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Niagara Seamanship

A Hands On Guide For Sail Trainees

1s t Edition

By Capt. Wesley W. Heerssen

1

87

Acknowledgements

Like most books on seamansh ip , th i s book could not have been wri t t en wi thout the knowledge passed down f rom the many exper ienced sa i lors I have had the p r iv i l ege o f sa i l ing wi th over the years . I espec ia l ly would l ike to thank those who had the pa t ience to teach me something about the t rade : C a p t . Wa l t e r P . R y b ka , S en i o r C ap ta in , US B r i g N i ag a ra : F o r ed i t i n g a s s i s t an c e an d y e a r s o f l ea d e r s h i p and g u id a n c e o n N ia ga ra an d a l so d u r i ng my e a r l i e s t ye a r s s a i l i n g on th e ba r qu e E L I S S A in G a l v es to n , T e x a s . C a p t . J o hn Be e b e - C e n t e r : f o r sh a r in g h i s k no w le dg e and in s igh t t o w ar d o p e ra t ing N iag ar a , w h i l e h e s e r v ed a s C ap t a i n a nd I a s Ch i e f M a t e (200 1 -2 002 ) . C a p t . J a s o n Q u i l t e r : f o r ma k in g s ign i f i ca n t con t r ib u t io n t o t h e s a i l i n g p r o g r a m a s C h i e f M a t e o n N ia ga ra (2 003 - 20 05 ) . C a p t . J a n C . M i l e s : C ap t a in , P r id e o f B a l t i mo r e I I , f o r ma n y l e s s o n s l e a r n ed o n ma n y p as s ag e s t h r o ugh ou t t h e w a t e r s o f E u rop e , E a s t A s ia , a n d N o r th A me r i c a . C a p ta i n s o f Ba r q u e E l i s sa : C a p t . R i ch a rd T . S ha n no n , P a u l W e l l i ng , U S N R A D M (R e t . )

C a p t . J ay Bo l t o n , C a p t . K i p F i l e s , a nd C a p t . S t ev e Co b b .

C a p ta i n s Da ni e l Q u i n n a n d W a y n e C h i me n t i : f o r ma n y g ood t i me s a n d e x p e r i en c e s i n t h e P ac i f i c o n t h e t o p s a i l s c h o o n e r To l e M o u r . . C h r i s J a n i n i , J a mi e W h i t e , a n d S t ev e H y ma n : R i g g e rs o n S / V B a l c lu t h a a t t h e S an F r an c i s c o M a r i t ime N a t i o n a l H i s to r i c P a rk . Th e y e a ch a r e e x t r ao r d i n a r y r i g g e r s wh o sha r e d th e i r k n o w l e d g e an d sk i l l s w i th c a r e , g r e a t a t t en t io n t o d e t a i l , an d p a t i e n ce . C a p t . P e t e r Bo l s te r : A d ea r f r i en d , w i th w h o m I s h a r e d ma n y l i f e -ch an g ing ad ven tu r e s on P ro v i d en c e , and P r i d e o f Ba l t i m o r e I I . C a p t . J o hn Eg i n to n : S / V My s t i c Wha l e r , T h e n i c e s t c ap t a i n I e v e r me t , a n d w ho o f t en r e mi n d e d me a s a bo y to ge t o f f my l a z y c a r c a s s and ge t t o w o r k . N i a g a r a V o lun t e e r s : W h o sp e n d ma n y d a y s e a c h y e a r h a p p i l y w o rk ing h a r d t o ma i n t a i n an d s a i l t h e s h ip . Th e y c on t inu e to r e mi n d me t h a t l e a r n i n g t o s a i l a s q u a r e r i g g e r s h o u ld b e an e n j o y ab l e e x p e r i en c e .

Copyright © 2006 By Flagship Niagara League, Inc.

150 East Front Street Erie, PA 16507

2

Niagara Seamanship Table of Contents: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 FIVE KEY PRINCIPLES OF GOOD SEAMANSHIP- ............................................................. 3 GETTING YOUR BEARINGS ..................................................................................................... 4 SPARS AND STANDING RIGGING ........................................................................................... 6

NIAGARA SPAR PLAN .................................................................................... 8 SAILS AND RUNNING RIGGING .............................................................................................. 9

NIAGARA SAIL PLAN................................................................................... 10 SQUARE SAILS............................................................................................................................ 11

Running Rigging etc. for Topsails ............................................................... 12 Foresail and Mainsail................................................................................... 14

BRACES .................................................................................................... 16 Commands for Bracing Yards ..................................................................... 16

SETTING SQUARE SAILS............................................................................. 18 Setting Topsails and Topgallants ................................................................. 19 Setting the Foresail and Mainsail................................................................. 20

LOOSING AND FURLING SQUARE SAILS...................................................... 21 Loosing ........................................................................................................ 21 Removing Gaskets ....................................................................................... 22 Furling Sail- Harbor Stow............................................................................ 25 Tying Gaskets for a Harbor Stow (view from aft) ....................................... 28 Furling- Sea Stow ........................................................................................ 29 Furling- Storm Stow .................................................................................... 29

TAKING IN SQUARE SAILS ......................................................................... 30 REEFING SQUARE SAILS............................................................................. 31

FORE & AFT SAILS.................................................................................................................... 33 HEADSAILS ................................................................................................ 33

Commands and Actions for Setting Headsails:............................................ 34 Headsails and Sail Trim............................................................................... 35

STAYSAILS ................................................................................................. 36 Main Topmast Staysail Running Rigging .................................................... 37

SPANKER.................................................................................................... 38 Setting the Spanker ...................................................................................... 41 Taking in the Spanker .................................................................................. 42 Reefing the Spanker..................................................................................... 43

LINE HANDLING ........................................................................................................................ 45 Procedures for Hauling ................................................................................ 46

86 3

Procedures for Easing .................................................................................. 48

85

he forward end of a gaff.

e made in the end of a rope, stay, or shroud

imble, etc. it

a gale of wind, under a small sail.

le anchor, after riding by two.

Wake: The track left by the ship on the water which she has passed over.

turn a ship round by turning away from the wind to bring her onto the

tc.

e deck for a certain time. One is

ip’s progress through the water. Described as headway, sternway, leeway, etc.

ndward.

hoist ingle block.

& Water: That part of the ship’s bottom which is just at the surface of the

its original position.

is kept astern, etc. of her anchor solely by the wind.

blows.

Throat: The forward upper corner of a gaff-rigged sail. TCoiling and Hanging.................................................................................... 49 Throat Seizing: A seizing which draws an ey

tightly around a block or deadeye. BELAYING LINES........................................................................................ 50 Rain: Special Care for Manila Lines and Locking Hitches......................... 51

Tier: The place where the cables are coiled. BASIC KNOTS .............................................................................................................................. 52

Traverse: To sail on different courses. When a rope runs freely through a this said to traverse.

Trying:. Laying to in

Figure Eight Knot ........................................................................................ 52 Reef Knot .................................................................................................... 53 Sheet Bend- ................................................................................................. 54 Bowline ....................................................................................................... 55 Turning to windward: Tacking. Clove Hitch- ................................................................................................ 57 Round Turn and Two Half-Hitches- ............................................................ 58 To Unbend: To cast loose. Midshipman’s Hitch .................................................................................... 59 To Unmoor: To reduce a ship to singMarline Spike Hitch..................................................................................... 59 Marline Spike Hitch..................................................................................... 60 To Unreeve: To pull a rope out of a block. Sail Maker’s Whipping................................................................................ 62

To Unrig: To deprive a ship of her rigging.

To Unship: To take any thing from the place in which it was fixed. General Advice on Whippings..................................................................... 66

VESSEL MANEUVERS UNDER SAIL ..................................................................................... 67 Tacking Ship Illustration: ............................................................................ 67 Tacking Ship- Commands and Procedure.................................................... 68 To Ware: To

other tack. Ware Ship Illustration.................................................................................. 70 Ware Ship- Commands and Procedure ........................................................ 71

To Warp: To move a ship by hawsers, eGLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................... 73

Watch: A division of the ship’s company who keep thcalled the Starboard, and the other the Port Watch.

Way: A sh

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... 87 To Weather a Ship: To get to windward of her.

A Weather Tide: A tide or current which runs to wi Weather-beaten: Any thing worn or damaged by bad weather.

To Weigh: To heave the anchor out of the ground.

To Whip: To bind the end of a Rope with thread, to prevent its untwisting - also to any thing by a rope which is reeved through a s

Wind’s Eye: The directional point from which the wind blows.

Between Wind water, or what is called the Water Line.

To Wind a Boat, etc: To turn it round from

Wind-rode: When the ship

To Windward .Towards that point from where the wind

To Work to windward. To make progress against the wind by tacking.

4

The Slack of a Rope, etc.: That part which hangs loose.

To To find the bottom by a leaden plummet.

pump, the helm, etc.

wo ropes together, by uniting and weaving the strands.

the sea.

r, aft from the bow, or either

se.

y.

o it, called

of a rope is broken. Also when a ship is run on

lso to lower the Flag in token of submission.

T e the messenger: To slacken it suddenly.

ge of the

dder into and across the wind so the wind

iced into a block strop, bolt rope of a r

1

Introduction To Slip a Cable: To let it run out to the end.

Sound: I f you are jo in ing Niagara fo r the f i r s t t ime , then you undoubtedly rece ived th i s book wi th your copy of the US Br ig Niagara Crew Handbook. I f you have no t f in i shed reading the Crew Handbook, pu t th i s book down unt i l you have read the fo rmer in i t s ent i re ty. This book a t tempts to answer many of the mechanica l quest ions l ike ly to be in the fore f ront o f a young sa i lor ’s mind. The problem i s tha t the most impor tan t ques t ions a re be t te r answered in the Crew Handbook, so read i t , then proceed here .

To take a Spell: To be in turn on duty at the lead, the

To Spill: To take the wind out of the sails by the braces, halyard, etc. in order take thepower out of the sail.

To Splice: To join t

Spoondrift: A continued flying of the spray and waves over the surface of The Crew Handbook desc r ibes the ro les and respons ib i l i t i e s of each profess iona l c rewmember and t ra inees . I t a l so out l ines the sh ip’s miss ion and h i s to ry, s tanding orders , and o the r po l ic ies and procedures tha t everyone onboard mus t be fami l ia r wi th . This book ne i the r replaces , nor supercedes any informat ion in the Crew Handbook. Niagara Seamanship focuses on the spec i f ic ta sks the c rewmembers pe r form in sa i l ing the sh ip . I t i s a co l lec t ion of in format ion and t echn ica l i l lus t ra t ions to he lp t ra inees and new c rewmembers in the i r s tudy of Niagara , her r ig , and seamansh ip .

To Spring a Mast: To crack or split it.

A Spring: A rope made fast to the cable at the bow, and taken in abaft, in order to expose the ship’s side to any direction.

Spring Lines: Mooring lines led forward from the quartedirection from midships to hold the ship so she does not sachet fore & aft alongside a pier.

To Stand on: To maintain the ship’s cour This book has been wri t t en as an in t roduc t ion to seamanship as p rac t iced onboard the US Br ig Niagara. I t i s in tended no t on ly as a hands-on gu ide for t ra inees to read dur ing the i r o ff du ty hours , bu t a l so as an ins t ruc tor ’s guide fo r p rofess iona l c rew to improve the qua l i ty of t ra in ing onboard through reasonable s t andard iza t ion . I t i s no t my in ten t to d i sc redi t the works o r op in ions o f o the rs , bu t on the con t ra ry, to mere ly p rovide a s ta r t ing po in t fo r the t ra inee o r apprent ice seaman to beg in s tudy. This book should no t supercede the d i rec t ion o f the sh ip’s o ff icer s , but mere ly ass i s t them in accompl i sh ing the i r du ty.

To Stand by: To be read

Starboard: The right side of the ship.

To Steer: To manage a ship by the movement of the helm.

To Stopper the Cable: To keep it from running out, by fastening short ropes tStoppers.

Strand: One of the divisions of a rope. Strands are each made of fibers that are twisted into yarns, which are further twisted into strands.

The nau t ica l te rminology desc r ibed wi th in may seem overwhelming to the new t ra inee dur ing the f i r s t weeks onboard . Vocabulary bu i lds f rom th i s point fo rward and mos t vocabula ry quest ions can be answered in the g lossa ry a t the back of the book .

Stranded: When one of the divisionsshore so that she cannot be got off, she is said to be stranded.

To Strike: To beat against the bottom. A F ina l ly, s ince most t ra inees a re only on Niagara for a few weeks , i t i s a grea t improbabi l i ty tha t a l l o f the mater ia l in th i s book wi l l be l ea rned and mas te red . No book can take the p lace of on- the- job t ra in ing and prac t ica l exper ience . However, i t may be he lpfu l a f te r the day i s done , to read and consider the day’s work comple ted , to c la r i fy what has been lea rned .

Lowering the topmasts is commonly termed striking them. To rapidly douse sail.

o Surg

To Swing: To turn a ship from one side of her anchor to the other, at the chantide or wind.

To Tack: To turn a ship by the sails and rucomes across the other side of the ship.

Wes ley W. Heerssen Taut: A corruption of Tight. Capta in , U.S. Br ig Niagara

Tending: The movement of a vessel in swinging at anchor. Erie , Pennsy lvania January 1 , 2007 Thimble: A bronze or steel eye, usually seized or sp

sail, etc. to allow a strong and chafe resistant attachment point for a shackle olashing.

84

Peak: The higher and aft end of a gaff-rigged sail.

Pooping: A Ship is said to be pooped, when she is struck by a heavy sea, on the stern or

through

That part of a ship’s side between the main chains and the stern.

he stem and stern, beyond the extent of the keel - also

T uds: To fix the ratlines on them.

nettles around the head of square sails cotton from plank

through grommets in the reef band of a sail ed portion of a sail when reefing.

when she rises to her upright position, after being

it amidships, or in its fore and aft position, parallel to the

To und in: To haul in a brace, to bring a yard more square to the ship’s keel.

e cable.

before the wind in a storm.

le or rope, to prevent its being chafed.

y thing onboard. To “ship a sea,” when the sea breaks into the ship.

nd and shake.

quarter.

Port: The left side of the ship. Opposite of starboard.

Preventer: Any thing for temporary security; as, a preventer brace, a preventer guy, etc.

Purchase: Tackle. Mechanical advantage usually made by use of rope runningmultiple blocks.

Quarter:

Racking a Fall: Seizing the parts of a tackle-fall together by cross turns.

Rake: The projection of a ship at tthe inclination of a ship’s masts either forward or aft from a perpendicular Line.

o Rattle Down the Shro

To Reef: To reduce the size of a sail by tying reefor around the foot of a gaff-rigged sail. To remove oakum andseams with a reefing hook and mallet.

Reef Bands- See Bands

Reef Cringle- A cringle for reefing. -See Cringle.

Reef Nettles- Short and thin ropes securedfor the purpose of tying up the unwant

To Reeve: To put a rope through a block, etc.

To Ride: To be held by the cable. To “ride easy” is when a ship does not labor much. To “ride hard” is when the ship pitches with violence.

To Rig: To fit the rigging to the masts.

To Right: A ship is said to right heeled over by a large wave or squall.

To Right the Helm: To putkeel.

Ro

To Rouse in: To haul in the slack part of th

To Scud: To sail

To Scuttle a Ship: To make holes in her bottom to sink her.

To Serve: To wind any thing round a cab

To Seize: To make fast, or bind with rope or twine.

To Ship: To put an

To Shiver: To make the sails point into the wi

2 83

Lizard: A small piece of rope with a thimble spliced inline leads.

to it for changing the direction a

sailor who does not know his duty. A landsman.

aft sail. When a sail is not completely filled with wind

fting, usually beam to the

ed to the cable, to heave up the anchor by.

M

To approach the shore.

nger when using the

hrough a block till it is slack. Also examining a ship,

st.

nd a

ay from the wind by backing the

3

Five Key Principles of Good Seamanship- Looming: The unfocused appearance of a distant object, such as a ship, the land, etc.

Lubber: A Fol low orders . Fo l low a l l l awful orde rs f rom sh ip’s off i cers wi th d i l igence and repor t back to the o ff ice r when hi s /he r orde rs have been ca r r ied ou t .

Luff: The leading edge of a fore &and has the wind before it, just enough that its leading edge shakes mildly.

Luff Up: An order to the helmsman to put the helm to leeward and cause the sails toluff. Be safe ty consc ious . Regula r ly sea rch for and repor t unsafe

condi t ions to the off i ce r o f the deck. Be constant ly mindfu l of y our own personal sa fe ty and wa tch out for the sa fe ty of your sh ipmates . Do not a t t empt to do a job tha t you are not qua l i f ied to do . Off icers should know your leve l o f t ra in ing , but occas iona l ly they may mis takenly overes t imate your abi l i t i es - te l l them i f you a re unsure o f wha t you a re doing .

Luff Tackle. A tackle, consisting of a double and a single-sheave block.

Lying to: Hove to. See Heave To.

Lying A-hull: Underway, but stationary with no sails set. Driwind with no sails set.

To Man the Yards: To send people upon them.

Messenger: A rope attach To Moor: To secure a ship by more than one cable.

oorings: The place where a vessel is moored. Also anchors with chains and bridles laid in harbors for ships to ride by.

Be di l igent , e f fec t ive , and eager to learn. Do your ass igned tasks to the bes t o f your abi l i ty in a prompt , e ffec t ive , and a t ten t ive manner. Be asser t ive wi th your own t ra in ing and ask p lenty o f quest ions when in doubt . To Near the Land:

No Near: An order to the helmsman to put the helm a little a-weather, to keep the sails full. To let her come no nearer to the wind.

Be neat , c lean, and t imely. Show up for muste rs , wa tch , and meals on t ime and proper ly d ressed & equipped. Keep your gear proper ly s towed so you can f ind i t quick ly when you need i t . Main ta in hea l thy pe rsonal hygiene . Poor hygiene leads to s i ckness on a sh ip more quick ly than on land- keep the sh ip and yourse l f c lean and hea l thy.

Nippers: Rope plaiting or selveges to bind the cable to the messecapstan for anchor handling.

Off and on: Coming near the land on one tack, and leaving it on the other.

Offing: Out to sea - from the land.

Overboard: Out of the Ship.

Overhauling: To haul a fall of rope tBe a good shipmate . Se rve the sh ip f i r s t , then your sh ipmates , and yourse l f l a s t . Never publ ic ly compla in , a lway s do tasks thoroughly and proper ly, and a lways demonst ra te humi l i ty. Ego has no p lace on a sh ip . Overconf ident , se l f - se rv ing , egot i s t ica l people make the wors t sh ipmates and worse leaders . A seaman’s work i s ha rd work by i t s na ture . Some t imes a re harder than o the rs , bu t the ha rd work never la s t s forever. Try to mainta in h igh sp i r i t s dur ing t imes of hardship and t ry to p romote pos i t ive a t t i tudes in your sh ipmates . Negat iv i ty i s a fa s t - spreading and debi l i t a t ing p lague in rough wea ther o r when the wa tch or the workday seems unending.

etc.

Painter: A rope by which a boat is made fa

Palm: See Fluke.

To Pass: To hand any thing from one to another; or to place a rope or lashing rouyard, etc.

To Pay: To put pitch into a plank seam.

To Pay off: To make a ship’s head fall off and awheadsails, etc.

To Peak up: To raise the after end of a gaff.

82

Port Starboard

Forward

Aft

The Bow

The Stern

Getting Your Bearings

81

ke a ship stationary, stopping her way by bracing some of the sails a-

where the provisions and goods are

trands of a rope.

, near the yardarm, on which the crewmen fer that it is strong.

hip.

d of a halyard, spanker clew nd of

Ju , gaskets, etc. are made.

or shot away.

Ki

Port.

L ical edges of a square sail. The after vertical edge of a fore & aft sail.

used to haul in the leech of a sail.

the wind blows.

ts placed unevenly onboard.

Hawser: A small cable such as for mooring or kedging.

Heave-to: To maback and keeping others full, so that they counterpoise each other. Hove to (past tense). The modern phrase “ge t t ing your bear ings” , meaning “ to

f igure out where you a re” , i s de r ived f rom the mar i t ime t radi t ion of t ak ing compass bear ings . Sa i lo rs in coas ta l water s use a naut ica l char t and a compass to take bear ings on landmarks ashore to d i sce rn the i r loca t ion . The process o f looking ac ross the compass whi le s ight ing the l andmark and recording the d i rec t ion i t i s bear ing i s re fe r red to as “ taking bear ings” . For the new t ra inee , the f i r s t s t ep toward ge t t ing your bear ings i s l ea rn ing the naut ica l t e rms re la ted to f ind ing d i rec t ions onboard a sh ip .

To Heel: To incline to one side.

The Helm: A wooden bar put through the head of a rudder post - also called the tiller.

To Hitch: To make fast with a locking loop or successive locking loops of rope or twine.

The Hold: The lower compartment of a shipstowed.

To Haul Home: To pull the clew of a sail, etc. as far as it will go.

Hockle: a kink that has badly deformed the sThe longi tudina l center l ine of the sh ip runs f rom the bow (a t the fo rward end) to the s tern (a t the a f t end) . In the adjacent d iagram, every th ing on the le f t s ide o f th i s center l ine i s on the por t s ide of the sh ip . Every th ing on the r ight s ide o f i t i s on the s tarboard s ide of the sh ip . Remember tha t when on the sh ip and s tanding on the cente r l ine , you must be fac ing forward , toward the bow, to have the por t s ide be to your l e f t , and the s t a rboard s ide be to your r igh t .

Horse: A foot-rope made fast to the yardstand. Also called a Flemish Horse, to in Forward

Companionway Hull: The body of a s

Inboard and outboard are t e rms used to desc r ibe whethe r someth ing i s “ in” and toward the cente r l ine , or “out” away f rom i t . Overboard means off the sh ip . Inboard a l so means wi th in the bulwarks , ve rsus ou tboard be ing ex te r ior topsides .

Forepeak Hatch

Jackstay: A rope that extends across the top of a yard or other spar, usually from one end to the other to provide an attachment point for a sail. Also, a jackstay provides a place for a sailor to put his hands and hold on while working on the yard (or other spar).

Galley Hatch

Jigger: A purchase used on what would be the standing enouthaul, etc. to get extra mechanical advantage, after first hauling the working e

Berth Deck Hatch

the line.

nk: Pieces of old rope, out of which matsMain Companionway

Jury Masts: Temporary masts, stepped when the others are carried

Keckling: Old rope passed round the cable at short distances to prevent chafe.

nk: A twist or turn in a rope. Ward Room Skylight and

Companionway To Labor: To pitch and roll heavily.

Land-fall: That point in a voyage when land is first seen.

Larboard: The left side. Old term for

Lee: The downwind side of an object or ship.

eech: The vert

Captain’s Cabin Skylight

& Binnacle

Leechline: A line

Leeward: That point towards which

Lee-way: The lateral movement of a ship to leeward.

Lee Tide: When the wind and tide are the same way.

List: Angle of heel caused by water in the bilges, or weigh

4

Falling off: When a ship moves farther from the wind than she ought. Turning away from the wind.

Fid: A tapered piece of wood or Iron to splice ropes with. Also a piece of wood or iron

at the wind may strike the sails on their after surfaces.

ointed into the wind, neither filled nor rce of the wind running along it.

d or direction, to keep the sails full, maintain forward way, and d is gusting, the lulls.

spanker of a brig is bent.

the forecastle on each side. Also

s, mast

ents her swinging.

ore

A

lie across, or are twisted.

5

As you go down through the ha tches on deck , and in to the hu l l , you a re sa id to be go ing be low , no t downsta i r s (a s a landsman would say ) . The ins ide of the sh ip i s d iv ided in to f ive wate r t ight compar tments . The main compar tment , in the middle of the ship , i s the Berth Deck , where t ra inees and ord ina ry seamen a re ber thed in hammocks. Other compar tments a re the Forepeak , the Gal ley , t he Ward Room , and the Captain’s Cabin . When l eaving one of these compar tments to go up, ou t o f the hu l l , one i s sa id to be go ing on deck . The deck i s sur rounded by h igh bulwarks , o r th ick wooden wa l l s tha t a re bui l t up f rom the s ides of the sh ip’s hu l l .

which supports one mast upon the trestle trees of another.

To Fill: To brace the yards so th

Flog, Flogging: Harsh beating. When a sail is paback, and the entire sail shakes violently from the fo

Flukes: The broad parts or palms of the anchors.

Fore: That part of the ship nearest to the bow. One of the most d i sor ien t ing fee l ings fo r a new t ra inee can

be the sense of mot ion when the sh ip i s ro l l ing heavi ly f rom s ide to s ide in a beam sea . A beam sea i s a s i tua t ion where the waves a re moving across the beam of the vesse l , o r coming d i rec t ly f rom the s ide the sh ip . A newcomer may wonder why the sh ip re tu rns to the ve r t ica l ra the r than s imply ro l l ing over a l l the way un t i l the hul l i s ups ide-down.

Fore and Aft: The length-way of the ship, or in the direction of the keel.

Forging a-head: Forced ahead by the wind.

Foul Hawse: When the cables are twisted.

To Founder: To sink.

Full and by: A helm command to steer and accordingly change course as the wind changes in speeprevent stalling. Used often when beating to windward. When the winthe helmsman will usually head up a bit on the puffs, and fall off a bit on

Deck

The answer i s qu i te s imple . Niagara has a hu l l made of wood. The hul l f loa t s no t because i t i s made of wood, but because i t i s f i l l ed wi th a i r. I t i s the a i r wi th in her tha t makes he r buoyant (able to f loa t ) .

BulwarksFurling: Making fast the sails to the yards by the gaskets.

Gaff: A spar or yard to which the mizzen of a ship or the

Gangway: A platform reaching from the quarter deck tothe place where persons enter the ship.

Gasket: A piece of plait or soft rope to fasten the sails to the yard.

Gin Pole: A temporary pole rigged to a mast head to assist in hoisting the topcap, or standing rigging for placement on (or removal from) the mast.

Girt: A ship is girted when her cables are too tight, which prev

Gripe: A line used to haul a boat into the ship while hanging in its davits to prevent it from swinging freely.

Guy: A rope to steady a boom, etc.

Gybing: When (by the wind being from astern) it is necessary to shift the boom of a fand aft sail.

To Haul: To Pull.

To Hail: To call out to another ship.

clear Hawse: When the cables are not twisted.

A foul Hawse: When the cables

Hawse Holes: The holes through which the cables pass.

KeelLead Ballast

The bal las t i n the sh ip i s made o f lead , and i s loca ted as low as poss ib le on the kee l and deep wi th in the hu l l ’s bi lges . The ba l las t has a heavy enough weigh t to keep the sh ip upr ight , bu t not so much as to s ink her. Because the ba l la s t i s loca ted beneath the l a rges t a rea of a i r wi th in the hul l , the sh ip remains upr ight . The buoyant par t o f the hu l l f loa t s above the heavy par t of the hu l l .

Waterline

The bow o f the sh ip i s the f ront end of the vesse l ’s hul l . Also ca l led the head o f the sh ip , i t i s the po in ty end where the headr ig p ro t rudes s ix ty fee t out f rom the hul l . When s tanding in the middle of the sh ip looking fo rward , every th ing beh ind you i s af t of you and i f you were to tu rn a round, and look the o the r way ( toward the s tern) you would be looking a f t . So each of the p r imary d i rec t ions on a sh ip (a f t , forward , por t , and s ta rboard) can , l ike many o ther naut ica l t e rms , be used as e i ther an adverb or an adjec t ive .

80

79

sail. When close hauled, yards are re & aft sail is adjusted to match the

but not flat.

at is between close each.

C are sails.

s. A line used

C gs: The borders of the hatchways which are raised above the deck.

tchway.

Cile reefing (shortening) the sail.

Da

e water.

adsails, etc.

ent. ngs.

eep it off the ground, deck, hold, etc.

f square sails, etc.

ositely, with the service end on deck and the bitter , to prevent it from chafing further where it chafed before.

e circle of a coil of rope.

To Fak ck, ready to run, using overlapping circles so it

Close-hauled: As near the wind as the ship can braced as sharp as they will go and trim of the foSpars and Standing Rigging square sails- i.e. fore & aft sails trimmed in close,

Close reach: A term used on schooners to mean a point of sail thBrig i s a t e rm tha t desc r ibes the des ign and cons t ruc t ion of Niagara’s sa i l s and spars , and the s t anding r igging tha t suppor t s them. In s imple te rms , Niagara i s a b r ig because she has two mas t s and a fu l l su i t o f square sa i l s on each. Whi le she a l so has sa i l s tha t se t in a fo re & af t o r ienta t ion , i t i s the square sa i l s tha t p rov ide most of the sa i l a rea and dr iv ing force on each mast .

hauled and a beam r

Club-hauling: Tacking by means of an anchor.

lues, or Clews: The lower corners of the squ

Clewline: A line used on square sails and fore & aft quadrangular staysail to haul the clew of a sail up to its yard or in to its mast.

oamin

Shrouds

Main Topmast Stays

Fore Topmast StaCoiling: Laying a rope down in a circular form.

Companion: Wooden covering over the cabin hays

Companionway: A ladder leading up or down through a hatch. Jib Stay

Main Stays Fore Stays

Course: The point of the compass on which the ship sails. The mainsail and foresail are also called courses.

To con the Ship: To direct the helmsman how to steer. To control the ship.

ringle: A rope eye and thimble spliced into the boltrope of a sail at either end of the reef band for passing a lashing through wh

Cut-water: The knee of the ship’s bow, at the waterline.

vit: A crane-like timber used for fishing the anchors.

Davits: Crane-like timbers used for hoisting ship’s boats from th

Dead Eye: A block with three holes in, to receive the lanyard of a shroud or stay. The fore and main mas ts a re assembl ies of th ree separa te

wooden masts ; the fo remas t , fo re topmas t , and the fore topga l lant mas t . I t i s the same on the main mas t a ssembly ; the mainmast , ma in topmas t , and main topga l lant mast . To suppor t the square sa i l s , each mast has a yard on i t ; i . e . fo re yard , fo re topsa i l yard , and fore topgal lan t ya rd . The sa i l s and yards a re named a f te r the mast they se t f rom.

To Douse: To let fly the halyards of a topsail - to lower away briskly. To Strike.

Down-haul: A rope to pull down the staysails, he

Drift: The speed in which the vessel is set downwind and/or down-current from her course and speed through the water. The speed of a tidal, river, or other currDrifts are also iron or steel fasteni

Dunnage: Wood, etc. laid beneath an object to kShrouds l ead f rom

the top o f a mast , down and a l i t t l e a f t on both s ides of the mas t , to p revent i t f rom bending or fa l l ing to e i the r s ide . Stays prevent i t f rom fa l l ing a f t .

Earrings: Rope eyes or iron rings to make fast the upper corners o

Ease off: To slacken.

End for End: To replace a line oppend in service

Fake: On

e a line: To lay down a line on dewill pay out quickly without fouling.

6

C

ade.

p the anchor by the messenger, which is taken round e nippers.

or repair her bottom.

or,

ing over the bow, for drawing up the

Ca : Short legs of rope seized to the upper part of the lower shrouds, and

a pair of

s of the sides, decks, etc.

ards.

Ch t winds she turns ind on the same part which it was before she moved.

Ch ock: See Block and Block.

stoppers,” etc.

7

anted: Any thing turned from its square position.

Canvas: Strong cloth, of which the sails are m

Cap: A block of wood which secures the topmast to the lower mast.

apsize: To turn over. CBowsprit

Capstan: A machine for drawing uit, and applied to the cable by th

JibboomCareening: Heaving a vessel down one side, to clean

Carrick Bend: A kind of knot for bending hawsers together, which requires seizing the ends.

To Cast: To pay a ship’s head off by backing the head sails when heaving up the anchso as to bring the wind on the side required.

Cat Block: A large double or three-fold block used for drawing the anchor up to the cat-head. Flying Jibboom

Cat-head: A large piece of timber or crane projectanchor clear from the ship’s side.

t-harpinsfuttock staves, to keep them from bulging out by the strain of the futtock shrouds, and to permit the bracing up of the lower yards.

Cat’s Paw: A light Air perceived by its effect on the water, but not durable. Alsotwists made on the bight of a rope for attaching to a hook.

To Caulk: To drive oakum into the seam

Chains: Links of iron bolted to the ship’s side, having dead eyes in the upper ends, towhich the shrouds are connected by the lany

Channels: Strong broad planks bolted to the sides, to keep the dead eyes in the chains from the side, to spread the rigging farther out.

apelling: A ship is said to build a chapel, when by neglect in lighround so as to bring the w

Chase: A ship pursued by another.

Bow Chase: A gun in the fore part of the ship.

Stern Chase: A gun pointing a-stern in the after part of the ship.

To chase: To pursue, to follow.

ock a-bl

To clap on: To make fast, as “clap on the

To claw off: To beat to windward from a lee-shore.

Cleats: Pieces of wood to fasten ropes to.

BobstaysSprit Yard

The head r ig , in the head (bow) of the sh ip , i s des igned s imi lar ly to a mas t assembly ; i t has three spars tha t each has

s tanding r igging to suppor t i t . They a re the bowspr i t ( the pr imary spar in the head r ig ) and moving ou tboard- the j ibboom and the f ly ing j ibboom. The spars in the headr ig a re suppor ted by s tays t ha t l ead up to the foremas t a ssembly. Three of the head s tays ( s t ays in the headr ig) a l so suppor t the th ree headsa i l s . These sa i l s , shown to the le f t ( f rom le f t to r ight ) a re the fore topmas t s taysai l , j ib , and f ly ing j ib . The bobs tays and

mart ingale s tays res i s t the upward pu l l o f the head sa i l s and head s tays .

Jibboom Guys

Flying Jibboom Guy

Sprit Yard

Sprit Braces

The j ibboom and the f ly ing j ibboom each have guys on e i ther s ide tha t ac t l ike shrouds and prevent these spa rs f rom bending s ideways aga ins t the pressure o f the wind on the headsa i l s . The spr i t yard not on ly spreads these guys outboard to improve the i r pe r formance , but i t a l so i s read i ly braced to t igh ten the headr ig guys . That i s to say, e i the r end o f the sp r i t yard may be pul led upward on one s ide . When one s ide i s b raced up, the o ther s ide i s eased down so tha t when the sh ip hee l s over whi le sa i l ing , the spr i t yard remains pa ra l le l to the hor izon . Thi s ac t s to put one s ide o f the j ibboom and f ly ing j ibboom guys under more t ens ion than the o the r. When the ship i s sa i l ing , the windward guys a re kep t under more t ens ion than the l eeward guys by haul ing on the l ee spr i t b race .

78

Niagara Spar Plan

1. Yawl Boat 2. Spanker Boom 3. Mainmast 4. Main Yard 5. Main Top 6. Main Topmast 7. Main Topsail Yard 8. Main Topgallant Mast

9. Main Topgallant Yard 10. Main Royal Yard 11. Fore Royal Yard 12. Fore Topgallant Yard 13. Fore Topgallant Mast 14. Fore Topsail Yard 15. Fore Topmast 16. Fore Top

17. Fore Yard 18. Foremast 19. Bowsprit 20. Martingale 21. Jibboom 22. Flying Jibboom 23. Cutter (Same on Port

Side)

bow of a vessel to distribute the strain of the tow (or the mooring) to both sides of the vessel’s bow so she rides straight.

77

dangerous position in a high sea.

ship for the purpose of

B a square sail. Also the fore leech of a quadrangular staysail.

and the bunt up.

s over the topmast head, to which

e end of a plank in the ship’s side.

e stern, between the water line and wing

the side. A mast is said to go by the board when it is carried or shot he deck.

h the sails filled.

ey belong, as the sheet cable, the best bower cable, etc.

To See Bitts.

he Cable: To slacken it so that it may run out, as in paying out.

To coil

Ca

To bring by the Lee: When a ship is sailing with the wind very large, and flies off from it so as to bring it on the other side, the sails catching a-back: she is then said to be brought by the lee - this is a

Bulk-heads: Partitions in the ship.

Bull’s Eye: A wooden thimble for passing rope through.

Bumkin or Boomkin: A short boom fitted to the bows of the hauling down the fore tack to. It is supported on each side by a shroud.

unt: The middle part of

Buntlines: Ropes attached to the foot of a square sail, to haul it

Burton Pendents: The first piece of rigging which goeis hooked a tackle, to set up the topmast shrouds.

Butt End: Th

Buttock: That part of the ship’s hull under thtransom.

By the Board: Overaway just above t

By the Head: When a ship is deeper in the water forward than aft. By the bow.

By the Stern: The reverse of by the head.

By the Wind: When a ship is as near to the wind as her head can lie wit

Cabin: A room or apartment; also a bed place.

Cable: A large rope by which the ship is secured to the anchor. Cables take their names from the anchors to which ththey are generally 120 fathoms in length.

bitt the Cable:

To heave in the Cable: To pull it into the ship by the capstan or windlass.

To pay out the Cable: To stick it out of the hawse hole.

To veer away t

To serve the Cable: To wrap it round with rope, plait, or horse hide, to keep it from chafing.

To slip the Cable: To let it run clear out.

Cable Tier: That part of the orlop deck where the cables are coiled.

the Cable: To lay it on the deck in a circular form.

ll: A silver pipe or whistle used by the boatswain and his mates, by the sounding of which they call up the hands, direct them to haul, to veer, to belay, etc.

8

Boarding Netting: Network triced round the ship, to prevent the boarders from entering.

Boats: Small vessels - those belonging to ships are - the long boat, the launch, the cutter, the yawl, and the jolly boat. Sails and Running Rigging

Boatswain: The officer who has the charge of the cordage, boats, rigging, etc.

der the ken to

d, placed on the lower trestle trees, to keep the

B

T

B

A mast projectin

them about. Also a security to the

hes of the spanker, and some of the staysails to

ould be

e bows of the ship, to keep them

Bre ship’s side, to

lower off the

9

Each of Niagara’s f i f teen sa i l s a re se t , t r immed, and taken in by means of her running r igg ing. Memoriz ing the loca t ion and use of each of the l ines in her running r igging may seem a t f i r s t to be a daunt ing cha l lenge , bu t i t i s ac tua l ly qui te s imple . The l ines a re a l l g rouped in o rde r o f the i r func t ion . L ines have only a few func t ions ; mos t of them ac t to se t a sa i l , to ga ther in a sa i l , o r to t r im a sa i l to the breeze when se t .

Bobstays: Ropes reeved through the cutwater, and set up with dead eyes unbowsprit, to act against the power of the fore stays - sometimes one of these is tathe end of the bowsprit, to act against the fore topmast stays.

Bolsters: Pieces of wood, or canvas stufferigging from chafing.

olts: Iron fastenings, by which the ship is secured in her hull. There a re two ru les to remember fo r guidance when looking for a spec i f i c l ine on a p inra i l . The h igher up the mast the sa i l i s , the fa r ther a f t on the p inra i l i t s l ines wi l l be . Also , on p inra i l s tha t a re o r iented a thwar t sh ips (perpendicula r to the kee l ) , the h igher up , the fa r ther ou tboard the l ines wi l l be . I t may he lp to remember the ca tchphrase , “Up your a f t” .

Bolt Ropes: Ropes sewn round the edges of the sails.

Booms: Large poles used to extend the studding sails, spanker, etc. Also spare yards, masts, etc.

Bows: The round part of the ship forward.

o Bowse: To haul upon and draw together two objects.

ower: See anchor.

Bowlines: Ropes made fast to the leeches or sides of the sails, to pull them forwards.

Bowsprit: g over the stem.

Box-hauling: A method of waring or turning a ship from the wind.

Boxing off: Turning the ship’s head from the wind, by backing the head sails. Most o f Niagara’s

running r igg ing i s a ssoc ia ted wi th the square sa i l s . The por t and s ta rboard s ides of the square sa i l s a re sy mmetr ica l and have iden t ica l running r igging on e i ther s ide . Also , the square sa i l s on the fo remast a re near ly ident i ca l to those on the mainmas t , and l ines a re thus g rouped and loca ted in the same way. The square sa i l s on each mas t a re named in o rder f rom lowest to h ighest a s fo l lows: foresa i l (or mainsai l ) , topsai l , top ga l lan t , and royal . The name of the mas t usua l ly precedes the name of the sa i l to avoid confusion.

Braces: Ropes fastened to the yard arms to bracerudder, fixed to the stern post.

Brails: Ropes applied to the after leecdraw them up.

To Break the Sheer: To swerve from the proper direction in which a ship shwhen at anchor.

Breaming: Burning the stuff which is collected on the ship’s bottom during a long voyage.

Breast Hooks: Pieces of timber placed across th The royal s are the h ighest o f a l l the square sa i l s ; above the topgal lan t s on Niagara. While i t i s poss ib le to r ig them to be s towed a lof t l ike the o the r square sa i l s , they crea te unwanted windage in heavy weather. There fore , they have been r igged to be se t f rom the deck. When no t in use , they are s towed on deck.

together.

Breast Work: Railing on the fore part of the quarter deck, where ropes are belayed.

eching: A stout rope fixed to the cascabel of a gun, fastened to theprevents its running in.

Bridles: Ropes used to distribute load to two points rather than one, such as at theend of the spanker boom lifts. A towing bridle (or a mooring bridle) is rigged

76

Niagara Sail Plan

75

rong pieces of timber across the ship, under the decks, bound to the side by gether.

on the beam.

oint of the compass on which any object appears. It is also applied to an

avoring to get to windward of some head land.

B one end, and a double-walled knot on the

rd, etc. till wanted: such are the beckets for the royal yards, tc.

r- secure a rope by taking multiply turns around a pin, cleat,

end, etc.

bend or knot - as to bend the sails, the cable, etc.

horage. A cabin, or apartment.

put l sheets, etc.

rmed chock a-block.

To drive a ship stern foremost, by laying the sails a-back.

y’s ship by force. These men are called boarders.

Sails

A. Spanker B. Mainsail C. Main Topsail D. Main Topgallant E. Main Royal

F. Fore Royal G. Fore Topgallant H. Main Topgallant Stays’l I. Fore Topsail J. Main Topmast Staysail

K. Foresail L. Foretopmast Staysail M. Jib N. Flying Jib Main Staysail (not shown)

Battens: Slips of wood nailed on the slings of the yards, which are eight square - also over the tarpaulins of a hatch, to keep out the water in stormy weather.

Beams: Stknees. They support the decks and keep the ship to

On the Beam: When the wind blows at a right angle to the keel.

Beam Reach: A point of sail when the ship is sailing with the wind

Before the Beam: When the wind or object bears on some point less than a right angle, or ninety degrees, from the ship’s course.

Bearing: The pobject which lies opposite to any part of the ship - thus the buoy, etc. bears on the beam, the bow, the quarter, etc. (relative bearing).

Beating to windward: Tacking, and ende

Becalmed: (1) Having no wind to fill the sails. (2) The ship being deprived of the power of the wind by the intervention of high land, a larger ship, etc.

eckets: Loops to which one secures tools, lanyards, equipment, etc. –Or, older definition- short straps, having an eye inother, for suspending a yafor the bights of the sheets, e

To Belay: To make fast –oor bitt.

Bend: A kind of knot, usually utilizing a U-shaped turn – such as a sheet b

To Bend: To make fast by tying a

Berth: A place of anc

Bight: Any part of a rope between the ends. Also a collar or eye formed by a rope.

Bilge: The flat part of a ship’s bottom.

Bilge Water: That which rests in the bilge, either from rain, shipping water, etc.

Binnacle: The frame, or box which contains the compass.

Bitts: Large upright pins of timber with a cross piece, over which the bight of the cable is ; also smaller ones to belay ropes, such as topsai

To Bitt: To place a bight of the cable over the bitts.

Blocks: Instruments with sheaves or pulleys, used to increase the power of ropes.

Block and Block: When the two blocks of a tackle are drawn so close together that there is no more of the fall left to haul upon; it is also te

To make a Board: To tack.

To make a stern Board:

Boarding: Entering an enem

10

The Anchor is backed: i.e. another anchor is placed at a certain distance before it, and attached to it by the cable of the f ed to it, which fixes it firmly in the ground.

The Anchor is catted: i.e. drawn up to the cat-head.

The Anchor is fished: i.e. its inner arm is drawn up by the fish tackle.

er of the bowers part, that it may be let go and used in an

r cable is generally Used when kedging- a process of running out two kedge anchors, first hauling

each as it becomes aweigh, to move the ship

across the beam of the ship.

Awe r

iller is put over to the en it is put over as far as it will go.

e a ship proper

as sewn across the sail to strengthen it at the reef nettles, also called reef-bands

B e mouth of a harbor.

nto the holes in the drum head of the capstan, to

11

ormer being fasten

To weigh the Anchor: To heave it up by the capstan or windlass.

The Sheet Anchor: is of the same size and weight as two bower anchors. It is a resource, and dependence, should eithemergency.

Best Bower: the heaviest bower anchor (a bower anchor is a primary anchor, stowed on the rail cap, on the bow).

Small Bower: the smallest bower anchor

The Kedge Anchor: The smallest of the anchors, to which a hawser obent.back one, and then the other, re-settingby means of capstan and anchors alone.

Ashore: On land. Aground.

Astern: Behind the ship.

Athwart: Across.

Athwart-ships: any thing lying in a direction

Avast: To cease hauling. To stop.

igh: See Ancho

A-weather: The Helm is said to be a-weather, when the twindward side of the ship. Hard a-weather, wh

Awning: A canvas canopy placed over the deck, on hot or rainy days while not sailing.

To Back the sails: To expose their forward surfaces to the wind, by hauling the braces.

Back Stays: Standing rigging; ropes fixed at the topmast and the top gallant mast head, and extended to the chains on the ship’s sides.

Ballast: A quantity of iron, stone, gravel, etc. placed in the hold to givstability.

Bands: Pieces of canv; also a piece stuck on the middle of a sail to strengthen it, when half worn.

ar: A shoal running across th

Capstan Bars: Pieces of timber put iheave up the anchor.

Bare Poles: Having no sail up.

Square Sails

All o f the square sa i l s , wi th on ly a few except ions , requi re s imi la r r igging to se t them, adjus t the i r angle to the wind, and to t ake them in . Mos t o f the te rminology l i s ted be low i s appl icable to each of the square sa i l s . Genera l Terms: To Take In Sa i l : To use i t ’s running r igging to col lapse the sa i l , and remove i t f rom the wind so tha t i t i s no longer se t . To Fur l Sai l : To gathe r in a sa i l by hand, a f te r i t has been taken in , and to wrap rope gaske t s a round i t so i t i s secured in a smal l bundle , away f rom exposure to the wea ther. To Reef Sai l : To reduce the sur face a rea of a sa i l by shor tening i t s width , leng th , and/or he igh t . The S ides and Corners o f a Square Sa i l : Head: The upper edge of the sa i l , which i s la shed to the yard . Foot: The bot tom edge of the sa i l . Leech: The ve r t ica l edge of the sa i l (on each s ide of a square sa i l ) . Clews: The lower corners (e i ther s ide) o f the sa i l , where the shee t s and c lewl ines a t tach . Earrings: The upper corners (e i the r s ide ) of the sa i l , where the sa i l i s out s t re tched and la shed to the yard wi th ea r r ing la sh ings . Other Pa r t s and Equipment : Boltrope: a rope sewn in to the edges of a sa i l , and a l l the way a round the sa i l to s t rengthen the head, foot , and leeches . Robands: Smal l la sh ings made of ju te twine used to a t tach the head of the sa i l to the jacks tay. Reef Bands: nar row s t r ips o f c lo th sewn across the topsa i l s , fo resa i l , and spanker. The bands a re sewn hor izon ta l ly ac ross the sa i l to s t rengthen i t where grommets a re punched and sewn through to accommodate the ree f ne t t le s . Reef Net t les: smal l rope p ieces used to l ash the unwanted por t ion o f a sa i l to i t se l f in o rder to minimize the sa i l s ize when reef ing . Reef Cringles : Rope eyes which a re sp l iced in to the bo l t rope on the l eech of a sa i l , ree f l ash ings a re passed th rough the ree f c r ing les and a round the ree f hooks to hau l the ree f band up to the yardarm, s t re tch i t t igh t , and l a sh i t secure ly in p lace . Lizard: A smal l rope wi th a wooden bu l l seye se ized in to i t to c rea te a fa i r l ead usua l ly used for l ines used to con t ro l a sa i l (a s on a j acks tay.

74

Running Rigging etc. for Topsails

Before fu r l ing , when a square sa i l i s taken in , and the

c lewl ines and bunt l ines are hau led t ight , the sa i l i s sa id to be “hanging in i t s gear” . The gear i s the r igging tha t i s hauled upon to col lapse and conta in the sa i l when i t i s not se t . Al l o f the square sa i l s have c lewl ines and bunt l ines , but the only the topsa i l s have reef l ines , only the courses have l eechl ines , and the topgal lan t s have a combina t ion bunt - leechl ine . A l eechl ine i s l ike a bunt l ine , except i t i s secured to the l eech o f the sa i l r a the r than the foot . A bun t -l eechl ine i s led through a l iza rd on the foot , then i s secured to the l eech .

73

h

rther aft” i.e. stand nearer to the stern.

ship.

as

Alongside: Close to the ship. Abreast of the ship.

To foul the Anchor: To let the cable be twisted round the upper fluke, stock, other obstruction, etc.

To drag the Anchor: When the ship pulls it with her, along or through the sea bottom, from the force of the wind.

Anchorage: Ground fit to anchor in.

The Anchor is a-trip: i.e. loosened from the ground by heaving in the cable.

The Anchor is aweigh: i.e. off the ground by heaving in the cable.

Glossary

Aback: A sail is aback when its forward surface is filled with wind.

Abaft: Behind of, and toward the stern. Thus, anything between the stern than the foremast is abaft the foremast.

Aboard: In the ship.

About: A ship is said to be coming about, when in the act of tacking; the order for whicis “Ready about!”

Abreast: Opposite to. Side by side. Alongside.

Adrift: Broken loose from its moorings or attachments. Floating free. In the fo l lowing image , the topsa i l i s se t s ing le - reefed (see

the sec t ion on ree f ing topsai l s ) . The bunt l ines and ree f l ines a re l abe led and descr ibed . However, the c lewl ines a re no t v i s ib le because they a re loca ted on the a f t s ide of the sa i l . Afloat: Floating - not touching the bottom.

Aft: Toward the stern- as “Stand fa

Reeflines After: Hinder, aft of the others, - as the after gun ports - those ports nearest the stern, - after sails, after hatchway, etc.

Aground: Not having water enough to float the ship, which rests on the ground.

Ahead: Before the ship. In front of the

Alee . The helm is alee when the tiller is put to the lee side. Hard alee, when it is put far as it will go.

A-loft: Up above. In the rigging, on the yards, at the mast head, etc.

Inner Buntlines

Outer Buntlines

Amidships: In the middle of the ship, either longitudinally, transversely, or both. The helm is amidships, when the tiller is not put over either to one side or the other.

Anchor: Heavy iron hook, dropped on the sea bottom and designed to dig into and hold the ground; connected to a ship by means of a large and long cable, and used to hold a ship in one place against the force of the weather.

To Anchor: To set the anchor on the sea bottom so it may hold the ship.

12

2. . Shiver the Main Yards! Take in the Spanker! The main yards a re b raced to po in t in to the wind so the square sa i l s on the main

nor aback , i . e . sh ive r ing . Then the epared to se t aga in on the o ther

,

p on the o ther t ack , which i s , the c rew can

ake in the spanker , and con t inue brac ing and sh iver ing as

, the spanker might not be se t , In such case , the command to ) no t be g iven .

to the windward s ide of the the rudder i s pu t ha rd le f t . The

away f rom the wind.

e fore braces a re hauled to square

t sa i l s - headsa i l s and s taysa i l s headsa i l s a re more impor tan t or t -handed pass the headsa i l s

t s the spanker to he lp push the s te rn come up on the wind . When war ing

i l l p robably not be se t because

s sha rp

a new compass course i s g iven to the he lmsman.

13

Bunt l ines are used to haul the foot o f the sa i l up to i t s yard . They are l ed through l izards in the sa i l , which he lp ga ther the bunt (be l ly ) o f the sa i l . Bunt l ines hau l the bunt and foot in t ight aga ins t the yard to reduce windage and f logging when the sa i l i s taken in .

mas t a re ne i the r f i l l ed wi th wind spanker i s quick ly t aken in and pr

Reef l ines are used to haul the deep ree fs outboard and up to the topsa i l ya rdarms to s t re tch ou t the deep ree f in p repara t ion fo r ree f ing the sa i l .

t ack . As the sh ip beg ins to turn , whi le the spanker i s be ing taken inthe c rew cont inue to brace the main yards to keep them sh ive r ing . Eventua l ly the yards wi l l become sharwhen the c rew be lays the main b rash iver the main yards , be lay the b rthen go back to the main braces tothe sh ip tu rns . I f sa i l ing o f f the windbut perhaps the mainsa i l se t ins tead .t ake in the spanker would (obvious ly3. Up Helm! The t i l le r (he lm) i s put up deck. In the preceding i l lus t ra t iont i l l e r goes to windward so the 4. Square the Fore Yards! Ththe yards on the foremast . 5. Pass Fore and Aft! The fore & a fa re passed across to the new tac

ces . I f shor t handedaces , go t

sh ip wi l l tu rn

k . Theto pass across than the s taysa i l s . I f shf i r s t and then the s taysa i l s . 6 . Se t the Spanker! Crew sedownwind and a l low the bow tosh ip on broad reaches , the spanker wthe mainsa i l may be used ins tead . 7 . Brace Up Sharp, Port Tack- The c rew brace the fore yardon a por t t ack and check tha t the main braces a re sha rp . By th i s po in t , the main braces should be sharp , because p rev ious ly when the command was g iven to sh iver the main yards , the c rew kept the main yards sh iver ing whi le the sh ip turned. So they kept brac ing themain yards unt i l they became sharp on the o the r tack . 8. Steer …

C lewl ines di rec t ly oppose the shee t s . Clewl ines a re used

when tak ing in sa i l to hau l the c lews of the sa i l up to i t s yard and inboard toward the bunt . In add i t ion to oppos ing the shee t s , c lewl ines oppose the ha lya rd , and wi l l ac t a s downhauls to he lp haul the yard down i f i t ge t s hung up in windy wea ther.

Shee t s a re bent to the c lews of the sa i l , l ed down through the yardarms of the yard be low, then inboard to turn ing b locks , and down toward the deck a long the mas t . The topsa i l shee t s a re hauled t ight to s t re tch the c lews ou t to the yardarms of the ya rd be low. The shee t s d i rec t ly oppose the c lewl ines . Once the ha lyard i s hoi s ted and the sa i l i s se t , the shee ts d i rec t ly oppose the ha lyard .

The te rm “halyard” i s a der iva t ive of the phrase “hau l yard” , and i s the name of the l ine which hau ls a sa i l up dur ing the p rocess o f se t t ing the sa i l . The fo resa i l and the mainsa i l do no t ho i s t , and have no ha lyards . However, a l l o f the o ther sa i l s do . The topsa i l s , top ga l lan t s , and royal s a re each bent onto the i r re spec t ive yards and the ent i r e sa i l and yard must be hoi s t ed when se t t ing .

Braces l ead f rom the yard a rms to the oppos i te mas t , then down to deck . By hau l ing on one s ide whi le eas ing the o the r, the yard (and sa i l ) may be p ivo ted a round the mas t to adjus t the sa i l ’s angle to the breeze . L i f t s are used to hold the yardarms hor izonta l . They lead f rom the yard a rm upward to the mast . The topsa i l and top ga l lan t yard l i f t s a re f ixed; meaning they a re no t read i ly ad jus table . They

Port Fore Topsail Clewline

Port Main Topsail Sheet

Main Topsail Halyard

72

go s lack when the i r yard i s ho i s ted wi th the ha lyard . The fore and main l i f t s a re running l i f t s and a re adjus ted on deck each t ime the yards a re b raced. The fore and main l i f t s a re adjus ted as needed to ho ld the en t i re s t ack of square sa i l s pa ra l l e l to the hor izon when they are se t .

Ware Ship- Commands

Since the topsa i l and topga l lan t l i f t s go s l ack when they are se t and the i r ya rds a re ho i s ted , these ya rds a re he ld hor izonta l by the lower yard l i f t s . The topsa i l and top ga l lant yards a re he ld pa ra l l e l to the lower yard by the fac t tha t the i r sa i l s a re se t and he ld in p lace by the i r ha lyards and shee t s . The fore and main l i f t s mus t be hau led t igh t before sending anyone on to a yard , e spec ia l ly when underway.

Foresail and Mainsail

The most recognizable d i ffe rence be tween a l l o f the square sa i l s i s tha t the courses ( the foresa i l and the mainsa i l ) do no t ho i s t , and they have no yards benea th them. The foot o f the fo resa i l (and the mainsa i l ) i s hauled down to the ra i l s of the sh ip and he ld in p lace by shee ts and t acks , which are a t tached to the c lews.

On the foresa i l , the t acks l ead fo rward to the boomkins on the bow. On the mainsa i l , the t acks l ead fo rward and th rough sweep por t s in the s ides o f the sh ip be tween the mast s . The image be low shows the fo resa i l se t whi le the foreyard i s b raced square - for sa i l ing d i rec t ly down wind .

71

and Procedure

A ware i s a maneuver tha t involves turn ing the bow of the esse l downwind and p lac ing the sh ip on the o the r tack . A ware i s sed for severa l poss ib le s i tua t ions . n the preceding i l lus t ra t ion , the esse l i s sa i l ing c lose hauled on a t a rboard tack in order to sa i l a s uch as poss ib le to windward. The a re i s executed to turn the sh ip

downwind and br ing the sh ip on the wind to c lose hauled on a por t t ack . In wea the r condi t ions wi th h igh swel l s or waves , the vesse l might no t be capable of success fu l ly execut ing a tack . In such heavy wea ther condi t ions , when i t i s mpor tant to ga in g ound to

windward , a ware i s a re la t ive ly easy way to turn the sh ip a round. A b g dogoing d i downwind . The sa i l s on the ma mast f i l l wi th wind whi le the sa i l s on the foremast ge t shadowed y the sa i l s on the mainma most c i rcumstances i t i s fa r c t ive to broad reach . A vesse l broad reach ing when the wind i s abaf t the a , bu t not dead as tern ( sa i l ing ab t 35 degrees of f the wind) . When broad reaching, in o rder to so ewhere dead downwind, one must ware sh ip per iodica l ly to e entu y ar r ive a the downwind des t ina t ion . The image to the r igh t shows how a br would sa i l f rom one poin t to a downwind des t ina t ion by execut in severa l wares . The o l lowing are commands and the responding ac t ions taken to ware iagara.

. Foresa i l (and perhaps Mainsai l ) , Rise Tacks s! . I f he foresa i l i s se t , i t i s taken in a t th i s po in t . I f p l e - se t t , the of f icer wi l l usua l ly ca l l “Foresa i l , r i se tacks and shee t s” , ean ing take up the c lew garne t s on ly , do not haul in the foresa i l

un t l ines and leechl ines . Thi s way the sa i l can be se t aga in eas i ly , nd the shee ts and t acks can be cas t of f so they pay ou t wi th the o reyard as i t i s braced a round. The same would be done a t th i s o in t wi th the mainsa i l i f i t were se t and the command would be Mainsa i l , R i se tacks and shee t s”

vuIvsmw

i r

r it ly

es no t sa i l very fas t rec

in

bs t . In

more e f fei s

beou

m1

get mal lv t

igg

fN 1 and Sheet

ann ing to rtimbafp“

14

Ware Ship Illustration

WIND DIRECTION

Original Course

New Course

1

23

Each c lew of a course has a shee t and a tack . When not sa i l ing d i rec t ly down wind, the windward tack i s hauled t ight and secured, and the lee shee t i s hauled t igh t and secured . The c lewl ines on the fo resa i l and mainsa i l a re heavie r and la rger than on the topsa i l s and topgal lant s . For th i s reason, the foresa i l and mainsa i l c lewl ines a re ca l l ed c lew garne t s , but fo r a l l in ten t s and purposes , c lew garne t s and c lewl ines have the same funct ion .

When the wind i s coming f rom the s ta rbo

4

ard s ide of the sh ip , the sh ip i s sa id to be sa i l ing on a s tarboard tack , and the s t a rboard foresa i l t ack i s hauled t igh t . In the image above , the sh ip i s sa i l ing on a por t t ack because the wind i s coming f rom the por t s ide of the vesse l and the por t foresa i l t ack i s hauled t ight .

In the photo to the l e f t , the sh ip i s sa i l ing on a b road reach , por t tack ( the wind i s coming f rom abaf t the beam, por t s ide) . In th i s conf igura t ion the foresa i l shee ts and tacks on both s ides of the sa i l a re carefu l ly adjus ted to ho ld the foot of the sa i l d i rec t ly under the yard .

5

6 7

70 15

69

tion while sailing on a port tack. In this and haul on the starboard main braces to

brace th he way around to sharp on the acking maneuver while sailing on the

The ship is now head-to-wind, or pointing directly into the wind. On il sheets in, and in such a way

k with the wind now on the other side of them. imultaneously, the crew must tack the sprit yard’s braces so that the guys (standing

er tension on the side that will

is placed amidships after the head nway while she is head-to-wind.

wells are more than four feet rd through the water. The helm ecause the ship’s way is

idships position allows water to nue making headway (going

when at the midships position. ard (going backwards), then the

so

pass the staysails (between the masts) across to the new tack. At about this time, other crew are organizing to clean up the spanker’s running rigging (tack its

nd Haul! The crew hauling on the foremast’s yards let go the formerly lee braces (and now the windward braces) and haul on the formerly windward braces. In

rt

the

re

the new course.

illustration, the ship begins the tacking evoluexample, the crew let go the port main bracesBraces e square sails on the mainmast quickly and all tstarboard tack. If the ship were beginning the tstarboard tack, the braces would be handled oppositely. 4. Back the Head Sails!

Brac ing yards i s the p rocess o f p ivot ing them around the mas t to change the sa i l s ’ angle to the wind. Brac ing yards i s done by hau l ing on the braces on one s ide o f the sh ip whi le eas ing the braces on the o ther. I t i s very r i sky bus iness fo r an un t ra ined newcomer. Never adjus t the braces when someone i s on the yard! He or she could be th rown off the yard .

this command, the crew hauls on the headsathat the sails are held abacSThe braces a re o f ten under ex t raordinary tens ion and should

never be handled care less ly o r by someone not p roper ly t ra ined. Newcomers should a lways haul the b races and l e t the able seamen ease . Mishandled braces can not only cause pe rsona l in jury, but a l so could unexpec tedly s top the sh ip’s movement through the wa ter, which in tu rn could cause more se r ious problems whi le naviga t ing .

rigging) for the jibboom and flying jibboom are put undbecome the new windward side. 5. Rudder Amidships! –Pass Stay sails! The helmsails are aback. Sometimes, the ship will gather sterWith the square sails aback, especially when waves or shigh, the ship will usually stop and begin to go backwais placed amidships as soon as the head sails go aback busually nearly stopped at this point and going to the mpass by the rudder more easily, and the ship to contiforward). Also, the helm can better be held in control From this point, if the ship starts making a stern bohelm is often shifted to the opposite side from where it was when beginning the tack it will cause the stern to back up to windward. Soon after being head-to-wind, as the ship begins to pay off onto the new tack, the order is given to

When brac ing yards for a sa i l tha t i s se t , both the yard to which the sa i l i s a t t ached , and the yard be low should be braced in re la t ive uni son. Also , a l l o f the gear fo r the yards to be b raced mus t e i ther be cas t o ff o r be layed wi th a couple fee t o f s lack in each l ine . Thi s i s usua l ly done whi le se t t ing sa i l o r immedia te ly a f te r sa i l s a re se t . The c lewl ines , bunt l ines , leechl ines , and reef l ines wi l l a l l go t ight when brac ing.

There a re a l so shee t s , t acks , l i f t s , and t russ tackles , for bo th the fo resa i l and the mainsa i l , tha t mus t be cas t o ff be fore b rac ing o r t ended th roughout the maneuver. A de ta i l ed desc r ip t ion of what these l ines do and why they must be cas t off , i s beyond the scope of th i s tex t . The topsa i l and topga l lant yards each have “ro l l ing tack les”. These tack les a re used to p revent the yard f rom swing ing s ide to s ide in a ro l l ing sea . They are ins ta l l ed be fore fu r l ing sa i l and removed before se t t ing . Rol l ing t ackles must be removed and secured a lo f t be fore b rac ing or hois t ing topsa i l and topga l lan t yards . I f the sa i l i s not se t , the ro l l ing tackles mus t be se t t au t (pu t on and hau led t ight ) be fore c l imbing on the yard . When underway and the sa i l no t se t , the windward ro l l ing tackle a lone may be used.

lifts, adjusts the vangs, etc.) Also, the spanker should be eased out on its sheet and quarter tackles to the new lee side. 6. Let Go a

the preceding illustration, the ship begins the tacking evolution while sailing on a potack. In this example, the crew let go the starboard fore braces and haul on the port fore braces to brace the square sails on the foremast all the way around to sharp onstarboard tack. If the ship were beginning the tacking maneuver while sailing on the starboard tack, the braces would be handled oppositely. Since at this point the squasails on the foremast are fully aback, this is a hard pull. 7. Pass the Head Sails! Once the square sails are tacked and filled with wind and the ship has successfully turned through the eye of the wind and begun sailing on the new tack, the order is given to pass the headsails. Once passed, they must be trimmed for

Commands for Bracing Yards

Yards a re normal ly braced a t angles to the sh ip’s kee l a s o rde red by the sh ip’s o ff i ce rs . An 11 ¼ degree poin t sys tem i s used to communica te the des i red angle . I f the o ff i cer wants the yards n ine ty degrees to the kee l (yard a rms po int ing dead a-beam ) , he ’ l l ca l l to have the yards braced “square” . The point sys tem for b rac ing i s descr ibed as fo l lows:

Square: Yardarms are square to the sh ip , 90 degrees to the kee l . One poin t , por t tack: Por t yardarms po int ing 11 ¼ degrees ahead

of the por t beam.

16

Tacking Ship- Commands and Procedure

Tackfrom a downwindestination. Often, especially when sailing in confined

horelines in the way, it is y.

To tack the ship, the following commands nd actions are executed:

. Stand by to Come About! wmembers go t il ati and prepare to tack ship. They lay down brace

coils adsail sheet coils, sheet and tack coils for courses, spanker quarter tackle and gaff vang coils, and cast off all gear for the square sails. Crew also cast off the lifts and truss tackles for the fore and main yards. Depending on which sails are set, there will b different things to do. In general, any lines that will handled during the maneuver should have their coilaid down on deck as part of the “Stand by to come

t will need to be cast maneuver begins,

rovided that doing so will not have a negative result. For example, if the foresail is ot set prior to the tack, its sheets and tacks can be cast off before the ck begins so e foreyard is ready for bracing. However, if the foresail is set and cast off its

o, the sail will start flogging, which would be a

. Ease Down the Helm! Spanker Amidships! Helmsmen put the helm down (the ller to the lee side of the deck). Crew haul the spanker quarter tackles and sheet until e spanker boom is to windward of the centerline of the deck, and the sail is

midships.

ise Tacks and Sheets! Sometimes this command is given before easing down the elm and hauling in the spanker. It depends on the officer’s preference. If the foresail set before tacking, it is usually partially taken in before bracing. Just as the sail egins to luff (shake and point into the wind), the tack is eased on the windward side hile its clew garnet is hauled upon. Once the tack rises up a few feet, the eet is

is hauled. The clews of the sail should be ha ed up until rom the yard (so the clewlines will not bind up while

racing the yard). The windward clew must come up before the lee clew to prevent excessive flogging of the sail. The mainsail is usually not set when sailing on the wind (to get to windward), but if it is, it is usually clewed up entirely we before the tack. 3. Mainsail Haul! The crew assigned to handle the bra on the m inmast’s yards cast off the windward braces and haul on the lee braces timed co ectly and cast off quickly, the main yards should swing around most of the way on own. The wind against the sails helps swing the ma yards around. Also, the braces are initially so tight that there is a rubb and effect when they are cast off quickly. In the preceding

17

Two point s , por t tack: Por t yardarms po in t ing 22 ½ degrees ahead of the por t beam.

ing is necessary to get the vessel to sail d starting point to an upwind

Three point s , por t tack : Por t yardarms po int ing 33 ¾ degrees ahead of the por t beam.

Sharp, por t tack: Por t yardarms point ing 45 degrees ahead of the por t beam, o r as fa r as they wi l l go wi thout r i sk o f damage . (Commands a re the same for a s ta rboard tack)

waters with obstructions or snecessary to tack repetitivel a When g iv ing brac ing commands, the off ice rs wi l l ca l l to

“brace up” or “brace in” to a spec i f ied point posi t ion . For example , an off i ce r would say “Hands to braces , brace up sharp, port tack” . Some t ime la te r he might say “Brace in to one point , s tarboard tack” , indica t ing tha t he may be changing course to fa l l off (away f rom) the wind . Thi s means he wants ya rds braced in to the sh ip ( towards square ) , ra ther than braced up toward the wind ( toward sha rp) .

1 Cre o sast ons

, he

ebe

s labout” procedure. Any lines thaoff, should be cast off before the pn ta

you justthsheets and tacks before ordered to do snegative result. 2titha Rhisbw sh

uleased and the lee clew garnet they are about four to five feet fb

ll

ces. If

arr

theirin

er b

Sometimes yards are braced in opposite directions to keep the sails on one mast full of wind and the sails on the other mast aback. This technique can be used to slow the ship’s way (forward momentum) or it can be used to stop the ship’s way and cause her to drift nearly sideways (to “heave- to”). Fore yards are braced for a port tack (as if the wind were coming from the port side to fill the sails). Note that the fore braces (dashed lines) lead from the yardarms aft to the mainmast, and then down to deck. Main yards are braced for a starboard tack (as if the wind were coming from the starboard side to fill the sails). Note that the main braces (solid lines) lead from the yardarms forward to the foremast and down to deck. Occasionally an order is given to shiver the yards on a mast or to shiver a particular sail. This means the officer wants the yards braced so the windward leeches of the sails are pointed directly into the wind so the sail is neither full, nor aback, but is shivering.

68

Vessel Maneuvers Under Sail Setting Square Sails When se t t ing square sa i l s , the topsa i l s a re se t f i r s t . Usua l ly

the o rde r for se t t ing square sa i l s i s topsa i l s , topgal lan t s , foresa i l and mainsa i l , then roya ls . I t i s not poss ib le to se t a topgal lant , i f the topsa i l i s not se t f i r s t . L ikewise , i t i s not poss ib le to have a roya l se t i f the topga l lant i s not se t f i r s t . Th is i s because topsa i l s , topgal lant s , and royal s a re a l l se t on ho i s t ing yards , and the i r c lews a re pul l ed down to the next yard be low wi th the shee t s - see the image on page 19 . The h ighest sa i l s can’t be se t i f the sa i l benea th i s no t hoi s ted up. The c lews of the sa i l would not reach the yard be low.

Tacking Ship Illustration:

New Course, Starboard Tack WIND DIRECTION Original Course, Port Tack

67

Before se t t ing sa i l , the sa i l s must be loosed and the l ines needed for se t t ing the sa i l should be l a id down on deck and made ready for use . Th i s means tha t to be a usefu l hand on deck, each c rewmember should know which l ines a re needed to se t a sa i l , and a l so the func t ion and loca t ion of each . The foresa i l , ma insa i l , topsa i l s , and topgal lant s wi l l be d iscussed in th i s sec t ion . The royals wi l l no t be d i scussed here , as hands-on ins t ruc t ion i s needed. However, to summar ize , the royal s a re hoi s ted f rom the deck, and c rew a re needed a lo f t to l ead the i r r igg ing each t ime the roya ls a re se t .

5

4

3

2

1

18 67

Finish the whipping by stitching the thr through one strand, stitching away from the

General Advice on Whippings

hould have two whipp ings in the b i t te r end of each

e r

eadbitter end for a distance that is at least three times the rope’s diameter. When finished, cut the thread close to the strand by pulling the thread toward the bitter end and cutting it as shown in the photo- above right.

Running r igging s l ine . The whippings should be sewn in about two to three

rope d iameters apar t . When cut t ing new rope f rom a spool , a whipp ing should be

sewn in to the rope on e i the r s ide of where the rope i s to be cu t . They should be sewn in a t about two rope d iamete r s apar t . Then when the rope i s cut , each end wi l l have about one rope’s d iametof l ine le f t above the whipping. I f too much length i s le f t on the b i t t e r end- s ide of the whipping, i t wi l l f ray and become a bulky b i t te r end tha t wi l l be d i f f icu l t to pass th rough the sheaves o f b locks .

Setting Topsails and Topgallants

Very of ten , when sa i l ing wi th a l l hands on deck , the topsa i l s a re se t s imul taneous ly. Thi s i s why the fore topsa i l ha lyard i s loca ted on the por t s ide of the fo remast p inra i l , and the main topsa i l ha lyard i s loca ted on the s ta rboard s ide of the mainmas t p inra i l . One watch wi l l hau l a f t on the fo re topsa i l ha lyard , whi le the o the r watch hau ls fo rward on the main topsa i l ha lyard .

P r ior to se t t ing topsa i l s the o ff ice r of the deck wi l l g ive o rders to b race the yards to the des i red ang le , so the sh ip may sa i l on the wind as soon as poss ib le , i f so des i red . However, the topsa i l yard wi l l not b race sharper than two point s unt i l the yard i s ho i s ted . L i s ted be low a re the commands and respons ive ac t ions taken to se t topsa i l s . These commands a re the same for se t t ing topga l lant s as we l l . Command Given Stand by to Se t the (Name )

Topsa i l ! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shee t Home! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Haul Away (Name ) Topsa i l

Ha lyard! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Avast (Name ) Topsa i l

Ha lyard! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Make Fast !

Act ion Taken The l ines tha t wi l l be needed are

manned, coi l s a re la id down on deck & ready to run , and a l l l ines a re t aken to on ly one f igure 8 turn on the p in , as the c rew s tand by to se t . L ines tha t wi l l be needed are the gea r (c lewl ines , bunt l ines , and ree f l ines) , a l so the ha lyard , shee t s , and braces . Cas t off the topgal lan t shee t s .

Cast off the gea r, haul away the shee t s . The topga l lan t shee t s mus t be cas t o ff

for th i s ac t ion . Cast off the lee brace . Haul the windward topsa i l b race to keep the topsa i l yard f rom bear ing on the topmast shrouds ( i t i s the opposi te on the main topsa i l because the b races l ead forward f rom the yardarms ra ther than a f t , a s i t i s on the foremas t ’s yards) . -Haul Away the Halyard .

Stop haul ing on the ha lyard . Use a ta i l s topper to ho ld the load on the ha lyard whi le be lay ing the l ine . See Ta i l Stopper I l lus t ra t ion on Page 53

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Setting the Foresail and Mainsail

The processes used fo r se t t ing the foresa i l and the mainsa i l a re ident i ca l , except tha t the foresa i l i s l a rge r than the mainsa i l and requ i res more manpower. Also , because the bu lwarks tu rn inboard and the bow of the sh ip na rrows fo rward o f the foremast , the foresa i l t acks lead to boomkins o r bumkins . Boomkins a re shor t , s tout spars pro t ruding ou t f rom the hul l , nea r the ra i l cap , on e i the r s ide o f the sh ip’s bow. Thei r purpose i s to hold the lead of the t ack ou tboard fo r be t te r sa i l shape when sa i l ing c lose to the wind. The tack i s l ed through a l a rge b lock on the boomkin and turned inboard and made fas t to the la rge b i t t s on e i ther s ide of the hee l of the bowspr i t . The foresa i l (and mainsa i l ) shee t s lead a f t f rom the c lew of the sa i l and th rough a sheave in the bu lwark . The gear i s the same as on the topsa i l , except tha t the foresa i l has leechl ines ins tead of ree f l ines . Command Given Stand by to Se t the

Foresa i l ! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Board the Tack! ………….. Avast ! Make Fas t the Tack! Use a s topper to hold the load whi le

making fas t the t ack . Haul Af t the Shee t ! . . . . . . . . . . Avast ! Make Fas t the

Shee t ! …………………….

Act ion Taken The l ines tha t wi l l be needed are

manned, coi l s a re la id down on deck & ready to run , and a l l l ines a re taken to on ly one f igure 8 turn on the p in , as the c rew s tand by to se t . L ines tha t wi l l be needed a re the gear (c lewl ines , bunt l ines , and leech l ines) , a l so the ha lyard , shee ts , and braces . Cas t o ff the topgal lan t shee t s .

Cast o ff the windward bunt l ines and

l eechl ines , ease away smar t ly on the windward c lew garne t (c lewl ine) , ease the l ee gear and c lew garne t a f ew fee t , and hau l away on the windward t ack . The tack should be manned by a t l eas t s ix c rewmembers on a modera te day.

Haul the c lew of the sa i l down and a f t wi th the shee t . Cas t off the l ee gear and ease the l ee c lew garne t .

Stop haul ing and be lay the shee t .

65

The first “frapping turn” is pulled tight, as shown above at left. The next stitch is again

t

passed from left to right and under only one strand, but on the opposite side of the whipping (the bitter end- side). This second frapping turn stitch is made by following the arrow in the photo above left, and as shown in the photo above right. You must rotate the rope while stitching in the frapping turns so each turn is stitched into the nexadjacent cont-line.

The third and final frapping turn is stitche in similarly to the previous frapping turns. d The thread is pulled tightly away from the bitter end. Then begin sewing the thread down the nearest strand as shown in the photo above right.

20

Insert the needle in the same cont-line that the round-turns started from. Insert it from right to left and under only one strand as shown. Note: this is the same cont-line where the first turn of the whipping exited, after stitching the thread up the strand.

Pull thread tightly, then rotate the rope’s e nd and pass the needle under one strand onthe opposite side of the whipping (the side away from the bitter end). The needle should enter the same cont-line that the thread is leading out of. Once the needle is pulled out and the thread is pulled tight, the thread will run along the cont-line, thus creating a frapping turn around the main turns of the whipping.

Loosing and Furling Square Sails Loosing sa i l i s the p rocess o f removing the rope gasket s tha t

p revent the sa i l f rom becoming unfur led . Fur l ing i s the opposi te ; i t i s the p rocess o f ga ther ing the sa i l in to a t ight sausage-shaped package , and lashing gaske ts a round i t secure ly to s tow the sa i l a f te r i t has been taken in .

Before lay ing a lo f t to loose or to fur l any square sa i l the

fo l lowing de ta i l s must be a t tended to :

1 . All c l imbing c rewmembers and t ra inees must be t ra ined and approved as c l imbers , and wear ing a sh ip- i s sued sa fe ty ha rness . The a lof t sa fe ty pol icy out l ined in the c rew handbook, mus t be read , unders tood, and fo l lowed.

2 . When the yards a re no t b raced square , and espec ia l ly when underway, ascend the r ig on ly on the windward s ide .

3 . Off ice rs o r the i r des igna tes should d i rec t the c rew and t ra inees , and ass ign the i r p laces on the ya rd . Who’s go ing to the windward yardarm? The leeward yardarm? The bun t? Crewmembers should ascend in the o rder tha t they wi l l man the yards ( to avoid t ra ff ic jams a lof t whi le c l imbing out on to the yard) .

4 . Prepare the sa i l for loosing or for fu r l ing by ensur ing the gea r i s hauled up t igh t .

5 . Make cer ta in the yard i s sa fe to c l imb on. The b races , l i f t s , t russ tack les and ro l l ing tackles must a l l be hau led t ight and secured . When sa i l ing , the leeward ro l l ing tackle may be l e f t o ff i f the windward ro l l ing t ack le i s p roper ly put on and hauled t ight .

Once a lof t , and whi le s t epp ing onto the yard’s foot rope , say

“Lay ing On” or “Stepping On” to fo rewarn o the rs on the yard tha t you are about to cause the foot rope to shake when you s tep on to i t . C l ip in to the yard’s backrope or in to the becket on the jackstay to secure your harness t e ther. Cl ip in as soon as poss ib le and remind o the rs who may forge t to c l ip in . Use of the sa fe ty ha rness t e the r i s manda tory.

Loosing

Once on the ya rd , remove the gaske t s , and coi l them in a gaske t coi l , on the fo rward s ide of the jacks tay. Al l gaske t coi l s should be the same s ize and hanging c lose to the j ackstay. Never pul l the gaske t ou t f rom between the sa i l and the yard . Make gaske t co i l s a s shown in the fo l lowing i l lus t ra t ions :

64 21

Bunt Gasket

Pull the thread just until the bight of the last stitch disappears into the strand. Then begin passing turns around the rope in the direction that is against the lay (opposite to the direction in which the rope strands are twisted).

Remove gaske t s f rom the l ee s ide of the yard , and then work your way to windward, saving the bunt gaske t fo r l as t . The bunt gaske t i s the one in the ve ry cente r o f the yard- hold ing most of the sa i l (and i t s we ight ) . On windy days i t i s impor tant to s tay upwind of a f logging sa i l .

Removing Gaskets

Afte r un ty ing the gaske ts , they mus t be proper ly s towed. Fo l low the next few diagrams to proper ly make a gaske t coi l .

Pass the thread around the rope, against the lay, and each turn moving closer

to the bitter end (as shown above). Make sure there are no gaps between each turn of thread around the rope’s end.

Step 1- The gaske t wi l l fa l l be low the yard a f te r i t i s un t ied . I t wi l l hang be tween the sa i l and the yard . Pu l l i t up f rom behind the yard and make a coi l . Then shove a b igh t under the jacks tay as shown in s tep 2 .

It is important to note that in actual ship’s service, whippings are sewn about one foot from the end of the frayed rope, so the rope does not become untwisted and the strands frayed while sewing in the whipping. After the whipping is sewn, the bitter end of the rope is cut at one rope’s diameter from the whipping. To better illustrate the correct direction to pass the turns around the rope, this whipping was sewn in a synthetic rope that was cut and the end melted beforehand. The whipping was started only a few inches from the rope’s end, so the end is visible in the photos.

Remember: Don’t t rap any r igging under the yard wi th the gaske t! Pass the gaske t be tween the yard and any r igging on the yard . The gaske t s tays c lose to the yard wi thout t rapping any o ther l ines!

22 63

Sail Maker’s Whipping Step 2- A bight is a “U”-shape made in a rope. Pass the coil down through the bight that you shoved under the jackstay. Cinch it down snug to form a hitch around the jackstay. The coil will hang from this hitch when completed.

Whippings are used to keep a rope’s end from untwisting and fraying.

Begin by cutting one and a half fathoms of waxed sail thread and middling it on a 2 ½” or No. 16 sail needle. Then insert the needle into a strand a few inches from the bitter end of the rope and push it up the strand shallowly toward the bitter end. Continue by stitching the thread a few inches up the same strand, toward the bitter end. The photo (above left) shows how the second stitch is started. The needle is inserted where it came out of the strand from the first stitch. Then pull the thread through carefully until the bight disappears into the strand (as shown above right and below left).

Step 3- Begin frapping the coil by passing turns around the coil. Be sure to wrap with the standing end of the line, which is leading from the jackstay. Do not wrap the coil with frapping turns by using the bitter end of the line. These frapping turns will contain the coil.

Continue stitching the thread up the line toward the bitter end until it has been sewn a distance that is at least three times the rope’ diameter up the strand. The final stitch should exit the strand at the cont-line (the groove between the strands) as shown above.

The Cont-line

Bitter End Bitter End

Step 4- Continue with frapping turns working upward and crossing over the first turn as shown to the right.

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Step 5- Stop frapping when you have three or four frapping turns around the coil and the coil is about one foot from the yard. Make a bight and shove it through the top of the coil. Make sure your frapping turns are not wrapped too high on the coil. There should be enough space in the top of the coil to pass the bight in the standing end through.

4. While continuing to hold the strain on the twine with the left hand, use the right thumb to push the loop over the tip of the spike as shown above-left and then right.

Step 6- Complete the gasket coil by pulling the bight all the way through and flipping it over the top of the gasket coil. The standing end of the rope should be just long enough to pass the bight over the top of the coil. If the bight is too large, the finished product will be a coil that hangs too low from the jackstay. It could get fouled in the sail’s rigging. If the coil hangs more than about six inches below the yard, untie it, remove the frapping turns, put another loop in the coil itself, and then frap it up again. Then try step 6 again to complete the gasket coil correctly.

5. Place the right thumb over the twine in the center of the knot and press the twine against the spike. Pull the spike and twine firmly (against the seizing) while allowing the twine to slide under your right thumb as the knot cinches tight around the marline spike. Once the knot is tight, grab the spike in the right hand as shown above right and the knot will hold as you pull hard on the twine. That’s all there is to it. The images below show a top and an underside view of the finished marline spike hitch.

As crewmen f in i sh the i r gasket coi l s they may beg in to lay

o ff the yard . The man (or woman) a t the yardarm should be wel l t ra ined , because as he works h i s way inboard , he wi l l check tha t a l l gaske t s a re p roper ly removed f rom the sa i l , gaske t -coi led wi thout t rapping any r igging , and hung on the j acks tay.

Af te r a l l gasket s except the bunt gasket a re removed and s towed, the l a s t man on the yard wi l l check the en t i re sa i l for mis takes made by o thers , then unhi tch the bunt gaske t , remove a tu rn o r two, and be ready to l e t go . Then he wi l l shout down to the off ice r on deck “ (name o f sa i l , i . e . fore topsa i l ) i s loose to the bunt !” The off ice r of the deck wi l l then e i the r order to “ l e t fa l l”

24 61

( the sa i l ) , meaning to re lease the bunt gaske t , or he may ca l l to belay i t un t i l fur the r not ice .

Marline Spike Hitch

The marline spike hitch is used to help pull on small twine. Wrapping twine around your fingers to pull gets painful eventually, and a spike helps enormously when tightening twine or small diameter rope used on seizings, lashings, or other uses. The beauty of this hitch is that it unties itself when you pull the spike out of it.

Af te r re leas ing the bun t gaske t and coi l ing & s towing i t , the person on the yard wi l l remove the ro l l ing t ackles f rom the s t rops under the yard , and a t t ach them to the s t rops on the mast . Then he wi l l shout down to deck tha t “rol l ing tack les on the (name) sa i l are c lear! ) He wi l l then be answered by the o ff i cer on deck and he ’ l l be sent to h i s nex t t ask o r down to deck.

Furling Sail- Harbor Stow

A harbor-s tow i s the t id ies t means o f s towing a sa i l . The qua l i ty of a sh ip’s harbor s tows of ten re f lec t s the qua l i ty of the seamansh ip used onboard . Soon a f te r a r r iva l in a por t , a sh ip should have nea t , t igh t , ha rbor s tows. Square sa i l s should be ro l led up h igh on the yards in to a t ight cy l indr ica l ro l l wi th the main body of the sa i l ’s canvas evenly d i s t r ibu ted undernea th the yard c lo th .

The yard c lo th i s a long and wide band of c lo th , running a long the head of the sa i l and for the ent i re width o f the sa i l . I t i s sewn onto the a f t s ide o f the sa i l to pro tec t i t f rom chaf ing aga ins t the yard and f rom ul t ravio le t de te r i ora t ion when ha rbor fu r led . The yard c lo th wi l l end up on the top of the fur l a f te r the sa i l i s ro l led up onto the yard , and i t becomes the pro tec t ive sk in a round the fu r l .

1. Begin by laying the spike at a 90 degree angle over the twine with the spike in your right hand and the twine in your left. Grasp the twine with your right thumb and hold it against the bottom of the spike as shown above-left. Use the right thumb to hold the twine tight (as if pulling the twine as it leads off of a seizing). It is important to maintain the strain on the twine with the right thumb and spike. If you are tying a seizing, and you just tighten one turn and are about to tighten the next turn, you don’t want to loose tension in the first turn you passed. Hold steady strain on the twine throughout the entire process of making this hitch. Left handed people will need to mirror these instructions to make a left-handed marlinespike hitch.

Reef Pocket

2. With the left hand, pass the bitter end up and over the spike as shown above-right.

The procedure fo r fur l ing square sa i l s uses the same pr inc ip les for each sa i l . However, the re a re some d i ffe rences tha t a re qui te obv ious whi le a lo f t and handl ing the sa i l s . The fo resa i l and mainsa i l each requi re 12 people on the yard for a p roper harbor fu r l . In con t ras t , the topsa i l s have ree f l ines , which g ives them the advan tage of hav ing a “ ree f pocke t” to dump the sa i l in to , to ease the burden of con ta in ing the sa i l in the sa i lo rs’ a rms . E ight people a re requi red to ha rbor s tow each topsa i l . In grea te r cont ras t , whi le the topga l lan t s fur l more s imi la r ly to the foresa i l and mainsa i l , they a re qui te l igh t . Four people a re requi red fo r a t idy and quick harbor fur l in each topga l lan t .

3. Rotate the spike tip so it points up and creates a loop in the twine. Grab the loop at its intersection with the left thumb and index finger and transfer holding the twine’s tension from the right thumb and spike to the left thumb and index finger. Pass the tip of the spike under the standing part of the twine as shown above-right. When fur l ing , people s tand on the yard’s foot ropes . The i r

fee t r i se up behind them as they lean forward and over the yard to

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reach down for f l akes of sa i l . They begin reach ing down and pul l ing up fo lds of sa i l by s t ing a t the foo t o f the sa i l . The f t i s a lways found near the yard because i t i s he ld the re by the bunt l ines tha t were hauled up when tak ing in the sa i l .

t a r oo1. 2. Midshipman’s Hitch

Used to t i e on to a cy l inder such as a wood po le or another rope , and to pul l in a d i rec t ion pa ra l le l to the pole wi thout s l id ing . By beginn ing th i s “ reach and pul l ” method a t the foo t o f the

sa i l , i t i s na tu ra l tha t the p rocess wi l l end a t the head of the sa i l . You’ l l know you a re near ly the re when you a r r ive a t the yard c lo th seam.

The c lews wi l l be in the way whi le t ry ing to ro l l the sa i l up on the yard . They hang ou t o f the bundle of sa i l cons iderably a t f i r s t . They mus t be tucked in to the fur l wi th care so tha t the c lews (on e i the r s ide of the yard) wi l l be equa l l engths , e spec ia l ly a f te r the sa i l i s ro l l ed up onto the yard . A smal l “dog ear” of the c lew remains a top the fu r l and hangs down a few inches when the fu r l i s comple ted . Thi s de ta i l i s be t te r s tud ied through prac t ice , and i s no t p roper ly d i scussed here .

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

1. 2.

Procedure for Harbor Fur l ing: 1 . Uncoi l and prepare a l l gaske t s .

2 . Find the foot . Find the bo l t rope on the foo t of the sa i l 3 . Cross the bunt! Cross the bunt a s descr ibed: ( see next d iagram

for i l lus t ra ted de ta i l s ) a . On both the por t and s ta rboard s ides o f the yard , g rab

the bol t rope of the sa i l a l i t t l e ou tboard of where the inner bunt l ines a t t ach to the foot .

b . Make sure the o the r people on the yard a re ready to c ross the bun t , and a re ho ld ing the foot o f the sa i l . Then cas t off the bunt l ines .

c . St i l l g rabbing near the inner bunt l ines , pass the por t s ide of the foot over to the s ta rboard s ide c rewmembers , and then rece ive the s t a rboard s ide of the foo t f rom them and pu l l i t over to por t . In o the r words , pul l the por t s ide of the foot to s ta rboard and the s ta rboard s ide o f the foo t to por t .

4 . On topsa i l s on ly : A “reef pocket” i s c rea ted by the deep reef band and the ree f l ines tha t hau l the deep ree f c r ingles ou tboard , s t re tch ing the ree f band t igh t . Dump the c rossed bunt and a l l sa i l in to the ree f pocke t by dropping i t on the a f t s ide of the deep reef band. Then pul l the ree f band up and reach fo r more b igh t s of sa i l , a s in the next s t ep .

5 . Reach and Pul l ! Begin reaching down and pul l ing up fo lds , o r f l akes , o f sa i l . This i s mos t e ffec t ive ly done wi th a l l hands on the yard reach ing and pul l ing in un i son so they pul l the same hor izonta l fo ld of sa i l up to the yard a t the same t ime. Each fo ld pul led up i s tucked under the be l ly and he ld on top of the yard unt i l the yard c lo th i s reached.

26 59

6 . Shake! Shake the fur l wi th in the yard c lo th to he lp the fo lds and f l akes se t t le evenly in to the c lo th “sk in” . Then t igh t ly pack the c lo th and ro l l i t t ight l ike a c iga re t te , squeez ing the sa i l t ight whi le you s t re tch the yard c lo th up , over the top , and a round the sa i l .

Round Turn and Two Half-Hitches-

1. 2. 7 . Pre-se t the Clews- es t ima te how much of each c lew should be l e f t out o f the fur l so they remain equal leng ths . Tuck the res t in to the fur l . Af te r ro l l ing home, the bot tom of the c lews should lay over the fo rward s ide of the yard and be equal -he ight to the bo t tom s ide of the yard .

8 . Rol l i t Home! Hold onto the gaske t , whi le pul l ing i t up and over the sa i l , and ro l l the sa i l up and on to the yard .

9 . Tie Gaskets! - See ty ing gasket s , on the next page .

Crossing the Bunt

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

The round turn and two ha l f h i tches i s used to secure a l ine a round a pole , o r s imi la r ob jec t . I t has g rea t ho ld ing power on a s t ra ight pul l (a s shown) , bu t may s l ide when pul led para l le l to the pole .

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Tying Gaskets for a Harbor Stow (view from aft) Clove Hitch-

Tie as shown below: St e p 1 St e p 2 St e p 3 ( S l i p p e ry B ig h ts )

Step 1: Take 3 turns a round the sa i l . Tighten each turn as t igh t as you can . On the 4 t h tu rn , r everse the d i rec t ion to fo rm a b ight and pass the b i t te r end under the yard f rom a f t to fo rward and back up th rough the b ight . Step 2: Then , on the a f t s ide of the sa i l , pass the b i t t e r end under a l l o f the tu rns and c inch up t ight . There should be a gap be tween the sa i l and the yard to accommodate the th ickness of the b i t t e r end and make i t eas ier to pass i t through. Step 3: F ina l ly, repea t the process of pass ing the b i t te r end back and fo r th under the tu rns to c rea te s l ippery b ight s under the turns . View From Forward

Step 3 Step 2 Step 1

1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

C love h i tches a re used to t ie ra t l ines to shrouds . Also , they a re a s imple knot tha t may of ten be used in an appl ica t ion where a smal l l ine i s to be t ied a round anothe r ob jec t . In tended for l ight to modera te and s teady loads , c love h i tches may s l ide , become jammed, or come unt ied i f used for heavy or dynamic loads .

28 57

5 . Pass the working end behind and a round the s tanding end f rom r igh t to le f t . F rom th i s point , the knot i s f in i shed wi th the Boy Scout phrase , “The rabbi t comes out the hole , a round the t ree , and back in the ho le .”

Furling- Sea Stow 5.

There a re three methods used to s tow a sa i l : the sea s tow, the ha rbor s tow, and the s to rm s tow.

Somet imes i t i s necessary to s tow a sa i l qu ick ly, be fore approaching wea ther a r r ives , and there i s no t ime for a proper s to rm s tow. There may be l ightn ing approach ing wi th the wea the r, and the mas te r wi l l want the c rew down as qu ickly as poss ib le . A sea s tow i s a quick s tow, t i ed t ight ly and secure ly, but wi th no t ime was ted t ry ing to ro l l the sa i l in to a t ight sausage and up onto the yard .

In the case o f the topsa i l s , which have ree f l ines , the sa i l should be f l ipped in to the “ reef pocke t” , and then mere ly ga the red in t igh t ly to the yard and t ied wi th gaske ts . A sea s tow must be done qu ickly and a t idy, a t t rac t ive appearance i s no t impor tant . The gaske t s a re sp i ra led a round the sa i l and yard , to lash them together and prevent the sa i l f rom f logging . Do not was te t ime t ry ing to bus t the sa i l up on to the top o f the yard . Jus t ge t gaske t s t ied t igh t ly a round i t and come down or move on to the next sa i l .

6 . Pass the working end back down th rough the smal le r loop . For s t rength and re l iab i l i ty, the b i t te r end of the l ine must a lways f in i sh on the ins ide of the knot . I f the end i s on the ou ts ide of the knot , you passed i t the wrong way around the “ t ree” .

6.

7 . F ina l ly, t igh ten the knot proper ly. The knot resembles a b ight , which s l id down upon a h i tch . Hold both pa r t s of the b ight in one hand and ho ld the s t and ing end in the o the r and pul l the knot t igh t .

7.

Furling- Storm Stow

A s torm s tow should be a t igh t fu r l . I t should keep wate r ou t , and i t should have a c lean skin over the fu r l to min imize windage . A s to rm s tow does no t have to be pre t ty ; i t may be lumpy, bu t i t should have a t ight ly s t re tched sk in and be ro l led up on the yard , a s bes t a s the t ime ava i lab le wi l l a l low.

In a bes t p rac t ice , s torm s tows are put in wel l be fore the s to rm a r r ives , and made l ike a harbor s tow, but wi th an ext ra h i t ch on the gaske t s for secur i ty. Also , the inboard gasket should be sp i ra led a round the yard , sa i l , and o the r gaske t s , and h i tched off secure ly a t the yarda rm.

56 29

Taking In Square Sails Bowline Sai l s a re typ ica l ly “ taken in” in a ca lm, rout ine , and

p rac t i ced manner. Whi le i t i s the seaman’s hope to be able to “s t r ike” sa i l s wi th the same ease and comfor t , s t r ik ing a sa i l i s a rap id p rocedure tha t involves rapid ly eas ing the ha lyard and ge t t ing the sa i l down ASAP. Do not confuse the order to “ take in” sa i l s wi th the order to “St r ike” sa i l s .

The bowl ine i s used to p lace a loop in the end of a l ine and has exce l lent hold ing s t rength . Tie the bowl ine as shown be low.

1 . Hold the s t anding end in the le f t hand and the working end in the r igh t hand . Lay the working end ac ross the s tanding end a t a r igh t angle , forming a la rge loop toward your body. Pinch them toge ther wi th the r ight index f inger and thumb.

1.

To take in topsa i l s and topgal lan t s , the topgal lan t s must be t aken in be fore the topsa i l s . The braces must be eased and tended when eas ing ha lyards to take in topsa i l s o r topga l lan ts . Upon eas ing the ha lyard , the yard must be b raced nea r ly square . At the very leas t i t should be b raced so i t i s preven ted f rom dragging down the shrouds (when braced sharp , the yards lay aga ins t the shrouds) .

When tak ing in the foresa i l o r the mainsa i l the braces do not

need to be eased and tended because the lower yards do not hois t . However, the l i f t s and t russ tackles should be hauled t igh be fore t ak ing in these sa i l s . The lower yard wi l l swing v io lent ly af te r the foresa i l o r ma insa i l i s taken in i f the sh ip i s ro l l ing in a seaway.

2 . Push the pa r t o f the l ine in your l e f t hand away f rom your body, to form a b ight in the l ine where the s tanding pa r t i s captured by the r igh t hand. Meanwhi le , ro ta te the working end under and inward , toward your body, through the loop .

t 2.

Procedure for taking in topsa i l s or topgal lants Clew Down! Ease and tend the braces , round in the yard (brace i t

more square ) ,

Bight

Cast o ff the gear (bunt l ines , ree f l ines )

3.3. Ease away the ha lyard 3 . & 4 . Wi th the r ight hand , cont inue

ro ta t ing the working end up and th rough the la rge loop. At the same t ime, ro ta te the r igh t hand c lockwise and twis t the b ight unt i l i t becomes a smal le r loop ( in the shape of a number 6) . Note - This should be a smooth twis t -wi th - the -wr i s t ac t ion that f in i shes wi th the s tand ing end coming up through the smal ler “s ix -shaped” loop- as shown in f igure 4 .

Haul away the c lewl ines Clew Up! Cast off the shee t s . Haul away the gear, and keep haul ing the c lewl ines . Haul t igh t and make fas t b races . Pe rhaps brace

square . Haul t igh t and make fas t the l i f t s and t russ tackles

(a f te r taking in a topsa i l ) . Procedure for taking in Foresai l or Mainsai l Clew Up! Ease the tack; haul away clew garne t s , bunt l ines and

l eechl ines .

Ease the shee t whi le a l lowing the windward c lew to r i se ahead of the l eeward c lew.

4.

Make a “No. 6”

30 55

Reefing Square Sails Sheet Bend- The topsa i l s and the fo resa i l may be ree fed . The topsa i l s

have three ree f bands , and the fo resa i l has one . Reef ing i s a p rocess whereby a sa i l i s shor tened or made smal le r and ready for s t ronger winds . Somet imes sa i l s a re ree fed to he lp ba lance the overa l l sa i l a rea tha t i s se t , usua l ly to he lp ba lance the sh ip’s he lm for the in tended course .

The shee t bend i s used to t ie two l ines toge ther. I f they are unequa l d iameters , the l a rger l ine i s used to form the b ight in the knot . Tie as shown be low: 1 . M a k e a h i t ch w i th th e th in n e r d i a me t e r l i n e , a r oun d a b ig h t f o r me d i n

t h e l a rg e r d i ame t e r l i n e . The topsa i l s and the spanker a re the sa i l s tha t a re ree fed

f i r s t and mos t o f ten . They each have th ree ree f bands which a l low for th ree d i ffe rent ree fed pos i t ions ( sa i l s izes) .

1. 1.

When ree f ing topsa i l s . The f i r s t s tep i s to lower the yard in to i t s l i f t s , l eave the sa i l hanging in i t s gear, and hau l the ree f l ines up unt i l they can go no fur ther. The c rew then goes a lo f t to secure the ya rd wi th ro l l ing t ackles . Then they l ay out onto the yard , and t i e in the ree f . They beg in (on each s ide of the yard) pass ing the ree f la shing by f i r s t p lac ing i t s eye over the ree f hook, and pass ing th ree tu rns th rough the ree f c r ing le . In a l l , the re wi l l be a to ta l of f ive indiv idual pa r t s of the la sh ing be tween the ree f hook and the ree f c r ingle . Af te r each pass o f the l ashing, the man a t the yardarm wi l l pass the ree f la shing to the o the r th ree c rewmembers on the yard . They wi l l grab the l ine as shown in the in

2 . M a k e su r e th e b i t t e r e n d s a r e o n th e

s a me s i d e o f t h e k n o t (o n t h e r i g h t s i de , w h en k no t i s o r i e n t ed a s s ho wn ) . T he kn o t ma y b e t i ed in e x a c t l y t h e o p p o s i t e w a y ( l i k e i n t h e mi r r o r i ma g e sh o wn b e lo w ) , b u t t h e l a rge r l i n e mu s t b e th e b i g h t , a n d t h e b i t t e r ends mu s t be on t h e s ame s i d e o f t h e kno t ) .

2.

3 . Fo r e x t r a s ec u r i t y, w h e n ma k i n g th e h i t ch , you can p a s s on e mo r e ro und t u rn a r oun d t he b ig h t be f o r e t u ck in g t h e end th r o u g h th e h i t ch , and i t w i l l ma k e a d ou b l e s h e e t be nd ( sh o wn b e lo w ) .

3. 3.

54 31

the adjacent photograph, and he lp hau l the ree f c r ing le out . Wi th exper ience one lea rns about how far ou tboard the c r ingle should be hauled . The ree f c r ingle on each s ide o f the yard should each be about an equa l d i s tance f rom the end of the yard . The t eams on each s ide of the yard mus t communica te to each o ther the l ength of the i r r espec t ive ree f la shings to insure they a re approximate ly the same length and the sa i l roughly cen te red on the yard . Don’t waste t ime ge t t ing i t per fec t ; ree f l ash ings tha t a re wi th in s ix inches in l eng th of each o the r a re f ine as long as they are t igh t .

Reef Knot

The ree f knot i s used to t ie reef ne t t le s when ree f ing sa i l . May a l so be used to t i e two l ines of equa l d iameter toge ther, bu t may s l ip under heavy s t ra in . Not recommended for bending two hawsers toge the r. Works bes t when used to wrap a l ine a round or t i e down something (as in reef ing a sa i l or la sh ing an ob jec t in p lace ) .

Af te r making th ree passes through the ree f c r ing le , beg in t ak ing tu rns a round the yardarm. There should be a to ta l o f f ive par t s o f the l ash ing leading be tween the c r ingle and the ree f hook. There should be a to ta l o f three turns a round the yardarm and th rough the ree f c r ingle . F in i sh by f rapp ing the tu rns a round the yard to the tu rns lead ing out to the ree f hook. The ree f l a shing in the i l lus t ra t ion be low was drawn to look loose to be t te r i l lus t ra te the manner in which the tu rns a re passed . The cr ing le should be l a shed up t igh t aga ins t the yard .

1. 2.

1 - 2 : Ho ld ing a b i t t e r en d i n e ach hand , pa s s t h e end i n yo u r r i gh t hand o v e r t he e nd in you r l e f t h an d c re a t ing a n “ o ve r- h an d kn o t ” ( an ov e rha n d k no t i s t h e f i r s t s t e p do n e wh e n t y i ng you r s ho e s . )

Yardarm

Outboard Inboard 3. 4.

Reef Lashing

3 - 4 : P a s s t h e e n d i n yo u r l e f t h an d ov e r t h e en d i n yo u r r i gh t , ma k i ng a n o v e rh and kno t t h e o th e r w a y.

5. 6.

Reef Cringle

5 - 6 : P u l l t i gh t . Wh en th e kno t i s f i n i sh ed , i t w i l l f o r m t w o ( U - sh ap e d ) b ig h t s t h a t c in c h t i g h t u p o n e a c h o th e r.

32 53

Basic Knots Fore & Aft Sails

Headsails While working, you wi l l need to t i e knots o f ten . When you need to t i e a knot , you wi l l need to know which knot to t i e and how to t i e i t . There fore the f i r s t th ing you need to know about kno ts i s how to se lec t the r igh t kno t for the job . To do th i s , a sk yourse l f these ques t ions :

The headsa i l s in the head- r igging o f the sh ip a re the fore topmast s taysa i l , j ib , and the f l y ing j ib . Each of the headsa i l s has th ree s ides : the foo t , t he l eech , and the lu ff . The corners a re the head , t he c lew , and the tack . Headsa i l s a re a t tached to the i r re spec t ive s tays by mean of wooden hanks . These hanks a re s team-bent oak p ieces tha t a re shaped l ike the fami l ia r f i sh-shaped Chr i s t i an symbol . The hanks may be spread open and s l id on or o ff the s tays when bending on ( ins ta l l ing) o r unbending ( removing) the sa i l . The lu ff i s the l eading edge of the sa i l , and has many grommets punched a long i t s l ength so

• “Is i t an easy knot to t ie , and can i t be t ied qu ick ly?” • “Wi l l i t se rve i t s purpose?” • “Wi l l i t hold?” • “Wi l l i t be easy to unt i e la te r?”

I f you can answer yes to each of these quest ions , the se lec ted knot wi l l be an e ff ic ien t choice . However, to be cor rec t , you must a l so ask yourse l f “ I s the re a spec i f i c knot r equ i red for th i s job?” I f no t , “ Is there a be t te r knot for the job?” I f you are in doubt as to which kno t to use for a speci f ic task , don’t was te t ime th ink ing about i t , ask an o ff i cer!

the hanks can be la shed to the sa i l . A wooden block i s a t tached a t the head of each headsa i l to accommodate the ha lyard . In the case o f the j ib and the fo re topmas t s t aysa i l , the t ack i s l a shed down to the headr ig wi th a rope tack l a sh ing . When the ha lyard i s haul upon, the sa i l goes up , and s t re tches t ight aga ins t the t ack l a sh ing . In the case of the f ly ing j ib , a l ine ca l l ed the running tack i s a t tached to the tack . Thi s running tack i s a l ine tha t leads f rom deck out to the end o f the f ly ing j ibboom and th rough a b lock tha t i s la shed there , and then the l ine i s a t tached to the t ack of the f ly ing j ib . When the f ly ing j ib ha lya rd i s hau led up , the sa i l ( a t tached by hanks) s l ides up the f ly ing j ib s tay and eventua l ly (when the sa i l i s near ly a l l the way up) the t ack r i ses o ff the f ly ing j ibboom. The c rew on deck a l lows the “ running tack” to run out as the sa i l r i ses h igher unt i l the t ack of the sa i l i s about t en fee t above the f ly ing j ibboom. On windie r days , the o ff ice r o f the deck may orde r the

Luff

Leech

Foot

Tack

Clew

Luff

Leech

Foot

Clew

Tack

Head

Some basic te rms to know a re bigh t , b i t t er end, work ing par t , and s tanding par t : • The bight i s the midd le of a rope . B igh t i s a l so a te rm used in

knot ty ing to desc r ibe a U-shaped bend in a rope . • The bi t te r end i s the end of a rope , but a l so means the end of a

l ine on the sh ip which i s on deck- the working end. • The work ing par t or work ing end i s the pa r t o r end of the l ine

tha t you move or hau l upon when working the l ine . • The s tanding par t o r s tanding end i s the par t o r end of the l ine

tha t i s s ta t ionary, a ff ixed to something, or does no t move th rough a sheave , th imble , fa i r- l ead , e tc .

Figure Eight Knot

The figure eight knot is used to prevent the end of a line from running out of a block: Pass the end through Pull the knot tightTwist a loop in the line

52 33

running tack to be kep t shor t , and thus the sa i l lower. On very l igh t -wind days , he may want the sa i l ten or twelve fee t above the f ly ing j ibboom.

A t tached to the c lew of each headsa i l a re the shee t s . On each headsa i l , one shee t leads to the s t a rboard s ide of the deck , jus t a f t of the anchor, and the o the r shee t l eads to the por t s ide o f the deck. When sa i l ing , the shee t s a re used to cont ro l the sa i l ’s angle to the wind.

Commands and Actions for Setting Headsails: “Stand by to Set the (Name of Sa i l )” : Crew prepare the sa i l ’s

running r igging for se t t ing the sa i l . Lay the ha lyard coi l on deck , cas t i t o ff and prepare to haul on i t . F lake out the downhaul (and running tack , i f se t t ing the f ly ing j ib ) and s tand by to cas t i t o ff . Make sure the shee t s a re c lea r in the headr ig and not fou led on the boomkins o r o the r obs t ruc t ions . Take any excess s lack out o f the shee t tha t wi l l be the l ee shee t . Pu t p lenty o f s l ack in to the windward shee t .

Cont inue wi th “Figure 8” Turns

The th i rd p r io r i ty i s to know how to f in i sh be lay ing the l ine . . . on the th i rd top-tu rn , f in i sh wi th a f ina l and ordina ry tu rn -o r- on ce r ta in l ines only, wi th a h i tch as shown above .

“(Name of Sail) Halyard, Haul Away!” Crew cas t off the downhaul , haul

away the ha lyard , and carefu l ly tend the shee t to insure tha t the shee t i s not so s lack as to a l low the sa i l to f log , bu t not so t igh t a s to comple te ly f i l l the sa i l wi th wind , thus making i t ha rder fo r the ha lyard c rew to hau l the sa i l up . As the sa i l goes up, i t a l so comes a f t , so the lee shee t should become s lacker a s the sa i l goes up . Once the sa i l begins to s t re tch tau t , the c rewmembers who are haul ing on the ha lyard should “sweat” the ha lyard up as t ight as poss ib le . Sweat ing a l ine i s a p rocedure where your body we ight i s used more e ffec t ive ly than your muscles to ge t the l ine ve ry, ve ry t ight . One person “ ta i l s the l ine” on the be lay ing p in , whi le severa l o the rs je rk the l ine down and away f rom the p inra i l , then hang on i t whi le pushing the s lack they c rea ted toward the p in . Then the pe rson ta i l ing the l ine g ives a s t rong pul l to take up the s lack . This procedure wi l l be demonst ra ted onboard .

Rain: Special Care for Manila Lines and Locking Hitches

When a l ine i s made of mani la rope , spec ia l ca re must be g iven to make sure tha t the h i tch i s not pu t on too t igh t ly . Do not c inch the h i tch down t ight ! When i t ra ins , a l l the mani la l ine onboard wi l l ge t wet and swel l . As each l ine swel l s , the expanding d iamete r causes the length of the l ine to shr ink and ge t shor te r . Thi s means tha t the h i tch on a p in wi l l t ighten up , o f t en so t ight tha t i t t akes a lo t o f e f fo r t and t ime to ge t the h i tch o ff . Th is can be qui te dangerous i f a l ine must be handled immedia te ly and the h i tch i s swol len and jammed. Al l mani la l ines except braces and l i f t s mus t be eased a foo t or two be fore i t ra ins ! As the l ines ge t wet and shr ink , they ge t ve ry t ight and could break .

“ (Name of Sa i l ) Halyard, Avast and Belay!” One or two people ho ld the s t ra in on the l ine whi le the pe rson who was ta i l ing the p in be lays the l ine . Af te r the ha lyard i s secured , the sa i l i s t r immed to the breeze by haul ing in the l ee shee t .

A locking h i tch should be used only on the fo l lowing l ines : • Braces • Halyards • Shee ts • Lif t s • Lines be layed on c lea t s • Lines tha t a re re la ted to pe rsonnel sa fe ty.

34 51

hand wi th the le f t hand be tween the ra i l and the co i l , and wi th the bi t t er end o f the l ine away f rom the ra i l . Reach through t he co i l wi th the r igh t hand, bu t f i r s t twis t ing the hand 180 degrees c lockwise so the p inky f inger i s up and the thumb i s down. Then grab the l ine about 4 to 8 inches be low the p in (or c lea t ) wi th the r igh t hand in the a fo rement ioned or ienta t ion , and twis t the l ine in a counte r-c lockwise d i rec t ion ( re tu rning the hand to a more comfor tab le or ien ta t ion) . Thi s wi l l c rea te a loop , which you wi l l use to pul l th rough the coi l , and p lace up over the top of the p in (o r c lea t ) to hang the coi l .

Headsails and Sail Trim

With headsa i l s , i t i s impor tant to l earn the d i ffe rence be tween lu ff ing and f logging. A f logging headsa i l makes a loud snapping sound as i t shakes wi ld ly in a s t i ff b reeze . I f a sa i l i s f logging, hau l in the shee t unt i l the sa i l f la t tens ou t and the f logging s tops . Luff ing , on the o the r hand, i s when the lu ff ( leading edge of the sa i l ) i s shaking modera te ly in the wind , bu t on ly the lu ff and pe rhaps the upper por t ion of the l eech a re shak ing. When a sa i l i s f logging, the ent i re sa i l inc lud ing the c lew shakes about considerab ly. Belaying Lines

When sa i l ing on the wind (near the d i rec t ion the wind i s coming f rom) , headsa i l shee t s should be t r immed (hauled in) jus t to the po in t o f a l lowing a smal l amount o f lu ff ing . The headsa i l s a re supposed to lu ff a t iny b i t , d i sce rnable on ly way up near the head of the sa i l . Depending on the sh ip’s course ( re la t ive to the wind d i rec t ion) the uppermost par t o f the leech may somet imes shake before the luff does . However, most of ten the lu ff wi l l shake f i r s t , pa r t icu la r ly when the sa i l i s p roper ly t r immed and sa i l ing on the wind .

When a l ine i s p roper ly secured to a be lay ing p in or c lea t , i t i s sa id to be be layed o r made fas t ( “ fas t” be ing the root o f the word “fas ten” , meaning a ff ixed) . When a t tempt ing to make a l ine fas t , one must take the l ine to a p in on the p in ra i l , o r to a c lea t , and wrap the l ine a round the p in so tha t the f r ic t ion of the tu rns on the p in wi l l p revent the l ine f rom s l ipp ing loose . Before do ing th i s you must know how to t ake the l ine to the p in (or c lea t ) ; you must ge t a fa i r lead t o the p in .

Get t ing a fa i r l ead requi res tha t you know f rom where (wha t angle to the ra i l ) the l ine i s coming. I s i t l ead ing down f rom above , o r up f rom the deck? I s i t l ead ing f rom af t o f the p in or f rom forward of the p in? Be lay ing has three p r io r i t i zed ru les :

When sa i l ing off the wind (wind i s abaf t the beam) , the shee t s a re eased out and sa i l shape ba l loons out wi th a l a rge be l ly -shape . The idea he re i s to t ry to ge t mos t o f the sa i l ’s sur face a rea re la t ive ly square to the wind .

The f i r s t p r ior i ty i s to make sure tha t the f i r s t turn around the top and the f i r s t turn around bot tom o f the p in a re made c leanly so the rope does no t c ross over i t se l f and ge t j ammed or cause inconsi s ten t f r ic t ion .

Other point s o f sa i l (courses re la t ive to wind d i rec t ion) wi l l no t be d i scussed here . However one can v i sua l ize tha t i f the headsa i l s a re hauled in t igh t when sa i l ing on the wind (c lose hauled) , and eased ou t cons iderably fo r a broad reach when sa i l ing off the wind , then when sa i l ing a beam reach , the sa i l s should be t r immed somewhere in be tween. F iner de ta i l s of sa i l t r im wi l l be rese rved for on-board ins t ruc t ion .

The next p r io r i ty i s to make sure tha t the f i r s t l ead o f the l ine over the top o f the p in , i s l ed in a c lockwise d i rec t ion i f poss ib le ( th is he lps when handl ing l ines in the dark) . Subsequent tu rns should be made in a “ f igure 8” d i rec t ion . See i l lus t ra t ions be low:

A Foul Lead A Fa i r Lead

50 35

Staysails Coiling and Hanging While the te rm “Staysa i l” i s a gener ic te rm tha t means any

sa i l tha t i s se t f rom a s tay, on Niagara the p lura l form-“Staysa i l s” i s usua l ly in re ference to the s t aysa i l s tha t a re se t be tween the mas t s . These a re the main s taysa i l , the main topmas t s t aysa i l , and the main topgal lan t s t aysa i l .

Cowboys and fa rmers coi l rope in the i r hands , sa i lo rs coi l on deck. As un-seamanl ike as cowboy-co i l ing i s , a l l sa i lor s do i t occas iona l ly, bu t only when the l ine i s too shor t to coi l on deck. When co i l ing in -hand, use your r ight hand to coi l the rope in a c lockwise d i rec t ion in to your l e f t hand. The main s taysa i l i s shaped, se t , t r immed, and taken in

much the same as i s a headsa i l . There fore to avo id redundancy, the main s taysa i l wi l l no t be d i scussed fur the r here . The main topmas t s t aysa i l and main topga l lan t s taysa i l s a re four-s ided sa i l s .

To make a proper co i l on deck, s t raddle the rope so i t l eads f rom behind you, up f rom be tween your l egs and in to your hands . Then l ean over wi th your fee t spread wide ac ross the deck and make a c lockwise c i rc le on the deck with the rope (about 5 to 6 p lank-widths in d iamete r ) . Keep making c lockwise c i rc les un t i l you f in i sh and the b i t t e r end of the l ine i s la id on top of the co i l . Always begin a co i l f rom the par t o f the l ine tha t leads off the p in or c lea t . Never coi l a l ine by s ta r t ing wi th the b i t te r end .

These t rapezoida l s taysa i l s a re o f ten mis labe led today.

Accord ing to Darcy Lever ’s Shee t Anchor and Har land’s Seamanship in the Age o f Sai l , the fo rward edge o f the sa i l ( the fore leech) , i s ca l led the bunt . Many square - r ig sa i lors today (pe rhaps incorrec t ly ) ca l l th i s edge the lu ff . The edge tha t runs a long the s t ay i s ca l l ed the head, the lower edge o f the sa i l i s the foo t , and the a f t edge i s the l eech .

The corners a re desc r ibed in the photo above . On Niagara , t he t ack o f the main topmast s taysa i l i s r igged wi th a tackle so i t can be adjus ted to improve the sa i l s shape when t r imming the sa i l

Leech

Foot

Nock

Peak

Clew Tack

Head

To hang the coi l :

Bunt

49

Make sure the coi l i s t idy, even, and appropr ia te ly s i zed to s t ay about one foo t o ff the deck when hung. Hold the co i l in the l e f t

36

with the lee shee t . L ike headsa i l s , the s t aysa i l s each have a ha lya rd , a downhaul , and two shee t s . However un l ike the headsa i l s , the downhauls fo r the main topmas t s t aysa i l and the main topga l lant s taysa i l a re each led f rom the nock ( see p rev ious photo) up the head of the sa i l , th rough a l i za rd a t the peak, and then down to where i t i s bent on to the c lew of the sa i l . When taking in the sa i l , th i s l ine pu l l s the c lew up to the peak of the sa i l , then pul l s the whole sa i l down in a bundle . For th i s reason, th i s downhaul i s ca l l ed the “Clew Brai l” .

Procedures for Easing

When eas ing any l ine , on ly one pe rson does the eas ing . The l ine should be on a be lay ing p in , c lea t , o r b i t t . There should be as many turns on the p in as poss ib le , bu t so the l ine s t i l l eases out smoothly and under cont ro l . I f the re i s ve ry l i t t le s t ra in on the l ine , jus t a tu rn a round one s ide of the p in may be suff ic ien t to ease the l ine under cont ro l . I f there i s modera te s t ra in on the l ine , a f igure -e ight turn may be requi red (a top and a bo t tom turn) on the p in .

For heavy s t ra ins , the l ine must be handled ve ry ca re fu l ly and a t leas t a f igure -e ight p lus one more top turn (or bo t tom turn) wi l l be requ i red and more tu rns may be needed. Always be prepared for inconsi s tent loads where a t one moment the l ine i s under very heavy load, then l ight load , then heavy load aga in . Thi s happens of ten , for example , wi th the headsa i l shee t s when the sa i l s a re f logging. Make sure to keep enough turns on the p in to ho ld the l ine when the s t ronges t load occurs . In s imi la r s i tua t ions , i f you do no t unders tand how or why the s t ra in on the l ine i s changing, immedia te ly ask a profess ional for a ss i s t ance .

When t acking the main topmast s taysa i l , one shee t must be eased , whi le the o the r shee t i s hauled upon to pul l the sa i l across the main s tays over to the o the r s ide . The c lew bra i l i s usua l ly hauled upon to he lp ge t the c lew of the sa i l up and over the mains tays . The main topga l lan t s taysa i l i s t acked in a s imi la r way.

The main topmast s tay sa i l , un l ike the o ther s t aysa i l s , a l so has two o ther bra i l s . The foot bra i l and the leech bra i l a re each led respec t ive ly f rom the foot and the leech to the nock, where they pass th rough b locks and down to deck. Note: to be t ter i l lus t ra te the running r igging, the image be low i s not exact ly the r ight sa i l shape .

When a l ine i s taken comple te ly off the p in , i t i s sa id to be “cas t o ff” . However, one could s t i l l hold the l ine in h i s hand, or i t could ge t s tuck and jammed on something . When the l ine i s cas t o ff and comple te ly f ree to run , i t i s sa id to be “al l - s lack”. When eas ing a l ine and the s t ra in dec reases to n i l , the l ine goes a l l - s lack . I f a l ine goes a l l s lack a t a t ime when you th ink i t shouldn’t , there could be a prob lem a lof t . In such case , be prepared for a sudden re turn of the s t ra in , and immedia te ly not i fy the off ice r of the deck tha t your l ine has gone a l l s lack .

Main Topmast Staysail Running Rigging

37

Downhaul

Leech Brail (Port and Stbd.)

Foot Brail

Running Tack

Clew Brail

48

Spanker everyone s tops pul l ing and ho lds the l ine f i rmly wi thout a l lowing any of the l ine they have hauled to ease out . The person in charge o f the l ine (who was haul ing downward) passes the t a i l s topper to ho ld the s t ra in whi le the l ine ge t s be layed . A ta i l s topper i s t ied s imi la r ly to a midshipman h i tch ( see page 65) . However ins tead of pass ing the f ina l lock ing h i tch , the t a i l o f the s topper i s passed a round the ha lyard in an upward sp i ra l . Thi s upward sp i ra l must be passed in the opposi te d i rec t ion than the f i r s t two tu rns o f the knot . The spi ra led tu rns a re then marr ied to the l ine by squeez ing the s topper and the l ine t igh t ly toge ther. This i s a compl ica ted knot for a novice , and consider ing the heavy load invo lved, the s topper should be made only by an exper ienced c rewmember or under d i rec t supervi s ion of an off i cer or able seaman.

The spanker i s a four- s ided ga ff - r igged sa i l tha t i s se t on the a f t s ide o f the mainmas t . I t i s the mos t compl ica ted sa i l on the sh ip . Typica l ly, i t requi res a minimum of ten people to se t i t and f i f teen to t ake i t in . The spanker can be lowered to deck, ree fed , and then se t a s a lower and smal le r sa i l .

Tail Stopper

The spanker

gaff i s a spa r tha t ho lds the top edge ( the head ) o f the sa i l . The sa i l i s l a shed to the ga ff and the ga ff i s ho i s ted up the mas t wi th ha lyards . The lu ff i s the leading edge of the sa i l and i s a t t ached to a smal l th in mas t ( the snow mas t ) jus t a f t of the mainmas t . The lu ff i s a t t ached to the snow mast by means of parra l beads on the upper ha l f of the sa i l and a l ac ing l ine on the lower ha l f o f the sa i l ( f rom the 2 n d ree f band and down) .When the spanker i s taken in , the gaff i s no t typica l ly lowered. Brai l s a re l ines used to pul l the sa i l in to the snow mast and con ta in i t the re . The sa i l i s bra i led in hor izon ta l ly aga ins t the mas t and the ga ff .

The bra i l s each have the i r own name and funct ion and a re mi r rored wi th ident ica l bra i l s on each s ide of the sa i l . So the re a re a lway s b ra i l s on the windward s ide of the sa i l , and ident i ca l bra i l s in ident ica l pos i t ions on the lee s ide of the sa i l . S ince the sa i l na tura l ly b lows downwind in to the lee b ra i l s , i t i s the b ra i l s on the l ee s ide o f the sa i l tha t work bes t to ga ther the sa i l in to the mas t . There fore , when taking in the sa i l , the lee b ra i l s r equi re the most musc le power.

The hor izonta l spa r benea th the spanker i s the spanker boom which i s the l a rges t moving spar on the ship . When sa i l ing , the spanker boom mus t be handled wi th grea t care to prevent i t f rom

Throat

Tack

Clew

Leech

Foot

Luff

PeakHead

Once the ta i l s topper i s passed, the person holding the t a i l s topper (and in charge of the l ine) ca l l s fo r everyone on the l ine to “Ease Up”. Everyone hold ing the l ine then takes two s teps toward the p in to ease the s t ra in on the l ine on to the ta i l s topper. Once i t i s c lea r tha t the ta i l s topper i s hold ing the s t ra in e ffec t ive ly, the pe rson who i s f i r s t in l ine behind the foo t b lock shout s “Come Up!” Then everyone e l se drops the l ine so he can be lay the l ine .

Sweat ing a l ine i s a procedure where your body we ight i s used more e ffec t ive ly than your musc les to ge t the l ine ve ry, ve ry t ight . One person “ ta i l s the l ine” on the be lay ing p in , whi le severa l o the rs je rk the l ine down and away f rom the p inra i l , then they hang on i t whi le push ing the s lack they c rea ted toward the p in . Then the person ta i l ing the l ine g ives a s t rong pu l l to t ake up the s l ack . This p rocedure wi l l be demons t ra ted onboard .

38 47

Make sure when lay ing l ines down on deck tha t the b i t te r end i s c lea r o f the coi l , the l ine was co i l ed c lockwise , the b i t te r end i s on bot tom, and the co i l i s t idy.

swinging about uncont ro l led . The fo rward end of the boom res t s on a tab le tha t i s bu i l t secure ly a round the base of the snow mast .

The a f t end of the spanker boom i s he ld suspended by the boom l i f t s and i s con t ro l led f rom swinging about wi th the spanker shee t and the quar ter tack les . The spanker shee t i s a s t rong, heavy l ine tha t i s l ed th rough two double -sheave b locks , and i t l eads f rom the boom down near the cente r o f the deck by the t i l l e r. There a re two quar te r t ackles , each lead ing f rom the same a rea on the boom to the bulwarks on e i the r s ide of the deck. The quar te r t ackles each consi s t o f two double -sheave b locks and a re l ighte r than the shee t . They a re not des igned to ho ld the s t ra in of the wind in the sa i l fo r extended per iods , bu t more to hold the boom f rom swinging s ide- to-s ide when the sh ip ro l l s .

Procedures for Hauling

Most l ines tha t lead down f rom a lof t a re be layed d i rec t ly to the p inra i l s . However, many a re passed through a turning b lock-(a l so ca l l ed a f oo t b lock ) on deck be fore l ead ing up to the p in ra i l . Most l ines tha t a re l ed th rough a foot b lock a re l ed so they may be hauled hor izonta l ly ac ross the deck . When haul ing l ines across the deck, everyone should be on the same s ide of the l ine . I f hau l ing the l ine fo rward toward the bow or a f t toward the s te rn , everyone should be on the inboard s ide of the l ine . Otherwise , the fo lks in the middle of the l ine a re l ike ly to ge t p inned aga ins t a ca r ronade or agains t the bu lwarks , and could po tent i a l ly fa l l overboard through a gun por t . There a re ne t s on the gun por t s to preven t th i s , bu t they a re not guaran teed pro tec t ion; the ne t s could be knocked loose .

The two boom l i f t s a re r igged so tha t when the sa i l i s se t , the sa i l i s be tween them. Thus one l i f t i s on the windward s ide o f the sa i l , and the o the r l i f t i s on the lee s ide o f the sa i l . The l i f t s a re adjus tab le ; they have a tackle r igged to g ive mechanica l advantage so two or th ree people can haul on one o f the l i f t s and hois t the a f t end of the 1000-pound boom. The windward l i f t i s kep t t au t whi le the spanker i s se t , in case the sa i l t ea r s or i t s r igg ing breaks , to p revent the boom f rom landing on deck. The lee l i f t however, i s kept ve ry s lack so i t does no t press in to the sa i l and d imini sh the sa i l ’s a i r fo i l shape . Also , i f no t kept s lack , the lee l i f t wi l l cha fe the sewn s t i tches in the seams of the sa i l .

Other l ines tha t a re not l ed th rough foo t b locks a re pu l led s t ra ight down to the p inra i l f rom above . So whoever i s pu l l ing neares t the p in o r the foot b lock i s a t r i sk of ge t t ing f ingers j ammed in the b lock or aga ins t the p in . When haul ing a l ine , never pu t your hands on the l ine c loser than a foot f rom the b lock or p in ! I f you do ge t a f inger s tuck, shout out “Avast !” before the o the rs ser ious ly in jure your f inger as they haul i t r igh t th rough the b lock. Di rec t ly oppos ing the bra i l s , which a re used to take in the

sa i l , i s the c lew outhaul , which i s used to se t the sa i l . As the name impl ies , the c lew outhaul haul s the c lew of the sa i l f rom i t s bra i led-in posi t ion ou t to the end o f the boom. The c lew outhaul i s made fas t on a c lea t on the boom, where i t can eas i ly be reached f rom deck.

When many people a re haul ing a l ine , such as a topsa i l ha lyard , spanker c lew outhaul , e tc . and there i s a lo t o f load on the l ine , spec ia l commands a re used to ge t the l ine secured sa fe ly. One exper ienced c rewmember o r t ra inee should be hau l ing down on the l ine , above the foot b lock . Another exper ienced crewmember o r t ra inee should be f i r s t in l ine behind the foo t b lock . The c rewmember haul ing down on the l ine i s in charge o f the l ine and g ives a l l commands to the o the rs who are haul ing .

A gaff i s a un ique spar on a square- r igger. I t i s the on ly spar wi th vangs . The vangs a re two l ines tha t a re a t tached to the ga ff , nea r i t s a f t end, adjacent to the peak of the sa i l . When the sa i l i s se t and the wind i s b lowing , the ga ff usua l ly does not swing about excess ive ly because the wind in the sa i l holds i t pressed ou t to l eeward. However, on l igh t wind days the gaff can swing about v io lent ly in a ro l l ing swel l , and the gaff vangs a re used to con t ro l and hold the ga ff s tabi l ized . In most sa i l ing condi t ions , i t i s common to l eave the gaff vangs ad jus ted so the gaff can swing about modera te ly. Taut ga ff vangs a re e ssent i a l when the spanker i s no t se t .

When, fo r example , the o ff ice r ca l l s “Fore Topsa i l Halyard, Haul Away!” the pe rson in charge of the l ine repeat s the command and se t s the cadence fo r the o the rs who a re haul ing . Many schooner sa i lors use the phrase “Two-Six-Heave” to es tab l i sh cadence . They be l ieve the phrase i s h i s tor ica l ly de r ived f rom a gun dr i l l command to hau l out the guns . This i s not accura te and i s a my th tha t warran t s cor rec t ing .

Choose any method of es tab l i sh ing cadence you wish . “One-Two-Heave” makes sense , bu t the Chie f Mate wi l l p robably es tabl i sh h i s own pre fe r red method (hopeful ly not “Heave-Ho” in cheesy Hol lywood/ P i ra te fashion) . What i s impor tant i s tha t the re i s an unders tood way of communica t ing and es tabl i sh ing cadence so everyone who i s haul ing on a l ine wi l l haul a t the same t ime.

The ha lyards tha t hoi s t the ga ff in to posi t ion are be layed wi th a h i t ch and then se ized wi th a smal l twine se iz ing to prevent them be ing acc identa l ly cas t o ff by a new c rewmember. There a re two ha lyards ; the throa t ha lyard hois t s the forward end of the gaff , and the peak ha lyard hois t s the a f t end . Thei r names are de r ived f rom the names o f the upper corners o f the sa i l . The th roa t i s the Af te r the off ice r ca l l s “Fore Topsai l Halyard , Avast and

Belay !” the person in charge o f the l ine repea t s the command,

46 39

name of the fo rward upper corner of the spanker and the peak ha lyard i s named for the af t upper corner ( the peak of the sa i l ) . Line Handling The bra i l s a re iden t i f ied in the fo l lowing i l lus t ra t ion . The th roa t bra i l s pu l l s the middle o f the l eech up to the a rea o f the th roa t . Throa t b ra i l s hold much of the sa i l ’s weight up when the sa i l i s taken in . Therefore they requi re the most musc le power.

New t ra inees mus t l ea rn to handle l ines sa fe ly on deck. They must l ea rn how to haul on l ines , how to safe ly use be lay ing p ins and c lea t s , f l ake l ines for running, how to l ay coi l s down on deck for running out , and how to co i l l ines and hang them on the p inra i l s for s towage . There a re many techniques involved and th i s sec t ions a ims to cover some of them. However, f i r s t one should unders tand how rope i s cons t ruc ted . Fi r s t , wi th r igh t -hand lay rope , f ibers a re twis ted counte r-c lockwise to make each yarn , then many yarns a re twis ted c lockwise to make each s t rand, and f ina l ly th ree s t rands a re twis ted counte r-c lockwise a round each o the r to make the rope .

Upper Peak Brail

Lower Peak Brail

Gaff Vang

Throat Brail

Leech Brail

Boom Lift

Clew Outhaul

Clew BrailFoot Brail

Right -hand la id rope must be co i led c lockwise . I f you co i l i t the wrong way, i t wi l l hockle , or d i srupt the l ay o f the rope , and many twis t s and k inks wi l l form. Once a k ink i s fo rmed, i t can ge t j ammed in the sheave of a b lock and prevent the l ine f rom running th rough. Occur r ing in the wrong place a t the wrong t ime , th i s can be a se r ious prob lem. I f found in t ime, k inks may be manipula ted ou t by massaging & untwis t ing the k inks toward the b i t te r end o f the l ine , and then by recoi l ing the l ine

SheetQuarter tackles

45

When sa i l handl ing , one should a lways watch l ines as they

pay out to guard aga ins t fouled co i l s and k inks . I f a l ine i s l a id down proper ly on deck , wi th the b i t t e r end on the bo t tom of the coi l , i t should usua l ly pay out wi thout t rouble . I f l a id down ups ide down, the l ine , when eased out , wi l l feed off the bo t tom of the coi l and i s l ike ly to ge t fouled ( tangled) .

3 Strands

Fibers

Yarns

40

foot and the ree f band. From th i s fo ld , they begin to ro l l the sa i l up to the ree f band very loose ly. The ro l l should not be made in to a t ight ro l l , and the a f t end o f the ro l l mus t be made careful ly. S ince the sa i l i s not square , and the foot i s longer than the head , the ro l l ge t s s loppy a t the a f t end . The par t o f the leech which i s be tween the c lew and the reef c r ing le mus t be hauled forward and tucked ca re fu l ly in to the ro l l .

Setting the Spanker

Set t ing the spanker i s qui te s imple in concept . Tak ing i t in i s no t . The b ra i l s a re p repared be forehand for se t t ing ; the throa t b ra i l and c lew bra i l a re marr ied (b rought toge ther ) and be layed on the same pin on e i the r s ide o f the mainmas t f i fe ra i l . Al l of the o the r b ra i l s a re mar r ied and be layed on ano ther p in on e i ther s ide of the mainmas t f i fe ra i l . Thi s way, when the sa i l i s se t , the c lew and th roa t b ra i l s can be eased ou t under con t ro l toge ther, and a l l o f the o the r b ra i l s can be cas t o ff .

Once the sa i l i s ro l l ed up to the ree f band, the c rew begins to t ie in the reef ne t t les . The reef ne t t le s a re the shor t b i t s o f rope hanging ou t o f the ree f band every foot o r so a long i t s l eng th . They must be ve ry ca re fu l no t to t i e any running r igg ing in to the ree f as i t i s ve ry easy to do . The ree f ne t t l e s must be t ied wi th ree f kno ts in the very ends of the ne t t l es so the ree f i s t i ed loose ly. As the sa i l i s se t and the c lew i s hauled a f t , the sa i l c lo th wi l l need to sh i f t and become redi s t r ibu ted ins ide the ro l l ed up ree f . I f a reef ne t t le i s too t igh t , i t could cause the sa i l to tear nea r the t ight ne t t l e .

Whi le some c rew members a re prepar ing the bra i l s , o the rs a re removing gaske t s f rom the sa i l i f necessary, coi l ing the spanker shee t and prepar ing to sh i f t and pre -se t the boom. The spanker boom should be sh i f t ed to the lee s ide of the deck and he ld there by the quar te r tack les . When the sa i l i s not se t , the boom i s kept lower than i t needs to be when the sa i l i s se t . Off icers s tand on the br idge deck to naviga te , and i t can be d i ff icu l t to ge t a c lea r l ine of s ight wi th the boom up h igh, as i t i s when the sa i l i s se t . So , when prepar ing to se t the sa i l , and sh i f t ing the boom to the lee s ide of the deck, the c rew mus t a l so “ top up” the boom, meaning hau l the l i f t s up un t i l the boom i s a l i t t l e h igher than the cor rec t he ight fo r sa i l ing . This makes hau l ing the c lew out much eas ie r.

The te rm “ top up” i s de r ived f rom “ topping l i f t” . Boom l i f t s on some vesse l s were r igged to the ve ry end of the boom. This s ty le o f boom l i f t i s ca l led a topping l i f t . Niagara has quar ter l i f t s . That i s - the boom l i f t s a re a t t ached to a b r id le tha t spans about a quar te r o f the boom’s l ength f rom the a f t end of the boom. However, we s t i l l use the t e rm “ top up” to mean hau l the boom l i f t s and ra i se the boom he ight . Once a l l the ne t t le s a re t ied , and the tack and c lew lash ings

a re la shed, the sa i l i s ready to se t . Thi s i s done by haul ing the th roa t and peak ha lyards unt i l the sa i l i s a t the p roper he ight . Then the c lew outhaul i s hau led un t i l the c lew i s the proper d i s tance out the boom. On most ga ff r igged sa i l s , the ga ff should be hau led up pa ra l l e l to the hor izon unt i l the luff i s s t re tched t igh t , then the peak i s hau led up to i t s lo f ty home wel l above the throa t . Th is i s no t so on Niagara.

Once the boom i s pre -se t on the lee s ide , c rew members a re s ta t ioned on the bra i l s , windward gaff vang, and on the c lew ou thau l . On the command “Set the Spanker” , t he l eech b ra i l s , foot bra i l s , and peak bra i l s a re cas t o ff , the throa t b ra i l s and c lew bra i l s a re eased out smar t ly (quickly ) , and the c lew outhau l i s hauled upon un t i l the c lew i s hauled to i t s cor rec t pos i t ion near the end of the boom. As the bra i l s ease ou t , the pe rson manning the windward gaff vang and f l ag ha lyard should ease them out to keep them s lack , bu t under con t ro l un t i l the sa i l i s se t (unless the sh ip i s ro l l ing excess ive ly ) .

Niagara’s gaff i s d i ffe ren t than a gaff on a schooner and mus t a lways be hauled up or sent down a t the same angle as the gaff has when i t i s se t . The peak mus t be kept up a t about a 45 degree angle to prevent excess ive chafe aga ins t the snow mas t . Thi s makes the work on the th roa t ha lyard much harder than the work on the peak ha lyard , espec ia l ly on the l as t few fee t of ho is t . I t i s an inheren t cos t o f the r ig’s des ign, but no t necessa r i ly a f l aw s ince the ga ff remains hoi s ted when taking in the sa i l anyway.

The deck off i cer wi l l ca l l “Spanker Outhaul , Avast” when the c lew i s hauled ou t fa r enough. Then a t a i l s topper i s c lapped on the c lew outhaul , and when ready, the l ine i s be layed on the c lea t on the boom. After the sa i l i s se t , a l l o f the b ra i l s mus t be be layed wi th some s lack in them, and the shee t , quar te r tackles , ga ff vangs , and f lag ha lyards mus t a l l be p roper ly be layed and coi led . The shee t i s l e f t on deck, f l aked out and ready to run , and a l l o the r l ines a re coi led and hung nea t ly.

44 41

Take in the Spanker! Crewmembers haul away bra i l s , ease the c lew outhaul , t end and take up the vangs , t end and take up the quar ter tackles , and tend the f l ag ha lya rd . Taking in the Spanker

Once a l l the b ra i l s a re hauled in , the boom i s cente red and lowered to i t s s towed posi t ion . The bra i l s a re swea ted up t igh t , and the o ff ice r of the deck wi l l ca l l for gaske t s to be pu t on the sa i l i f needed. Al l l ines a re checked tha t they a re on the i r correc t p ins and a re then co i led and hung nea t ly.

Fami l ia r i ty wi th handl ing the spanker i s c r i t i ca l to t ak ing i t in sa fe ly. Typica l ly, the main yard should not be b raced up sharp when taking in the spanker. The leech o f the sa i l wi l l go s lack as the c lew ou thaul i s eased , and i t may wrap a round the lee ma in yardarm and ge t s tuck the re . Usua l ly, to remedy th i s s i tua t ion , someone must go a lof t and push the sa i l c l ear, which i s a r i sky and t ime-consuming endeavor. When braced up sharp and taking in the spanker, the o rde r i s g iven to round in the main yard or to brace i t in about two po in t s . Two po in t s i s enough to preven t the l eech f rom ge t t ing caught .

Reefing the Spanker

Like the topsa i l s and foresa i l , the spanker may be ree fed . However, unl ike the square sa i l s , the spanker i s reefed a t the foo t of the sa i l ra ther than a t the head. The sa i l must be pa r t ia l ly se t to ree f i t . The c lew mus t be hau led out about as fa r a s i s shown in the fo l lowing photograph. Then the sa i l i s lowered to deck and ree fed .

On daysa i l s and dur ing the day on voyages , the re a re a lways p lenty o f people to handle the spanker. Handl ing i t on deck a t n igh t wi th only one wa tch i s en t i re ly d i ffe rent . The bas ic procedure for t ak ing in the spanker i s as fo l lows: The spanker has th ree ree f bands . The ree f bands , a s

p rev iously ment ioned in the sec t ion on reef ing square sa i l s , a re the th in hor izon ta l bands o f canvas tha t extend f rom the leech of the spanker to the lu ff . The f i r s t reef band runs pa ra l le l to the foo t and about e ight fee t above the foot . The second ree f band i s about e ight fee t above the f i r s t reef band.

Top up the boom: a s the c lew outhau l i s eased , the boom

may come down a foo t o r so . The boom l i f t s should be hauled t igh t (a t l eas t on the windward s ide ) to p revent the boom from dropping.

Man the lee brai l s w i th a t leas t s ix , p re fe rab ly e ight c rewmembers - two on the th roa t bra i l , two on the c lew bra i l , and one pe rson on each of the o the r ( l ess impor tan t ) b ra i l s . I f shor t -handed the o the r le ss impor tant b ra i l s can usua l ly be hauled in by doubl ing up the bra i l s - two bra i l s pe r pe rson.

The th i rd ree f band i s ca l led the balanced ree f band. The ba lanced ree f band runs f rom the leech of the sa i l , where the 2n d r ee f band i s loca ted , to the throa t o f the sa i l . The ba lanced ree f band runs d iagona l ly ac ross the sa i l so tha t when the sa i l i s ree fed to the ba lanced ree f , i t becomes a t r i angu la r sa i l . Man the windward brai ls wi th same as above , i f poss ib le .

Al though i f shor t handed , mos t people should go to the l ee bra i l s as they are most c r i t i ca l .

The ba lanced ree f i s handy when anchored to he lp keep the sh ip’s bow pointed in to the wind. I t i s a l so handy when the wea ther i s too rough to se t a double ree fed spanker, but sa i l i s needed a f t to he lp ba lance the sh ip . However, the ba lanced ree f i s ve ry se ldom se t on Niagara.

Man the windward quarter tackle: a s the c lew outhau l i s eased and the boom drops down a few inches , the quar te r t ack les and shee t wi l l go s lack and the boom may begin to swing s ide to s ide . Take up the windward quar te r tackle as needed. Th is i s a two or th ree person job , but cou ld requi re more people on windy days .

When ty ing in a s ing le o r double ree f , and the sa i l i s pa r t ia l ly se t and lowered to deck, begin by ty ing the tack l a sh ing . The tack of the sa i l must be hauled up to the forward end of the in tended ree f band and la shed to the forward reef c r ing le . Make sure tha t i f you a re ty ing a s ingle reef , tha t you t ie the tack to the c r ingle in the 1 s t r eef band. I f you a t t empt to t i e i t to the second reef band whi le ty ing reef ne t t l es fo r the f i r s t ree f band, obvious ly th i s wi l l not work .

Man the gaff vangs and f lag halyard: as the c lew outhaul i s eased , the sa i l wi l l no longer be s t re tched t ight , and s ince the ga ff vangs normal ly have some s lack in them, they wi l l need to be hauled t ight . Usua l ly when the sa i l i s fu l l o f wind , i t i s no t poss ib le to haul the ga ff on center l ine of the sh ip , so you have to wa i t un t i l the c lew outhaul i s eased before haul ing the vangs t ight . The f lag ha lyard on the ga ff t ends to foul up in the sa i l and must be led f rom i t s home on the boom out near the gaff vang whi le se t t ing or t ak ing in the spanker. The f l ag ha lyard should be he ld in hand and tended un t i l the sa i l i s in , and the vangs hau led t au t .

Whi le the tack la sh ing i s be ing t ied , another c rew member t ie s in the c lew lashing . L ike the t ack , the c lew of the sa i l i s pu l l ed up to the in tended ree f band and la shed to the a f t r ee f c r ingle on the ree f band.

Man the Clew Outhaul : This job should be done by an exper ienced c rewmember o r a t ra inee under d i rec t supervi s ion . The c lew ou thau l i s under h igh s t ra in and must be eased ca re fu l ly.

Whi le the tack and c lew lash ings a re be ing t ied , the res t o f the c rew avai l ab le (a t leas t ten) take the pa r t o f the sa i l be tween the foot and the ree f band and fo ld i t in ha l f : they pu l l the foo t up to the ree f band and g rab the fo ld tha t i s c rea ted ha l f way be tween the

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Niagara Seamanship Cover3...you undoubtedly received this book with your copy of the US Brig Niagara...

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Transcript of Niagara Seamanship Cover3...you undoubtedly received this book with your copy of the US Brig Niagara...