It is your duty to keep clear
Of every closehauled ship ahead,
No matter whether green or red.
But when upon your port is seen
A stranger's starboard light of green,
There's not so much for you to do,
For green to port keeps clear of you.
A ship which is being overtaken by another shall show from her stern to
such last-mentioned ship a white light or a flare-up light. This rule
was only adopted in 1884, but I saw it practically exemplified in the
ship _Rajah of Cochin_ in the year 1874. The _Rajah_ was running down
the Southeast trades one pitch dark night in April, homeward bound; I
was in charge of the deck. We had studdingsails set on both sides, on
the mainmast and foremast. Suddenly out of the darkness astern there
loomed up the sails on the foremast of a big ship whose jibboom seemed
to be right over the _Rajah's_ stern. She carried no side lights, her
skipper being probably of an economical turn of mind. I took the lighted
lamp out of the binnacle, and jumping on the wheel gratings waved it as
high as I could, at the same time yelling with all my might. I could
hear the man on the lookout aboard the pursuing vessel roar out, and
then came a clatter and a rattle of ropes and a flapping of sails as
with her helm hard to port the ship that was pursuing us luffed out
across our stern. She snapped off a few stunsail booms, but that was
better than running us down. Capt. Sedgwick, who was in command of the
_Rajah_, was awakened by the noise and came up from below in his
pajamas. He quickly realized what a close shave his ship had
experienced.
BUOYS AND BEACONS.
In approaching channels from seaward red buoys marked with even numbers
will be found on the starboard side of the channel and must be left on
the starboard side in passing in. Black buoys with odd numbers will be
found on the port side of the channel and must be left on the port hand
in passing in.
Buoys with red and black horizontal stripes will be found on
obstructions with channel ways on either side of them, and may be left
on either hand.
Buoys painted with black and white perpendicular stripes will be found
in mid-channel, and must be passed close aboard to avoid danger.
All other marks to buoys will be in addition to the foregoing and may be
employed to mark particular spots, a description of which will be found
in the printed Government lists.
Perches, with balls, cages, etc., will, when placed on buoys, be at
turning points, the color and number indicating on what side they shall
be passed.
XV.
THE COMPASS.
I have no space in this volume to write an exhaustive chapter on
navigation. It is, however, an art easily acquired, and may be wholly
self-taught. There are certain rudimentary rules for finding one's way
at sea by dead reckoning, that everyone starting out on a cruise should
master. The instruments needful are a compass, parallel rulers,
dividers, patent log, lead line, aneroid barometer, clock, and the
necessary charts of the sea which it is proposed to navigate.
In a small cruiser a compass is generally carried in a portable
binnacle. When steering by it take care that the lubber's point is in a
direct line with the keel or stem and sternpost. For the benefit of the
uninitiated, I will explain that the lubber's point is the black
vertical line in the foreside of the compass bowl, by which the
direction of the vessel's head is determined. A misplaced lubber's point
is sure to cause grave errors in the course actually made. The compass
should be as far removed as possible from ironwork of any kind. A spirit
compass, as I have remarked elsewhere, is the only kind suitable for
small craft. Those with cards of hard enamel, floating in undiluted
alcohol, which renders freezing impossible, are the best. The amateur
boat sailer should become familiar with the compass, be able to box it
by both points and degrees, and to name its back bearings.
[Illustration: compass]
The points of the compass are thirty-two in number, as follows:
North
North by East
North, North-East
North-East by N.
North-East
North-East by E.
East, North-East
East by North
East
East by South
East, South-East
South-East by E.
South-East
South-East by S.
South, South-E.
South by East
South
South by West
South, South-W.
South-West by S.
South-West
South-West by W.
West, South-W.
West by South
West
West by North
West, North-West
North-West by W.
North-West
North-West by W.
North, North-W.
North by West
North
These points are sub-divided into quarter points, and again into
degrees. The table given on pages 142-143 shows the angles which every
point and quarter point of the compass makes with the meridian:
POINTS, ANGLES AND BACK BEARINGS OF THE COMPASS.
_Opposite or Back _Pts._ _Dgrs. _Pts._ _Opposite or Back
Bearings._ &c._ Bearings._
North. South. 0 0 0 0 0 North. South.
0-1/4 2 48 45 0-1/4
N. 1/2 S. 1/2 0-1/2 5 37 30 0-1/2 N. 1/2 S. 1/2
E. W. W. E.
0-3/4 8 26 15 0-3/4
N. b. E. S. b. W. 1 11 15 0 1 N. b. W. S. b. E.
1-1/4 14 3 45 1-1/4
N. b. E. S. b. W. N. b. W. S. b. E.
1/2 E. 1/2 W. 1-1/2 16 52 30 1-1/2 1/2 W. 1/2 E.
1-3/4 19 41 15 1-3/4
N. N. E. S. S. W. 2 22 30 0 2 N. N. W. S. S. E.
2-1/4 25 18 45 2-1/4
N. N. E. S. S. W. N. N. W. S. S. E.
1/2 E. 1/2 W. 2-1/2 28 7 30 2-1/2 1/2 W. 1/2 E.
2-3/4 30 56 15
N. E. b. S. W. b. N. W. b. S. E. b.
N. S. 3 33 45 0 N. S.
3-1/4 36 33 45
N. E. S. W. 39 22 30 N. W. S. E.
1/2 N. 1/2 S. 3-1/2 39 22 30 1/2 N. 1/2 S.
3-3/4 42 11 15
N. E. S. W. 4 45 0 0 N. W. S. E.
4-1/4 47 48 45 4-1/4
N. E. S. W. N. W. S. E.
1/2 E. 1/2 W. 4-1/2 50 37 30 4-1/2 1/2 W. 1/2 E.
4-3/4 53 26 15 4-3/4
N. E. S. W. N. W. S. E.
b. E. b. W. 5 56 15 0 5 b. W. b. E.
5-1/4 59 3 45 5-1/4
N. E. b. S. W. b. N. W. b. S. E. b.
E. 1/2 W. 1/2 5-1/2 61 52 30 5-1/2 W. 1/2 E. 1/2
E. W. W. E.
5-3/4 64 41 15 5-3/4
E. N. E. W. S. W. 6 67 30 0 6 W. N. W. E. S. E.
6-1/4 70 18 45 6-1/4
E. b. N. W. b. S. W. b. N. E. b. S.
1/2 N. 1/2 S. 6-1/2 73 7 30 6-1/2 1/2 N. 1/2 S.
6-3/4 75 56 15 6-3/4
E. b. N. W. b. S. 7 78 45 0 7 W. b. N. E. b. S.
7-1/4 81 33 45 7-1/4
E. 1/2 W. 1/2 7-1/2 84 22 30 7-1/2 W. 1/2 E. 1/2
N. S. N. S.
7-3/4 87 11 15 7-3/4
East. West. 8 90 0 0 8 West. East.
The mariner's compass does not, however, give the true direction of the
various points of the horizon. The needle points to the magnetic North
and not to the true North, the difference between them being called the
variation of the compass, which differs widely in various parts of the
world, being sometimes easterly and sometimes westerly, and constantly
changing. The amount is generally marked on the charts. In New York the
variation for 1894 was 8° 26´ West, or three-quarters of a point to the
West of the true North. Thus, to make good a true North course, the
vessel would have to steer North three-quarters West. A rule easy to
remember is that westerly variation is allowed to the left of the
compass course, or bearing, and that easterly variation is allowed to
the right of the compass course or bearing.
To convert true courses and bearings into compass courses and bearings
with variation westerly, allow it to the right of the true course or
bearing, and with variation easterly allow it to the left of the true
course or bearing.
Deviation is another error of the compass caused by local attraction,
such as the ironwork and iron ballast in a boat, or the proximity of a
marlinespike to the binnacle. In a wooden boat, if proper care is taken,
there should be no appreciable deviation of the compass. Deviation can
be discovered by swinging the boat as she lies at her moorings, having
first obtained the true magnetic bearing of some distant object, such as
a lighthouse or a church steeple. As the vessel's head comes to each
point of the compass, a compass bearing is taken of the object, and the
difference between that bearing and the true magnetic bearing is
observed and noted, and afterward tabulated. It will often be found that
the deviation differs not only in amount, but in name, for different
directions of the ship's head, being easterly at certain points and
westerly at others.
The rule is to allow westerly deviation to the left to get the correct
magnetic course, and easterly deviation to the right to get the correct
magnetic course.
To find out the error of the compass in order to steer a true course,
the _sum_ of the deviation and the variation when both are of the same
name, and their _difference_ when they have different names, must be
ascertained. For instance, deviation 20° West and variation 25° West,
would give an error of compass 45° West, which should be applied to the
left.
If the deviation was 20° East and the variation 10° West, the difference
between them would be 10° East, which compass error should be applied to
the right to steer a true course.
In order to find the compass course or course to steer, proceed as
follows, the true course being North 40° East, the variation being 38°
West and the deviation 18° East:
Variation, 38° W., being of contrary names, take their difference.
Deviation, 18° E.
------
Correction, 20°, apply to the right, being westerly.
True course N.40° E.
------
Compass course N.60° E.
Another example is given where the variation and deviation are both
easterly and the true course is S., 75° West.
Variation, 24° W., being of same name.
Deviation, 16° W., add together.
------
Correction, 40°, apply to the left, being easterly.
True course, S. 75° W.
------
Compass course, S. 35° W.
A volume might be written on the mariner's compass. It is a fascinating
study, but unfortunately my space is limited.
There is another correction to the compass that the amateur should have
cognizance of. It is called leeway, and is, in untechnical language, the
drift that the ship makes sideways through the water because of the
force of the wind or the impulsive heave of the sea. Some craft, because
of deficiency in the element of lateral resistance, such as in the case
of a shallow, "skimming-dish" sort of a boat, with the centerboard
hoisted up, will go to leeward like a crab. Others of a different type,
such as the "plank-on-edge" variety, with a lead line attached, will
hang on to windward in a wonderful manner. It requires, therefore, a
certain amount of judgment as well as of knowledge in this particular
section of nautical lore to be able to estimate with any degree of
approximate certainty the leeway a vessel may happen to make. It should
not be forgotten that build has much to do with this, and that trim and
draught of water are also two powerful elements in this connection. For
instance, a boat with outside lead and a centerboard in a strong breeze
and a lumpy sea, so long as the wind permitted her to carry a commanding
spread of sail, might make no appreciable leeway, but, on the contrary,
might "eat up" into the wind. But given the same boat without the lead
and without the adventitious aid that the centerboard affords, she would
be compelled to dowse her muslin at the first puff, and as a purely
physical consequence she would retain no hold on the water and would
drift off to leeward like an irresponsible she-crab.
Thus leeway must be estimated by experience. It is often a most
disturbing quantity, especially when the weather is foggy and the
channel in which you are steering is perplexing on account of rocks or
shoals. I have already expatiated on the wisdom of anchoring in such a
contingency as this whenever the elements will permit. But, of course,
one is a slave of the winds and the waves, and "bringing-up" is not
always possible. I should, therefore, advise the amateur to carefully
watch his boat and endeavor to find out approximately the amount of
leeway she makes when the first reef is taken in by comparing the
direction of the fore and aft line of the boat with that of her wake.
This method may also be pursued with advantage under all conditions of
wind and weather, and by this means a moderately correct and very useful
table may be made.
The old navigators like the Drakes and the Frobishers had this matter
arranged for them, so when they sailed forth on voyages of great emprise
and portent they were guided by certain tabulated formula that gave them
full and implicit directions for the allowance of leeway. Thus the
skipper of a ship with topgallantsails furled was told to allow one
point; when under double-reefed topsails, one point and a half; when
under close-reefed topsails, two points; when the topsails are furled,
three points and a half; when the fore-course is furled, four points;
when under the mainsail only, five points; when under the balanced
mizzen or mizzen staysail, six points; and when under bare poles, seven
points.
This antiquated method of computation answered very well, for those
sterling and sturdy navigators of the olden times seemed to have had a
rare faculty of achieving their adventurous purpose and of gaining, too,
both fame and fortune. But the commander of a clipper ship, with whom I
sailed as a youngster, undertook to demonstrate to me the absurdity of
any such hard-and-fast rule. We had carried away our three topgallant
masts, off Cape Agulhas, while threshing hard against a westerly gale.
They were whipped out of us like pipe-stems. It took all hands a whole
day to clear away the wreck. Next day the weather moderated sufficiently
for us to have carried every stitch of canvas could we have set it.
There were a number of vessels beating round the Cape, and all took
advantage of the cessation of the gale to spread all their flying kites
to the breeze. Our ship, under three topsails, inner and outer jibs,
foresail, mainsail, crossjack, spanker, foretopmast, maintopmast and
mizzentopmast staysails, beat all the fleet. When it came on to blow
again we were the first to reef, because some of our rigging had got
badly strained in the squall that took our topgallantmasts away. Still
we maintained our lead, although jogging along comfortably while our
opponents were driving at it, hugging their topgallantsails and with lee
rails under.
"Now," said our captain, coming on the poop after he had worked up his
dead reckoning at noontime, "you see all those ships dead to
leeward—well they ought to be to windward of us unless all the books on
navigation are wrong. I have entered in my traverse-table the courses we
were supposed to have made good under the old rule, and have thus proved
its falsity. The fact is the ships that were turned out in the days when
these nautical axioms were first propounded were built by the mile and
cut off in lengths to suit. They had no shape to speak of below the
water-line, and perhaps the rule applied to each alike. Times are
different now, and leeway must be determined by the model of the ship."
The rule for reckoning leeway is as follows:
Wind on starboard side, allow leeway to the left.
Wind on port side, allow leeway to the right.
Or you may thus define it:
Vessel on starboard tack, allow leeway to the left.
Vessel on port tack, allow leeway to the right.
In this connection it might be well to urge the young mariner against
keeping his boat all a-shiver and bucking against a head sea, and all
the while sagging off bodily to leeward. It is better far to keep the
wake right astern and keep way on the vessel—unless, of course, the
weather is too violent.
The direction and rate of tides and currents have also to be allowed for
when correcting a compass course. Thus in crossing Long Island Sound
from Larchmont to Oyster Bay in thick weather, the magnetic course as
given in the Government chart would have to be rectified and allowance
made for the condition of the tide, whether ebb or flood, or your boat
might never reach her destination.
XVI.
CHARTS.
There are no better charted coasts in the world than those bounded by
the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The United States Navy has done
and is doing magnificent hydrographic work. The charts issued by the
Government are accurate, reliable, up-to-date and reasonable in price.
The top of a chart when spread out in front of you so that the reading
part appears to you like the page of a book, and you can read it from
left to right, is the North, the bottom is the South, the side on your
right is the East, and the side on your left is the West. There are
always compasses on a chart, either true or magnetic, by reference to
which and with the aid of the parallel rulers the bearing of one point
from another may easily be ascertained by the following method:
Lay the edge of the rulers over the two places; then slide them
(preserving the direction) till the edge of one ruler is on the center
of the nearest compass; when this is done read off the course indicated
by the direction of the ruler.
To measure the distance between two places on the chart spread out the
dividers till their points are over them, then apply to the graduated
scale at the bottom of the chart, which will give you the required
distance. This method, it should be remembered, is only accurate when
applied to the large coasting charts. When measuring distances on
general charts which extend across many degrees of latitude, the mean
latitude of the two places must be measured from.
There are certain signs and abbreviations used on charts which are
easily comprehended, such as _hrd_ for hard, _rky_ for rocky, etc.
Lighthouses and lightships are clearly marked, and shoals, rocks and
other obstructions to navigation are plainly defined. All the marginal
notes on the charts should be made familiar by the navigator. I need
scarcely say that charts, instruments and books of sailing instructions
should be kept dry. There are cylindrical tin boxes for charts which are
quite cheap, and these I recommend.
[Illustration: Fig. 6.]
The position of a vessel may be ascertained simply and accurately by
cross-bearings. Suppose you are in a ship at _A_ in Fig. 6. The point
with the lighthouse on it bears correct magnetic N. by W., and the point
with the tree on it E. by N. You lay the parallel rules over the compass
on your chart at N. by W., and work them to the lighthouse, preserving
the direction. You then draw the line from the lighthouse to _a_. You
then lay the parallel rules over the compass on your chart at E. by N.,
and work them in a similar way to the tree. Then draw the line from the
tree to _a_. The spot where the two lines cut was the vessel's position
on the chart when the bearings were first taken. The distance of the
ship from both lighthouse and tree can be measured by taking in the
dividers the distance between either and the ship, and referring to the
scale on the chart.
It should be remembered that when sailing along the land cross-bearings
will always determine your position, always allowing the proper
corrections on the compass. In taking cross-bearings, try to have a
difference between the two objects of as nearly ninety degrees as
possible.
The old-fashioned log-ship and log-line for determining the distance run
by a vessel need have no place in the equipment of a small yacht. There
are several patent self-registering logs which record the distance run,
either on the taffrail or on dials on the log itself. Their performance
is fairly satisfactory, but they should be kept well oiled, and should
be often examined and tested—for instance, in a run between two objects
whose distance apart is well known.
By careful attention to the Lead, the Log and the Look-out, a boat may
be navigated, by dead reckoning, with a certain amount of accuracy.
A nautical mile, or knot, is the same as a geographical mile. Its length
is six thousand and eighty feet. A statute mile in the United States
measures five thousand two hundred and eighty feet.
[Illustration]
XVII.
MARLINESPIKE SEAMANSHIP.
WITH INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING SPLICES
KNOTS AND BENDS.
[Illustration: MARLINESPIKE.]
The amateur yachtsman should be able to make all the splices and most of
the knots in common use. This knowledge will come in quite handy when
fitting out his craft in the spring, and will save him the expense of
hiring a sailor to do the work. I have spent many happy hours in rigging
a fifteen-ton cutter, doing all the work myself (except stepping the
mast) with the aid of a boy.
A few fathoms of rope, a marlinespike, a knife, a small pot of grease, a
ball of spun yarn, another of marline and one of roping twine, and you
are equipped for work. Splicing ropes and making fancy knots may be made
a quite pleasant way of spending a winter's evening. It keeps one out of
mischief, and the art once learned is rarely forgotten. I think if you
follow my directions and take heed of the diagrams that accompany them
(which I have taken pains to make as clear as possible) you will have no
difficulty in becoming quite expert in the use of a marlinespike.
[Illustration]
The ends of all ropes, whether belonging to the running or standing
rigging, must be whipped with tarred roping twine or they will unravel.
Take the rope in your left hand and lap the twine round it very tight a
dozen times, taking care that the end lies under the first turns so as
to secure it. Then make a loop with the twine and continue the lapping
for four turns round the rope and the end of the twine, as shown above.
Haul taut and cut off the end.
[Illustration]
EYE SPLICE—Unlay the rope and lay the strands E, F, G at the proper
distance upon the standing part, as shown at A. Now push the strand H
through the strand next to it, as shown in B, having first opened it
with a marlinespike. Strand I is then thrust over the part through which
H was passed. Strand K is thrust through the third on the other side.
Repeat the process with each strand, and then hammer the splice into
shape with the butt of the marlinespike. Stretch and cut off the ends of
the strands. If particular neatness is required, the strands, after
having been passed through the standing part the first time, should be
halved and passed again, and then still further tapered by being
quartered before being passed for the third and last time. An eye splice
is useful. Standing rigging should have eyes spliced in to go over the
mast-head, and for dead-eyes to be turned in, etc.
[Illustration:
FIG. 1.
FIG. 2.
]
SHORT SPLICE—Unlay the ends of two ropes of the same size and bring
their ends together, as shown in Fig. 1. Hold the rope D and the strands
A, B and C in the left hand. Pass the strand E over A and under C of
rope H and haul taut. Pass strand G over B and under A. Pass strand F
over the strand next to it and under the second. Turn the rope round and
treat the other side in the same way, when the splice will be like Fig.
2. The single tucking of the strands will not, however, be strong
enough, and the process should be repeated on both sides, halving the
strands for the sake of neatness. This splice is used only for rope that
is not required to run through a block.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
]
LONG SPLICE—Unlay the ends of the two ropes that are to be joined some
two or three feet, according to the size of the rope. Place the two ends
together, as shown in Fig. 1. Unlay strand C and lead it back to A; then
take D and lay it up in the space left by C. Do this with the strands E
and F on the opposite side. The rope will now look like Fig. 2. Give the
two middle strands, G and H, a lick of tar if the rope is of hemp, and
grease if of manilla, and knot them together with an overhand knot,
taking care that the knot is so formed as to follow the lay of the rope.
Then halve these strands and pass them over one strand and under two.
Treat the remaining strands in the same way, after which stretch the
rope well and cut off the ends of the strands. A long splice is the
neatest way there is of putting two ends of a rope together. If well
made it does not increase the diameter of the rope, and therefore
renders through blocks as though it did not exist. If one strand of a
rope is chafed through while the other two are sound, a new strand may
be put in to replace it, and the ends may be finished off in the same
way as in a long splice.
[Illustration]
CUT SPLICE—A cut splice is made the same as an eye splice, only with two
ropes instead of one.
[Illustration]
OVERHAND KNOT—It is used at the ends of ropes to prevent them from
unreeving. There should always be one in the end of the mainsheet, which
is difficult to reeve again in anything like a breeze.
[Illustration]
REEF KNOT—It is always used to tie the reef points of a sail. First make
an overhand knot and then pass the ends so that they take the same lay
as the crossed parts of the overhand knot. If passed the other way, the
knot will form what sailors call a granny, which will slip when it is
subjected to a strain.
[Illustration]
BOWLINE KNOT—Take the end (1) of the rope in the right hand and the
standing part (2) in the left hand. Lay the end over the standing part
and turn the left wrist so that the standing part forms a loop (4)
enclosing the end. Next lead the end back of the standing part and above
the loop, and bring the end down through the loop as shown. This is a
very useful knot.
[Illustration]
RUNNING BOWLINE—It is made by passing the end of a rope round its
standing part and forming a bowline as in Fig. 8.
[Illustration]
BOWLINE ON A BIGHT—To make it, double the rope and take the doubled end
(1) in the right hand, the standing part (2) of the rope in the left
hand. Lay the end over the standing part, and by turning the left wrist
form a loop (3) having the end inside. Next pull up enough of the end
(1) to dip under the bight (4), bringing the end towards the right and
dipping it under the bight, then passing it up to the left over the loop
and hauling taut.
[Illustration]
TWO HALF HITCHES—Pass the end of the rope round the standing part and
bring it up through the bight. This makes a half hitch. Repeat the
process and haul taut. If the knot is to bear a great strain, seize the
end back with spunyarn to the standing part.
[Illustration]
TIMBER HITCH—Pass the end of a rope round the spar, then round the
standing part _b_, then several times round its own part _c_ against the
lay of the rope.
[Illustration]
GAFF TOPSAIL HALYARD BEND—Pass two turns round the spar, then lead the
end back round the standing part and underneath all the turns, bringing
it round to its own part and back again over the two outer turns and
underneath the inner turn.
[Illustration]
BLACKWALL HITCH—It is the simplest method known of making fast the end
of a rope to the hook of a tackle. The figure is self-explanatory, the
underneath part or the rope being jammed hard and fast by the strain on
the hook.
[Illustration]
COMMON BEND—Make a bight with the end of one rope, and pass the end of
the other through the bight from beneath, and round both parts with the
end under its own standing part. The greater the strain, the faster will
this bend jam.
[Illustration]
MAGNUS HITCH—Pass two round turns with the end of a rope over a spar,
then take it before the standing part, pass it again under the spar and
up through the bight.
[Illustration]
SELVAGEE STROP—It is made by driving two nails into a length of plank at
a distance apart equal to the desired length of the strop. Make fast one
end of a ball of spunyarn or knotted ropeyarns to one of the nails and
pass it round the other, continuing the process until the strop is as
thick as required. Marl it down with spunyarn and sew canvas or leather
round it if intended for a block.
[Illustration]
GROMMET STROP—It is made of a single strand of rope. To make it, lay one
end over the other at the size required, and with the long end follow
the lay round until a ring is formed with three parts of the strand all
round. Finish by dividing the ends, overhand knotting, and passing them
over one strand and under the other exactly as in a long splice. To make
a neat job, use a strand from rope that has been some time in use and is
well stretched. The strand should be about a foot more than three times
the length of the strop, to allow for the knotting. It may be wormed and
covered with canvas or leather if intended for a block.
[Illustration:
Fig. 19.
Fig. 20.
Fig. 21.
Fig. 22.
]
Figs. 19 and 20 show a Wall Knot. Unlay the end of a rope and with the
strand A in Fig. 19 form a bight, hold it down at the side B, pass the
end of the next strand C, round A, the end of strand D round C and
through the bight of A. Haul taut and the knot is made as in Fig. 20.
This can be crowned by taking strand in Fig. 21 and laying it over the
top of the knot. Then lay B over A, and C over B and through the bight
of A and haul taut. Fig. 22 shows a double wall and double crown, which
is made by letting the ends follow their own parts round until all the
parts appear double, first walling and then crowning.
[Illustration]
MATTHEW WALKER KNOT—Made by unlaying the end of a rope and taking the
end A round the rope and through its own bight, the strand B underneath
through the bight of A, and the strand C underneath through the bights
of strands A and B, and hauling all the strands taut. This knot is used
principally for the ends of lanyards. In making these knots a whipping
of sailmaker's twine should be put round the rope where the knot is to
be when formed.
[Illustration]
This illustration shows the process of worming a rope, which consists of
winding spunyarn of suitable size into the space between the strands
with the lay of the rope, so as to make the rope smooth for parcelling.
This must be done with the rope on the stretch. A shows the spunyarn.
[Illustration]
This illustration shows the process of parcelling and serving. After the
worming is finished wrap narrow strips of canvas—tarred, if the rope is
of hemp, and painted if it is of wire—round the rope with the lay,
secure the parcelling to the rope by marling it with twine, the rope can
then be served against the lay. Lay the serving mallet B with its groove
on the rope. Take a turn with the spunyarn round the rope and head of
the mallet, round the side next you, and two turns on the other side and
twist it round the handle. Get an assistant to pass the ball A round the
rope while you heave round the mallet. The last half-dozen turns of the
service must have the end of the spunyarn put through them and hauled
taut to secure it.
[Illustration]
XVIII.
WEATHER "WRINKLES"
The boat sailer or yachtsman should be able, from close observation of
the barometer and the general appearance of the sky, to foretell the
weather with a certain degree of accuracy. The aneroid barometer is
peculiarly sensitive to all atmospheric changes, and is thus invaluable
for meteorological forecasts. A regular code of phenomena has been
formulated by meteorologists, from which I take the following:
A rapid rise indicates unsettled weather.
A gradual rise indicates settled weather.
A rise with dry air and cold increasing in summer indicates wind from
the northward, and if rain has fallen better weather may be expected.
A rise with moist air and a low temperature indicates a continuance of
fine weather.
A rapid fall indicates stormy weather.
A rapid fall with westerly wind indicates stormy weather from northward.
A fall with northerly wind indicates storm with rain and hail in summer
and snow in winter.
A fall with increased moisture in the air and increasing heat indicates
southerly wind and rain.
A fall after very calm and warm weather indicates rain and squalls.
The barometer rises for a northerly wind, including from northwest by
north to the eastward, for dry or less wet weather, for less wind, or
for more than one of these changes, except on a few occasions when rain,
hail or snow comes from the northward with strong wind.
The barometer falls for a southerly wind, including from southeast by
south to the westward, for wet weather, for stronger wind, or for more
than one of these changes, except on a few occasions, when moderate
wind, with rain or snow, comes from the northward.
A fall, with a south wind, precedes rain.
A sudden and considerable fall, with the wind due west, presages a
violent storm from the north or northwest, during which the glass will
rise to its former height.
A steady and considerable fall of the barometer during an east wind
indicates a shift of wind to the southward, unless a heavy fall of snow
or rain immediately follows.
A falling barometer, with the wind at north, brings bad weather; in
summer rain and gales; in spring snows and frosts.
If, after a storm of wind and rain, the barometer remains steady at the
point to which it had fallen, severe weather may follow without a change
in the wind. But on the rising of the barometer a change of wind may be
looked for.
The following rhymes are familiar to most sailors:
When the glass falls low,
Look out for a blow.
First rise after low,
Portends a stronger blow.
When the glass is high,
Let all your kites fly.
Long foretold—long last;
Short notice—soon past.
The following notes may be relied on for forecasting the weather:
Red sky at sunset, fine weather.
Red sky in the morning, wind or rain, and
often both.
Gray sky in the morning, fine weather.
Hard, oily looking clouds, strong wind.
Yellowish green clouds, wind and rain.
Bright yellow sky at sunset, wind.
Pale yellow sky at sunset, rain.
Very clear atmosphere near the horizon is a
sign of more wind and often rain.
Here follow some old sailors' jingles which I heard when a boy in the
forecastle:
When rain comes before the wind,
Sheets and halyards you must mind;
When wind comes before the rain,
Hoist your topsails up again.
Evening red and morning gray
Are sure signs of a fine day;
But evening gray and morning red,
Makes a sailor shake his head.
Amateurs while on a cruise should frequently look at the barometer and
take notes of its height and enter them in the log.
The action of the aneroid barometer depends on the effect produced by
the pressure of the atmosphere on a circular metallic chamber partially
exhausted of air and hermetically sealed. This kind of barometer is
liable to changes on account of its mechanism getting out of order, and
it should be often compared with a mercurial barometer, which from its
cumbersomeness cannot be conveniently carried in a small craft. Aneroid
barometers of excellent quality, and of about the size of an ordinary
watch, are offered for sale at a reasonable price, and a cruise should
not be undertaken without one.
A phosphorescent sea is a certain sign of continuance of fine weather.
When porpoises come into shallow water and ascend the river stormy
weather is near.
Sea birds fly far out to sea in fine weather, but if they fly inland bad
weather may be expected.
A halo round the moon, especially if it appears distant and yet very
distinct, indicates a gale of wind and probably rain.
When the wind changes it usually shifts with the sun from left to right.
Thus an East wind shifts to West by way of Southeast, South and
Southwest, and a West wind shifts to East by way of Northwest, North and
Northeast. If the wind shifts the opposite way it is said to "back," but
this it rarely does except in unsettled weather.
The United States Signal Service has a local observer stationed at each
of the principal ports. When the "information signal," which consists of
a red pennant, is displayed, it indicates that information has been
received from the central office of a storm covering a limited area,
dangerous only for vessels about to sail to certain points. Ship-masters
and others interested will be supplied with the necessary information on
application.
A cautionary signal, which is a Yellow Flag with a white center,
indicates that the winds expected are not so violent that well found and
seaworthy vessels cannot encounter them without great danger. A
cautionary flag hoisted alone signifies that the direction of the
expected wind is doubtful.
[Illustration: CAUTIONARY SIGNALS.]
A dangerous storm signal, which is a Red Square Flag with black center,
is hoisted when the wind is over thirty-five miles an hour.
At night a Red Light indicates Easterly winds, and a Red and White Light
Westerly winds.
[Illustration: STORM SIGNALS.]
Following are the weather signals, which explain themselves:
[Illustration:
WEATHER.
]
Beaufort's scale is used to measure the velocity of the wind. It is
given below:
_Hourly _Scale._ _State._
Velocity
in Miles._
- 0 calm.
1 1 light airs.
2 to 3 2 light breezes.
4 to 7 3 gentle breeze.
9 to 15 4 moderate breeze.
15 to 18 5 fresh breeze.
19 to 22 6 strong breeze.
23 to 28 7 moderate gale.
28 to 40 8 fresh gale.
40 to 48 9 strong gale.
48 to 56 10 whole gale.
57 to 80 11 storm.
80 to 100 12 hurricane.
XIX.
SEA COOKERY FOR YACHTSMEN.
Those who go a-sailing for pleasure in small craft, frequently suffer
hardships, or at least inconvenience, in the way of meals, because of
their lack of knowledge of the provisions to take with them, and of
simple methods of preparing wholesome and appetizing dishes.
[Illustration: Fig. 1. A Yachtsman's Stove.]
Sea cooking differs materially from shore cooking, inasmuch as the stove
in a house is erected on a floor that is both stationary and stable. The
yachtsman who has a cosy galley with a fixed stove that burn coal or
coke or charcoal, and that draws well, has reason to bless his fortunate
stars.
There have now come into vogue several varieties of the blue-flame
wickless cooking stove. In the accompanying illustration, Fig. 1, I have
depicted a stove which I have found to suit. It is wickless and burns
the ordinary kerosene oil. To suit sea conditions the stove is slung on
gimbals like a ship's compass, so as to yield to every motion of the
vessel. The railing round the top prevents pots and pans from sliding to
leeward. Fig. 2 shows the finest fry-pan ever invented for an oil stove,
on which broiling is impracticable. It acts as a broiler or fryer at
will. The raised bars prevent the steak or cutlet from being soddened
with fat, the result being equal or nearly equal to a gridiron. If
frying is required put the necessary quantity of oil, butter or fat in
the pan. Let it come to a boil, and then immerse in it the article,
fish, flesh, fowl, reptile, or vegetable that you wish to cook.
With a stove having only one lid or burner the sea-cook might often have
some difficulty in keeping three utensils on the boil at once. Luckily
ingenuity has surmounted the obstacle, and Fig. 3 shows three stew-pans
of small size that will fit over the burner of the stove shown in Fig.
1. They are in the market, but it took me a long time to find out where
they are for sale. In one you may cook curry, in the second rice, while
clam broth may simmer in the third. In good sooth a very cerberus of
stew-pans!
Some sort of a contrivance for storing ice so as to keep it solid as
long as possible is indispensable. Such a device is shown in Fig. 4.
[Illustration:
Fig. 2. The Ideal Fry-Pan.
]
For sea picnics buy as many of the thin wooden plates (costing only a
trifle) as you may require. These after being used may be thrown
overboard. Take no crockery ware or china to sea in a small boat. Cups,
saucers, plates and dishes can be obtained made of enameled steel. These
are unbreakable and cleanly. Stew-pans, kettles, pitchers, coffee-pots
and fry-pans are also made of enameled steel, and they cannot be
surpassed. Cooks' furnishings depend on the size of the boat and the
hands she carries. I suggest the following, but leave the sizes to the
discretion of the purchaser who knows about how many mouths he has to
feed: One kettle for boiling water for tea or coffee, one deep fry-pan,
one iron pot with tight-fitting cover for boiling meat, fish or cooking
chowder, one teapot, one coffee-pot, a soup ladle, a long iron
two-pronged fork (known aboard ship as the cook's tormentors), two
stew-pans for cooking vegetables, one broiler (if the implement can be
used), one cook's knife, one vegetable knife, one swab for washing pots,
pans and plates, and dish towels for drying them, soap, cups, plates,
dishes, knives, forks, spoons, glasses, _quant. suff._ Do not forget a
galvanized iron bucket for the cook, a can opener and a corkscrew. Also
matches in an airtight can or glass. Fuel in either fluid or solid shape
should not be omitted.
When we come to the question of the food supplies to be taken aboard,
much will depend upon the individual. Hard tack, salt tack, flour,
beans, corned beef, salt pork, bacon, hams, canned meats, sardines,
canned fruits and vegetables, cornmeal, lard, butter, cheese, condensed
milk, sweetened and unsweetened coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, pepper,
salt, mustard, vinegar, poultry seasoning, sugar and rice are some of
the staple comestibles that suggest themselves, but these may be added
to or subtracted from according to circumstances.
A ham is one of the most easily procured comestibles. Pick out a small
one, not too fat. If you want it tough as leather, boil it furiously for
a couple of hours, then haul it out of the pot and eat it. If you want a
delicate, tender and juicy ham soak it in a bucket of fresh water for
twelve hours. Then scrape it well and pop it into a big pot full of cold
fresh water. Let it come slowly to the boil. As soon as the water
reaches the boiling stage, regulate the heat so that a gentle simmering,
the faintest possible ebullition is kept up for five or six hours,
according to the size of the joint. Then take it out of the pot and skin
it. The rind will come off as easily as an old shoe. Then return meat to
the water in which it was boiled and let it remain until it is quite
cold. Next dish it, drain it and put it in the ice box to harden. Cut in
very thin slices with a sharp knife, and you will admit that cooked
after this scientific formula ham is mighty fine eating.
[Illustration: Fig. 3. A Nest of Stew-pans.]
Corned beef cooked after this same fashion will also be a success. The
secret is a simple one of chemistry. Hard boiling hardens the fibers and
tears the meat to rags. Gentle simmering softens the meat while allowing
it to retain its juices.
The navy bean at present in use, though much may be said in its praise,
is far inferior to the lima bean. This legume if substituted for the
insignificant (by comparison only) little bean on which Boston
breakfasts every Sabbath morn will be found so palatable that the lesser
variety will never again be used. Procure a quart of lima beans. Pick
out all that are shriveled or discolored. Soak the rest all night in
plenty of cold fresh water and in the morning you will find them plump
and tender. Wash them well and place them in a pot on the fire with a
square piece of salt pork weighing three-quarters of a pound; simmer
them gently till they are tender, but not till they reach the porridge
stage. On the contrary, let each bean be separate like the soft and
swelling grains of well-cooked rice. Strain through a colander, saving a
pint of the water in which they were boiled. Pack in the bean pot. Bury
the chunk of pork in the beans. Season the pint of water reserved as
mentioned above, to your liking. Pour over the beans in the pot and put
in the oven to bake. The flavoring of beans depends upon the taste of
the cook.
Sirloin steaks are a good staple viand. Make the butcher cut them not
less than two inches thick. If you cannot grill them heat your fry-pan
almost red-hot. Put no fat in the pan. Place your steak cut into
convenient chunks into the hot pan. Let one side sear for a minute or so
to keep in the juices. Then turn meat over. It will be cooked
sufficiently for most palates in five or six minutes. Place on a piping
hot platter, spread some fresh butter on the steak, sprinkle with
pepper, and pipe to grub. Chops may be cooked in the same way.
Meat may be roasted in an iron pot if the cook has no oven. Moderate
heat, continuous care to prevent burning, and frequent basting are the
three requisites of a successful pot roast.
So far as beverages are concerned, useful hints in that direction are
given in Fig. 5, which shows a picturesque and shipshape vessel to carry
when a-cruising.
[Illustration: Fig. 4. Ice Tub.]
There is no daintier dish than a fresh, fat lobster, generous and juicy,
just hauled from the pot in which he was caught. Pick out a particularly
lively specimen of medium size but heavy. The cock lobster may be
distinguished from the hen by the narrowness of the tail, the upper two
fins of which are stiff and hard, while the tail of the hen is broader
and the fins soft. The male has the higher flavor; the flesh, too, is
firmer and the color when boiled is a deeper red. The hen is well
adapted for lobster _a la_ Newburg, but for eating on the half-shell a
male in prime condition is far preferable.
The secret of cooking lobsters is to plunge them into a pot of furiously
boiling sea water, and to keep the water in a condition of fast
ebullition for just twenty minutes. Fresh water to which salt is added
will not do so well. Salt water fresh from the ocean is indispensable.
It brings out the correct flavor and imparts an indefinable zest to the
lobster. Hard-shell crabs may be boiled in the same way, but ten minutes
will be ample time.
All fresh vegetables are, in the opinion of the writer, improved in
flavor by cooking them in sea water fresh from the ocean, not from a
harbor contaminated by noxious influences from the shore. All vegetables
should be immersed in boiling water and cooked till done. Potatoes will
take about half an hour to boil, but cabbages, carrots and turnips much
longer. I should not advise the cooking of the last-named three
esculents aboard a small craft. Canned asparagus, French peas and string
beans take little time to prepare and are excellent if a reliable brand
is purchased. Open the can, drain off the liquid and throw it away. Wash
the vegetables, strain the water off, place in a stew-pan with a lump of
butter, and heat thoroughly. The liquid of canned vegetables is unfit
for human food.
Hard clams or quahaugs are plentiful at any port during the boating
season. The recuperative qualities of the small variety served ice-cold
on the half shell with a dash of Tabasco sauce and no other seasoning
are beyond praise. Now while the little clam is excellent eating just as
soon as opened from the shell, taking care to waste none of his precious
juices, his elder brother also has inestimable gastronomic values.
The easiest and simplest method of preparing clam broth is to scrub the
clams well and wash them in several waters. Put them in an iron pot,
without any water or liquid. Let them remain on the fire for twenty
minutes. Then strain the juice, into which put a little fresh butter, a
small quantity of milk, and a dash of red pepper. Drink while hot.
[Illustration: Fig. 5. A Traveling Companion.]
Never add water to clam broth, and never let it boil after the milk is
added, as it will curdle nine times out of ten.
To make clam soup, clean the clams as for broth. Place them in an iron
pot on the stove. As soon as they open take them out of their shells and
chop very fine. A hardwood bowl and a two-blade chopping knife are the
best apparatus for this job. Strain the clam liquor, return to the pot,
add minced onions to taste and the chopped clams; simmer gently for one
hour, thicken to taste with cracker dust, season with sweet herbs and
pepper; let boil fast for ten minutes, take off the stove and add some
hot milk and a lump of fresh butter. Serve.
Clam chowder is an old sea dish whose popularity seems likely never to
wane. It is a simple dish to prepare, although many cooks make a mystery
of it. Cut half a pound of streaky salt pork into small cubes. Fry in an
iron pot together with half a dozen medium-sized sliced onions until
they are a light brown. Chop fifty hard-shell clams fine. Peel and slice
thin a dozen large raw potatoes. Break up four sea biscuits and soak
till soft in cold water or milk. Scald and peel and slice six ripe and
juicy tomatoes. Put these ingredients into the pot in layers, pour over
them the strained juice of the clams. Season with red and black pepper,
sauces and herbs to taste. Cover an inch with hot fresh water and simmer
for three hours. A pint of sound California claret added just before
serving is an improvement. An old hen makes tip-top chowder cooked in
the same fashion.
Fish chowder may be prepared in a similar way. Cod, haddock, sea bass
and bluefish are good made into a chowder.
The soft-shell clam makes a delicate stew or broth. The tough parts
should be rejected from the chopping bowl. Boiled for twenty minutes and
eaten from the shell with a little butter and pepper they are also very
appetizing. A big potful soon disappears.
There is no excuse for the yachtsman neglecting to enjoy the delights of
fish fresh from the sea. Fishing tackle should always be carried.
Bluefish and mackerel may be caught by trolling; and if you have
fisherman's luck, once in a blue moon a Spanish mackerel may fall to
your lot. If so, that day must be marked by a white stone, for a Spanish
mackerel transferred in about two shakes of a lamb's tail from the
fish-hook to the fry-pan, or better still, if your arrangements permit,
to the gridiron or broiler, is good enough for the gods to feed on. Two
axioms should be borne in mind, namely, to fry in plenty of boiling fat
or to plunge into boiling water. Never humiliate a fish by placing him
in a cold fry-pan or into a cooking pot of cold water.
Before frying fish dip in well-beaten egg and then sprinkle with bread
crumbs or cracker dust, dip in egg again, and then add more bread crumbs
or cracker dust. This is for epicures. For ordinary seafarers if the
fish is rolled in yellow cornmeal without the egg the result will be
nearly the same. Cut up large fish into suitable sizes, but fry small
fish whole.
Soft-shell crabs should be cooked in boiling fat. When brown they are
done. Ten minutes is usually enough to cook them thoroughly.
Always when you boil fish of any kind indigenous to salt water or fresh
put them in boiling water either from the sea or fresh water well
salted. A little vinegar added is good. A two-pound fish should cook
sufficiently in fifteen or at most twenty minutes. Fish with white flesh
take longer to boil than those with dark.
An excellent sauce for boiled fish may be made thus: Put a piece of
butter as big as an egg in a saucepan or a tomato can; heat till it
bubbles, add a heaping tablespoonful of flour, stir till quite smooth;
pour slowly into this, stirring continually, a pint of the water the
fish was cooked in, and add two hard-boiled eggs chopped fine. This may
be flavored with anchovy sauce or a few drops of Harvey or
Worcestershire. Some prefer the addition of a little lemon juice or even
vinegar. Every man to his taste!
When a very little boy I sailed in the _Derwent_, a small schooner
engaged in carrying bottles from Sunderland to London. The bottles were
taken in from the factory where they were made, stowed in the hold of
the schooner and transported to a wharf at Wapping. Bottles are a clean
kind of freight, and our skipper being a very particular kind of a man
the _Derwent_ was kept as bright as a new pin outside and inside, alow
and aloft. On this dashing little vessel I was cook and cabin boy. There
was no regular galley on deck, simply an iron cooking stove erected on
the foreside of the mainmast; and on that in storm and calm I boiled and
baked for a crew of four for more than a year—in fact till I quit the
coasting trade and signed away foreign. My skipper took me under his
special guidance. The grub had to be well cooked and the deck kept
spotless or I used to suffer. Skipper and mate were epicures after a
fashion, so I had to keep my weather eye open.
My experience in merchant vessels and pleasure craft has fitted me to
write with some small assumption of authority on the subject of sea
cooking.
Some of my methods may seem queer and perhaps grotesque, but condemn
them not till you have tested them in the crucible of experiment.
XX.
NAUTICAL TERMS IN COMMON USE.
Aback—A sail's condition when the sheet is to windward and it drives the
vessel astern.
Abaft—The position toward the stern of any object or point such as
"abaft the mast" or "abaft the binnacle."
Afore—The contrary of abaft.
Ahoy!—An interjection used in hailing a vessel, such as "_Vigilant_
ahoy!"
Athwart—Across the keel.
Atrip—When the anchor is broken out of the ground.
Avast—Stop, discontinue. As "avast hauling" (stop hauling).
Balance reef—A diagonal reef in a fore-and-aft sail extending from
throat to clew.
Batten down—Covering hatches with tarpaulins and securing them with
battens.
Beam ends—A vessel is said to be on her beam ends when knocked down by a
squall to an angle of about 45 degrees.
Belay—To make fast a rope or fall of a tackle.
Below—Greenhorns call it "downstairs" and seamen laugh at them.
Bight—A loop of a rope.
Bilge—The round in a vessel's timbers where they turn from her sides
toward the keel.
Binnacle—A case in which the compass is contained.
Block and block—When the blocks of a tackle are hauled close together.
Bolt rope—The rope sewn round the edges of sails. It is made of the best
hemp.
Bonnet—An extra piece of canvas laced to the foot of a jib or foresail,
taken off when it blows hard.
Box the compass—To call over the points of the compass in correct order.
Break off—When a vessel sailing close-hauled is headed by the wind and
is unable to lay the course she was steering.
Bring up—To anchor.
Broach to—To come to against wind and helm.
Capsize—To turn over.
Carvel built—Constructed with the planks flush edge to edge and the
seams caulked and payed.
Caulking—Driving oakum into the seams of a vessel with a mallet and a
blunt chisel called a caulking iron.
Clews—The lower corners of square sails; the lower after-corners of
fore-and-aft sails.
Clinch—To fasten a rope by a half hitch and then seize the end back to
the standing part.
Close-hauled—Hauled as close to the wind as the sails will permit
without shaking their luffs. A cutter-rigged yacht with well-cut canvas
should lie within four and a quarter points of the wind. Some modern
racing craft have done half a point better than this. Square-rigged
vessels cannot head better than five and a-half points of the wind.
Collar—An eye spliced in a shroud or stay to go over the masthead.
Comber—A big wave.
Companion—The entrance from the deck to the cabin below.
Compass bowl—The bowl in the binnacle that contains the compass.
Corinthian—A term in yachting possessing the same significance as
amateur; the opposite of professional.
Counter—That part of a vessel which projects abaft the sternpost.
Covering board—The outside deck plank fitted over the timber heads. The
same as planksheer.
Cracking on—Carrying a press of sail.
Crank—Not stiff under canvas; easily heeled or listed.
Cranze or Cranse—A metal band with eyes on it fitted to the end of a
bowsprit or other spar.
Cringle—A metal thimble worked in the clews and leeches of sails.
Dandy—A cutter-rigged vessel with lug-mizzen set on a jigger-mast.
Davits—Iron cranes on vessels to which boats are hoisted.
Deadeye—A circular wooden block with three holes in it without sheaves,
through which a lanyard is rove to set up standing rigging.
Dead wood—Solid wood worked on top of the keel forward and aft.
Depth of hold—The height between the keelson and the deck of a
single-decked vessel.
Displacement—The quantity of water displaced by a vessel, which in
weight is always equal to her own weight.
Dogvane—A light vane made of bunting or feathers to show the direction
of the wind.
Dowse—To lower a sail suddenly.
Down-haul—A rope by which a sail is hauled down.
Draught of water—The depth of a vessel measured from the under side of
the keel to the load water-line.
Earrings—Ropes for fastening the corners of the heads of sails to yards
and for reefing.
Ease off—To slacken a rope handsomely.
Eyelet holes—Small holes worked in sails for lacings or lashings to be
rove through.
Eyes of the rigging—Collars spliced in the ends of shrouds to go over
the masthead and also over the deadeyes.
Fair leaders—Holes in planks, etc., for ropes to be rove through so that
they lead fairly.
Fair wind—A wind that permits a vessel to steer her course without
tacking.
Fall—The hauling part of the rope of a tackle.
False keel—A timber bolted to the under side of the keel proper.
Fathom—A sea measure of six feet.
Fender—A species of buffer made of wood, rope or other material to hang
over a vessel's side to prevent her from chafing against a dock, or
another vessel.
Fid—An iron or wooden bar to keep bowsprits and topmasts in place; a
conical wooden instrument used by riggers and sailmakers.
Fish, To—To strengthen a weak or repair a broken spar by lashing another
spar or batten to it.
Flare—To project outwards; contrary to tumbling home.
Flat aft—When sheets are trimmed as close as possible for effective
windward work.
Floors—The bottom timbers of a vessel.
Flowing sheet—The sheet eased off to a fair wind.
Flush decked—Having neither poop nor forecastle.
Foot—The lower edge of a sail.
Forereach—To sail faster through the water on a wind than another
vessel.
Freeboard—That part of a ship's side above the water.
Full and by—To steer as close to the wind as possible, while at the same
time keeping the sails full of wind.
Futtocks—The timbers which join and butt above the floors, called first,
second and third futtocks.
Gammon iron—An iron hoop fitted to the side of the stem, or on top of
the stem, to receive and hold the bowsprit.
Garboard—The strake of plank next above the keel, into which it is
rabbeted and bolted.
Gripe, To—A vessel gripes when she has a tendency to come up in the wind
and requires much weather helm.
Gudgeons—Metal straps with eyes secured to the stern post, into which
the pintles of the rudder are fitted.
Gunwale—The timber fitted over the timber heads and fastened to the top
strake.
Guys—Ropes used to steady a spar or other thing.
Gybe—To let a fore-and-aft sail shift from one side to the other when
running before the wind. To let a vessel go so much off the wind as to
bring the wind on the opposite quarter.
Half-mast high—When a flag is hoisted halfway up as a mark of respect to
a person recently dead.
Halyards—Ropes for hoisting sails.
Handsomely—Steadily; carefully.
Handy billy—A watch tackle kept on deck for getting a pull on sheets or
halyards.
Hanks—Rings or hooks for fastening the luffs of sails to stays.
Hard down—The order to put the tiller a-lee. Hard up, the order to put
the tiller a-weather.
Heave to—To so trim a vessel's sails that she does not move ahead.
Heel rope—The rope by which a running bowsprit is hauled out or a
topmast lowered.
Hoist—The length of the luff of a fore-and-aft sail.
Horns—The projections forming the jaws of gaffs or booms.
Hounds—The projections on a mast that support the lower cap and rigging.
House—To lower a topmast down within the cap.
Inhaul—The rope used to haul sails inboard.
In irons—The condition of a vessel head to wind and with way lost,
unable to pay off on one tack or the other.
Irish pennants—Loose ropes flying in the breeze or dangling over the
side.
Jackstay—A rod of iron, a wooden cleating, or a wire rope for sails or
yards to travel on; also a wire rope on the main boom to which the foot
of the sail is laced.
Jiggermast—The mizzenmast of a yawl or dandy.
Kentledge—Pig iron used as ballast.
Lanyards—Ropes rove through deadeyes by which shrouds or stays are set
up.
Leeboard—An old-fashioned contrivance to check leeway, still in use on
some Dutch vessels and English barges.
Load water-line—The line of flotation when a vessel is properly
ballasted or laden.
Luff—To come closer to the wind.
Make fast—To belay a rope.
Masthead—That part of the mast above the hounds.
Mast hoops—The hoops to which the luffs of fore and aft sails are seized
to secure the sails to the masts.
Miss stays, To—To fail in an attempt to tack.
Mousing—A yarn wound round a hook to prevent it from becoming unhooked.
Near—Very close to the wind.
Nip—To nip a vessel is to sail her too close to the wind.
On a wind—Closehauled.
Outhaul—A rope or tackle by which a sail is hauled out on a spar.
Paddy's hurricane—A dead calm.
Painter—A rope spliced to a ring bolt in the bow of a boat to make fast
by.
Pay—To pour hot pitch or marine glue into seams after they are caulked.
Pintles—The metal hooks by which rudders are attached to the gudgeons.
Pole mast—A mast without a topmast, but with a long masthead above the
hounds.
Put about—To tack.
Raffee—A square or triangular sail set flying on the foretopmasts of
schooners.
Rake—To incline forward or aft from the vertical, as raking mast, a
raking sternpost, etc.
Reef band—A strip of canvas sewn across a sail, in which eyelet holes
for the reef points are worked.
Reef pendant—A strong rope with a Matthew Walker knot in one end. It is
passed up through a hole in the cleat on the boom, and then through the
reef cringle in the sail and down through the hole in the cleat on the
other side of the boom.
Reef points—Short lengths of rope in sails to tie up the part rolled up
when reefing.
Reeve—To pass a rope through a block or a hole of any kind.
Roach—The curved part of the foot of a sail.
Rockered keel—A keel whose ends curve upward.
Running bowsprit—A bowsprit so fitted as to run in or out and reef.
Serve—To cover a rope with spunyarn.
Shake out a reef—To untie the reef points and set the sail.
Sheathing—The copper or other metal nailed on the bottom of a vessel.
Sheave—The grooved wheel in a block or in the sheave hole of a spar over
which the rope passes.
Sheet—The rope by which the clew of a sail is secured.
Snotter—An eye strop used to support the heel of a sprit.
Spitfire jib—The smallest storm jib.
Taunt—Tall, high.
Taut—Tight.
Tie up—A lubber's synonym for moor. You tie up a dog. You moor a vessel.
Thimble—A heart shaped or circular ring with a groove outside for ropes
to fit in. They are used for the eye splices in ropes, the straps of
blocks and for the cringles in sails.
Thwarts—The transverse seats in boats.
Tumble home—When the sides of a vessel near the deck incline inward the
opposite to flaring.
Tyers—Ropes that secure a mainsail when stowed.
Unbend—To cast loose a sail from stay, gaff, boom or yard.
Veer—To pay out chain.
Wear—To bring the wind on the other side of a vessel by turning her head
from the wind. The reverse of tacking.
Weather gauge—The condition of a vessel that is to windward of another.
Weather helm—A vessel is said to carry weather helm when she has a
tendency to fly up in the wind.
Weathering—If one vessel eats to windward of another, she is said to
weather on her. Weathering an object is passing it on the windward side.
Whip, To—To bind the end of a rope with twine to prevent it from
unlaying.
Yaw—A vessel yaws when her head flies from one direction to the other;
as, for instance, when her helmsman is unable to keep her steady on her
course.
Yawl—A cutter-rigged vessel with a mizzenmast stepped in her counter.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
THE SLOOP YACHT.
_Names of Spars, Rigging, Sails, Etc._
1 Jib Topsail.
2 Club Topsail Sprit.
3 Topsail Club.
4 Club Topsail Guy.
5 Jib.
6 Club Topsail.
7 Mainsail.
8 Bowsprit.
9 Club Topsail Tack Line.
10 Mainsheet.
11 Foresail or Forestaysail Sheet.
12 Jib Topsail Sheet.
13 Topping Lift.
14 Gaff Topsail, Clewed Down.
15 Tack of Jib.
16 Tack of Jib Topsail.
17 Luff of Jib Topsail.
18 Head of Jib Topsail.
19 Jib Topsail Halyards.
20 Leach of Jib Topsail.
21 Main Gaff.
22 Main Boom.
23 Main Topmast.
24 Foot of Jib.
25 Leach of Jib.
26 Clew of Jib.
27 Reef Points.
28 Tack of Mainsail.
29 Clew of Mainsail.
30 Peak of Mainsail.
31 Throat of Mainsail.
32 Main Crosstrees.
33 Masthead Runner and Tackle.
34 Head of Club Topsail.
35 Clew of Club Topsail.
36 Tack of Club Topsail.
37 Topmast Shrouds.
]
[Illustration:
THE CUTTER YACHT.
_Names of Spars, Sails, Standing and Running Rigging, Etc._
SPARS.
1 Lowermast.
2 Topmast.
3 Bowsprit.
4 Main Boom.
5 Gaff.
6 Topsail Sprit.
7 Spinnaker Boom.
8 Tiller.
RIGGING AND ROPES.
9 Crosstrees.
10 Shrouds.
11 Topmast Shrouds.
12 Topping Lift.
13 Masthead Runner and Tackle.
14 Forestay.
15 Topmast Stay.
16 Bobstay.
17 Bobstay Fall.
18 Spinnaker Boom Topping Lift.
19 Spinnaker Boom Brace.
20 Topmast Backstay.
21 Reef Pennant.
22 Truck.
23 Ensign.
24 Channels.
25 Mainsheet.
26 Spinnaker Boom Guy.
27 Clew of Sprit Topsail.
28 Tack of Sprit Topsail.
29 Tack Line or Pendant.
30 Sprit Topsail Halyards.
SAILS.
A Jib.
B Sprit Topsail.
C Mainsail.
D Foresail.
E Jib Topsail.
]
ADDENDA.
RECENT CHANGES IN SAIL PLAN AND RIG OF
MODERN CRAFT.
Since the first edition of this book was printed, yacht designers have
studied to reduce weight aloft.
This has not infrequently resulted in fitting ironwork blocks, etc., far
too flimsy to endure the strain of a stiff breeze. There is always a
happy medium between spider-web rigging and rigging uselessly heavy and
clumsy, and my advice therefore is not to go to extremes. In racing
craft on the fresh-water lakes piano wire has been used for standing
rigging, and because of its enormous strength and notable lightness has
answered well enough. In salt water, however, it should be avoided
because of its liability to corrosion.
The principal changes in rig of late years follow: The substitution of
turnbuckles and rigging screws for the old-fashioned dead eyes and
lanyards; the reduction of the length of the bowsprit because of the
long overhang forward, which has done away with the reefing bowsprit on
all modern craft; the invention of masthead shrouds, bridles on gaffs,
and the throat halyard pennant. By means of the three devices mentioned,
strains aloft are both minimized and equalized. Large vessels carry
double masthead shrouds, and every racing yacht is fitted with single
ones. Gaff bridles and throat halyard pennants are also considered to be
well-nigh indispensable.
[Illustration: SAIL PLAN AND RIG OF A MODERN SCHOONER.]
[Illustration: RIG AND SAIL PLAN OF A MODERN YAWL.]
In the matter of running rigging, flexible steel wire is now much used
for throat and peak halyards. Its advantage is that there is little or
no "give" to it. The rig of a modern 25-foot water-line sloop with a
pole mast is as follows: Bobstay-rod of steel 3/4-inch in diameter, set
up with a turnbuckle at the end of the bowsprit; shrouds, two each side,
1-1/8-inch steel wire; forestay set up to stem head, 1-1/4-inch steel
wire; jib set flying, hoisted with 3/4-inch 8-stranded flexible
steel-wire halyards, set up with a jig-purchase; runner-shrouds of
7/8-inch wire canvased over; main lifts 3/4-inch flexible steel wire,
parcelled, sewed over with white codline and then covered with white
canvas sewn on. The throat and peak halyards are of 3/4-inch flexible
steel wire. The blocks are all strapped with grommets of flexible steel
wire sewed and leathered.
Steel wire is now also used for the leech ropes of racing sails, and is
employed largely in the lower canvas of all the big racing yachts.
Flexible steel wire is nearly as pliable as new hemp rope of the same
strength. The greater the diameter of the sheaves over which it passes
the longer it will last. This wire cannot be belayed to a cleat.
Therefore, Manila rope is spliced to the hauling end of the wire, which
insures its remaining fast after once being belayed. This is a most
difficult splice to make.
The accompanying illustrations show the sail plans and rigs of a modern
schooner and a modern yawl. When compared with the sloop and cutter rigs
on pages 211 and 212, it will be easily seen that many radical changes
have been made.
It occurred to me in revising the book for this edition, that it might
be wise to omit the directions for rigging a running bowsprit, bending a
loose-footed mainsail, and some other devices which in the light of
modern improvements might be deemed either archaic or obsolete. On
second thoughts, however, I decided to let them stand as written. There
is still a goodly fleet of "old-timers," cutters and yawls with straight
stems and reefing bowsprits—craft some of them half a century old or
more, and sound as a gold dollar in spite of severe service. The deadeye
and the lanyard, although being pushed hard by the turnbuckle, die
slowly, and are yet to be found in brand new vessels of the twentieth
century.
To equalize and minimize strains on mainbooms, mainsheet bridles are now
fitted. Overhangs are growing longer and longer and bowsprits shorter.
The Larchmont one-design class of 1901 has a length on deck of 40 feet 7
inches, with a water-line length of 25 feet. The sail area is 1,103
feet, and the out side ballast weighs 6,100 pounds. The centerboard
houses entirely below the cabin floor, the draught being 4 feet 6
inches, and 8 feet with the board down. The aim of the designer is to
combine racing and cruising qualities—a much-to-be-desired combination,
never to be completely attained, I fear.
THE END.
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[Illustration]
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[Illustration]
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Transcriber's Notes.
In the compass back bearing chart, Points and Degrees have been
abbreviated to Pts., Dgrs., to reduce width.
The original spelling and punctuation has been retained.
Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.
Italicized words and phrases in the text version are presented by
surrounding the text with underscores.
Bold words and phrases in the text version are presented by surrounding
the text with equals signs.