TACKING, WEARING, BOXING, &C.
Tacking without fore-reaching. Tacking against a heavy sea. Hauling off
all. To trim the yards. Flattening in. Missing stays. Wearing--under
courses--under a mainsail--under bare poles. Box-hauling--short round.
Club-hauling. Drifting in a tide-way. Backing and filling in do.
Clubbing in do.
TACKING.--Have the ship so suited with sails that she may steer herself
as nearly as possible, and come to with a small helm. Keep her a good
full, so that she may have plenty of headway. _Ready, About!_ Send all
hands to their stations. The chief mate and one, two, or more of the
best men, according to the size of the vessel, on the forecastle, to
work the head sheets and bowlines and the fore tack; two or more good
men (one usually a petty officer, or an older and trusty seaman) to
work the main tack and bowline. The second mate sees the lee fore and
main braces clear and ready for letting go, and stands by to let go the
lee main braces, which may all be belayed to one pin. Put one hand to
let go the weather cross-jack braces, and others to haul in to leeward;
the cook works the fore sheet, and the steward the main; station one or
more at the spanker sheet and guys; and the rest at the weather main
braces.
Ease the helm down gradually; _Helm's a-lee!_ and let go the jib sheet
and fore sheets. As soon as the wind is parallel with the yards,
blowing directly upon the leeches of the square sails, so that all is
shaking, _Raise tacks and sheets!_ and let go the fore and main tacks
and main sheet, keeping the fore and main bowline fast. As soon as her
head is within a point or a point and a half of the wind, _Mainsail
haul!_ let go the lee main and weather cross-jack braces, and swing the
after yards round. While she is head to the wind, and the after sails
are becalmed by the head sails, get the main tack down and sheet aft,
and right your helm, using it afterwards as her coming to or falling
off requires. As soon as she passes the direction of the wind, shift
your jib sheets over the stays, and when the after sails take full, or
when she brings the wind four points on the other bow, and you are sure
of paying off sufficiently, _Let go and haul!_ brace round the head
yards briskly, down fore tack and aft the sheet, brace sharp up and
haul your bowlines out, and trim down your head sheets.
It is best to haul the mainsail just before you get the wind right
ahead, for then the wind, striking the weather leeches of the after
sails, forces them round almost without the braces, and you will have
time to brace up and get your tack down and sheet aft, when she has
payed off on the other side.
If she falls off too rapidly while swinging your head yards, so as to
bring the wind abeam or abaft, _'Vast bracing!_ Ease off head sheets
and put your helm a-lee; and as she comes up, meet her and brace sharp
up. If, on the other hand, (as sometimes happens with vessels which
carry a strong weather helm,) she does not fall off after the after
sails take, be careful not to haul your head yards until she is fully
round; and if she should fly up into the wind, let go the main sheet,
and, if necessary, brail up the spanker and shiver the cross-jack
yards.
In staying, be careful to right your helm before she loses headway.
TO TACK WITHOUT FORE-REACHING, as in a narrow channel, when you are
afraid to keep headway. If she comes slowly up to windward, haul down
the jib and get your spanker-boom well over to windward. As you raise
tacks and sheets, let go the lee fore topsail brace, being careful to
brace up again as soon as she takes aback. Also, hoist the jib, and
trim down, if necessary, as soon as she takes on the other side.
TACKING AGAINST A HEAVY HEAD SEA.--You are under short sail, there is a
heavy head sea, and you doubt whether she will stay against it. Haul
down the fore topmast staysail, ease down the helm, and raise fore
sheet. When within about a point of the wind's eye, let go main tack
and sheet, lee braces and after bowlines, and _Mainsail haul!_ If she
loses her headway at this time, shift your helm. As soon as she brings
the wind on the other bow, she will fall off rapidly by reason of her
sternway, therefore shift your helm again to meet her, and _Let go and
haul!_ at once. Brace about the head yards, but keep the weather braces
in, to moderate her falling off. When she gets headway, right the helm,
and as she comes up to the wind, brace up and haul aft.
TACKING BY HAULING OFF ALL.--This can be done only in a smooth sea,
with a light working breeze, a smart vessel and strong crew. Man all
the braces. Let her come up head to the wind, and fall off on the other
tack, shifting the helm if she gathers sternway. When you get the wind
about five points on the other bow, _Haul off all!_ let go all the
braces and bowlines and swing all the yards at once. Right the helm,
board tacks and haul aft sheets, brace up and haul out.
TO TRIM THE YARDS WHEN CLOSE-HAULED.--In smooth water, with a light
breeze, brace the lower yards sharp up, and trim the upper yards each a
trifle in abaft the one below it. If you have a pretty stiff breeze,
brace the topsail yard in about half a point more than the lower yard,
and the topgallant yard half a point more than the topsail yard, and so
on. If you have a strong breeze and a topping sea, and especially if
reduced to short sail, brace in your lower yards a little, and the
others proportionally. This will prevent the vessel going off bodily to
leeward; and if she labors heavily, the play of the mast would
otherwise carry away the braces and sheets, or spring the yards.
MISSING STAYS.--If after getting head to the wind she comes to a stand
and begins to fall off before you have hauled your main yard, flatten
in your jib sheets, board fore tack, and haul aft fore sheet; also ease
off spanker sheet, or brail up the spanker, if necessary. When she is
full again, trim the jib and spanker sheets, and when she has recovered
sufficient headway, try it again. If, after coming head to the wind,
and after the after yards are swung, she loses headway and refuses to
go round, or begins to fall off on the same tack on which she was
before, and you have shifted the helm without effect, haul up the
mainsail and spanker, square the after yards, shift your helm again
a-lee, so as to assist her in falling off, and brace round the head
yards so as to box her off. As she fills on her former tack, brace up
the after yards, brace round the head yards, sharp up all, board tacks,
haul out and haul aft.
WEARING.--Haul up the mainsail and spanker, put the helm up, and, as
she goes off, brace in the after yards. If there is a light breeze, the
rule is to keep the mizzen topsail lifting, and the main topsail full.
This will keep sufficient headway on her, and at the same time enable
her to fall off. But if you have a good breeze and she goes off fast,
keep both the main and mizzen topsails lifting. As she goes round,
bringing the wind on her quarter and aft, follow the wind with your
after yards, keeping the mizzen topsail lifting, and the main either
lifting or full, as is best. After a vessel has fallen off much, the
less headway she has the better, provided she has enough to give her
steerage. When you have the wind aft, raise fore tack and sheet, square
in the head yards, and haul down the jib. As she brings the wind on the
other quarter, brace sharp up the after yards, haul out the spanker,
and set the mainsail. As she comes to on the other tack, brace up the
head yards, keeping the sails full, board fore tack and aft the sheet,
hoist the jib, and meet her with the helm.
TO WEAR UNDER COURSES.--Square the cross-jack yards, ease off main
bowline and tack, and haul up the weather clew of the mainsail. Ease
off the main sheet, and haul up the lee clew, and the buntlines and
leechlines. Square the main yards and put the helm a-weather. As she
falls off, let go the fore bowline, ease off the fore sheet, and brace
in the fore yard. When she gets before the wind, board the fore and
main tacks on the other side, and haul aft the main sheet, but keep the
weather braces in. As she comes to on the other side, ease the helm,
trim down the fore sheet, brace up and haul out.
TO WEAR UNDER A MAINSAIL.--Vessels lying-to under this sail generally
wear by hoisting the fore topmast staysail, or some other head sail. If
this cannot be done, brace the cross-jack yards to the wind, and, if
necessary, send down the mizzen topmast and the cross-jack yard. Brace
the head yards full. Take an opportunity when she has headway, and will
fall off, to put the helm up. Ease off the main sheet, and, as she
falls off, brace in the main yard a little. When the wind is abaft the
beam, raise the main tack. When she is dead before it, get the other
main tack down as far as possible; and when she has the wind on the
other quarter, ease the helm, haul aft the sheet, and brace up.
TO WEAR UNDER BARE POLES.--Some vessels, which are well down by the
stern, will wear in this situation, by merely pointing the after yards
to the wind, or sending down the mizzen topmast and the cross-jack
yard, and filling the head yards; but vessels in good trim will not do
this. To assist the vessel, veer a good scope of hawser out of the lee
quarter, with a buoy, or something for a stop-water, attached to the
end. As the ship sags off to leeward, the buoy will be to windward, and
will tend to bring the stern round to the wind. When she is before it,
haul the hawser aboard.
BOX-HAULING.--Put the helm down, light up the head sheets and slack the
lee braces, to deaden her way. As she comes to the wind, raise tacks
and sheets, and haul up the mainsail and spanker. As soon as she comes
head to the wind and loses her headway, square the after yards, brace
the head yards sharp aback, and flatten in the head sheets. The helm,
being put down to bring her up, will now pay her off, as she has
sternway on. As she goes off, keep the after sails lifting, and square
in the head yards. As soon as the sails on the foremast give her
headway, shift the helm. When she gets the wind on the other quarter,
haul down the jib, haul out the spanker, set the mainsail, and brace
the after yards sharp up. As she comes to on the other tack, brace up
the head yards, meet her with the helm, and set the jib.
BOX-HAULING SHORT ROUND; sometimes called _wearing short round._--Haul
up the mainsail and spanker, put the helm hard a-weather, square the
after yards, brace the head yards sharp aback, and flatten in the head
sheets. As she gathers sternway, shift the helm. After this, proceed as
in box-hauling by the former method. The first mode is preferable when
you wish to stop headway as soon as possible; as a vessel under good
way will range ahead some distance after the sails are all thrown flat
aback.
Few merchant vessels are strongly enough manned to perform these
evolutions; but they are often of service, as they turn a vessel round
quicker on her heel, and will stop her from fore-reaching when near in
shore or when close aboard another vessel.
CLUB-HAULING.--This method of going about is resorted to when on a lee
shore, and the vessel can neither be tacked nor box-hauled. Cock-bill
your lee anchor, get a hawser on it for a spring, and lead it to the
lee quarter; range your cable, and unshackle it abaft the windlass.
_Helm's a-lee!_ and _Raise tacks and sheets!_ as for going in stays.
The moment she loses headway, let go the anchor and _Mainsail haul!_ As
soon as the anchor brings her head to the wind, let the chain cable go,
holding on to the spring; and when the after sails take full, cast off
or cut the spring, and _Let go and haul!_
DRIFTING IN A TIDE-WAY.--As a vessel is deeper aft than forward, her
stern will always tend to drift faster than her head. If the current is
setting out of a river or harbor, and the wind the opposite way, or
only partly across the current, you may work out by tacking from shore
to shore; or you may let her drift out, broadside to the current; or,
keeping her head to the current by sufficient sail, you may let her
drift out stern first; or, lastly, you may _club_ her down. If the wind
is partly across the current, cast to windward. If you work down by
tacking, and the wind is at all across the current, be careful of the
lee shore, and stay in season, since, if you miss stays, you may not be
able to save yourself by wearing or box-hauling, as you might on the
weather shore. If the channel is very narrow, or there are many vessels
at anchor, the safest way is to bring her head to the current, brace
the yards full, and keep only sail enough to give her steerage, that
you may sheer from side to side. If there is room enough, you will
drift more rapidly by bringing her broadside to the current, keeping
the topsails shaking, and counteract the force of the current upon the
stern by having the spanker full and the helm a-lee. You can at any
time shoot her ahead, back her astern, or bring her head to the
current, by filling the head yards, taking in the spanker, and setting
the jib; filling the after yards, taking in the jib, and setting the
spanker; or by bracing all aback.
BACKING AND FILLING IN A TIDE-WAY.--Counter-brace your yards as in
lying-to, and drift down broadside to the current. Fill away and shoot
ahead, or throw all aback and force her astern, as occasion may
require. When you approach the shore on either side, fill away till she
gets sufficient headway, and put her in stays or wear her round.
CLUBBING IN A TIDE-WAY.--Drift down with your anchor under your foot,
heaving in or paying out on your cable as you wish to increase or
deaden her way. Have a spring on your cable, so as to present a
broadside to the current. This method is a troublesome and dangerous
one, and rarely resorted to. An anchor will seldom drag clear, through
the whole operation.