The Seaman's Friend / Containing a treatise on practical seamanship, with plates, a dictionary of sea terms, customs and usages of the merchant service

by Richard Henry Dana

Taking in Lower Masts and Bowsprit.—Shore up the beams upon which the heels of the shears will rest, if necessary, from the keelson. Parbuckle the shears aboard, with their heads aft. Raise their heads upon the taffrail, cross them, and pass the shear-lashing. Lash the upper block of a three-fold tackle under the cross, and secure the lower block to the breast-hooks, or to a toggle in the hawse-hole. You may also reeve and secure, in the same manner, a smaller purchase, which shall work clear of the first. Have two forward and two after guys clove-hitched to the shear-head, with cleats to prevent their slipping. Get a girt-line on one shear-head and a small tackle on the other, to slue and cant the mast. Let the fall of the main tackle come through the middle sheave, to prevent the block's sluing in its strap. Reeve large heel tackles to rouse the shears aft with. Put long oak plank shoes under the heels; and, if it be necessary, clap a thwart-ship tackle upon the two heels, or reeve a lashing, and put a stout plank between them, and bowse taut; which will prevent too great a strain coming upon the water-ways. Take the main tackle fall to the capstan; heave round, haul on the forward guy and after heel tackles, and raise the shear to an angle of about eighty degrees with the deck, and so that the main purchase will hang plumb with the partners of the mizzen-mast. Lash a garland to the forward part of the mast, above the centre, and toggle the purchase to it. Heave the mast in over the bulwarks; fit the trestle-trees and after chock; reeve girt-lines by which men may be hoisted when the mast is in; point the mast in, and lower away. Always take in the mizzen-mast first. Get in the main and then the foremast in the same manner, rousing the shears forward, with their shoes, by means of the heel tackles. Having stepped and secured the foremast, carry the forward guys aft and rake the shears over the bows; toggle the lower block of the main tackle to a garland lashed to the upper part of the bowsprit inside of the centre. Put on the cap, and carry tackles or guys from the bowsprit-head to each cat-head, and clap on a heel tackle or guy. Heave the bowsprit, and direct it by the small tackles and guys.

To rig a Bowsprit.—Lash collars for the fore stay, bobstays, and bowsprit shrouds, then for the spring stay, and put on the bees for the topmast stays; fit the man-ropes, pass the gammoning, and set up bobstays and shrouds.

To get the Tops over the Mast-heads.—Place the top on deck abaft the mast; get a girt-line on each side of the mast-head, and pass the end of each under the top, through the holes in the after part; clinch them to their own parts, and stop them to the fore part of the top with slip-stops. Have a guy to the fore and another to the after part of the top. Make the ends of a span fast to the after corners of the top, and bend a girt-line from the mast-head to the bight of the span, and stop it to the forward part of the top. Sway away on the girt-lines. When the fore part of the top is above the trestle-trees, cut the span-stops, and when the after part is above them, cast off the slip-stops. When the lubber-hole is high enough to clear the mast-head, haul on the forward guy, and let the top hang horizontally by the girt-lines. Lower away, place and bolt it.

The fore and main tops are sent up from abaft, and the mizzen from forward. The tops may be got over without the span and girt-line, by stopping the two girt-lines first rove to the middle as well as to the fore part of the top, and cutting the upper stops first.

To send up a Topmast.—Get the topmast alongside, with its head forward. Lash a top-block to the head of the lower-mast; reeve a mast-rope through it, from aft forward, and bring the end down and reeve it through the sheave-hole of the topmast, hitching it to its own part a little below the topmast-head, and stopping both parts to the mast, at intervals. Snatch the rope and sway away. As soon as the head is through the lower cap, cast off the end of the mast-rope, letting the mast hang by the stops, and hitch it to the staple in the other end of the cap. Cast off the stops and sway away. Point the head of the mast between the trestle-trees and through the hole in the lower cap, the round hole of which must be put over the square hole of the trestle-trees. Lash the cap to the mast, hoist away, and when high enough, lower a little and secure the cap to the lower mast-head. (This is when it cannot be put on by hand.) If the cross-trees are heavy, they may be placed in the following manner. Sway away until the topmast-head is a few feet above the lower cap. Send up the cross-trees by girt-lines, and let the after part rest on the lower cap and the forward part against the topmast. Lower away the topmast until the cross-trees fall into their place, and then hoist until they rest on the shoulders. Lash on the bolsters, get girt-lines on the cross-trees to send up the rigging, and then put it over the mast-head, first the shrouds, then the backstays, and lastly the head-stays. Sway the topmast on end, fid it, and set up the rigging.

To get on a Topmast-Cap.—In vessels of the largest class, it may be necessary to send up the cap in the following manner, but it can usually be got up by hand. Or it may be fitted and the rigging put on over it. Send the cap up to the cross-trees by girt-lines, and place the round hole of the cap over the forward hole of the cross-trees; send aloft a topgallant studdingsail boom, and point its upper end through the holes in the cross-trees and cap, and lash the cap to it. Hook a tackle or girt-line to a strap on the lower end of the spar, and sway away until the cap is over the mast-head. Slue the spar so that the cap may come fair, lower away, and place the cap upon the mast-head. Unlash the spar and send it down.

To rig out a Jib-boom.—Point the outer end through the collars of the stays. Reeve the heel-rope through a block at the bowsprit cap, through the sheave-hole at the heel of the boom, and secure the end to an eye-bolt in the cap on the opposite side. Rig the boom out until the inner sheave-hole is clear of the cap. Tar the boom-end, put on the foot-ropes and guys, and reeve the jib stay. Hoist up the martingale and rig it, and reeve the martingale stay and gaub-line. Rig the boom out to its place, and set up the jib and martingale stays.

To cross a Lower Yard.—If the yard is alongside, reeve the yard rope through the jear block at the mast-head, make it fast to the slings of the yard, and stop it out to the yard-arm. Sway away, and cast off the stops as the yard comes over the side, and get the yard across the bulwarks. Lower yards are rigged now with iron trusses and quarter-blocks, which would be fitted before rigging the yard. Seize on the clew-garnet block, and put the rigging over the yard-arm; first the straps for the head-earings, then the foot-ropes, then the brace blocks or pennants, and last the eye of the lift. (The lifts, brace pennants, and foot-ropes are now spliced or hooked into rings with thimbles on an iron band, round the yard-arm, next the shoulders. In this way, there is no rope of any kind round the yard-arm.) Reeve the lifts and braces, get two large tackles from the mast-head to the quarters of the yard, and sway away on them and on the lifts, bearing off and sluing the yard by means of guys. Secure the yard by the iron trusses, and haul taut lifts and braces.

To cross a Topsail Yard.—As topsail yards now have chain tyes, there are no tye-blocks to seize on. The quarter-blocks are first seized on, and the parral secured at one end, ready to be passed. A single parral has an eye in each end, and one end is passed under the yard and over, and the eye seized to the standing part, close to the yard. After the yard is crossed, the other end is passed round the mast, then round the yard, and seized in the same manner. To pass a double parral, proceed in the same manner, except that the seizings are passed so as to leave the eyes clear and above the standing part, and then take a short rope with an eye in each end, pass it round the mast, and seize the eyes to the eyes of the first long rope. The parral is wormed, served and leathered. The parral being seized at one end, put on the head-earing straps, the foot-ropes, Flemish horses, and brace blocks. Bend the yard-rope to the slings, stop it out to the yard-arm, and sway away until the yard is up and down; then put on the upper lift in the top and the lower lift on deck, and reeve the braces. Sway away, cast off the stops, and take in upon the lower lift as the yard rises, till the yard is square; then haul taut lifts and braces and pass the parral.

To send up a Topgallant Mast.—Most merchantmen carry long topgallant masts. In these, the topgallant, royal and skysail masts are all one stick. A short topgallant mast is one which has cross-trees, and above which a fidded royal-mast may be rigged. A stump topgallant mast has no cross-trees, or means for setting a mast above it, and is carried only in bad weather. Some short topgallant masts are rigged with a withe on the after part of the mast-head, through which a sliding-gunter royal-mast is run up, with its heel resting in a step on the topmast cap.