a gaff. A spritsail is similar in shape to the mainsail of a cutter, with the peak higher and the foot shorter, as in Fig. 3. The sprit is a spar which crosses the sail diagonally from luff to peak. It is thick in the middle, and each end is tapered. The upper end fits into a cringle or eye in the peak of the sail and the lower end into a snotter on the mast. The sprit stretches the sail quite flat and thus a boat is able to point well to windward. The snotter is a piece of stout rope having an eye in each end, one being passed round the mast and rove through the eye in the other end, the heel of the sprit fitting in the remaining eye. If the snotter carries away, the heel of the sprit may be forced by its own weight through the bottom of the boat; accordingly, as it has to stand considerable strain, it should be made of stout stuff. To set the sail, hoist it up by the halyards, slip the upper end of the sprit into the cringle in the peak, push it up as high as you can and insert the heel into the snotter; then trim the sheet. In large boats the snotter is made fast to an iron traveler which is hoisted by a whip purchase as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The sprit rig cannot be said to be pretty, and when the sail is large it is difficult to reef it. I should not counsel its use except in a boat intended for both rowing and sailing, where the sail would be so small as to be easily muzzled in case of a squall. The spritsail is hoisted by halyards, rove through a block or sheave-hole at the masthead and hooked to a cringle at the throat of the sail. The tack of the sail is lashed to an eyebolt in the mast. In reefing the sprit must be lowered by shifting the snotter further down the mast.

XI.

RIGGING AND SAILS.

Wire has entirely superseded rope for standing rigging, and deadeyes and lanyards are fast giving way before the advance of the turnbuckle. An old sailor cannot help regretting the decline and fall of his profession and the growing popularity of the art of the blacksmith. So far as the rigging of ships is concerned, when wire rigging was first introduced it was thought that its rigidity would prove a fatal objection to its successful use.

Science has, however, set its foot down firmly on such objections. The decree has gone forth that rigging cannot possibly be set up too taut, and the less it stretches the better. The old argument that a yacht's standing rigging should "give" when the craft is caught in a squall, which old sea dogs were so fond of advancing, has been knocked on the head by scientific men who declare that a vessel's heeling capacity affords much more relief than the yielding quality of rigging. Thus all or nearly all of the modern immense steel sailing vessels in the East Indian and Australian trade have their steel masts stayed as rigidly as possible by means of turnbuckles, and practice seems to have demonstrated the truth of the theory. These ships encounter terrific seas and gales off the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, and their masts are thus subjected to violent and sudden strains, but I have been assured by the commanders of several of these great freight carriers that they have never known their "sticks" to be imperiled by the rigidity of the rigging, and the tauter it can be set up the more secure the masts are supposed to be.

SHROUD, DEADEYE, LANYARD.
]

There are, however, a number of old salts who condemn this theory as rank heresy, and go in for deadeyes and lanyards of the old-fashioned kind, and the greater the stretch between the upper and the lower deadeyes the better are they pleased. There is no doubt that turnbuckles look neater than deadeyes, and they are probably well suited for small craft. The Herreshoffs have long used them for setting up the rigging of the sloops and yawls of moderate size which they used to turn out in such numbers, and which first laid the foundation of their fame. The boat owner can please himself as to which method he may choose, and he can rely that with either his mast will be perfectly secure. Both methods are shown in the accompanying cuts.

There is one thing in connection with wire rigging that I must warn the amateur against. Beware of shod wire rigging. "Shoes" are iron plates riveted to the ends of wire rigging to receive shackle bolts. They are never reliable. Eye splices in wire never draw. "Shoes" often collapse without notice.

Turnbuckles are very handy appliances for setting up rigging in a hurry, whereas the same operation conducted by means of a deadeye and a lanyard takes much more time and trouble. A small craft rigged as a sloop, cutter or yawl, requires only one shroud on each side to afford lateral support to the mast, and a forestay—which in the case of a cutter or yawl should set up at the stem head, but on a sloop is set up on the bowsprit. A simple way to fit the rigging is to splice an eye in each shroud, forming a collar sufficiently large to pass over the masthead, first covering the part that is to form the eye with canvas sewn on and painted. The starboard shroud goes over the masthead first, then the port one and last the forestay. In large yachts the lower rigging is often fitted in pairs, the bight of the shrouds being passed over the masthead and secured in the form of an eye with a stout wire seizing.

Many riggers shackle the shrouds to an iron band fitted to the hounds. This plan is open to objection. There may be a flaw in the iron and the band may give way suddenly, causing the mast to snap off short like the stem of a clay pipe. Bands may look a little more snug than the collars, but they are heavier aloft and not so reliable, and for these reasons I am old-fashioned enough to prefer the collars.

TOPMAST RIGGING.
]

For a small sloop, cutter or yawl, a pole mast is preferable; but all boats more than twenty feet on the water line should be fitted with topmasts, the rigging of which is shown in the cut.

The running bowsprit is almost obsolete now-a-days, but the device still finds favor with certain owners of cutters and yawls of large size. It certainly has its advantages. The length of the bowsprit is reduced as the jibs are shifted, until when the "spitfire" or storm-jib is set the bowsprit is run so far inboard that it looks like a mere stump. In a sea-way the benefit of this is obvious, the weight being materially reduced forward and the pitching consequently lessened. The jib also sits well and does its work, and is far preferable to that horror of horrors the "bobbed" jib of a sloop, which always makes a sailor's flesh creep when he sees it. How it has managed to survive is a marvel to me. It is a lubberly and slovenly device not good enough for a scow. The rigging of a running bowsprit is shown in the cut.

When it becomes necessary to set the storm trysail, lower away the mainsail and furl it as fast as possible. Lower the boom down into the crutch amidships, and secure it by hauling the sheet taut and by tackles or lashings from each quarter. Unhook the throat and peak halyards and hook them on to the trysail gaff, the jaws of which parral on to the mast, allowing the gaff end to rest on the deck. The topping lifts must be unhooked from the main boom and taken in to the mast or the rigging, so as to be out of the way of the trysail. Lace the head of the trysail to the gaff. The clew of the trysail is hauled aft by a luff-tackle which forms the sheet. Another tackle should be hooked to the clew and made fast to windward over the main boom and gaff, so that in case of a shift of wind the sheet may be hauled aft on the other side without delay or the danger of getting aback. Then you can man the throat and peak halyards and set the sail, trimming the sheet well down.

If you should have the misfortune to carry away the main boom, and you have no trysail on board, lower away the sail, unlace it from the boom, close-reef it, and set it with a luff-tackle for a sheet. When about to set the storm trysail and your vessel is yawl rigged, set the storm mizzen. It will keep her head up to the sea while the sails are being shifted. In a cutter, heave to by hauling the fore sheet to windward, keeping the jib full. Shifting jibs in heavy weather in a cutter requires care. The first thing to do is to get the sail up from below and stretch it along the weather side of the forward deck with the head aft. Haul the foresheet to windward and trim the mainsheet in flat, tricing up the tack if the sail is loose-footed. Keep the boat as close to the wind as possible. Let go the jib outhaul, and the sail will fly in along the bowsprit. Muzzle it, man the down-haul, let go the halyards and down with it! Then reef the bowsprit. Some cutters are fitted with a rack and pinion wheel, with a handle like that of a winch, for this purpose. If not supplied with this handy contrivance, reeve a heel rope, and after slacking the bobstay fall and the falls of the shrouds and topmast stay, heave on it until you can knock the fid out. Then rouse the bowsprit in by the shroud tackles to the second or third fid holes, as desired; ship the fid and set up the gear, beginning with the bobstay, the weather shroud next and the lee shroud last, at the same time taking in the slack of the topmast stay. Now to set the jib. First hook on the sheets and take a turn with the lee one; next hook on the tack to the traveler and the halyards to the head. Man the outhaul and bowse the tack out to the bowsprit end. Hoist up on the halyards and sweat up with the purchase. Trim the sheet, let draw the foresheet, ease off the mainsheet and sail her along again. If these instructions are carried out a storm jib may be set on a reefed bowsprit without parting a rope yarn.

To shake a reef out in the mainsail, set up on the topping lift so that it may take the weight of the boom. Untie all the reef points. Cast off the lashing at the tack if the sail is laced to the boom, or come up the tack tackle if it is loose-footed. Then ease off the reef earring and hoist the sail, setting up the throat first. You can then ease up the topping lift and trim sheet.

A convenient method of bending and unbending a storm trysail is shown in Fig. X and Fig. E.

FIG. X.

FIG. E.
]

Fig. X represents the shape of the mast hoops, to each of which two iron hooks are fastened. The hoops are of the ordinary size, but about one-quarter of their length is sawn out and to the ends the iron hooks are riveted. Fig. E shows how the thimble toggles are seized to the luff of the sail at regular intervals. When it is necessary to set the trysail, adjust the jaws of the gaff to the mast, make fast the parral, hook on the throat and peak halyard blocks and mouse them. Hoist up slowly, slipping the thimbles over the hooks on the ends of the hoops as the sail goes up. The sheet must be hauled aft before the sail is hoisted, and should be slacked off handsomely to allow the sail to be properly set. Then all hands should clap on it and flatten it in.

If your boat is rigged as a cutter or yawl the foresail may have the tack made fast to the eyebolt to which the stay is set up. The luff of the sail is seized to galvanized iron hanks that run up and down on the stay. If the foresail has a reef band in it (as it should) a lacing is used between the reef and tack cringles. Don't bowse up the halyards too taut the first time you set the sail, and don't break your back flattening in the sheet. Give it a chance to stretch fairly. The same remark also applies to the jib, whether set on a stay or flying on its own luff, as it must necessarily do if your craft is equipped with a running bowsprit.

For the sake of lightness, blocks are frequently made too small. Manilla rope, of which both sheets and halyards should be made, has a habit of swelling when wet. It is generally rove on a dry day, and renders through blocks quite easily when in this condition. A rain squall will swell this rope to such an extent, and halyards will jam so hard, that sails will not come down when wanted, and disasters happen. The work of setting and taking in sail is made very laborious through small blocks and large sized halyards. It should be borne in mind that halyards ought to run through blocks as freely when wet as dry. Blocks should always be fitted with patent sheaves.

The running rigging of a mainsail consists of peak and throat halyards, topping lifts, main sheet and peak down-haul. To bend a mainsail, shackle the throat cringle to the eyebolt under the jaws of the gaff, stretch the head of the sail along the gaff, reeve the peak earring through the hole in the end of the gaff and haul it out, securing it in the manner shown in the illustration. The earring is represented with the turns passed loosely in order to give the amateur a clear and distinct view of the proper method. It will be seen that _a a_ is the peak end of the gaff; _b_ is a cheek block for the topsail sheet; _c_ is a block for the peak down haul, used also as signal halyards, hooked to an eyebolt screwed into the end of the gaff, the hook of the block being moused; _d_ is a hole in the gaff end through which the earring is passed. The earring is spliced into the cringle with a long eye splice. It is then passed through _d_ round through the cringle _e_; through _d_ again and through _e_ again; then up over the gaff at _i_ and _k_, down the other side and through _e_ again, and so on up round the gaff four or five times; at the last, instead of going up over the gaff again, the earring is passed between the parts round the gaff as shown at _f_, round all the parts that were passed through _d_, as shown at _m_, and jammed by two half hitches _m_ and _h_.

If the sail is new from the sailmaker's loft, only haul the head out hand taut or you will ruin it. I have seen yacht skippers clap a "handy billy" tackle on the head of a new mainsail and haul on it till they could get no more. I have seen them treat the foot in the same way, the result being a great bag of canvas of no possible use in beating to windward. A mainsail costs a good deal of money and is easily spoiled. One of Mr. John M. Sawyer's splendidly cut sails can have all its utility and beauty taken out of it in half-an-hour by a lubberly sailing master.

After the head earring is passed, lace the head of the sail to the gaff, taking a half hitch at each eyelet hole. Next seize the luff of the sail to the mast hoops with marline. The foot of the mainsail should next be made fast to the boom in the same manner as the peak, the lacing going round a wire jackstay rove through eyebolts on the top of the boom. Do not "sweat up" either the throat or peak halyards too taut the first time you set it, and avoid reefing a new sail. Lower it down altogether, set the trysail, or do the best you can under head sail and the mizzen if on board a yawl. A mainsail should always be allowed to stretch gradually, and the slack of the head and the foot should be taken up at intervals. Remember that no greater injury can be done to a new sail than to try and make it sit flat by hauling out the foot too taut before it has been properly stretched. The best authorities advise that the sail should be set with the leech slack, and the boat run before a strong wind for several hours. Another excellent plan is to hoist the sail up with the foot and head slack while the boat is at anchor, and as it flaps about in the breeze the sail will stretch without injury. Of course when the head and foot are thoroughly stretched they can be hauled out taut as they can be got.

Personally, I prefer a mainsail with the foot laced to the boom, but all are not of my way of thinking. A loose-footed mainsail still has admirers and this is how it works. The mainsail outhaul consists of an iron horse on the boom, a shackle as traveler, a wire outhaul made fast to the shackle and rove through a sheavehole at the boom end and set up by a purchase.

If the mainsail is of the loose-footed variety it should be fitted with a tack tricing tackle and a main tack purchase. The last named is handy for bowsing down the luff of the sail "bar taut" for racing. Sweating-up the throat halyards lowers the peak slightly, and peaking the sail slackens the luff. By hauling up on the main tack tricing tackle till you can get no more, and at the same time lowering the peak, the mainsail is "scandalized" and the boom can then be gybed over in a strong breeze with the least possible risk of carrying away something.

To prevent masthoops from jamming when the mainsail is being hoisted or lowered, a small line is seized to the foreside of the top hoop and then to every hoop down the mast. When the throat halyards are pulled on, the foresides of the hoops feel the strain and go up parallel with the after sides. The accompanying figure shows this at a glance.

It is true that this method has found little favor with amateurs, but I tried it with great success on my first cruising craft, and later on in a yacht of far greater pretensions. The "wrinkle" should by no means be despised.

XII.

LAYING UP FOR THE WINTER.

The judicious yachtsman will personally superintend the laying up of his craft. If he has that inestimable blessing, a good skipper, he should not discharge him at the close of his summer season. If he does he will bitterly regret it. A yacht requires as much watchful care as a baby, and this is especially true during the trying winter season. So wise yacht-owners who have in their employ faithful captains should hold on to them like grim death to a deceased army mule. Good men are not too plentiful these times.

A few practical suggestions as to preparing the vessel for the winter are here appended. In the first place, sails should be well dried before being unbent, and then should be carefully stopped and labeled, and the same remark applies also to the running gear. By all means secure storage ashore for sails, gear, cabin fitments and furniture, carpets, upholstery and bedding, otherwise you may have cause to regret it in the spring. In most of the buildings devoted to the storage of yacht gear proper platforms or stages are provided, so that a free current of air may circulate, and thus prevent damp, mildew and decay. The lower tier on the platform should consist of the warps and running gear, on top of which the sails should be snugly coiled. Above these the furniture, bedding and upholstery should go. All can be covered over with an old light sail to protect them from dust. This can be removed as often as necessary for airing purposes.

On the other side of the Atlantic judicious owners of storage warehouses make their platforms rat-proof, following out the same idea as the farmer does with his wheat stacks. Each support to the stage is capped with a metal cone, which effectually stops the upward progress of the sail-devouring vermin. Well-conducted warehouses are well ventilated, and the temperature is kept tolerably even by heat.

Of course, all articles of value, such as plate and nautical instruments, should find repository in their owner's dwelling.

All light spars should be sent ashore and lashed up under the beams of the warehouse. The same with the rowboats, but with attention to the fact that they should be so supported as to have their weight evenly distributed, and thus prevent them from being pulled out of shape.

Many expensive boats are hopelessly ruined by neglect of this precaution. This is the proper method of supporting a rowboat so that straining her is impossible. Six eyebolts should be screwed into the under side of the beams of the warehouse at proper intervals to take the weight of the boat amidships and at the third of her length forward and aft. From these eyebolts ropes of sufficient length should depend, to which, in the bight, a handspike is passed, on which, bottom upward, the boat is hung.

A yacht laid up without the greatest care deteriorates in value to an enormous extent. The first process after dismantling is to clean the vessel thoroughly inside and out, just as carefully as if she was about to be continued in commission. After getting her as bright as a new pin, all the hardwood—that which is varnished or gilded—should be covered up with canvas.

After the yacht has been thoroughly skinned, as far as her internal arrangements are concerned, the last process preliminary to paying her out of commission, is to give her decks a coat or two of bright varnish—shunning that mixture known in the trade as pure oil, as deleterious to all decks.

It is cheaper in the long run to provide a yacht with properly fitted winter hatches which entirely cover the hardwood deck fittings and secure thorough ventilation, as then the regular skylights can be left open.

In small craft the sailing master will be sufficient to keep the boat in first-class condition. On larger vessels, according to size, he should have competent assistance.

Whether a yacht is moored alongside a quay or another vessel, winter storms cause her to do a little rolling, which invariably induces chafing. Unless a vessel is properly protected by fenders, her planksheer and bulwarks are sure to be seriously injured, and to repair this part of a ship is costly in the extreme, especially in regard to the planksheer. Should the planksheer be "shoved up" by contact with the dock or the ship to which she is moored alongside, the damage done could only be properly repaired by the removal of both bulwark and rail. To guard against severe injuries of this kind unceasing vigilance is necessary. If you can induce your skipper to live on board, all the better. In such a case your yacht will be kept in as dainty condition as your wife's boudoir. Snow is very penetrating. It will find its way even through rubber boots. A little leak may at first have no significance. But the leak increases and rot follows, fastenings are corroded and paintwork discolored.

Every vessel afloat suffers more or less from "sweating," caused by the difference between the temperature of the air outside and inside the ship. To obviate this a fire should be kept going; not a furious furnace that would involve a great expenditure of coal, but simply some heating device that gives a moderate amount of warmth all through the ship. Thus, when the owner returns to his yacht in the spring, he will find her sweet and clean, and will never regret the few paltry dollars it has cost him to keep his floating summer home in seagoing condition. The careful skipper will see that his extra help is kept busy, so that not only a casual visitor must compliment her owner on her spick and span condition, but a naval architect or a Lloyd's surveyor can find no flaw or fault to peck at. For, down to her deadwood and timbers, by the application of soap, hot water and plenty of elbow-grease, she is made fit for repainting right down to her keel.

By conservative and preservative methods such as these a yacht's life is prolonged, and she will always fetch her value in the market, the noisome odor of bilge water being unknown.

The foregoing remarks are applicable to pleasure craft that are kept afloat during the winter. It is needless to expatiate on the benefit of hauling out yachts of any size or construction, whether of wood, composite, iron, steel or Tobin bronze or aluminum. The expense of hauling large boats out is considerable, for obvious reasons, and thus it is that yacht owners do not care to incur the cost. This objection does not apply to small craft, which should invariably be landed for the winter and efficiently protected by canvas, or other covering, from the destructive influence of snow and rain. All that has been said above in relation to the storage of sails and gear applies as much to a one-tonner as to the largest pleasure craft afloat.