The bowsprit—Backstays—Main halyards—Tack tricing line—Lacing mainsail to boom—Maintack tackle—The gaff—Foresheets—Forehorse—Jib sheets—Mainsheet-horse—Topsail—Spinnaker—Strops for blocks, etc.—The Yawl—The Ketch.
As this is a treatise on small craft, we will speak of the cutter, yawl, and ketch-rigged yachts only, for the schooner rig is only adapted to a larger style of vessel.
With the object of familiarizing the reader with the names of those portions of her rigging common to nearly all boats, we have already, in Chapter I., given a slight description of a cutter. We will now enter upon a more detailed explanation of this rig as applied to craft of under ten tons.
A cutter’s bowsprit is not a fixture, as it is on the small boats we have so far described, but is made to slide in and out. It can be run in altogether when no jib is set; and when the large jib—for a cutter should be provided with two jibs at least—is shifted in a breeze for the smaller jib, the bowsprit can be partly run in. It is a great relief to a vessel plunging into a heavy sea thus to relieve her of this overhanging weight.
The bowsprit passes between strong wooden bits on the deck and through an iron ring covered with leather, bolted on the stem, called the gammon iron. When the bowsprit has been run in to the required distance it is kept in its place by the fid, an iron bolt which passes through the bowsprit and the bits.
It is essential that a bowsprit run in easily without jamming, so the gammon iron should be made large, and the fid should be a stout one, else the pressure of the bowsprit will soon bend it, and it will be impossible to draw it out.
When the bowsprit is reefed, the bobstay and the bowsprit shrouds have also to be shortened and tautened up with the tackle attached to them.
The tack of the jib hooks on to an iron traveller on the bowsprit which is hauled out to the required distance with the jib outhaul.
The backstays or runners (see (Fig. 1), support the mast when the vessel is running before the wind. The lee runner must be always slacked out, so that the boom can run out sufficiently far.
Most of a cutter’s halyards consist of systems of pulleys giving more or less mechanical advantage as the sail is large or small; but it must be remembered that the more powerful the purchase employed, the longer the time occupied in hoisting and lowering the sail and the greater the friction and chance of the halyard jamming, so a purchase that will just enable one hand to hoist a sail with moderate ease is all that is necessary. Small yachts are often over blocked.
For example, a cutter’s throat halyards generally consist of a luff-tackle purchase, the double block on the mast and a single one on the throat; but in a very small cutter a gun-tackle purchase of two single blocks (see (Fig. 33) will suffice.
Fig. 33.
A gun-tackle purchase is also generally used for the jib halyards and fore halyards of a cutter under ten tons.
The tack tricing line serves to trice up or draw up the tack of the mainsail and so considerably reduce its size in a squall. It is convenient also to be able to trice up the tack so as to see ahead better while sailing into a crowded harbour. Where the sail is small, the tack tricing line is fastened on to the tack of the sail, passes through a single block on the gaff close to the jaws, and thence leads to the deck. Where the sail is large, a gun-tackle purchase is used.
In large cutters, the clew of the mainsail is hauled out on the boom with a traveller and tackle. In smaller boats, where the clew can be hauled out by hand, it is generally permanently lashed to the end of the boom. This plan is apt to pull the sail all out of shape, for if the clew has been hauled out sufficiently taut when the sail is dry, it will be stretched overmuch when the sail is shrunk with rain. Thus, even if no traveller be used, it is well to have the clew lashing so arranged that it can be easily cast off or slackened.
In America, the foot of a cutter’s mainsail is invariably laced to the boom. There is some prejudice in this country against this method, so far as sea-going boats are concerned. There can be no doubt that a sail sets flatter when its foot is laced, and another great advantage gained is that a much lighter boom can be employed; for the lacing divides the strain throughout the whole length of the boom, instead of concentrating it at the two extremities. The buckling or bending of a boom is also much lessened by this method, and consequently the sail is flatter in a strong wind.
In our opinion, the sole objection of any importance to lacing the foot of the mainsail is that in doing so, that very handy rope the tack trice must be dispensed with.
The tack of a mainsail is generally hauled down by means of a maintack tackle, generally a luff tackle purchase, but in smaller cutters a short rope spliced into the tack of the sail is sufficient, which can be made fast to the boom or to a cleat on the mast.
The gaff travels up and down the mast on the jaws, which are generally of wood in small cutters. But as the necessary strength is obtained by iron jaws of much less thickness, these are the best: they look neater, fit closer, and the halyards are not so liable to get jammed between them and the mast.
The jaws are prevented from slipping from the mast by the parrel, a line with beads of hard wood threaded on it, which passes round the mast from one horn of the jaws to the other.
The boom is sometimes fitted to the mast with wooden jaws like those of the gaff; but an iron gooseneck, a joint that gives play in every direction to the boom, is far preferable. We will remark here, once and for all, that whenever we mention iron work of any description, we speak of galvanized iron. No other should be allowed on board a yacht under any pretence.
Fig. 34.
The hoops by which the luff of the sail is kept to the mast are sometimes of iron covered with leather, but wooden hoops are perhaps preferable for a small yacht, and are less liable to jam.
The simplest arrangement for the foresheets is as follows. Two single blocks are fastened to the clews of the foresail (a double block may answer as well). One end of each sheet is spliced into an eye on deck, then the sheet is rove through one of the blocks, and back through a lead to its cleat aft. (Fig. 34 illustrates this method.
A horse for the foresheet is a great convenience on any boat which has decks large enough to work upon. The horse is an iron bar which crosses the deck just before the mast, with a traveller running on it to which the foresheet—only one sheet is necessary when a horse is used—is made fast.
The foresail thus works itself when the vessel is tacked, and there is no danger of its blowing away forward, as there is with the jib and also with a foresail when no horse is employed.
In order to haul the foresail to windward and flatten it in, two bowlines leading aft like fore or jib sheets are employed.
The sheets of the head sails of a small cutter should lead aft and belay to cleats within reach of the helmsman.
The jib has two sheets, one on either side of the mast, one of which is hauled in and the other slackened out, according to the tack the vessel is on.
When the jibs are small the sheets require no purchase, but each should lead either through a single block on the gunwale or a comb cleat (Fig. 35) on the deck. It is important that this fairlead be exactly in the right spot, for on this depends whether the jib stands flatly or becomes a loose bag. The right spot can only be determined by experiment.
Fig. 35.
Where the bulwarks are high, it is sometimes found advantageous for the jib sheets to pass through holes in them.
A knot should be tied at the end of each jib sheet, so that in case the sheet gets loose by accident it cannot escape through the fairlead.
The foresheets require a purchase, more especially when no horse is used.
Fig. 36.
There are several methods of fitting a mainsheet. It usually travels on a horse, and the advantage of a horse is, that in tacking, the boom is hauled down directly into its right place, and cannot lift and so give a belly to the sail, as is the case where there is no horse. Fig. 36 represents the usual fitting of a mainsheet with horse and two double blocks. For a small cutter, one double and one single block—the single block on the horse—would be sufficient, and in a small yawl even two single blocks would do; for it must be remembered that though mechanical advantage is gained by a number of pulleys, friction is increased and time lost. Now it is very important at times that a mainsheet be rounded in or paid out smartly.
The cleat to which the mainsheet is belayed should be as nearly as possible in the middle of the deck or transom, else the boom will have more sheet on one tack than on the other.
It is in our opinion a mistake to put a topmast with its complication of gear into a small yacht, especially as a good-sized topsail can be set without a topmast at all. An inspection of (Fig. 37 will show how this is done. In the first place the yard is laid on deck and the sail is laced to it. Then the end of the halyard is bent on to A, a position which has been ascertained by experiment, and which is marked, or better still, has a cleat on it to prevent the halyard from slipping. (See (Fig. 18 for the topsail halyard bend.)
Fig. 37.
Then the sheet, which passes through a sheave hole on the peak and a block under the throat, is bent on to the clew of the sail. Next the downhaul, B, is bent on to the heel of the spar.
The sail is hoisted with the halyard till A is close up to the sheave hole on the mast, and while it is hoisting, a slight strain is kept on the downhaul to keep the spar perpendicular. The downhaul is next hauled down as taut as possible and belayed to a cleat on the mast. Lastly, the sheet is hauled in till the sail is quite flat.
A topmast slides through two iron caps on the foreside of the mast. It is hauled up by the heel rope, which is fastened to the heel of the spar and passes through a sheave hole at the masthead. The topmast, when hoisted, is kept in position by an iron fid. The topmast shrouds are spread out by the crosstrees, of iron or hard wood, projecting at right angles from the masthead. The topmast stay is carried from the head of the topmast to the end of the bowsprit. The topmast is also supported by preventer backstays leading aft. In jibing, the lee preventer stay must be slacked out as well as the lee runners.
Two sorts of topsails can be set on a topmast—a yard topsail, by which a large area of canvas is obtained, and a jib-headed topsail. In a good-sized yacht it is well to have both. The jib-header can be used in strong winds. When out at sea in really bad weather, it is often of great advantage to set the jib-header over a reefed mainsail, for the wind still fills it, and the steerage way is preserved while the reefed mainsail is becalmed in the trough of the sea. By means of a jackyard, which extends the foot of the sail beyond the end of the main gaff, the area of either a jib-header or a yard topsail can be increased.
When a cutter is running before the wind, a jib-headed sail, called a spinnaker, can be set on the opposite side to the mainsail. (See Fig. 38.)
The spinnaker boom is fitted to the fore-side of the mast by a gooseneck, and if the sail is intended for cruising purposes only, the boom should, when topped up along the mast with its topping-lift, be able to pass under the forestay.
The spinnaker halyard passes through a block on the mast, and the clew of the sail is hauled out to the end of the boom by an outhaul, while the tack can be made fast to a cleat on deck.
Fig. 38.
In order to prevent the spinnaker boom from swinging fore or aft, it is stayed or guyed with a fore guy leading to the stem, and an after guy leading to the stern. These guys also serve to trim the boom to the required angle.
Most of the blocks now used on yachts have iron strops to them; but it is still necessary that the amateur sailor should know how to strop a block.
If it be a tail block for which the strop is required, this can be done by making an eye splice in the piece of rope that is to serve as the tail. The common form of strop is a rope grommet coated with canvas.
The above strops are liable to stretch considerably, and for blocks, such as the mainsheet blocks, which have a tendency to slip out, the author has found that grommets of wire rope make serviceable strops. These, too, should be coated with canvas or leather and afterwards painted.
Selvagee strops are now much used for blocks, are very strong, look neat, and are easily made.
To make a selvagee strop, drive two spikes or nails into a board, their distance apart depending upon the size of the required strop. Then make fast one end of a ball of rope yarn to one of the nails, and wind the rope yarn round and round the two nails, hauling each turn very taut until the strop thus formed is stout enough. Tie the yarns together at intervals, and the strop will present the appearance shown in (Fig. 39. Leather should always be wet when it is sewn on a strop, for it will shrink when dry and stretch tightly round the strop without showing any wrinkles.
Fig. 39.
The best form of block for yachting purposes is the patent iron-stropped block; the lignum vitæ shell being fastened over the strop.
Iron blocks should never be used in a small yacht. They are only necessary on large craft, where chain halyards are employed.
Where a tackle is used, as in the backstay runners, it is advisable that one of the blocks should have a swivel hook. In this way, all turns will be taken out of the tackle, and jamming will be prevented.
Fig. 40.
The difference between a cutter and a yawl is that the latter has not so big a mainsail as the cutter; the main boom does not project over the stern, but is all inboard, thus permitting of a small mizzen-mast being stepped right aft. (Fig. 40.)
A yacht rigged as a cutter will, under most circumstances, be faster than if she were yawl rigged; so, in racing, a yawl is granted a certain time allowance when competing with “single-stick” craft. But for cruising purposes, the yawl rig is undoubtedly the most comfortable, the most handy, and requires fewer hands to work it.
A yawl’s mizzen is generally a standing lug, sometimes a leg of mutton sail; in either case working on a boom with a sheet leading through the end of a short wooden or iron outrigger or bumpkin projecting over the stern.
For single-handed sailing, the yawl is much to be preferred to the cutter, as the following examples will show.
Should it come on to blow, it is much easier to reef down on the short boom than on the overhanging boom of a cutter.
It is not so often necessary to reef a yawl’s mainsail as a cutter’s; for, instead of reefing, the mizzen can be stowed and smaller headsail set, or she can be made to sail under mainsail and foresail alone, or under mizzen and foresail alone.
If it is required to take a reef in the mainsail, the sail can be lowered on deck and reefed at leisure by one hand; while the vessel, hove to under foresail and mizzen, is allowed to take care of herself. When one is alone on board a cutter, and it becomes necessary to reef, the task is a difficult and often a dangerous one.
As the mizzen of a yawl is sometimes just before the rudder head, the tiller must have a curve or loop in it, so as to allow of its being put over to a sufficient angle. An iron tiller is therefore generally used. (See (Fig. 41.)
Fig. 41.
A yawl’s mizzen is always a very small sail, and in a large majority of yachts of this rig it appears ridiculously small, and can have only an inappreciable effect on the vessel.
But in a ketch (Fig. 42), which differs from a yawl in having a still smaller mainsail and shorter boom, with a mizzen mast stepped further inboard, the mizzen is a much larger and more serviceable sail.
Fig. 42.
For real cruising on broad seas in all sorts of weather the ketch is the best of all fore-and-aft rigs. It is the rig of many of our coasters, and of nearly all of our deep sea fishing boats. A ninety-ton ketch-rigged fishing smack, such as one may see hundreds of, any day, tossing about on the steep seas of the Dogger Bank, is as fine a sea boat as any sailor’s heart can desire.
No bumpkin is needed for a ketch’s mizzen sheet, as the mast is so far inboard; the sheet works on a horse on the taffrail or merely through a block bolted into the deck as far aft as possible.
In coasters and fishing smacks, a topsail is set over the mizzen.
All those advantages which the yawl possesses over the cutter are magnified in the ketch, and in addition to this, the vessel can sail well under head sails and mizzen, and can turn to windward under these, a performance impossible for the average yawl, with its pocket-handkerchief of a mizzen.
Old Peninsular and Oriental and other large steamers’ lifeboats can be purchased for a few pounds in the London Docks; for it is the custom to condemn them and sell them for what they will fetch after a certain number of years’ service—or rather idle rest in their davits—whether they be sound or otherwise.
These boats, generally built of double skins of teak, are marvellously strong, and are perhaps the best sea boats of their size in the world.
The author once timbered and decked one of these boats—thirty feet long by eight feet beam—and converted her into a ketch yacht, in which he recently sailed to Copenhagen and back, encountering plenty of bad weather on the way.
After his experience, he can strongly recommend those who desire a cheap, strong cruising boat that will go through almost any sea, to do the same.
As these lifeboats are of shallow draught, it will be necessary either to fit a centre-board or false keel on the vessel. The author’s craft has lee-boards; but he is aware that the amateur will seldom face the prejudice of his yachting friends, professional or amateur, and adopt this simple and very efficient method of stopping his vessel’s leeway. But let us tell him that a little doubled-ended craft of polished teak, with neat, polished oak lee-boards is anything but unsightly, and is the very boat for the Zuyder Zee and shallow Dutch waterways, where no one will ridicule his lee-boards, provided they be properly made.
CHAPTER VII.
HOW TO SAIL A YACHT.
To get under way from mooring or anchorage—Setting sail—Close hauled—Tacking—Missing stays—Waring—Squalls—Shifting jibs—Jibing—Scandalizing mainsail—Hove to—Reefing—Returning to moorings—Running aground.
Each rig has its own little special tricks of sailing differing from those of other rigs; but the main rules are the same for all, and one who has thoroughly grasped the mechanical laws that govern the relation of a boat’s sails, hull, and rudder to wind and water, and has learnt how to sail one sort of craft, can discover for himself, by reasoning and experiment, what methods must be employed on a boat of a different rig.
Let us imagine ourselves on board a yawl yacht of five tons lying at anchor at the mouth of a tidal river. We will now describe the principal manœuvres that must be employed in getting her under way and sailing her.
To get under way may appear a simple matter enough; yet to do so safely often taxes the skill of the cleverest sailor.
If the wind is moderate, and we have plenty of sea room, and no vessels are brought up near to us, the process is easy. We hoist all sail, haul up the anchor, and by holding the foresheet to windward cant the vessel off in the required direction, then trim the sheets, and away we go.
But supposing that a strong tide is running under us and a fresh breeze is blowing in the same direction as the tide, it will not do to get under way after this fashion, more especially if other vessels are brought up not far astern of us; for the yacht will begin to drag her anchor when sail is hoisted, or at any rate some time before the chain is a-peak; the result being that before she can be canted and got under control she will drag astern and get foul of some of the other craft. And even if she does not do this and her sails fill, she will shoot ahead over her anchor and make it impossible to get it up.
Our best method of getting under way under the above conditions would probably be as follows. First the anchor is hove short, so that the yacht is nearly over it. Then the mainsail or mizzen, according to the strength of the wind, is hoisted. Then, while the anchor is being smartly got off the ground and hauled on board, the foresail is hoisted. The tide passing under a vessel while she is at anchor gives her steerage way; so, just before the anchor leaves the ground, the tiller is put over to cant the vessel on the desired tack, the foresheet is trimmed, and thus we get way on our craft without any delay, and are able to avoid the vessels that surround us.
If there is but little wind, a strong tide under one, and a crowd of vessels brought up close astern, it sometimes happens that the following method is the only one by which one can get away clear. Let one hand get the anchor up till the chain is nearly straight up and down and the yacht commences to drag slowly. Let him, by giving her chain or taking it in, keep her going thus, never letting her drag fast. As the tide is running by the vessel faster than she is dragging astern, she still has steerage way; thus the helmsman is enabled to steer her, so as to avoid the different craft. As soon as she is astern of them and the road is clear, the anchor is got on board, the sails are hoisted, and away she goes.
If the wind and tide are in opposite directions, and the tide has most effect on a vessel at anchor so that she rides with her bows against the tide, it is often advisable to heave the anchor short, and just as it comes off the ground to set mainsail or foresail and run before the wind.
Do not set too much sail and get speed on your vessel before your anchor is on deck, or you will get it caught under your stem, and have to luff up so that a hand can clear it.
If a yacht is not anchored, but made fast to a buoy or other moorings, from which one can slip in a moment, the problem of getting under way is much simplified; for one can carry the mooring line to either bow, or to the quarter, or even astern, so as to direct the vessel’s head in the desired direction. Then the mooring can be slipped, and sail hoisted simultaneously, and the vessel will get way on at once and can be steered clear of everything.
The amateur, if he puts his mind to it, will in time be able to reason out the best method of getting his craft under way under every contingency of tide, wind, and surrounding obstacles. The manœuvre is often a difficult one; but luckily the novice has generally time to sit down quietly on deck and reason out his method before commencing operations, which is far from the case with most of the manœuvres which have to be performed when one is under way.
While we are on the subject of getting under way we will describe how the sails are to be set.
The mainsail, when furled, is tied up with small ends of rope, called tyers. First cast off the tyers. Then top the boom a little with the topping-lift and slack out the main sheet. Seize both main halyards together and hoist till the throat is nearly up. Then belay the peak halyards while you swing away at the throat till it is taut, and belay the throat halyards. Then hoist the peak and belay the peak halyards. Then coil the halyards neatly close under their cleats.
After coiling halyards, always capsize them, that is, turn them over so that the end of the halyards is under the coil. If this precaution is not taken, and a sail is lowered in a hurry, the coil will probably be dragged up to the masthead, possibly jam somewhere in a block, and prevent the sail from lowering further until some one has gone aloft to undo the mischief.
Having now got our boat under way—say under mainsail and foresail—we proceed to hoist our other sails as we sail close-hauled down the river. It is blowing fresh, and there is a look of more wind in the sky, so we will dispense with the topsail (the method of setting this sail has been already described), and get the mizzen and second jib on her. We are supposing that there are three jibs on board, so the one we have decided to use is the medium one.
The method of setting the jib requires some explanation. In the first place, we take it for granted that the bobstay and bowsprit shrouds have been hove taut before we got under way.
Lay the jib on the deck forward with its tack ahead. Hook the tack on the traveller, and the jib halyard on to the head, and then fasten the jib sheets on to the clew. The jib sheets are often attached to the sail on a small yacht by spring hanks; but these are somewhat liable to become unhooked when the sail is shaking in stays. Sister hooks, which must be seized together with yarn—moused, as the operation is called—or have a stout indiarubber ring round them are preferable. Toggles and shackles are also sometimes employed for this purpose.
The jib is now all ready for hoisting. First haul out the tack on the traveller to its proper position, and belay the outhaul. If the jib is a biggish one and may touch the water while it is being hauled out, hoist on the halyard at the same time just sufficiently to keep the jib clear of the water. When the outhaul is belayed, hoist the halyards taut and belay them. Then trim in the lee sheet.
We are now close-hauled, sailing full and bye, as it is called, that is, the sails are full while the vessel is sailing as near to the wind as she can. The steersman should stand on the weather side of the vessel. To sail a yacht to windward with the greatest advantage requires considerable practice, and the novice is sure at first to yaw her about a good deal, now keeping her off the wind too much and now luffing till all the sails are shaking and she loses her way.
The burgee or vane at the masthead will tell him when he is bearing away too much, and the luff of the mainsail will shake when he is sailing as close as he should.
The luff of the mainsail is generally lifting slightly when a yacht is sailing close hauled; but the best way of steering full and bye is by the feel of the wind on one’s face; and this is of course the only method of doing so on a dark night.
We have now come to a bend in the river where the wind heads us, so it becomes necessary to tack. The helmsman sings out “Ready about!” and the crew stand by ready to tend the jib and foresheets. The helmsman keeps the vessel a point or so off for a few moments, so as to give her plenty of way; then singing out “Helm’s a-lee!” puts the tiller slowly down—slowly, be it remembered, and not too far down.
The vessel now shoots up into the wind, the jib sheet is let fly, the foresail still kept to windward helps to pay the vessel off on the other tack. The jib sheet on the other side, which now becomes the lee jib sheet, is trimmed in as soon as the vessel is turned sufficiently round. If the jib sheet be hauled in too soon, the jib becomes a back sail, and will cause the vessel to miss stays. Next the foresheet is passed over, and the yacht is rushing away on the other tack. The mainsail and mizzen have been taking care of themselves during this operation; but, if it is blowing hard, it is well to haul in the mainsheet and ease it over gently. If the yacht be a smart one in stays, it is not necessary to keep the foresheet to windward while tacking; jib and foresheet can be let go together.
A small amount of clumsiness in tacking a vessel will cause her to miss stays and get in irons, that is, she will lie up in the wind, all her sails shaking, and refuse to fill on either tack. She has now lost all headway, and commences to go astern. In order to get way on again, haul the head sheets to windward, which we will suppose is the port side. Put the tiller to starboard. As the vessel is going astern, the rudder will now produce the reverse effect of what it would were the vessel going ahead; so putting the tiller to starboard turns the vessel’s head to starboard.
To assist her still further in paying off, slack out main and mizzen sheets; for these sails have a tendency to keep her up in the wind. When she has paid off sufficiently, trim the sheets, and she will soon gather way on the port tack.
Sometimes, in a choppy sea, a boat will refuse to stay, and it becomes necessary to ware her. To do this, slack out the mainsheet and bear away till the wind is brought on the other side and the sail jibes. Then luff till the vessel is close hauled.
Whilst tacking in a river, with the tide under one, it must not be forgotten that close under either shore there is generally much less current than in the middle of the river, sometimes no current at all or even a back eddy. The yacht must therefore not be taken in too near the bank before going about, for then her bows will be out of the tide while her stern will be in it; the pressure on her stern will prevent her coming up in the wind when the helm is put down, and she will consequently miss stays.
While we are tacking down this reach, the wind freshens a lot, and we are struck by several squalls, to which the helmsman luffs up, thereby lessening the force of their impact; but he must be careful not to luff too much or too long, else the yacht will lose all her way and get in irons.
It blows still harder, and our vessel is running her nose into the short choppy sea, so it is decided that we shift the second jib for the third or smallest.
To do this properly while one is under way requires an experienced hand. To take in the jib, let go the outhaul, and as the sail on its traveller comes inboard along the bowsprit, muzzle it, that is, clasp it in your arms; then letting go the halyards, pull the sail down on deck to leeward of the foresail. Untoggle the sheets, unhook the tack and head from the outhaul and halyards; secure these last to their respective cleats, so that they cannot blow adrift, and then carry the sail below. Get the third jib on deck, and set it in the way before described.
If we had been out at sea instead of taking a short sail on a river, we should have reefed the bowsprit when we shifted jibs, and thus have relieved the vessel of the unnecessary leverage of this weight over her bows.
In the next reach, the river bends round so that we have to put the helm up and run before the wind. The lee-runner is slacked off and all the sheets are eased off.
Further on, the river bends round still more, so that we have to jibe. As the wind is strong, this must be done with certain precautions. First the peak is lowered. Then the runner is slacked off and the helm is put up. The mainsheet must be rounded in quickly till the boom is amidships, and then, as the wind strikes the sail on the other side, the sheet is paid out again. If the boom were allowed to jibe over by itself, and the mainsheet was not thus made to break the violence of the jerk, the boom would be sprung or some other serious accident would probably occur.
When the boom has jibed over, the runner which is now the weather one is set up taut and the head sheets are slacked out on the weather side and belayed on the lee side.
In the next reach, the wind is a little before the beam, so the sheets are trimmed in a bit.
So stiff a squall now strikes us that our lee gunwale and several planks of our deck are under water; so, until it is over, the mainsail is scandalized. Scandalizing a mainsail consists of tricing up the tack and lowering the peak, thus much reducing the area of canvas.
The squall over, we hoist the peak and lower the tack again. The man at the tiller now complains that in this strong wind “the vessel is carrying enough weather helm to pull his arms off.” The cause of this griping, as it is called, is plain enough. When we got under way our sails were nicely balanced, and the yacht steered easily with just a slight weather helm. But we have shifted the second jib for the third, thus reducing the head sail so much that the after sails are producing the most effect, and a lot of helm is necessary to counteract the vessel’s tendency to run up into the wind. (See Chapter III., on the balancing of sails.) We must now restore the proper balance of the sails by reducing the after sail. We can do this either by taking in the mizzen or by reefing the mainsail, and as the wind looks more like freshening than moderating, we decide to take down one reef in the mainsail.
In the first place we heave our vessel to. To do this we slack away our lee foresheet and haul in the weather one, while we flatten in the main and mizzen sheets.
The wind striking the after sails drives the vessel up in the wind; but the foresail being hauled to windward and becoming a back sail makes her pay off. By trimming the sheets properly the head and after sails can thus be made to balance each other, and the yacht will float on the water practically motionless, with her head to the wind, and remain so for as long as we please without any hand being required at the tiller.
We next lower the mainsail on deck, and remain hove to under foresail and mizzen. Having now much less after sail set, we must let the jib sheet flow and perhaps give the foresail a trifle more sheet to prevent our vessel from paying off too much.
And now to take down our reef. If the reef-pendant is not already rove, as it always should be on a short-handed craft, we proceed to reeve it. Fig. 43 will demonstrate how this is done. The boom has a comb cleat on either side of it. As we wish to take down only one reef, we reeve the pendant through the first hole of one of these cleats, a knot at the pendant end preventing it from slipping through. Then we pass it through the first reef cringle and down through the first hole of the other comb cleat.
Now we haul on the pendant till we have boused down the cringle to the boom, and then lash it securely.
Next the tack is secured to the first reef cringle on the luff of the sail, the foot of the sail is rolled up, and the first row of reef points are tied.
Having got our reef down, we hoist up our reduced mainsail, slack out the main and mizzen sheets to let the vessel pay off a bit, then let go the weather foresheet and haul in the lee one and proceed on our voyage. The sails are now nicely balanced again, and the man at the tiller no longer grumbles at the arm pulling weather helm.
Fig. 43.
In the next reach the wind is ahead, and we have to tack again; but the tide has turned and is running strongly against us so that we find we are making no progress. We therefore decide to return home. The helm is put up, the mainsheet is eased off, and we bear away to run up the river.
By-and-by we are close hauled, and we observe that our sails are standing very badly, the jib especially so, for its luff is bending round in a great bow.
The cause of this is that our ropes have stretched, and a pull on the halyards all round becomes necessary. While the steersman luffs up for a moment so that the sails shake, a hand swigs down the jib halyards and belays them. So again while a pull is being taken on each halyard in its turn, the steersman luffs up, thereby relieving the sail of the pressure of the wind, but without stopping the vessel’s way.
And now we approach our moorings; the tide and wind are both with us. We lower our head sails, steer the yacht so that she takes a sweep round into the wind, and we haul in the mainsheet as she comes up. We bring her up head to wind, and she loses her way just as we are alongside the mooring buoy. A hand forward picks up the buoy rope with a boat hook and secures it. Then the mainsail and mizzen are quickly lowered, and we stow the sails at our leisure.
The method here described is the most usual one of coming up to moorings.
To perform this manœuvre with confidence requires considerable experience. The moment at which the vessel should be luffed up into the wind and the nature of the curve she should be made to describe depend on a variety of circumstances. The strength of the tide must be taken into consideration, and also the tendency of the boat either to shoot far ahead or lose her way quickly after she has been luffed up into the wind.
A very slight mistake will bring the vessel up short of her moorings. Then, having lost her way, she will drop astern with the tide and possibly get foul of some other craft before head sail can be set and way can be got on her.
We would therefore recommend the novice to always have his anchor ready to let go when approaching his moorings.
When the wind and tide are in opposite directions the manœuvre is sometimes rendered easier; for then the vessel can be made to run before the wind up to her buoy under her mainsail, and then, the sail being scandalized, she will no longer be able to stem the tide, but will come to a standstill close to the buoy.
If the wind is strong, she can run up under her foresail only, which can be lowered as soon as the buoy is reached.
To come to an anchor, the usual method is to lower the head sails, haul in the mainsheet, and luff the vessel up into the wind till she stops her way; then let go.
Before coming up to the anchorage a few fathoms of chain should be ranged before the windlass, sufficient at least to allow the anchor to reach the bottom when let go.
It is best not to let go the anchor until the vessel has begun to gather stern way; then give her chain gradually until she has taken out enough—that is, under ordinary circumstances, about three times as much length of chain as the depth of the water. If the chain is allowed to run out all at once it will fall on the top of the anchor, a coil will get round one of the flukes, dislodge the other fluke from the ground, and the vessel will drag.
The end of the chain, especially if no windlass is used, should be secured to a bolt in the chain locker or otherwise; else a careless hand may let it all run overboard and thus lose both anchor and cable.
The chain should be marked at every five fathoms, by attaching a small piece of cord to the link. The loose end of the first cord can have one knot tied in it, the second cord two knots, and so on. The length of chain that is overboard is thus easily ascertained.
Our vessel being now moored or anchored, we neatly stow our sails, fasten the tyers round them, belay all halyards and sheets, and coil the mainsheet and the other falls. If the ropes are dry, belay them slack, for a shower would shrink them, and if they were belayed taut all the life would be stretched out of them.
In the course of our cruise we did not contrive to get our yacht aground, which was perhaps well for us, seeing how hard it was blowing.
When a vessel has run aground, the method of getting her off again varies with circumstances.
If the keel is in soft mud and we were not running before the wind when our vessel struck, we may get her off by slacking the main and mizzen right out, so that the wind does not press on the sails, or by lowering the mainsail and mizzen, while we haul the head sheets to windward, so that the head sails turn her bows round and drive her astern at the same time. If this is not enough to move her, we can assist the action of the sails by shoving her off with poles; also by making our crew run from side to side to roll her and so dislodge her keel from the mud; or, if she is only aground forward and the rest of her is afloat, by bringing the weight of all hands aft and so lightening the bows.
But if she has run upon a sloping shoal of sand or shingle, the above method will seldom prove of any avail, for the opposition of the hard bottom will prevent the keel from turning. Under these circumstances, our only plan will be to lower all sail and drag her off by the same way that she came on, that is, we must shove her astern with the poles and if that is not sufficient, take an anchor out in the dinghy and let it go in the deep water some distance astern, when we can haul her off with the cable. If the anchor holds well, we can—in case our own strength is insufficient—clap a watch tackle on the cable or pass it round the windlass so as to gain more power.
If we were running before the wind when we got aground, we must in this case also lower all sail and haul the vessel off stern first.
If the tide is dropping, there must be no delay in getting her off, or the water will leave us, and we will have to remain where we are till the next flood.
Be careful not to run aground on the top of high water spring tides, or you may be neaped as it is called, that is, you will not have water to float you off until the next springs, and must remain stuck in the mud for maybe a fortnight.
Many of our smaller and little-navigated rivers have narrow channels winding among extensive shoals. These channels are often but indifferently marked with beacons, so that a stranger attempting to find his way up them at half flood or later, when the shoals are covered, will in all probability run his vessel ashore.
His best plan is to remain at anchor at the mouth of the river until low water, he can then work his way up the channel on the young flood, when the shoals are uncovered and the channels easily distinguished. And even if he does run aground, the water is rising under him so that he will soon float off.
While sailing a small craft, if you pass close under the lee of a large vessel, you will find that she will take all the wind out of your sails and you will be becalmed. Look out, if the day be a breezy one, for the sudden blow with which the wind will strike you again when the vessel is passed. As your vessel will probably have lost nearly all her way while under the lee of the other, the first pressure of the wind will be entirely exerted in heeling your craft over.
Therefore lower your peak, or have your sheets ready to slack out while under the lee of the other vessel.
The spinnaker is the only sail on board our yawl whose management has not been described. When not in use, the spinnaker boom is topped along the mast, and secured by lashings to the shrouds. To set the spinnaker, cast off the boom lashings. Lower the boom over the side, keeping it still well topped up. Guy it with the fore and the after guys. Bend the outhaul and halyards on the sail. Belay the sheet loosely. First haul the sail up with the halyards. Then haul it along the boom with the outhaul. Then trim in the sheet.
Before we leave the subject of handling a fore-and-after, we will point out that if a vessel be sluggish in stays, it is advisable, instead of leaving the foresheet fast and keeping the foresail aback till the vessel has paid off on the other tack, to let fly the foresheet as the vessel comes up into the wind, thus taking the pressure off the head sails and making her come up the quicker; then, as soon as the vessel is in the wind’s eye, to haul the foresheet in again, so that the foresail to windward helps the vessel round. Keep it to windward no longer than is necessary; then, as before, let fly the weather sheet and trim in the lee.