Chapter XI: Tacking, Wearing, Boxing, &c

Tacking without fore-reaching. Tacking against a heavy sea. Hauling off all. To trim the yards. Flattening in. Missing stays. Wearing--under courses--under a mainsail--under bare poles. Box-hauling--short round. Club-hauling. Drifting in a tide-way. Backing and filling in do. Clubbing in do.

TACKING.--Have the ship so suited with sails that she may steer herself as nearly as possible, and come to with a small helm. Keep her a good full, so that she may have plenty of headway. _Ready, About!_ Send all hands to their stations. The chief mate and one, two, or more of the best men, according to the size of the vessel, on the forecastle, to work the head sheets and bowlines and the fore tack; two or more good men (one usually a petty officer, or an older and trusty seaman) to work the main tack and bowline. The second mate sees the lee fore and main braces clear and ready for letting go, and stands by to let go the lee main braces, which may all be belayed to one pin. Put one hand to let go the weather cross-jack braces, and others to haul in to leeward; the cook works the fore sheet, and the steward the main; station one or more at the spanker sheet and guys; and the rest at the weather main braces.

Ease the helm down gradually; _Helm's a-lee!_ and let go the jib sheet and fore sheets. As soon as the wind is parallel with the yards, blowing directly upon the leeches of the square sails, so that all is shaking, _Raise tacks and sheets!_ and let go the fore and main tacks and main sheet, keeping the fore and main bowline fast. As soon as her head is within a point or a point and a half of the wind, _Mainsail haul!_ let go the lee main and weather cross-jack braces, and swing the after yards round. While she is head to the wind, and the after sails are becalmed by the head sails, get the main tack down and sheet aft, and right your helm, using it afterwards as her coming to or falling off requires. As soon as she passes the direction of the wind, shift your jib sheets over the stays, and when the after sails take full, or when she brings the wind four points on the other bow, and you are sure of paying off sufficiently, _Let go and haul!_ brace round the head yards briskly, down fore tack and aft the sheet, brace sharp up and haul your bowlines out, and trim down your head sheets.

It is best to haul the mainsail just before you get the wind right ahead, for then the wind, striking the weather leeches of the after sails, forces them round almost without the braces, and you will have time to brace up and get your tack down and sheet aft, when she has payed off on the other side.

If she falls off too rapidly while swinging your head yards, so as to bring the wind abeam or abaft, _'Vast bracing!_ Ease off head sheets and put your helm a-lee; and as she comes up, meet her and brace sharp up. If, on the other hand, (as sometimes happens with vessels which carry a strong weather helm,) she does not fall off after the after sails take, be careful not to haul your head yards until she is fully round; and if she should fly up into the wind, let go the main sheet, and, if necessary, brail up the spanker and shiver the cross-jack yards.

In staying, be careful to right your helm before she loses headway.

TO TACK WITHOUT FORE-REACHING, as in a narrow channel, when you are afraid to keep headway. If she comes slowly up to windward, haul down the jib and get your spanker-boom well over to windward. As you raise tacks and sheets, let go the lee fore topsail brace, being careful to brace up again as soon as she takes aback. Also, hoist the jib, and trim down, if necessary, as soon as she takes on the other side.

TACKING AGAINST A HEAVY HEAD SEA.--You are under short sail, there is a heavy head sea, and you doubt whether she will stay against it. Haul down the fore topmast staysail, ease down the helm, and raise fore sheet. When within about a point of the wind's eye, let go main tack and sheet, lee braces and after bowlines, and _Mainsail haul!_ If she loses her headway at this time, shift your helm. As soon as she brings the wind on the other bow, she will fall off rapidly by reason of her sternway, therefore shift your helm again to meet her, and _Let go and haul!_ at once. Brace about the head yards, but keep the weather braces in, to moderate her falling off. When she gets headway, right the helm, and as she comes up to the wind, brace up and haul aft.

TACKING BY HAULING OFF ALL.--This can be done only in a smooth sea, with a light working breeze, a smart vessel and strong crew. Man all the braces. Let her come up head to the wind, and fall off on the other tack, shifting the helm if she gathers sternway. When you get the wind about five points on the other bow, _Haul off all!_ let go all the braces and bowlines and swing all the yards at once. Right the helm, board tacks and haul aft sheets, brace up and haul out.

TO TRIM THE YARDS WHEN CLOSE-HAULED.--In smooth water, with a light breeze, brace the lower yards sharp up, and trim the upper yards each a trifle in abaft the one below it. If you have a pretty stiff breeze, brace the topsail yard in about half a point more than the lower yard, and the topgallant yard half a point more than the topsail yard, and so on. If you have a strong breeze and a topping sea, and especially if reduced to short sail, brace in your lower yards a little, and the others proportionally. This will prevent the vessel going off bodily to leeward; and if she labors heavily, the play of the mast would otherwise carry away the braces and sheets, or spring the yards.

MISSING STAYS.--If after getting head to the wind she comes to a stand and begins to fall off before you have hauled your main yard, flatten in your jib sheets, board fore tack, and haul aft fore sheet; also ease off spanker sheet, or brail up the spanker, if necessary. When she is full again, trim the jib and spanker sheets, and when she has recovered sufficient headway, try it again. If, after coming head to the wind, and after the after yards are swung, she loses headway and refuses to go round, or begins to fall off on the same tack on which she was before, and you have shifted the helm without effect, haul up the mainsail and spanker, square the after yards, shift your helm again a-lee, so as to assist her in falling off, and brace round the head yards so as to box her off. As she fills on her former tack, brace up the after yards, brace round the head yards, sharp up all, board tacks, haul out and haul aft.

WEARING.--Haul up the mainsail and spanker, put the helm up, and, as she goes off, brace in the after yards. If there is a light breeze, the rule is to keep the mizzen topsail lifting, and the main topsail full. This will keep sufficient headway on her, and at the same time enable her to fall off. But if you have a good breeze and she goes off fast, keep both the main and mizzen topsails lifting. As she goes round, bringing the wind on her quarter and aft, follow the wind with your after yards, keeping the mizzen topsail lifting, and the main either lifting or full, as is best. After a vessel has fallen off much, the less headway she has the better, provided she has enough to give her steerage. When you have the wind aft, raise fore tack and sheet, square in the head yards, and haul down the jib. As she brings the wind on the other quarter, brace sharp up the after yards, haul out the spanker, and set the mainsail. As she comes to on the other tack, brace up the head yards, keeping the sails full, board fore tack and aft the sheet, hoist the jib, and meet her with the helm.

TO WEAR UNDER COURSES.--Square the cross-jack yards, ease off main bowline and tack, and haul up the weather clew of the mainsail. Ease off the main sheet, and haul up the lee clew, and the buntlines and leechlines. Square the main yards and put the helm a-weather. As she falls off, let go the fore bowline, ease off the fore sheet, and brace in the fore yard. When she gets before the wind, board the fore and main tacks on the other side, and haul aft the main sheet, but keep the weather braces in. As she comes to on the other side, ease the helm, trim down the fore sheet, brace up and haul out.

TO WEAR UNDER A MAINSAIL.--Vessels lying-to under this sail generally wear by hoisting the fore topmast staysail, or some other head sail. If this cannot be done, brace the cross-jack yards to the wind, and, if necessary, send down the mizzen topmast and the cross-jack yard. Brace the head yards full. Take an opportunity when she has headway, and will fall off, to put the helm up. Ease off the main sheet, and, as she falls off, brace in the main yard a little. When the wind is abaft the beam, raise the main tack. When she is dead before it, get the other main tack down as far as possible; and when she has the wind on the other quarter, ease the helm, haul aft the sheet, and brace up.

TO WEAR UNDER BARE POLES.--Some vessels, which are well down by the stern, will wear in this situation, by merely pointing the after yards to the wind, or sending down the mizzen topmast and the cross-jack yard, and filling the head yards; but vessels in good trim will not do this. To assist the vessel, veer a good scope of hawser out of the lee quarter, with a buoy, or something for a stop-water, attached to the end. As the ship sags off to leeward, the buoy will be to windward, and will tend to bring the stern round to the wind. When she is before it, haul the hawser aboard.

BOX-HAULING.--Put the helm down, light up the head sheets and slack the lee braces, to deaden her way. As she comes to the wind, raise tacks and sheets, and haul up the mainsail and spanker. As soon as she comes head to the wind and loses her headway, square the after yards, brace the head yards sharp aback, and flatten in the head sheets. The helm, being put down to bring her up, will now pay her off, as she has sternway on. As she goes off, keep the after sails lifting, and square in the head yards. As soon as the sails on the foremast give her headway, shift the helm. When she gets the wind on the other quarter, haul down the jib, haul out the spanker, set the mainsail, and brace the after yards sharp up. As she comes to on the other tack, brace up the head yards, meet her with the helm, and set the jib.

BOX-HAULING SHORT ROUND; sometimes called _wearing short round._--Haul up the mainsail and spanker, put the helm hard a-weather, square the after yards, brace the head yards sharp aback, and flatten in the head sheets. As she gathers sternway, shift the helm. After this, proceed as in box-hauling by the former method. The first mode is preferable when you wish to stop headway as soon as possible; as a vessel under good way will range ahead some distance after the sails are all thrown flat aback.

Few merchant vessels are strongly enough manned to perform these evolutions; but they are often of service, as they turn a vessel round quicker on her heel, and will stop her from fore-reaching when near in shore or when close aboard another vessel.

CLUB-HAULING.--This method of going about is resorted to when on a lee shore, and the vessel can neither be tacked nor box-hauled. Cock-bill your lee anchor, get a hawser on it for a spring, and lead it to the lee quarter; range your cable, and unshackle it abaft the windlass. _Helm's a-lee!_ and _Raise tacks and sheets!_ as for going in stays. The moment she loses headway, let go the anchor and _Mainsail haul!_ As soon as the anchor brings her head to the wind, let the chain cable go, holding on to the spring; and when the after sails take full, cast off or cut the spring, and _Let go and haul!_

DRIFTING IN A TIDE-WAY.--As a vessel is deeper aft than forward, her stern will always tend to drift faster than her head. If the current is setting out of a river or harbor, and the wind the opposite way, or only partly across the current, you may work out by tacking from shore to shore; or you may let her drift out, broadside to the current; or, keeping her head to the current by sufficient sail, you may let her drift out stern first; or, lastly, you may _club_ her down. If the wind is partly across the current, cast to windward. If you work down by tacking, and the wind is at all across the current, be careful of the lee shore, and stay in season, since, if you miss stays, you may not be able to save yourself by wearing or box-hauling, as you might on the weather shore. If the channel is very narrow, or there are many vessels at anchor, the safest way is to bring her head to the current, brace the yards full, and keep only sail enough to give her steerage, that you may sheer from side to side. If there is room enough, you will drift more rapidly by bringing her broadside to the current, keeping the topsails shaking, and counteract the force of the current upon the stern by having the spanker full and the helm a-lee. You can at any time shoot her ahead, back her astern, or bring her head to the current, by filling the head yards, taking in the spanker, and setting the jib; filling the after yards, taking in the jib, and setting the spanker; or by bracing all aback.

BACKING AND FILLING IN A TIDE-WAY.--Counter-brace your yards as in lying-to, and drift down broadside to the current. Fill away and shoot ahead, or throw all aback and force her astern, as occasion may require. When you approach the shore on either side, fill away till she gets sufficient headway, and put her in stays or wear her round.

CLUBBING IN A TIDE-WAY.--Drift down with your anchor under your foot, heaving in or paying out on your cable as you wish to increase or deaden her way. Have a spring on your cable, so as to present a broadside to the current. This method is a troublesome and dangerous one, and rarely resorted to. An anchor will seldom drag clear, through the whole operation.