The first and absolute necessity of a seagoing boat is freeboard; the
second is a complete deck and water-tight openings. Given these two
things and you have an almost safe craft. There is no question of
capsizing a well-designed yacht of to-day by power of the wind. Our
outside ballasted boats cannot be kept wrong side up, so long as the
water is kept out of them. They may be hove down on their sides and
fill and sink, but they cannot be turned completely over so long as
they retain their buoyancy. I have been in one of them, a boat carrying
only about half the usual weight of lead for a vessel of her size,
that was laid on her side in a squall with both mainsail and jib in
the water; she remained in this position for nearly two minutes, and
then righted when the force of the squall was spent. Her lead kept her
from turning right over, and her large freeboard kept her from edging
down. She simply made a bottom of her side and floated on it. That is
one advantage of freeboard. Had she been a narrow-sided boat she would
have been forced between the pressure of lead and wind deeper into
the water, but as it was her displacement, owing to the bearing up of
the sail and mast, was probably less when in that position than when
standing upright.
Again, freeboard increases the range of heel. This is of enormous
advantage when sailing in a sea way with a strong breeze. The tripping
power of the wave is exhausted before the rail is brought down, and
the boat not receiving a load of water on her lee deck rights so much
quicker. A low-sided boat when canted by a beam sea edges her rail
under and shovels the water up on her deck as she recovers. For this
reason seagoing craft should have their upper freeboard slightly
tumbled home. Bulwarks and high rails are bad things, and combings
should be kept well inboard, while raised cabin houses if fitted should
not be carried too close to the waterways. Rails and bulwarks as far
aft as the rigging can be raised to an advantage, as they prevent the
water from coming in and not passing out. Water in breaking on board
will always follow along anything like the side of a house, and when
reaching a break spread in. This is how cockpits are so easily filled.
The height is suddenly cut down from house to combing, and the sea
having become crowded up to the height of the house in its passage aft,
when it comes to the low place rushes into the cockpit. If the combing
is carried up to the height of the house the water will pass along and
go out over the stern.
Ballasted boats should never go into rough water unless they have
water-tight cockpits and water-tight companions and openings. But
a water-tight cockpit, unless it is well-scuppered and really
self-bailing, is of little use. In eight out of ten small yachts the
cockpits are not, although they pretend to be, self-bailing. They will
bail perfectly when at anchor. In order to bail quickly the floor must
be at least ten inches above the load water line. Here again freeboard
comes in. Again, the placing of the scuppers in the forward end of the
cockpit and their outboard openings under the bilge is decidedly wrong.
In the first place it keeps the water at all times in the forward end
of the standing room against the cabin, just where you move about; in
the second every drop that goes out through the lee pipe has to force
its way against a pressure. This pressure is also constantly driving
the water up and into the boat. The place for the scuppers is aft with
the openings under the stern. Here there is constant suction so long as
the boat is moving ahead, no matter to which side or how far she heels.
Again, if the floor is sloped aft, whatever water is on the standing
room will run aft and be out of the way, a measure of comfort that
those who sail in rough water can appreciate. It is not generally known
but a boat going at speed of four knots and over will, if equipped with
proper scuppers, siphon, i. e., suck the water out.
[Illustration: A SEAGOING BOAT]
Another bad practice of builders is to put stationary seats around
a cockpit with lockers beneath them. This never should be done. You
cannot keep them tight, the wood being constantly subject to water and
sun. Never put lockers of any kind in a boat with outboard openings.
Another bad practice is that of putting in low companion thresholds.
The threshold of the companion should be as high or higher than
the side of the boat, and should on no account, no matter how high
the cockpit floor is, be on a level with it. The usual manner of
constructing companion doors is also open to objection. The new method
in which the door slides down into a recess through a rubber-packed
joint is far better than the old way of closing. Such a door can be
made absolutely water-tight, and can be opened without being opened.
This enables you to see into the cabin or out of it without running
the slide back or risking getting a wash below by opening the doors.
These may seem trivial details, but it is the neglect of such to whose
account the loss of the majority of seagoing vessels must be placed.
Poor hatches and low, badly protected engine room skylights are
responsible for nearly all the steamships that go to sea, and are never
heard of again. Keep the water out and you can live out anything in the
way of sea or wind. Let it get in and everything that before made your
craft seaworthy will be an aid to your ending. Your ballast will be a
weight to sink you, and the empty space that gave you buoyancy so much
room to quickly fill with water.
After this, look to your pump. Where is it? In most yachts directly
amidships, drawing out of a well over the lowest part of the keel.
Where should it be? In the place where it can be used when most
wanted--the bilge. You must have a means of drawing from the center,
so you can pump out when at anchor or sailing upright. But all pumps
should have a bilge intake. It would be a very simple matter to make
such a connection with a cock to cut off the other intakes. How often,
when he least wants to, has a man to let his boat up, so as to get the
water amidships for the purpose of pumping it out. If he could pump
from the bilges this coming up would be unnecessary. To kill a boat's
way in a heavy beam or head sea, so as to get her on her keel, is a
dangerous artifice; but it must be done with the pump amidships, if you
want to get the water out, and keep a dry cabin. Every seagoing small
yacht should have at least two fixed pumps, and a movable one. The
fixed pumps should be constantly looked to, and the limbers kept clean.
Never stow inside weight alongside of or over the intake, and never
allow rubbish to be swept into the spaces between the floors. With a
good pump a man can keep down all the water that will work into a tight
boat through her bottom, topsides and deck.
All seagoing yachts should have the rudder post boxed up and carried
well above the water line. The neglect of this is the cause of much
leakage. She should also have in her rudder blade a boring or rod in
which to make fast emergency lines or chains. In craft that have their
rudders well under them a rod must be used, but in shallow boats with
broad blades a hole bored through the outer edge will do. These lines
are extremely useful when anchored in a sea way; by hauling them taut
over either quarter you can relieve the strain on the head of the post
and gear attached to it. In case of a breakdown of the quadrant, wheel
or post head, you can at once take control of the rudder and keep the
boat under command.
No boat should go into rough water for a long run unless she have
ringbolts aft for the purpose of passing boom lashings, and also a
fixed boom crotch, or at least one that can be made immovable. There is
no other way of keeping a boom steady when the sail is lowered down.
You cannot by any possible means do so with lashings, unless you can
horn it in a crotch. A loose boom is a constant menace. Provision also
should be made for the trysail sheets, and for body lashings for the
crew, and lashings for the boat, even if you have davits. The principal
weak spot in the rigging of a boat that is to be driven in heavy water
is the bobstay. That piece of rigging is often carried away in a sea
than any other, and usually it is the bolt that goes. Look to it, and
look to it well; for if it parts, most likely you will lose your mast.
The only safeguard lies in rigging a preventer stay that will set up
with a tackle, the fall leading inboard. The stay should be of wire
rope properly and strongly secured to the stem. Use either a gun tackle
or luff tackle--the latter is preferable--and be sure to give it plenty
of drift. When in use, set it up just scant of the strain, so that if
the bobstay parts it will catch the strain before the spar gets a good
spring. In boats that have a forestay set up to the stem head there is
less likelihood of this accident happening; but it is always best to
have a preventer fitted. Make the fall fast around the bitts or mast
where you can readily get at it, and hold a turn to set it up. Seagoing
boats should have two shrouds on a side and set up with lanyards in
preference to rigging screws. If you fit the latter, have them about
twice the size of those ordinarily put on by riggers. She should also
have a heavy set of masthead runners and duplicate eyes to set them up
to, one pair being placed well aft. Our modern full-bowed boats are
very hard on their rigging and spars when in a sea way, and need to be
heavily ironed.
Outside of her ordinary sails a seagoing yacht needs a trysail, a
small square sail, and a small jib or staysail, all made of heavy
canvas. Particular attention should be paid to the roping and clews
of these sails. It is of no use using heavy canvas if the clew irons
are frail and the rope light. A gaff-headed trysail is better than a
jib-headed, but it is more bother to set. Care should be taken to see
that the cleat or ringbolt for the trysail sheet is in such a position
as will allow the sail to be properly sheeted, for a trysail when used
for riding must set flat, or else it will bang itself to pieces.
In seagoing craft looks don't count, and therefore be not afraid to
make all your rigging heavy and strong, and wherever possible have a
fitting or tackle that can be instantly made to take the place of one
that carries away. Always when in rough water or in heavy weather keep
a vang or down-haul on the peak of the gaff. It is sometimes the only
thing that will bring the sail down, and it gives you command of the
spar, especially when the yacht is rolling heavily. The chafing of gear
when in a sea way is constant and ruinous. To prevent it a close watch
must be kept on all ropes where they pass through blocks or lie against
spars or other ropes. If your halliards and sheet remain long in one
place they must be canvased or armored with some sort of chafing stuff.
One more important thing. Whenever you get far from land, lash the oars
and rudder in the dingey. Then put in a good long coil of light line,
a bucket, a jug or breaker of water, and enough food to last for a day
or two. Lash these in so they cannot get out. Many a life has been lost
and many a man has suffered horribly because these simple precautions
have been neglected. Something suddenly happens to the yacht; it is a
case of boat at once. The crew throw the boat over and jump in. Too
late they find that the oars are gone or that there is no water or
food. The bucket and rope are for use as a sea anchor.
[Illustration: FULL-RIGGED SCHOONER]
_ON RIGS_
"_The present tendency of canvasing is to increase the number of sails
on cruising yachts, and to decrease on racing craft. Experience teaches
that in both cases we are doing the right thing. Ultimate speed is
found in single sails; ease of handling, safety and mobility in divided
sail._"