"Right both times. To what is the foot of the sail fastened?"
"To the boom," answered Con Bunker.
"And the wood or iron by which it is fastened, or seized, is called the jackstay. The up-and-down edges of the sail are called leeches."
"Do they bite? How do you spell that word?" asked Hop.
"They don't bite unless you miscall them. As to the spelling, you pay your money, and take your choice, for it is spelled both ways. They are the inner and the outer leeches. The inner leech, where the hoops are attached, is the luff. The four corners of the sail are called the clews, though some call only the outer lower corner by this name. The upper outer corner is the peak. The lower inner corner is the tack."
The skipper, after the manner of the principal, then examined the crew on the subjects just explained till he had made them proficient. He required them to point out the parts on "the real thing" before them.
"Now we will see what the jib (2) is made of. The names used vary somewhat. The part of the sail to which the hanks are fastened is the luff, or inner leech."
"Inner?" queried Ash, almost sure he was wrong.
"The sail is treated in relation to the stay, and not to the mast or the hull; and the inner leech of the mainsail is the part where the hoops are," replied the skipper, laughing; for he had made the same mistake himself in his study of the subject.
"I see; and that makes it as clear as Champlain water."