Yachting, Vol. 1

by Sir Edward Sullivan; Earl Thomas Brassey Brassey; R. T. Pritchett; C. E. Seth-Smith; Watson. G. L.

If the eyes of the rigging are covered with leather which has not been painted, then the bight of each eye ought to be left standing in a shallow dish of oil. The leather will thus soak itself, and the oiling will preserve it from perishing.

In sending up rigging it must always be remembered that the lengths of the port and starboard rigging are arranged so as to allow of the starboard fore rigging being placed into position first, then that to port, the starboard backstay rigging going up next, followed by that to port, after which the eye of the forestay will go over the masthead and will rest on the throat halliard eyebolt in the masthead.

All block-hooks should be moused. A mousing is made by taking two or three turns of spunyarn round the neck and lip of the hook followed by a cross turn or two to finish off. This prevents the hook from becoming disengaged.

In some yachts double topmasts and double forestays are used. The former are only fitted where the yacht carries two sizes of jib-topsail, one for reaching and the other for beating to windward. Whilst one is up, the other can be hooked on, so that no time need be lost in setting. A medium-sized sail, however, capable of being used for reaching or beating, is all that is really required. The shifting of two jib-topsails entails the presence for some time of one man at least forward on the bowsprit end, and the less the men are forward of the mast the better, if it is desired to get the best work out of a small yacht, and the yacht herself is in proper trim. There is more to be said, however, in favour of double forestays, since they allow of a foresail being sent up whilst another is already set and drawing, and the work is done inboard, while the difference between a working and a balloon foresail is far greater than in that of two jib-topsails. The writer has never used double forestays, but he believes so thoroughly in the foresail, as a sail, that he has always carried three—a working, reaching, and a balloon. He has the luff of each foresail fitted with loops at regular intervals, after the manner of gaiter lacings, otherwise called 'lacing on the bight.' These are made either of light wire or small roping. The upper loop reaches down to the next below it, so that the loop below may be passed through, and so on, till the tack is reached. When setting a foresail the upper loop is passed over the forestay before the lower one is threaded through it, and so on with all the loops in turn. The tack has a single part, which, after it has been passed through the lowest loop, is made fast to the tack-downhaul. When shifting foresails, the sail is lowered, tack let go, and the lacing comes away by itself; then the new sail can be hooked on to the halliards and laced to the forestay as quickly as it can be hauled up. When the sea is smooth there may be no necessity for unlacing the working foresail should the shift have to be made from that sail, especially if it has soon to be called into use again. The above method will be found far superior to that of hanks, which are always getting out of order and not infrequently refuse to do their duty altogether.

In mentioning the shifting of sails, there is one point to which nothing like sufficient attention is paid, and that is to the lead of sheets. Many a good jib has been destroyed and pulled out of shape through a bad lead, and more than one race has been lost through the bad lead of a reaching or balloon foresail sheet. When jibs or foresails are changed, the greatest care should be taken to see that the leads told off for their sheets are really fair—that is, that the pull on the sheet does not favour the foot more than the leach of the sail, or vice versâ. In the case of a balloon-foresail its sheet leads outside the lee rigging and belays somewhere aft. The man attending the sheet should take it as far aft as a direct strain will permit, and not belay it to the first cleat that comes to hand; otherwise the sail will simply prove a windbag taking the yacht to leeward rather than ahead.

There is a fitting which must not be passed over that is now almost universally adopted on large yachts, but is equally important on small ones—that is, an iron horse at the main-boom end for the mainsail outhaul to travel on. It was originally invented by that most skilful helmsman Mr. W. Adams, of Greenock, to obviate a difficulty so common in square stern boats with booms stretching to n length over the transom. He fitted the boom of his little racing boat with a horse, which came from the boom end to within easy reach for unhooking the clew of the sail, and so saved the trouble of having to use a dinghy for the purpose. The idea was soon taken up by Clyde yachtsmen, for it was found so much easier to get the mainsail out on the boom than with the traveller working on the boom itself.

Whilst on a subject connected with mainsails, the writer can recommend for the gaff and head of the mainsail, instead of the ordinary long rope lacing commonly in use, separate stops or seizings to each eyelet-hole. The seizing can be done in half the time it takes to properly lace the head of the sail to the spar; it looks quite as well and does its work better. For fastening the luff of the mainsail to the mast-hoops, instead of seizings he has used hanks, and has found them very handy and neat. The hanks used are riveted on to the mast-hoops. He has now had them in constant use for over twelve years, and has never had occasion to find any fault whatever with them. In one yacht he kept two mainsails in use for cruising and racing, and thus preserved the racing mainsail in good condition for a considerably longer period than would otherwise have been the case, and with the fittings just named the shift of sails was a small matter.

Topsails, perhaps, are the sails which require renewing more frequently than any other, as they get out of shape so quickly if very much is demanded from them. For a small yacht, if she carries a topmast, three topsails are a sufficient outfit. They should be a jibheader, a gaff, and a balloon or jackyarder. One yard ought to serve for both the gaff and jackyard topsail, and these sails should be made the same length on the head. This will save having to carry about a deckload of timber.

OUTFIT

It is frequently a question of great moment, what kind and what amount of outfit it is necessary to take away on a summer's cruise, and the writer finds it a great convenience to keep a list of everything that goes to form not only his sea kit, but stores and necessaries as well. Such a list prevents one from forgetting small necessaries.