The proportions between the mainsail and jigger as recommended by the projector is 4 in the former to 1 in the latter—that is, the dimensions of the jigger should be exactly one-half those of the mainsail. Mr. Herreshoff is also responsible for another marine curiosity that appeared in 1876. This was a catamaran or double-hulled boat—intended to be handled by one man. This boat differs from its kinsfolk of the southern ocean, the point of widest departure being that the hulls are connected by flexible means, so that each hull can adjust itself to the surface of the water it moves in.
The means employed in forming this flexible union were through the agency of a complex system of ball-and-socket joints which had range of motion enough, so that one hull might be riding a wave, whilst its sister would be in the depths of a hollow.
A small tray-shaped car for passengers, and the mast and rigging, were supported between and above the hulls by a system of truss-work with adjustible tension rods of iron.
These catamarans carried a mainsail and jib, and in smooth water made wonderful speed; 21 miles an hour has been attained under favourable conditions. This aquatic marvel was not destined to become popular; the boats required special skill in their management, and were best calculated for an afternoon's sail in smooth, sheltered water. The absence of anything like cabin accommodations was also against their use, but cruising has been successfully accomplished in them through the use of a tent to make shelter, covering the car, and of sufficient height for one to stand under it.
Newport (centreboard) cat-boat.
The respect of all dwellers on the shore is due to the cat-boat. She is distinctly American, and whilst her use may be more and more circumscribed, still the old cat will live and continue to fill a place that no other rig could do. But the cat-boat in the usual acceptation means something more than its simple rig; it stands for a shallow, wide boat, with one mast crowded into the extreme bow, and a boom reaching far over the stern, as in the cut on p. 271. The 'cat' is seen on our seaboard from Maine to Florida, but 95 per cent. of all yachting and boating is done north of the capes of the Delaware. In this connection it is not out of place to speak of our very large fleet of small yachts and of boats for sailing and cruising which from their size may not properly be called yachts.
The number of these craft is legion, they swarm in every northern port, and in a few places in the south are frequently met; their rig is always of the sloop for the larger, and for the smaller—say below 25-ft. water-line—the cat-rig is in preponderance. The value of this 'Mosquito fleet' as a school for yachting cannot be over-estimated.
The fancy for cruising in small sloops or cat-boats has increased greatly of late, and as the type of craft for this work improves it will become a very general pastime.