The Book of the Sailboat: How to rig, sail and handle small boats

by A. Hyatt Verrill

Sailing

1—Before the wind or running free. 2—With wind on the quarter. 3—Beam wind or reaching. 4—Head wind or close hauled. 5—Tacking or beating to windward. 6—Going about with boat carrying a jib. 7—Making a long and short leg. 8—How a wind acts on a boat close hauled. 9—Jibing. 10—Wearing ship. 11—Tacking off the wind to avoid beam seas.

Having thoroughly mastered these simple principles of why a boat sails you can safely start to learn how to handle your boat. If possible, have an experienced sailor go with you when learning; you will find his advice worth more than all the printed directions in the world, but even alone you’ll have no trouble in learning to sail if you take plenty of time, master one thing thoroughly before trying another and use common sense and judgment. Before leaving shore or the anchorage be sure that everything is in the boat and in the proper place. There should be oars and oarlocks, a bailer, an anchor and plenty of line and all ropes should be neatly coiled where they are free to run out without becoming kinked, caught or tangled.

Make it a point always to keep the sheet clear and never tie it or make it fast when sailing. More accidents to sailboats have resulted from a tangled or fast sheet than from any other one cause.

When hoisting sail the sheet should be left slack enough to allow the sail to swing freely from side to side, but it should not be entirely free or the sail may swing out at right angles and strike some neighboring boat or obstruction, or it may even wrap itself about the mast and cause no end of trouble.

It is best to commence sailing “on the wind” or with the wind from one side or partly over the stern, for this is the easiest and safest kind of sailing. In this position most boats sail their best and obtain their greatest speed. If the wind is directly from one side the sail should be eased off until the forward edge commences to flutter, but if the wind is over the quarter the sail must be trimmed in order to be at as nearly a right angle to the wind as possible, as shown in the diagrams.

If, when sailing with a beam or quarter wind, you wish to turn about you should always haul in your sheet, push the tiller to leeward—away from the wind—and bring the boat up into the wind until the sail swings to the other side, when you may gradually ease-off the sheet until sailing as before.

If you attempt to turn about without doing this the sail will swing violently across from one side to the other, or in sailors’ parlance, will jibe and while an experienced hand will jibe a boat with perfect safety an amateur is very likely to capsize or to carry away masts and rigging.

It may seem at first as if sailing right before the wind would be the easiest thing to accomplish, but this is a great mistake. To sail before the wind, save in very light airs and with a small sail, requires a great deal of care and not a little skill.

A great many boats have a tendency to yaw or to swing wildly from side to side when thus sailing and when this is the case the sail is very likely to jibe with serious results. Even if this does not happen the sail may bag out and make the boat steer hard or the boom may “kick up” and become almost unmanageable. If allowed to swing out too far the boat may refuse to obey its helm and will swing around to the wind, regardless of your efforts to keep it on its course, while if kept in too closely the wind may catch it on the wrong side and jibe it suddenly.