Hints to Beginners
Nothing has been said about reefing thus far, because small boats under the management of beginners should not be afloat in a "reefing breeze." Reefing is the operation of reducing the spread of sail when the wind becomes too fresh. If you will look at [Fig. 146] you will see rows of short marks on the sail above the boom. These are "reef-points"—bits of line about a foot long passing through holes in the sail and knotted so that they will not slip. In reefing, the sail is lowered and that portion of it between the boom and the reef-points is gathered together, and the points are tied around both it and the boom. When the lower row of points is used it is a single reef. Both rows together are a double reef.
Make your first practical experiment with a small sail and with the wind blowing toward the shore. Row out a little way, and then sail in any direction in which you can make the boat go, straight back to shore if you can, with the sail out nearly at right angles with the boat. Then try running along shore with the sheet hauled in a little and the sail on the side nearest the shore. You will soon learn what your craft can do, and will probably find that she will make very little, if any, headway to windward. This is partly because she slides sidewise over the water. To prevent it you may use a "lee-board"—namely, a broad board hung over the side of the boat (G, [Fig. 143]). This must be held by stout lines, as the strain upon it is very heavy. It should be placed a little forward of the middle of the boat.
Fig. 147.—Making port.
It must be on the side away from the wind—the lee side—and must be shifted when you go about. Keels and centreboards are permanent contrivances for the same purpose, but a lee-board answers very well as a makeshift, and is even used habitually by some canoeists and other boatmen.
In small boats it is sometimes desirable to sit amidships, because sitting in the stern raises the bow too high out of water; steering may be done with an oar over the lee side, or with "yoke-lines" attached to a cross-piece on the rudder-head, or even to the tiller. In this last case the lines must be rove through rings or pulleys at the sides of the boat opposite the end of the tiller. When the handle of the oar (H, [Fig. 143])—or the tiller (F, [Fig. 146]) if a rudder is used—is pushed to the right, the boat will turn to the left, and vice versa. The science of steering consists in knowing when to push and how much to push—very simple, you see, in the statement, but not always so easy in practice.
The sail should be so adjusted in relation to the rest of the boat that, when the sheet is hauled close in and made fast, the boat, if left to herself, will point her head to the wind like a weather-cock and drift slowly astern. If it is found that the sail is so far forward that she will not do this, the fault may be remedied by stepping the mast further aft or by rigging a small sail near the stern. This is called a "dandy" or "steering sail," and is especially convenient in a boat whose size or arrangement necessitates sitting amidships. It may be rigged like the mainsail, and when its sheet is once made fast will ordinarily take care of itself in tacking.
Remember that, if the wind freshens or a squall strikes you, the position of safety is with the boat's head to the wind. When in doubt what to do, push the helm down (toward the sail) and haul in the slack of the sheet as the boat comes up into the wind. If she is moving astern, or will not mind her helm—and of course she will not if she is not moving—pull her head around to the wind with an oar and experiment cautiously until you find which way you can make her go.
In making a landing, always calculate to have the boat's head as near the wind as possible when she ceases to move, this whether you lower your sail or not.
Thus, if the wind is off shore, as shown at A, [Fig. 147], land at F or G, with the bow toward the shore. If the wind is from the direction of B, land at E, with the bow toward B or at F; if at the latter, the boom will swing away from the wharf and permit you to lie alongside. If the wind is from D, reverse these positions. If the wind comes from the direction of C, land either at F or G, with the bow pointing off shore.
If you have no one to tell you what to do, you will have to feel your way slowly and learn by experience; but if you have nautical instincts you will soon make your boat do what you wish her to do as far as she is able. But first learn to swim before you try to sail a boat.
Volumes have been written on the subject treated in these few pages, and it is not yet exhausted. The hints here given are safe ones to follow, and will, it is hoped, be of service to many a young sailor in many a corner of the world.
CHAPTER X
MORE RIGS OF ALL KINDS FOR SMALL BOATS
How to Distinguish between a Ship, Bark, Brig, and Schooner—Merits and Defects of Catboats—Advantages of the Sloop—Rigs for Canoes—Buckeyes and Sharpies
The two principal rigs for vessels are the fore-and-aft and the square rig.
Square rigged consists in having the principal sails extended by yards suspended at the middle ([Fig. 159]).
Fore-and-aft rigged is having the principal sails extended by booms and gaffs suspended by their ends ([Figs. 148], [149], [150], [156], and [161]).
Barks, brigs, and ships are all more or less square rigged, but schooners, sloops, and catboats are all fore-and-aft rigged. In these notes the larger forms of boats are mentioned only because of the well-known interest boys take in all nautical matters, but no detailed description of the larger craft will be given. All that is aimed at here is to give the salient points, so that the youngsters will know the name of the rig when they see it.