SKATE SAILS.
The duties of the secretary, as defined in the constitution which Dutchy
Van Syckel drew up, were to keep a record of all the acts of the
society, the minutes of every meeting, and accurate detailed
descriptions of all work accomplished. Therefore, while the rest of the
society was busy cutting up old sheets, levied from the surrounding
neighborhood, and sewing and rigging the sails under Bill's direction,
I, with pad and pencil in hand, took notes on all the operations.
THE DOUBLE SWEDISH SAIL.
[Illustration: Fig. 6. Dimensions of Double Swedish Sail. N. B.--The mark
(') means feet and (") means inches.]
[Illustration: Fig. 7. Halyards Looped onto Pole.]
[Illustration: Fig. 8. The Double Swedish Sail.]
Bill evolved some new types of sails which differed materially from the
type described in the first chapter. One was a double sail--"the kind
they use in Sweden," he explained. One of the sheets which the foraging
party brought in was extra large; it measured approximately two yards
and a half square. This was folded on itself, making a parallelogram
seven feet six inches long and three feet nine inches wide. The sheets
we had were all rather worn and some were badly torn, so that we had to
make our sails of double thickness, sewing patches over the weak spots.
A broad hem was turned down at each end, and heavy tape was sewed on,
leaving loops as before, to attach them to the spars. This reduced the
length of our sail to seven feet three inches. The end spars were spaced
apart by a light pole about ten feet long, to which they were tied at
the points of intersection. The spars were also braced by halyards
looped over the ends of the pole in the manner indicated in the drawing
(Fig. 7). It took a crew of two boys to manipulate this sail. In use,
the pole of the rig was carried on the shoulders, and the sail was
guided by means of ropes attached to the lower corners of the vertical
spars. These ropes in nautical language are called "sheets." The boy at
the rear was the pilot and did the steering, because his position behind
the sail gave him an unobstructed view in all directions. When changing
tack the sail was lifted overhead to the other side of the crew.
[Illustration: Fig. 9. Changing Tack.]
THE SINGLE SWEDISH SAIL.
[Illustration: Fig. 10. The Single Swedish Sail.]
Another sail of similar form, but for use of one boy only, is shown in
Fig. 10. This had a height of six and one-half feet at the forward end
and three feet at the rear; and its length was five feet. This sail was
very satisfactory in light winds, owing to its great area. In use we
found that it was very important to keep the lower edge against the leg,
as indicated by the arrow. The rig was manipulated just like the double
Swedish sail, lifting it over the head when it was desired to change
tack.
THE LANTEEN SAIL.
[Illustration: Fig 11. The Lanteen Sail.]
[Illustration: Fig. 12. Hinge for Spars.]
[Illustration: Fig. 13. Leather Mast Step.]
[Illustration: Fig. 14. Wooden Mast Step.]
The lanteen sail we found to be a very good rig. It was made in the form
of a triangle, measuring eight feet on one side, seven and one-half feet
on another side and six and one-half feet on the third. The six and
one-half foot side was secured to a boom, and the seven and one-half
foot side to a yard. The yard and boom were hinged together by a leather
strap nailed on as shown in Fig. 12, and to this hinge a rope was
attached, which served as a sheet. These spars were secured to a mast
erected perpendicularly to the boom and intersecting the yard a little
above its center. We had had some trouble with the first sails we made
in keeping the base of the sail against the body, and to overcome this
difficulty Bill proposed tying the bottom of the mast to the leg. This
was a rather risky thing to do, as we learned later, for in case of
accident it would be difficult to get clear of the sail. It was Reddy
who finally solved the problem by rigging up a step for the mast. It
consisted of a leather tag tied to the leg, and provided with a hole
into which the bottom of the mast was fitted. To prevent the mast from
slipping too far into the step the lower portion of it was whittled
down, leaving a shoulder which rested on the leather. Bill later devised
another step, which consisted of a wooden block (Fig. 14) strapped to
the leg and formed with a shallow socket to receive the end of the mast.
THE DANISH SAIL.
[Illustration: Fig. 15. The Danish Sail.]
[Illustration: Fig. 16. Topsail of the Danish Rig.]
But the most satisfactory sail we found to be the Danish sail, though it
was not until we had served quite a long apprenticeship and sustained
many pretty bad falls that we mastered the art of manipulating these
sails properly. Our ideas on this sail were obtained from a French
illustrated paper which Dutchy Van Syckel picked up in his father's
library. This sail was formed with a topsail so arranged that it could
be lowered when the wind was too strong. The dimensions of the sail as
we made it are given in the drawing (Fig. 15). The top of the sail was
lashed to a spar, which was connected by a short stick to another spar
tied to the mainsail about eighteen inches lower down. The sail was
strengthened with an extra strip of cloth along the lower spar, and the
tie strings were applied in the usual way. The connecting stick, or
topmast we may call it, was hinged to the lower spar by means of a short
piece of leather strap, which was passed round the spar in the form of a
loop and its two ends nailed to the bottom of the topmast. The topmast
extended above the upper spar a short distance, and to this we fastened
the flag which our society had adopted. A couple of strong cords were
secured to the center spar to provide for fastening the sail onto the
skater. Tied to the lower corners of the mainsail were two sticks which
were used for guiding the sail when in flight.
[Illustration: Fig. 17. Before the Wind. Fig. 18. Topsail Lowered. Fig.
19. Skating against the Wind. Fig. 20. On the Port Tack.]
The different methods of sailing with this rig are shown in Figs. 17-20.
When sailing with the wind the skater would stand very erect, bending
backward in proportion as the wind blew fresher. By inclining the sail
in one direction or the other, the skater could tack to port or
starboard. When moving against the wind by skating in the usual way, the
body was bent forward in such manner that the sail lay horizontal, so
that it would not offer a purchase for the wind.
BAT'S WINGS.
[Illustration: Fig. 21.]
One more sail deserves mention. It was Bill's idea, and it came near to
ending his career the first day he tried it. It had no spars at all, but
was merely a strip of cloth of somewhat triangular shape. The upper side
was tied to the head, and the two corners to the wrists, while the lower
portion was tied to the ankles. This converted him into a huge
white-winged bat. Bill had to try it at once, even though the rest of
the sails were not finished, and a very comical spectacle he made as he
flapped his wings in his endeavors to tack. When the wind was too strong
for him he had merely to drop his arms and thus lower sail. At length he
became tired of holding his arms out at full length, and I got him a
stick to put over his shoulders and rest his arms on. But that stick was
Bill's undoing, for coming around a sudden bend in the canal he caught
the full force of the wind, which knocked him flat on his back before he
could disentangle himself from the stick and lower sail. It took us some
time to bring him back to consciousness, and a very scared lot of boys
we were for a while. However, the lesson was a good one, for after that
we were very cautious in experimenting with sails that had to be tied
on, such as the Danish rig and the lanteen rig, before Reddy invented
the mast step.
It was not until the day after Christmas that the sails were all
completed, but then there was scarcely any wind blowing and we could not
attempt the expedition to the island.