CREW STATIONS—TACKING OR WEARING.
Sails:
Sails are not made of iron; neither are they made of rubber. Canvas, especially when new, should be treated with gentleness. It is very easy to spoil a sail. More bad sails are made by yachtsmen than by sailmakers. When bending a new sail haul it out along the spar hand-taut and lash it. Then let the wind stretch it out, you taking up the slack day by day. As it comes, you can put more strain on it until it reaches its proper place. In damp weather, ease it in at the head and foot.
Sails:
When measuring your boat for a suit of sails, do not try to put on every inch the spars will carry. Leave plenty of drift between the hoist and the block and a good length at the end of each spar. This will give you a chance to properly stretch your canvas. The foot of all sails should be kept well up off the deck, so as to allow plenty of room for the wind to escape from under them. Also, keep the leach of the headsail away from the mast. Sails should never be made to lap if it is possible to sheet them without doing so.
CREW STATIONS—REEFING.
Sails:
Take the same care of your sails as you do of your best suit of clothes. When you get a new suit, you don’t start in by stretching the back of the coat, and by pulling like mad on the legs of the trousers. Canvas is woven just as cloth is. When you put your clothes away you don’t roll them up in a tight ball and leave them in a damp place for days at a time. Remember this.