ACCIDENTS.
On beam-ends. Losing a rudder. A squall. A man overboard. Collision.
Rules for vessels passing one another.
ON BEAM-ENDS.--A vessel is usually thrown upon her beam-ends by a
sudden squall taking her, when under a press of sail, and shifting the
ballast. She must be righted, if possible, without cutting away the
masts. For, beside sacrificing them, the object can seldom be
accomplished in that way, if the ballast and cargo have shifted. Carry
a hawser from the lee quarter, with spars and other good stop-waters
bent to it. As the ship drifts well to leeward, the hawser will bring
her stern to the wind; but it may not cast her on the other side. If a
spring can be got upon the hawser from the lee bow, and hauled upon,
and the stern fast let go, this will bring the wind to act upon the
flat part of the deck and pay her stern off, and assist the spring,
when the sails may be trimmed to help her in righting. If she can be
brought head to the wind, and the sails be taken aback, she may cast on
the other tack. When there is anchoring ground, the practice is to let
go the lee anchor, which may take the sails aback and cast her. Then
the ballast and cargo may be righted.
If there is no anchoring ground, a vessel may still be kept head to the
wind, by paying a chain cable out of the lee hawse-hole; or by bending
a hawser to a large spar, which may be kept broadside-to by a span, to
the centre of which the hawser is bent. The same operation may be
applied to a vessel overset, and is preferable to wearing by a hawser.
Make fast the hawser forward to the lee bow, carry the other end aft to
windward and bend it to the spar, and launch the spar overboard. By
this means, or by letting go an anchor, though there be no bottom to be
reached, a vessel may often be recovered.
LOSING A RUDDER.--The first thing to be done on losing a rudder, is to
bring the ship to the wind by bracing up the after yards. Meet her with
the head yards, as she comes to. Take in sail forward and aft, and keep
her hove-to by her sails. A vessel may be made to steer herself for a
long time, by carefully trimming the yards and slacking up the jib
sheets or the spanker sheet a little, as may be required.
Having got the ship by the wind, get up a hawser, middle it, and take a
slack clove-hitch at the centre. Get up a cable, reeve its end through
this hitch, and pay the cable out over the taffrail. Having payed out
about fifty fathoms, jam the hitch and rack it well, so that it cannot
slip; pay out on the cable until the hitch takes the water; then lash
the cable to the centre of the taffrail; lash a spare spar under it
across the stern, with a block well secured at each end, through which
reeve the ends of the hawser, one on each quarter, and reeve them again
through blocks at the sides, abreast of the wheel. By this, a ship may
be steered until a temporary rudder can be constructed.
A rudder may be fitted by taking a spare topmast, or other large spar,
and cutting it flat in the form of a stern-post. Bore holes at proper
distances in that part which is to be the fore part of the preventer or
additional stern-post; then take the thickest plank on board, and make
it as near as possible into the form of a rudder; bore holes at proper
distances in the fore part of it and in the after part of the preventer
stern-post, to correspond with each other, and reeve rope grommets
through those holes in the rudder and after part of the stern-post, for
the rudder to play upon. Through the preventer stern-post, reeve guys,
and at the fore part of them fix tackles, and then put the machine
overboard. When it is in a proper position, or in a line with the
ship's stern-post, lash the upper part of the preventer post to the
upper part of the ship's stern-post; then hook tackles at or near the
main chains, and bowse taut on the guys to confine it to the lower part
of the preventer stern-post. Having holes bored through the preventer
and proper stern-post, run an iron bolt through both, (taking care not
to touch the rudder,) which will prevent the false stern-post from
rising or falling. By the guys on the after part of the rudder and
tackles affixed to them, the ship may be steered, taking care to bowse
taut the tackles on the preventer stern-post, to keep it close to the
proper stern-post.
A SQUALL.--If you see a squall approaching, take in the light sails,
stand by to clew down, and keep her off a little, if necessary. If you
are taken by one, unprepared, with all sail set and close-hauled, put
the helm hard up, let go the spanker sheet and outhaul, and the main
sheet. Clew up royals and topgallant sails, haul down flying-jib, haul
up the mainsail, and clew down the mizzen topsail. When you are before
the wind, clew down the topsail yards, and haul out the reef-tackles.
You may run before the squall until it moderates, or furl the light
sails, bring by the wind, and reef.
A MAN OVERBOARD.[5]--The moment the cry is heard, put the helm down and
bring her up into the wind, whether she is on the wind or free, and
deaden her headway. Throw overboard instantly life buoys, or, if there
are none at hand, take a grating, the carpenter's bench, or any pieces
of plank or loose spars there may be about decks; and let two or three
hands clear away a quarter boat. The best plan is, if the vessel was on
the wind, to haul the mainsail up and brace aback the after yards and
raise the head sheets; then, having her main yard aback, she will drift
down directly toward the man. Keep your head sails full to steady her,
while the after ones stop her headway.
[5] See Totten's Naval Text Book, Letter XX.
If you are sailing free, with studdingsails set, clew up the lower
studdingsail, brace up the head yards, haul forward the fore tack, and
keep the head yards full, while you luff up to back the after ones.
Lower away the boat as soon as it is safe, and, as the vessel will have
turned nearly round, direct the boat with reference to her position
when the accident happened and her progress since.
COLLISION.--If two vessels approach one another, both having a free
wind, each keeps to the right. That is, the one with her starboard
tacks aboard keeps on or luffs; and the other, if it is necessary to
alter her course, keeps off. So, if two vessels approach one another
close-hauled on different tacks, and it is doubtful which is to
windward, the vessel on the starboard tack keeps on her course, and the
other gives way and keeps off. That is, each goes to the right, and the
vessel with her starboard tacks aboard has the preference. The only
exception to this is, that if the vessel on the larboard tack is so
much to windward that in case both persist the vessel on the starboard
tack will strike her to leeward and abaft the beam; then the vessel on
the starboard tack must give way, as she can do it more easily than the
other.
Another rule is that if one vessel is going dead before the wind and
the other going free on the starboard tack, the latter must luff and go
under the stern of the former.