Seamanship

SEAMANSHIP is the art of sailing, manoeuvring, and preserving a ship or a boat in all positions and under all reasonable circumstances, and thus involves a sound practical knowledge of all the forces by which she may be actuated and the means at command to assist or counteract them; it is a branch of applied mechanics acquired by experience and study. The former can only be obtained thoroughly in many years spent at sea, in personal connexion with the work of the ship and her boats; that such training should commence at an early age is very desirable, if not even imperative. The practical knowledge so gained should be supplemented and improved by reading, conversation, and discussion, as the casualties which befall ships are so varied that a man may pass forty years in seagoing vessels without experiencing one-half of those which might occur. Many of the old maxims are still applicable to every class of vessel and must always remain so.

The terms “ship” and “vessel” are here intended to embrace all classes, though “ship” is generally applied to the larger without reference to form or description unless such is specified. Though the use of sails has been greatly superseded by the introduction of steam-power both in the navies of all nations and in the mercantile marine, it is still generally admitted that seamanship is best acquired on board a vessel which is dependent upon her sails. The construction and equipment of sailing ships had reached a high point of perfection at the time steam came into general use. The power derived from the steam-engine does not change any of the former conditions, but simply adds another element, confined to propulsion directly ahead or astern (except with reversible wheels or twin screws), which when combined with sails renders a ship much more manageable and safe,—that is to say, assuming all the forces at command to be properly applied. Hence it is very desirable that all ocean-going steam vessels should have sufficient sail-power to turn them round (wear) or to enable them to sail with the wind abeam without steam, especially when fitted with single screws or with paddle wheels which do not work separately. Twin screws, of course, give a double chance as far as the engine is concerned; but even with that advantage the loss of the rudder would leave the ship in a helpless condition if she had not efficient head and after sails to balance her on the desired course.

At present the excessive desire to make quick passages has greatly augmented the danger unavoidably attending a sea voyage, the risk as well as the violence of a collision at high speed in thick weather being thereby much increased. Through the want of masts and sails there is a probability of total loss by drifting helplessly on a lee shore during a gale, or by foundering “in the trough of the sea.” In spite of her monstrous size (22,000 tons), the “Great Eastern,” in 1863 or 1864, with her six comparatively small masts and weak sails was, after the loss of her rudder, very roughly used by the waves striking her full on the side. She was in the position which is expressed by the common sea-phrase “wallowing in the trough of the sea,” from which her crew had no power to extricate her. A smaller vessel deeply laden in such a position would most probably have foundered, leaving no one to tell the tale. Too much stress is laid upon the retardation caused by masts and rigging when steaming head to wind; it is the pitching and plunging motion of the ship into a succession of waves that principally retards her speed. If the waves are approaching at the rate of 10 miles an hour and the ship is steaming against them at a similar rate, they will strike the bows with a force equal to 20 miles an hour. When a ship is steaming through comparatively smooth water (sheltered by land) against a gale of wind, her speed is but little reduced by the force of the wind alone, when other circumstances admit of her working full power. Storm-sails only require short masts, but these and the canvas they support should be strong, which is not the case in the merchant service generally.

Every seaman is expected to be thoroughly acquainted with the rigging of the vessel in which he serves, and when in charge he should frequently examine every part, to see that it is efficiently performing the duty assigned to it, being neither too taut nor too slack, nor suffering from chafing, wet, or other injury. He should be capable of repairing or replacing any part with his own hand if necessary and of teaching others how to do so. He need not necessarily be a navigator, though a good navigator must be a seaman; nor is it necessary that a seaman should be a shipbuilder, a mast-maker, a rope-maker, or a sail-maker, but he should possess a general knowledge of each art, especially the last; every able seaman should be able to sew a seam and assist the ship’s sail-maker in repairing sails. It is greatly to be regretted that various circumstances have brought about such a change in the system of rigging ships, in both the British navy and the mercantile marine, that those who sail in them seldom see it done. Young officers were in former times frequently entrusted with the charge of day watches, during which they would give the necessary orders for making, shortening, or trimming sails, perhaps even tacking and wearing. That practice gave confidence and quickened the desire to learn more; it was more frequently done in small than in large ships. The general adoption of the steam-engine in ships has not only diminished the value of sail-power but of seamanship also, and has produced such a change in the rig that instead of masts and yards we find only two or three poles. In the British navy so many new sciences have been introduced that seamanship takes but a low place among them at the examination of a midshipman, who has had but little boat duty and probably found the discussion of seamanship in his mess-place contrary to rule. The rapidity with which all sail and mast drill is executed, combined with the perfection of the “station bill,” renders it worse than useless as a means of teaching, as it gives a false confidence which fails in the hour of necessity, when the accustomed routine is thrown out by a sail actually splitting to pieces or a spar snapping. The fact that the same men perpetually do the same thing must tend greatly to render each evolution quick so long as every one is in his accustomed place, but sickness or the absence of a party from duty will disorganize the ship for some time, as the general usefulness of the men has been cramped. Sail drill in harbour is open to grave objections: unless in a tide-way, the ship must be invariably head to wind; for reefing and furling the yards are laid square, consequently flat aback; both earings are hauled out at once, and as it is only for exercise they are only half secured. Even when reefing top-sails at sea either for exercise or of necessity in company with other ships, the yards are laid square to enable the men to get readily on the weather-side; therefore, if on a wind, the sail must remain aback or the ship must be kept away till the wind is on the beam in order to shake the sail.

The foundation of all teaching of seamanship must be a knowledge of the knots, bends, and splices, and their use in the various parts of the rigging and equipment of a ship. Some knots, bends, and hitches are intended to afford security as long as desired, and then to be easily disengaged. Other knots, splices, and seizings are of a more permanent character, generally continuing as long as the rope will last.

Overhand Knot.— Used at the end of ropes to prevent their unreeving and as the commencement of other knots. Fig. 1 represents an overhand knot hauled tight; for an illustration of the same not hauled tight see Knot, vol. xiv. p. 128, fig. 7.

Figure-Of-Eight Knot (fig. 2).—Used only to prevent ropes from unreeving; it forms a large knob.

Reef Knot(see Knot, lοc. cit., figs. 8 and 9).—First form an overhand knot; then take the end a over the end b and through the bight. This knot is so named from being used in tying the reef points of a sail, since it will not jam. If the end a were taken under the end b, a granny’s knot would be formed.

Bowline Knot.— Lay the end of a rope a over the standing part b; form with b a bight c over a; take a round behind b and down through the bight c . This is a very useful knot, forming a loop which will not slip. Running bowlines are formed by making a bowline round its own standing part above b. It is the most common and convenient temporary running noose. See Knot, l.c., figs. 11 and 12.

Bowline on a Bight (figs. 3, 4).—The first part is made similar to the above with the double part of the rope; then the bight a is pulled through sufficiently to allow it to be bent over past d and come up in the position shown in fig. 4. It makes a more comfortable sling for a man than a single bight.

Half Hitch.— Pass the end around the standing part b and through the bight. This hitch by itself round a large object would not hold and round a small one would jam excessively. See Knot, l.c., fig. 13.

Two Half-Hitches (fig. 5).—The half-hitch repeated; this is commonly used, and is capable of resisting to the full strength of the rope. A stop from a to the standing part will prevent it jamming.

Clove Hitch.— Pass the end a round a spar or rope and cross it over b , its standing part; pass it round again and put the end a through the second bight. This hitch is generally used at right angles to the object and is improved by adding a half-hitch with the end a round b . When pulled in a line with the spar it becomes simply two half-hitches. An illustration is given in Knot, l.c., fig. 15.

Double Blackwall Hitch (fig. 6).—Pass the end a twice round the hook and under the standing part & at the last cross. The ordinary Blackwall hitch only extends to the first cross at b , and is quickly formed by passing the hook of a jigger through the bight of a rope so that the end may be jammed between it and the standing part, as from b to a . Used for setting up top-gallant rigging and similar light work when a slip is of little consequence.

Cat’s-paw (fig. 7).—Twist up two parts of a lanyard in opposite directions and hook the tackle in the eyes i, i. A piece of wood should be placed between the parts at g. A large lanyard should be clove-hitched round a large toggle and a strap passed round it below the toggle.

Marling-Spike Hitch (fig. 8).—Lay the end a over c ; fold the loop over on the standing part &; then pass the marling-spike through, over both parts of the bight and under the part b. Used for tightening each turn of a seizing.

Fishermans Bend (fig. 9).—Take two turns round a spar, then a half-hitch round the standing part and between the spar and the turns, lastly a halfhitch round the standing part.

Studding-Sail Halyard Bend (fig. 10).—Similar to the above, except that the end is tucked under the first round turn; this is more snug. A magnus hitch has two round turns and one on the other side of the standing part with the end through the bight.

Timber Hitch ( fig . 11).—Take the end a of a rope round a spar, then round the standing part 6, then several times round its own part c , against the lay of the rope.

Snaking (fig. 12).—This consists of turns and crossings, the latter taken diagonally with a marling hitch each time. Used to keep wooldings and seizings in place. The same term is applied to lines between the backstays to keep a broken part from falling.

Carrick Bend (fig. 13).—Lay the end of one hawser over its own part to form a bight as e, b ; pass the end of another hawser up through that bight near b , going out over the first end at c , crossing under the first long part and over its end at d, then under both long parts, forming the loops, and above the first short part at b, terminating at the end e", in the opposite direction vertically and horizontally to the other end. The ends should be securely stopped to their respective standing parts, and also a stop put on the becket or extreme end to prevent it catching a pipe or chock; in that form this is the best quick means of uniting two large hawsers, since they cannot jam. When large hawsers have to work through small pipes, good security may be obtained either by passing ten or twelve taut racking turns with a suitable strand and securing each end to a standing part of the hawser, or by taking half as many round turns taut, crossing the ends between the hawsers over the seizing and reef-knotting the ends. This should be repeated in three places and the extreme ends well stopped. Connecting hawsers by bowline knots is very objectionable, as the bend is large and the knots jam.

Sheet Bend.— Pass the end of one rope through the bight of another, round both parts of the other, and under its own standing part. Used for bending small sheets to the clews of sails, which present bights ready for the hitch. An ordinary net is composed of a series of sheet bends. See Knot, l.c., fig. 20. A weavers knot is made like a sheet bend.

Single Wall Knot.— Unlay the end of a rope, and with the strand a form a bight; take the next strand b round the end of a ; take the last strand c round the end of & and through the bight made by a ; haul the ends taut. A double wall against the lay (not crowned) makes a good stopper. A whale knot is similar, but made with the lay. Fig. 21 of art. Knot, l.c., represents a single wall knot.

Single Wall Crowned.— Form a single wall, and lay one of the ends, a , over the knot; lay b over a, and c over b and through the bight of a ; haul the ends taut. See Knot, l.c., fig. 22.

Double Wall and Double Crown.— Form a single wall crowned; then let the ends follow their own parts round until all the parts appear double; put the ends down through the knot. A very excellent and generally used cable-stopper. See Knot, l.c. , fig. 23.

Matthew Walker.— Unlay the end of a rope. Take the first strand round the rope and through its own bight; the second strand round the rope, through the bight of the first, and through its own bight; the third through all three bights. Haul all taut. An easily made and useful knot. Illustrations are given in Knot, l.c., figs. 24 and 25.

Inside Clinch (fig. 14).—The end is bent close round the standing part till it forms a circle and a half, when it is securely seized at a, b, and c, thus making a running eye; when taut round anything it jams the end. It is used for securing hemp cables to anchors, the standing parts of topsail sheets, and for many other purposes. If the eye were formed outside the bight an outside clinch would be made, depending entirely on the seizings, but more ready for slipping.

Midshipman’s Hitch (fig. 15).—Take two round turns inside the bight, the same as a half-hitch repeated; stop up the end; or let another half-hitch be taken or held by hand. Used for hooking a tackle for a temporary purpose.

Turk's Head (fig. 16).—With fine line (very dry) make a clove hitch round the rope; cross the bights twice, passing an end the reverse way (up or down) each time; then keeping the whole spread flat, let each end follow its own part round and round till it is too tight to receive any more. Used as an ornament variously on side-ropes and foot-ropes of jibbooms. It may also be made with three ends, two formed by the same piece of line secured through the rope and one single piece. Form with them a diamond knot; then each end crossed over its neighbour follows its own part as above.

Spanish Windlass (fig. 17).—An iron bar and two marling-spikes are taken; two parts of a seizing are twisted like a cat’s-paw (fig. 7), passed round the bar, and hove round till sufficiently taut. In heaving shrouds together to form an eye two round turns are taken with a strand and the two ends hove upon. When a lever is placed between the parts of a long lashing or trapping and hove round, we have what is also called a Spanish windlass Slings (fig. 18).—This is simply the bight of a rope turned up over its own part; it is frequently made of chain, when a shackle (bow up) takes the place of the bight at s and another at y, connecting the two ends with the part which goes round the mast-head. Used to sling lower yards. For boat’s yards it should be a grummet with a thimble seized in at y. As the tendency of all yards is to cant forward with the weight of the sail, the part marked by an arrow should be the fore-side,—easily illustrated by a round ruler and a piece of twine.

Sprit-Sail Sheet Knot (flg. 19).—This knot consists of a double wall and double crown made by the two ends, consequently with six strands,—with the ends turned down. Used formerly in the clews of sails, now as an excellent stopper, a lashing or shackle being placed at s, and a lanyard round the head at l .

Turning in a Dead-Eye Cutter-Stay fashion (fig. 20).—A bend is made in the stay or shroud round its own part and hove together with a bar and strand; two or three seizings diminishing in size (one round and one or two either round or flat) are hove on taut and snug, the end being at the side of the fellow part. The dead-eye is put in and the eye driven down with a commander.

Turning in a Dead-Eye end up (fig. 21).—The shroud is measured round the dead-eye and marked where a throat-seizing is hove on; the dead-eye is then forced into its place, or it may be put in first. The end beyond a is taken up taut and secured with a round seizing; higher still the end is secured by another seizing. As it is important that the lay should always be kept in the rope as much as possible, these eyes should be formed conformably, either right-handed or left-handed. It is easily seen which way a rope would naturally kink by putting a little extra twist into it. A shroud whose dead-eye is turned in end up will bear a fairer strain, but is more dependent on the seizings; the under turns of the throat are the first to break and the others the first to slip. With the cutter-stay fashion the standing part of the shroud gives way under the nip of the eye. A rope will afford the greatest resistance to strain when secured round large thimbles with a straight end and a sufficient number of flat or racking seizings. To splice shrouds round dead-eyes is objectionable on account of opening the strands and admitting water, thus hastening decay. In small vessels, especially yachts, it is admissible on the score of neatness; in that case a round seizing is placed between the dead-eye and the splice. The dead-eyes should be in diameter 1 ½ times the circumference of a hemp shroud and thrice that of wire; the lanyard should be half the nominal size of hemp and the same size as wire: thus, hemp-shroud 12 inches, wire 6 inches, dead-eye 18, lanyard 6 inches.

Short Splice.— The most common description of splice is when a rope is lengthened by another of the same size, or nearly so. Fig. 22 represents a splice of this kind: the strands have been unlaid, married, and passed through with the assistance of a marling-spike, over one strand and under the next, twice each way. The ends are then cut off close. To render the splice neater the strands should have been halved before turning them in a second time, the upper half of each strand only being turned in; then all are cut off smooth. Eye-Splice.— Unlay the strands and place them upon the same rope spread at such a distance as to give the size of the eye; enter the centre strand (unlaid) under a strand of the rope (as above) and the other two in a similar manner on their respective sides of the first; taper each end and pass them through again. If neatness is desired, reduce the ends and pass them through once more; cut off smooth and serve the part disturbed tightly with suitable hard line. Uses too numerous to mention. Cut Splice.—Made in a similar manner to an eye-splice, but of two pieces of rope, therefore with two splices. Used for masthead pendants, jib-guys, breast backstays, and even odd shrouds, to keep the eyes of the rigging lower by one part. It is not so strong as two separate eyes. Horse-Shoe Splice.— Made similar to the above, but one part much shorter than the other, or another piece of rope is spliced across an eye, forming a horseshoe with two long legs. Used for back-ropes on dolphin striker, backstays (one on each side), and cutter’s runner pendants. Long Splice.— The strands must be unlaid about three times as much as for a short splice and married,— care being taken to preserve the lay or shape of each. Unlay one of the strands still further and follow up the vacant space with the corresponding strand of the other part, fitting it firmly into the rope till only a few inches remain. Treat the other side in a similar manner. There will then appear two long strands in the centre and a long and a short one on each side. The splice is practically divided into three distinct parts; at each the strands are divided and the corresponding halves knotted (as shown on the top of fig. 24) and turned in twice. The half strand may, if desired, be still further reduced before the halves are turned in for the second time. This and all other splices should be well stretched and hammered into shape before the ends are cut off. The long splice alone is adapted to running ropes.

Shroud Knot (fig. 23).—Pass a stop at such distance from each end of the broken shroud as to afford sufficient length of strands, when it is unlaid, to form a single wall knot on each side after the parts have been married; it will then appear as represented in the figure, the strands having been well tarred and hove taut separately. The part a provides the knot on the opposite side and the ends b, b; the part c provides the knot and the ends d, d. After the knot has been well stretched the ends are tapered, laid smoothly between the strands of the shroud, and firmly served ever. This knot is used when shrouds or stays are broken. French Shroud Knot.— Marry the parts with a similar amount of end as before; stop one set of strands taut up on the shroud (to keep the parts together); and turn the ends back on their own part, forming bights. Make a single wall knot with the other three strands round the said bights and shroud; haul the knot taut first and stretch the whole; then heave down the bights close: it will look like the ordinary shroud knot. It is very liable to slip. If the ends by which the wall knot are made after being hove were passed through the bights, it would make the knot stronger. The ends would be tapered and served.

Flemish Eye (fig. 24).—Secure a spar or toggle twice the circumference of the rope intended to be rove through the eye; unlay the rope which is to form the eye about three times its circumference, at which part place a strong whipping. Point the rope vertically under the eye, and bind it taut up by the core if it is four-stranded rope, otherwise by a few yarns. While doing so, arrange six or twelve pieces of spun-yarn at equal distances on the wood and exactly halve the number of yarns that have been unlaid. If it is a small rope, select two or three yarns from each side near the centre; cross them over the top at a ; and half knot them tightly. So continue till all are expended and drawn down tightly on the opposite side to that from which they came, being thoroughly intermixed. Tie the pieces of spun-yarn which were placed under the eye tightly round various parts to keep the eye in shape when taken off the spar, till they are replaced by turns of marline hove on as taut as possible, the hitches forming a central line outside the eye. Heave on a good seizing of spun-yarn close below the spar and another between six and twelve inches below the first; it may then be parcelled and served; the eye is served over twice, and well tarred each time. As large ropes are composed of so many yarns, a greater number must be knotted over the toggle each time; a 4-inch rope has 132 yarns, which would require 22 knottings of six each time; a 10-inch rope has 834 yarns, therefore, if ten are taken from each side every time, about twice that number of hitches will be required; sometimes only half the yarns are hitched, the others being merely passed over. The chief use of these eyes has been to form the collars of stays, the whole stay in each case having to be rove through it,—a very inconvenient device. It is almost superseded for that purpose by a leg spliced in the stay and lashing eyes abaft the mast, for which it is commonly used at present. This eye is not always called by the same name, but the weight of evidence is in favour of calling it a Flemish eye. Ropemaker's Eye, which also has alternative names, is formed by taking out of a rope one strand longer by 6 inches or a foot than the required eye, then placing the ends of the two strands a similar distance below the disturbance of the one strand, that is, at the size of the eye; the single strand is led back through the vacant space it left till it arrives at the neck of the eye, with a similar length of spare end to the other two strands. They are all seized together, scraped, tapered, marled, and served. The principal merit is neatness.

Mouse on a Stay.— Formed by turns of coarse spun-yarn hove taut round the stay, over parcelling at the requisite distance from the eye to form the collar; assistance is given by a padding of short yarns distributed equally round the rope, which, after being firmly secured, especially at what is to be the under part, are turned back over the first layer and seized down again, thus making a shoulder; sometimes it is formed with parcelling only. In either case it is finished by marling, followed by serving or grafting.

The use is to prevent the Flemish eye in the end of the stay from slipping up any farther.

Rolling Hitch (fig. 25).—Two round turns are taken round a spar or large rope in the direction in which it is to be hauled and one half-hitch on the other side of the hauling part. This is very useful, as it can be put on and off quickly.

Round Seizing (fig. 26).—So named when the rope it secures does not cross another and there are three sets of turns. The size of the seizing line is about one-sixth (nominal) that of the ropes to be secured, but varies according to the number of turns to be taken. An eye is spliced in the line and the end rove through it, embracing both parts. If either part is to be spread open, commence farthest from that part; place tarred canvas under the seizing; pass the line round as many times (with much slack) as it is intended to have under-turns; and pass the end back through them all and through the eye. Secure the eye from rendering round by the ends of its splice; heave the turns on with a marling-spike (see fig. 8), perhaps seven or nine; haul the end through taut; and commence again the riding turns in the hollows of the first. If the end is not taken back through the eye but pushed up between the last two turns (as is sometimes recommended), the riders must be passed the opposite way in order to follow the direction of the under-turns, which are always one more in number than the riders. When the riders are complete, the end is forced between the last lower turns and two cross turns are taken, the end coming up where it went down, when a wall knot is made with the strands and the ends cut close; or the end may be taken once round the shroud. Throat Seising.— Two ropes or parts ot ropes are laid on each other parallel and receive a seizing similar to that shown in fig. 21,—that is, with upper and riding, but no cross turns. As the two parts of rope are intended to turn up at right angles to the direction in which they were secured, the seizing should be of stouter line and short, not exceeding seven lower and six riding turns. The end is better secured with a turn round the standing part. Used for turning in dead-eyes and variously. Hat Seizing.— Commenced similarly to the above, but it has neither riding nor cross turns Racking-Seizing (fig. 27).—A running eye having been spliced round one part, of the rope, the line is passed entirely round the other part, crossed back round the first part, and so on for ten to twenty turns according to the expected strain,· every turn being hove as tight as possible, after which round turns are passed to fill the spaces at the back of each rope, by taking the end a over both parts into the hollow at b, returning at c, and going over to d. When it reaches e a turn may be taken round that rope only, the end rove under it, and a half-hitch taken, which will form a clove hitch; knot the end and cut it close. When the shrouds ate wire (which is half the size of hemp) and the end turned up round a dead-eye of any kind, wire-seizings are preferable. It appears very undesirable to have wire rigging combined with plates or screws for setting it up, as in case of accident —such as that of the mast going over the side, a shot or collision breaking the ironwork—the seamen are powerless.

Diamond Knot (figs. 28, 29).—The rope must be unlaid as fares the centre if the knot is required there, and the strands handled with great care to keep the lay in them. Three bights are turned up as in fig. 28, and the end of a is taken over 6 and up the bight c. The end of b is taken over c and up through a. The end c is taken over a and through 6. When hauled taut and the strands are laid up again it will appear as in fig. 29. Any number of knots may be made on the same rope. They were used on man-ropes, the foot-ropes on the jibboom, and similar places, where it was necessary to give a good hold for the hands or feet. Turk's heads are now generally used. Double Diamond.—Made by the ends of a single diamond following their own part till the knot is repeated. Used at the upper end of a side rope as an ornamental stopper-knot.

Stropping-Blocks.— There are various modes of securing blocks to ropes; the most simple is to splice an eye at the end of the rope a little longer than the block and pass a round seizing to keep it in place; such is the case with jib-pendants. As a general rule, the parts of a strop combined should possess greater strength than the parts of the fall which act against it. The shell of an ordinary block should be about three times the circumference of the rope which is to reeve through it, as a 9-inch block for a 3-inch rope; but small ropes require larger blocks in proportion, as a 4-inch block for a 1-inch rope.

When the work to be done is very important the blocks are much larger; brace - blocks are more than five times the nominal size of the brace. Leading-blocks and sheaves in racks are generally smaller than the blocks through which the ropes pass farther away, which appears to he a mistake, as more power is lost by friction. A clump-block should be double the nominal size of the rope. A single strop may be made by joining the ends of a rope of sufficient length to go round the block and thimble by a common short splice, which rests on the crown of the block (the opposite end to the thimble) and is stretched into place by a jigger; a strand is then passed twice round the space between the block and the thimble and hove taut by a Spanish windlass to cramp the parts together ready for the reception of a small round seizing. The cramping or pinching into shape is sometimes done by machinery invented by a rigger in Portsmouth dockyard. The strop may be made the required length by a long splice, but it would not possess any advantage.

Grummet-Strop (fig. 30).—Made by unlaying a piece of rope of the desired size about a foot more than three times the length required for the strop. Place tlιe centre of the rope round the block and thimble; mark with chalk where the parts cross; take one strand out of the rope; bring the two chalk marks together; and cross the strand in the lay on both sides, continuing round and round till the two ends meet the third time; they are then halved, and the upper halves half-knotted and passed over and under the next strands, exactly as one part of a long splice. A piece of worn or well-stretched rope will better retain its shape, upon which success entirely depends. The object is neatness, and if three or multiples of three strops are to be made it is economical.

Double Strop (fig. 31).—Made with one piece of rope, the splice being brought as usual to the crown of the block, t, the bights fitting into scores some inches apart, converging to the upper part, above which the thimble receives the bights a, a ; and the four parts of the strap are secured at s, s by a round seizing doubly crossed. If the block be not then on the right slew (the shell horizontal or vertical) a union thimble is used with another strop, which produces the desired effect; thus the fore and main brace-blocks, being very large and thin, are required (for appearance) to lie horizontally; a single strop round the yard vertically has a union thimble between it and the double strop round the block. The double strop is used for large blocks; it gives more support to the shell than the single strop and admits of smaller rope being used. Wire rope is much used for block-strops; the fitting is similar. Metal blocks are also used in fixed positions; durability is their chief recommendation. Great care should be taken that they do not chafe the ropes which pass by them as well as those which reeve through.

Selvagee Strop.— Twine, rope-yarn, or rope is warped round two or more pegs placed at the desired distance apart, till it assumes the requisite size and strength; the two ends are then knotted or spliced. Temporary firm seizings are applied in several places to bind the parts together before the rope or twine is removed from the pegs, after which it is marled with suitable material. A large strop should be warped round four or six pegs in order to give it the shape in which it is to be used. This description of strop is much stronger and more supple than rope of similar size. Twine strops (covered with duck) are used for boats’ blocks and in similar places requiring neatness. Rope-yam and spun-yarn strops are used for attaching luff-tackles to shrouds and for many similar purposes. To bring to a shroud or hawser the centre of the strop is passed round the rope and each part crossed three or four times before hooking the “luff"; a spun-yarn stop above the centre will prevent slipping and is very necessary with wire rope. As an instance of a large selvagee block-strop being used,—when the “Melville” was hove down at Chusan (China), the main-purchase-block was dpuble stropped with a selvagee containing 28 parts of 3-inch rope; that would produce 112 parts in the neck, equal to a breaking strain of 280 tons, which is more than four parts of a 19-inch cable. The estimated strain it bore was 80 tons.

Stoppers for ordinary running ropes are made by splicing a piece of rope to a bolt or to a hook and thimble, unlaying 3 or 4 feet, tapering it by cutting away some of the yarns, and marling it down securely, with a good whipping also on the end. It is used by taking a half-hitch round the rope which is to be hauled upon, dogging the end up in the lay, and holding it by hand. The rope can come through it when hauled, but cannot go back.

Whipping and Pointing.— The end of every working rope should at least be whipped to prevent it fagging out; in ships of war and yachts they are invariably pointed. Whipping is done by placing the end of a piece of twine or knittle-stuff on a rope about an inch from the end, taking three or four turns taut over it (working towards the end); the twine is then laid on the rope again lengthways contrary to the first, leaving a slack bight of twine; and taut turns are repeatedly passed round the rope over the first end and over the bight, till there are in all six to ten turns; then haul the bight taut through between the turns and cut it close. To point a rope, place a good whipping a few inches from the end according to size; open out the end entirely; select all the outer yams and twist them into knittles either singly or two or three together; scrape down; and taper the central part, marling it firmly. Turn every alternate knittle and secure the remainder down by a turn of twine or a smooth yarn hitched close up, which acts as the weft in weaving. The knittles are then reversed and another turn of the weft taken, and this is continued till far enough to look well. At the last turn the ends of the knittles which are laid back are led forward over and under the weft and hauled through tightly, making it present a circle of small bights, level with which the core is cut off smoothly. Hawsers and large ropes have a becket formed in their ends during the process of pointing. A piece of 1 to l ½-inch rope about 1 ½ to 2 feet long is spliced into the core by each end while it is open: from four to seven yarns (equal to a strand) are taken at a time and twisted up; open the ends of the becket only sufficient to marry them close in; turn in the twisted yams between the strands (as splicing) three times; and stop it above and below. Both ends are treated alike; when the pointing is completed a loop a few inches in length will protrude from the end of the rope, which is very useful for reeving it. A hauling line or reeving line should only be rove through the becket as a fair lead. Grafting is very similar to pointing and frequently done the whole length of a rope, as a side-rope. Pieces of white line more than double the length of the rope, sufficient in number to encircle it, are made up in hanks called foxes; the centre of each is made fast by twine and the weaving process continued as in pointing. Block-strops are sometimes so covered; but, as it causes decay, a small wove mat which can be taken off occasionally is preferable.

Sheep-Shank (fig. 32).—Formed by making a long bight in a top-gallant-back-

stay, or any rope which it is desirable to shorten, and taking a half-hitch near each bend, as at a, a. Rope-yarn stops at δ, δ are desirable to keep it in place till the strain is brought on it. Wire rope cannot be so treated, and it is injurious to hemp rope that is large and stiff.

Knotting Yarns (fig. 33).—This operation becomes necessary when a comparatively short piece of junk is to be made into spun-yarn, or large rope into small, which is called twice laid. The end of each yarn is divided, rubbed smooth, and married (as for splicing).

Two of the divided parts, as c, c and d, d, are passed in opposite directions round all the other parts and knotted. The ends e and f remain passive. The figure is drawn open, but the forks of A and B should be pressed close together, the knot hauled taut, and the ends cut off.

Butt Slings (fig. 34).—Made of 4-inch rope, each pair being 26 feet in length, with an eye spliced in one end, through which the other is rove before being placed over one end of the cask; the rope is then passed round the opposite side of the cask and two half-hitches made with the end, forming another run ning eye, both of which are beaten down taut as the tackle receives the weight. Slings for smaller casks requiring care should be of this description, though of smaller rope, as the cask cannot possibly slip out.

Bale Slings are made by splicing the ends of about 3

fathoms of 3-inch rope together, which then looks like a long strop, similar to the double strop repre sented in fig. 31,—the bights t being placed under the cask or bale and one of the bights a, a rove through the other and attached to the whip or tackle.

The marks on the lead-line are leather at 2, 3, and 10 fathoms, white at 5 and 15, red at 7 and 17, and blue at 13. The length of the lead is not usually included. The deep-sea line commences with 2 knots at 20, another knot being added for every 10 fathoms, and a single knot at each intermediate 5. Loglines should have ample stray line (distance between the log-ship and the first mark). The distance of 47 feet and a 28-second-glass were adopted to assimilate the sea furlong to the shore furlong, which was absurd. Fifty feet to half a minute would be more correct and more convenient.

Since space will not allow of a full description of masting and rigging, only a few of the more important points will be noticed. The masts must be stepped before they are rigged; accordingly we will first describe the manner in which they are put on board in cases where the assistance of shears on hulk or jetty is not available; at an out-port a seaman is still left to his own resources, just as he was in former times. Fixing the masts in a large frigate, such as that shown in fig. 35 below, is a serious consideration, as the mainmast weighs about twenty tons.

Two suitable spars must be procured about three-fourths the length of the main-mast and about two-thirds its diameter,—the greater the housing the higher the shears. They are towed alongside or under the stern with the thicker ends forward, and parbuckled over the side or hoisted in through the stern-ports by means of a derrick, whichever is most convenient. The smaller ends are rested upon a spar across the gunnel or the break of the poop, crossed, and lashed with strong well-stretched rope (about 4 ½ or 5 inches) passed figure-of-eight fashion, commencing at the centre, returning with riding turns as a racking seizing, and crossed again; the turns at the extreme ends should not be so taut as the others. Care must be taken to place the seizing equidistant from each heel after they have been trimmed to fit flat upon shoes of strong oak planking; they will remain within their full spread by about 2 feet each side till after the head seizing has been secured. Lash a threefold purchase-block to the horns above the lashings, to hang down clear under the cross, so as to correspond with a twofold block to be lashed to the mast. If such blocks cannot be procured two top-blocks may be substituted for the upper block and one on the mast, reserving the fourth top-block as a lead secured to one of the shear legs or near it. Two purchases may be used at the same time with advantage, one block hanging on the fore, the other on the after side. A gird-line is also placed on the highest part of the horns to assist in canting the mast, and another for the purpose of hoisting up a man should anything require alteration. The lashing at the shear-head must be well protected with old canvas and all the decks must be shored up in the vicinity of the places where the shear-legs stand for each mast. The legs must be lashed together at the desired spread and heel tackles led forward and aft from each. To form the four head-guys the central parts of two hawsers are clove-hitched above the lashing and spread as far as is convenient in four directions and set up by tackles. When all is ready and the purchase rove, the lower block should be secured forward as high as can be; and, while the purchase is being hove upon, a light derrick or small shears lifting the shear-head will greatly assist; of course the after heel tackles must be well secured. After the shears are erect and the heels cleated and lashed to the shoes they can be scuffed about by the heel tackles and guys to any desired position,— the hole for the mizzen-mast is first plumbed.

The mizzen-mast should be brought alongside with its head aft, and a sufficiently strong selvagee strop lashed on the fore side if it is to be lifted by one purchase, and one on each side if two are used, and as high up as the shears will allow, the limit being from heel to lashing 6 or 8 feet less than from the lower side of the purchase-block to the deck. Old spars having been hung over the side for the mast to rub against and the purchase fall taken round the capstan, the mast is hove up till the head comes above the gunnel; then two single blocks with long-tailed strops are secured round it with the gird-lines of about

4 inches and twice the length of the mast ready rove.

The trestle-trees are now usually bolted on in the mast-house. The gird-line from the shear-head must be bent to the head of the mast at a suitable height to act as a topping-lift. As the mast is hove up by the capstan a stout rope from outboard must be timber-hitched round the heel so as to ease it in as it clears the gunnel, and to haul it towards the partners (mast-hole); when it has been lowered to within 2 feet of the step, a slew rope is passed three times round the mast and a “cat’s-paw” formed on each side, through the eyes of which a capstan bar is passed ready to heave either way as required; in the meantime both the heel of the mast and the step should be well coated with white lead or coal-tar. Lower and slew according to directions from below; when the mast is stepped and brought to the desired position, place four temporary wedges, rig a triangle, trice it up by the gird-lines, unlash the purchase or strops, overhaul down, unrig the triangle, and haul the gird-lines taut on each side.

The shears can be transported forward in nearly an upright position by first pulling the heel-tackles and then the guys, shifting the guys forward one at a time as necessary. The main - mast and the fore-mast are taken in in the same way as the mizzen-mast, described above,—all three abaft the shears; but, being much longer, they require greater hoist and greater care generally.

To take in the bowsprit the shears are again moved forward, all the heel-tackles being led forward and extra lashings placed on the heels. A purchase nearly as strong as that to be used in lifting the bowsprit should be secured between the fore-mast-head and the shear-head, or two parts of a stout hawser may be used, the middle being clove-hitched over the horns and the ends taken round beams well aft on either side, ready for veering as the shears are drooped (to an angle of about 45°), then to act as the principal support; the fore-guys are also taken aft to assist. The fore-mast must be wedged on both decks and one or more tackles used to keep the head aft. The bowsprit cap is invariably bolted on in the mast-house; the bowsprit is then brought under the bows with the cap end forward and slung for the main purchase a little outside the housing, which is generally about two-fifths of the whole length. The main purchase should plumb nearly the length of the housing outside the bows, and the higher the shear-head the greater the freedom of motion. The outer purchase attached to a strop through the hole in the cap and the guys from the cap to each cat-head alike tend to force in the bowsprit when it is high enough; besides this, a heel rope is put round it before it leaves the water, and a strop with a tackle to the bitts is used to bowse it into the hole and mortise. It is hoisted to about an angle of 45° before the heel is entered.

A rough sketch made to scale will greatly facilitate such operations and ensure success. When a bowsprit is put in by shears on a hulk or jetty, it is hoisted up ahead of the ship nearly horizontal, or at the angle (steeve) which it is intended to assume, and the ship is moved ahead towards it, till the bowsprit enters in the desired position.

The directions for masting a large ship are more than sufficient for masting a small one, which is so much easier.

Gammoning the bowsprit is the most important point in rigging a ship, as the stays of the fore-mast and main-top-mast depend for security on the bowsprit. In large ships there are two distinct lashings (of either new stretched rope or chain) to keep the bowsprit down; they are passed in a similar manner over a long saddle-shaped piece of wood called a gammoning fish and through the holes in the head knees, the outer one first. One end is clinched or shackled round the bowsprit over the fore-part of the hole; the other, being rove through the after-part of the hole, comes up on the aft side of the first turn on the bowsprit and down inside that part and before the turns in the hole, thus forming a double cross with the first turns outside. Every turn is set up as passed by means of a pendant through the hawse-pipe or bow-port, and a block is secured to the hole for the bobstays, which are attached to the gammoning by a selvagee or toggle, and held while the next turn is being passed by a racking seizing if rope and by nails driven through the links into the fish if chain. When the hole is full of turns—eight or ten—the whole is trapped together as tightly as possible, commencing at the lower part.

The clothing of a bowsprit of a large ship consists of nine strops for its own security and the fore-stays. A bobstay collar is hove on at one-third the distance between the night-heads and the outer extremity, and close outside it two bowsprit shroud collars and a fore-stay collar, then the second bobstay collar, two bowsprit shroud collars, another fore-stay collar, and the third bobstay collar; in addition to these there is a cap bobstay, which sets up to a bolt close inside the bowsprit cap. The bobstay and bowsprit shroud collars are hove on at right angles to the spar and usually cleated in that position. But this cleating is a mistake; as the strain comes upon each of them very obliquely, it is necessary that they should yield in that direction before the cleats are nailed, or they will give way and slacken the rope when it is most required to be taut. Bobstays are cut to the required length, wormed and parcelled from the centre towards the ends, and served; they are rove through their respective holes in the cutwater before being spliced, which splice is tapered, parcelled, and served over, and rests on the head of the heart when it is seized in. The bobstays and bowsprit shrouds are set up by lanyards half the nominal size if rope and the same size if wire; the standing parts are secured by running eyes round the necks of the collars confining the hearts, and are set up by two luffs, one acting upon the other.

The cross-trees are swayed up one at a time by the two gird-lines, whose united action and a guy on deck conduct them to their places, where they drop into recesses and are bolted to the trestle-trees. When a whole top is to be got up it is placed abaft the mast (except the mizzen) with the lower side forward and the fore part uppermost; the gird-lines are passed under it, that is, before it, each being rove up through the second hole from aft for the futtock-plates and hitched tightly to its own part as it passes the lubber’s hole, which part is also stopped to the hole at the fore part of the top. If it be a large top each gird-line may be taken down the fore (under) side (as before), rove up through the after-hole for the futtock-plate, down through the lubber’s hole, taut up through the foremost hole, and hitched to the hoisting part, which is stopped firmly to the fore part, where a gird-line leading from the mast abaft is also stopped after the end has been made fast to the centre hole for the top-rail; that gird-line is to keep the top clear of the trestle-trees as it goes up and to assist in placing it. There are several slightly different ways of slinging a whole top; but in all cases the gird-line blocks (after the stop is cut) hoist the fore part higher than themselves, till.it falls over them and hangs as nearly horizontal as could be judged in slinging it. The final adjustment of it in its place is done by hand, and then it is bolted to the cross-trees. The mizzen-top is put over either in a similar manner' with a guy to the taffrail or sent up before the mast with the after part uppermost, a gird-line from the main-mast-head keeping it clear of the trestle-trees, which project much farther on the fore side. Tops are taken off by the reverse process; but it is more difficult to get the hole back over the mast-head.

Tops are now very seldom made in one part, but in two halves, which is more convenient and equally serviceable. Each half is sent up in a similar manner to the whole top; the gird-lines are bent on precisely the same way, but one half at a time, which falls square at the side of the mast when the stop is cut instead of going over the top of the mast. After the top is bolted, it is advisable to hoist up the lower cap into the top while the whole space of the lubber’s hole is still free, but not to put it on till after the lower rigging is fixed. The cap being placed near the mast with the bolts downwards and the hole for the top-mast forward, both girdlines are brought down through the lubber’s hole on the same side; that which crossed before the mast is bent on to the fore part of the cap, and that which belongs to the side on which the cap is lying is made to sling the after part fairly and is then stopped to the fore part, so that this last is hoisted up by both gird-lines end on till in the top, when, the stop at the fore end being cut, the cap hangs in front of the mast and the round hole can be placed exactly over the space between the trestle-trees where the top-mast will come up. A soft piece of wood called a “bolster” is made to fit into the angle formed by the trestle-tree and the mast on each side, and is bolted in place so as to present a smooth rounded surface along the whole distance required for the rigging to rest upon, and is covered by a padding of tarred canvas five or six parts thick, secured by a row of flat-headed nails along the upper side. Each mast is similarly provided.

Preparatory to sending up the lower rigging on the masts it is necessary to rearrange the gird-lines, as it is obviously inconvenient to hoist the eye of a shroud over the mast and allow it to fall down over both parts of a heavy rope which would require to be hauled up from the deck or rerove every time; therefore they are lashed to the leads in the trestle-trees for the truss falls, and a small girdline is lashed high up abaft the mast to be worked in the top for both sets of rigging. The starboard tackle-pend ant is put over first, then the port pair, next the starboard foremost pair of shrouds followed by the port pair, and so on alternately till all the shrouds are in place, ending with an odd one called a swifter on each side. Large ships have four pairs of shrouds and a swifter on each side. They are all sent up in a similar manner: the large gird-line from the trestle-tree is secured to the pendant at the extremity and to the shrouds more than the length of the mast-head below the seizing by means of a strop with a slip-rope, toggle, and down-haul; the eye is opened to the shape of the mast-head and the after-port is stopped to the gird-line, which sways it up to the lubber’s hole, when the men in the top bend the eye in the direction it is to go over the mast and make fast their small gird-line a fathom or two below the seizing, with a stop on the after part of the eye, which is cut when the pendant or shroud is fair for going over the masthead. When the shroud is over, each eye is hardened down by a large mallet called a “commander.” Ropes should be rove through the thimbles of the pendants and hauled taut when they are being driven down; then the “up-and-down” tackles should be hooked to the short legs (which are forward), while the long legs are being lashed abaft the mast and the runner-blocks lashed to them for staying the mast by the runners. As each pair of shrouds are put over, they should be temporarily set up by the dead-eyes and lanyards, or by a luff-tackle on each, to prevent their springing up before another pair presses upon them. It is of very great importance to keep each eye taut before others press on it both for preservation and appearance; many an eye has been stripped of its service and parcelling through slipping out from under the weight. A piece of rounding made fast to a bolt in the hounds of the mast with an eye in the other end is very useful for keeping the back of the eye down while it is being made taut, by reeving the short eye end up through the eye of the shroud and hooking a burton from the deck to it, which is pulled upon at the same time that the shroud is set up on the other side of the ship; when finished, that piece of rope will be jammed. The lower stays, after they have been completely fitted and the hearts have been turned in, are stopped together one over the other at the fork of the collar, at the sides, and at the eyes. The gird-lines, having been put back to the mast-head, are sent down through the lubber’s hole, one crossing the fore side of the mast, and are bent to both stays below the fork of collars and stopped to the eyes; they are thus swayed up near their places, the respective eyes being lashed together by rose - lashings low down over the eyes of all the shrouds. The hearts are then carried forward, the fore to the hearts in collars round the bowsprit and the main to hearts provided for the purpose near the fore-partners, while the collars of the stays are suspended from the fore-part of the top, the collars being eased down as required to preserve a straight line between the lashing-eyes and the point where the stay is set up.

The following is the method employed to set up the rigging on the masts. It is first drawn forward by the runners and tackles (lashed to the long legs of mast-head pendants, which are lashed together abaft the mast) till brought before the position it is intended to stand in, as the strain of the shrouds will draw it aft. Many seamen recommend, with reason, that a strain should be brought on the after-swifters while it is being stayed, to keep it more firm. The propriety of wedging the mast before the rigging is set up may be considered an open question; it was considered lubberly forty years ago, but is now the common practice. The lanyards of the stays are in proportion smaller than those of the shrouds, since many more turns can be passed through hearts than through dead-eyes. The standing parts are made fast round the collar or strop of the lower heart by a running eye; the end is rove up through the heart in the stay and down through the lower one twice and the slack hauled through by the sail-tackle, which must be previously secured for that purpose round the lower mast-head and hung over the fore-part of the top; or the two top-burtons may be used, one for each stay. When the slack of the lanyard is through and racked, the double block of a luff-tackle is attached by turning the bight back over a toggle or glut, as slings are represented in fig. 18. Then a selvagee strop is passed twice round both parts below the bight s (when the figure is turned up), brought up on the side of the arrow, and hooked to the luff. A cat’s-paw, as shown in fig. 7, may be used with a glut placed at g to keep the parts open, otherwise a large rope would be injured. The single block of the luff is secured to the stay as high up as it will reach by a long double - tailed selvagee, which is dogged softly at first, but terminates with close-taut turns and a spun-yarn seizing. Care must be taken to prevent kinking the rope, especially if it is wire; if hemp, it should be parcelled to protect the outer yarns. The fall of the luff is connected with the sail-tackle (by one of the means described) and the sail-tackle fall led in the direction of the stay; it is pulled up steadily, the nips of the lanyards having been well tarred to make them slip through the hearts, while they are also shaken up by levers. When taut enough the lanyard is securely seized to the next part, another turn rove, set up, and seized, till the scores in the hearts are full; then riding turns are taken. Whilst the first riding turn still bears the strain, all the seizings on the lanyards should be cut off, and others put on when each part has taken over an equal strain. After the riding turns are completed, the end of the lanyard is secured by a clove-hitch and a seizing. Where there is not a sail-tackle a long luff may be used in a similar manner, the double block being secured above the single block of the other luff. It is desirable that both stays on the masts should be set up at the same time, but it is not imperative; care should be taken that they are equally taut.

A lanyard for rigging with dead-eyes is half the nominal size of rope shrouds and the same size as wire rigging. The knot is inside under the end of the shroud, or is first spliced to a bolt in the chains and then rove through that hole; it is rove full before commencing to set up. The mast having been stayed, luffs are placed on the shrouds with the double block down and brought to the lanyard as above described; the up-and-down tackle from the mast-head pendant is secured to the fall of the luff by a cat’s-paw and strop and pulled up till taut enough, the foremost shroud on the starboard side first, then that on the port side, and so on alternately till they are all nearly taut alike (the after-swifters not quite so taut as the others), which is best ascertained by an experienced man shaking them; if the dead-eyes are not square (even) when finished, it is far better to turn them in afresh than to have an unequal strain on the shrouds. If a pair of shrouds were set up at the same time it would be better for the eye and the seizing. Tar should be used freely on the lanyards as they enter the dead-eyes, whether they are of iron or wood; it causes them to slip quite as well as grease and preserves the rope, while grease causes it to decay. The lanyards are seized to the next part till a clove hitch is taken above the dead-eye and the end seized down; the parts of the lanyard should then be made to bear an equal strain, and afterwards seized together lest any part should be injured. The runners should be kept taut till everything is secured, then eased up gently, to avoid straining the mast. Lower masts generally have an inclination to belly,— i.e., bend aft. Space will not admit of details being given as to the various parts of the rigging; the main principles follow the lines of that which has been already rather fully described above. The top mast stays and rigging are set up by means of top-burtons and jiggers, the top-gallant-rigging and that of all small vessels by jiggers and light appliances.

The lower caps were supposed to have been swayed up by the gird-lines and placed in position to receive the top-masts before the lower rigging was put over. To fix one of them in its place, let a top-block be hoisted up lashed to the mast-head close below the square on which the cap is to rest, on the side suitable to the sheave in the top-mast; through the block reeve a suitable hawser (9 inches for a large ship); send the fore end down through the square hole between the trestle-trees; lay it along the top-mast (the spare one if allowed two); reeve it through the live sheave in the heel; and hitch it round the head of the top-mast and hawser, leaving considerable end; also place a good lashing round the mast-head and the hoisting-part of the hawser and seize the two parts of the hawser together about half-way up, strong enough to bear the weight of the mast. If the top-mast be much longer than the space between the deck and the trestle-tree, the lashing must be placed low enough from the head of the mast to allow it, while suspended, to project above the top outside, while the heel is guided down the main hatchway or fore-scuttle. The capstan is used to heave the mast up; when it is pointed between the trestle-trees, remove the lashing round the head, and if landed—i.e., resting its weight on the deck— make the end of the hawser fast round the mast-head, the hitch being on the side opposite to the block, and cast off the racking lashing, leaving the mast ready to be hove up by the two parts of the hawser. If not landed, heave up 3 or 4 feet before securing the end of the hawser, so that, when that has been done and well seized, the capstan may be moved back till both parts bear an equal strain; the racking can then be taken off without fear of a jerk. After the head of the top-mast has been hove 3 or 4 feet through the hole in the cap, it is securely lashed, commencing with a clove-hitch round the mast, the ends being passed through the bolts under the cap on one side and repeated on the other, so that it will be sure to hang horizontally. Heave round the capstan till the cap is above the lower mast-head; then steer it by means of a handspike or capstan bar in the fid-hole, while men in the top direct the head of the top-mast by handspikes, till the hole in the cap is exactly over the square of the mast, when by moving back the capstan and beating the cap down with a commander it will fit firmly in its place.

If the heel of the top-mast rests on the deck before the head is free from the trestle-trees, it is as well to lower it down to that position; but, if it is too short to rest there, the up-and-down tackles must be used to suspend it by strops through the fid-hole, while the top-block is being unlashed and hooked to the afterbolt fixed for that purpose in the cap and the end of the hawser secured to the foremost bolt on the opposite side. In large ships a shore is placed under the fore-part of the cap to support the weight and resist a possible blow from the top-sail-yard. The topmast may now (unless it is blowing hard) be swayed right up and fidded to prove that it will fit when required (an allowance being made for the wood swelling with wet), and sent on deck in exchange for the other mast, which when swayed above the lower cap will have a gird-line lashed round the head and then be raised 15 or 20 feet more. One part of the gird-line should be sent down abaft all and bent on to the fore-part of the top-mast cross-trees; by this, assisted by a guy, they can be swayed up till above the lower cap, upon which the after-part will rest, securely lashed to the bolts to prevent it slipping, while the fore-part will lean against the top-mast at such a distance as to ensure it falling in the right position when the top-mast is lowered and to receive the head of the mast between the trestle-trees as it is swayed up again to a convenient position for receiving the rigging. The rigging is swayed up by gird-lines on the cross-trees, and put over in a similar manner to the lower rigging, the top-burton pendants first, then the shrouds and backstays in succession, and the stays are lashed.

There is usually a chain necklace round each top-mast-head, sunk in the bolsters; one leg of each is for the top-sail-tye hanging-block to shackle to, and forward there are two other legs for the jib-halyards and fore-ton-mast stay-sail-halyards. After the rigging has been placed over tne top-mast-head, the cap is sent up by two girdlines lashed as high as possible and bent to the foremost part of the cap, with stops to the after-bolts, by which means it goes up before all, with the under-side towards the mast; when it is high enough the after-stops are cut and it slides up on the top of the mast, assisted by men at the mast-head, who get it over the square and beat it down. Directly the top-mast is in position to receive the rigging the top-rope pendants are rove and the tackles secured, first one to relieve the hawser of the weight and then the other in its place. Copper funnels are sometimes used to receive the topmast rigging, similar to those for top-gallant-masts.

Top-gallant and royal rigging is sometimes stripped of the service and covered with canvas, which is afterwards painted, for the sake of neatness; but the durability of the rope is thereby greatly lessened. Another bad practice is that of taking off one of the topgallant-backstays, thereby directly diminishing the support. But worse still is the trick of forming the eyes of rigging and backstays by two seizings, the ends of each rope going to different sides of the ship; this gives two eyes over the mast instead of four, and makes everything depend on the strength of the seizings. It is now a very common practice to cross the top-gallant rigging and set it up on opposite sides of the top, instead of reeving it through the necklace on the top-mast and setting it up on the same side. This is done entirely for the sake of saving seconds in shifting the spars, either the top-gallant-mast or the top-mast. Shrouds so treated give no support to the mast whatever; probably they act in the reverse way, as may be easily shown by drawing a straight line to represent the masts when standing upright and lines in rough proportion at right angles for the top and cross-trees. Draw the top-gallant rigging on one side from mast to cross-tree and thence to the opposite side of the top. The top-mast, having a little play in the cap and at the heel, is bound to go over some inches at the head, taking the cross-tree with it; it will then be seen that the weather side of the cross-tree has approached the lee side of the top, slacking the weather and tightening the lee topgallant rigging.

Getting a lower yard on board requires great care to avoid injury to the hammock netting and other things. Spars should be slung over the side for it to rub against and slip-ropes through the ports to ease it over the gunnel. If it is to be hoisted in on the port-side, the starboard yard-arm is towed foremost. A hawser may be rove through the port top-block down through the lubber’s hole and bent round the centre of the yard. The hatch of the lubber’s hole must be open and a strong mat provided. Instead of the hawser the jeers may be partially rove, the standing part being secured to the yard, and also the sail-tackle from the top-masthead to the lower yard-arm and the starboard up-and-down tackle to the starboard yard-arm, also a burton from the fore-mast to the main-yard, or from the bowsprit if it is a fore-yard. The capstan and jeers will heave up the bulk of the weight, while the other tackles cant it and ease it across the gunnel. A derrick is sometimes used to keep it off the ship’s side. When a ship is alongside a jetty, a guy from a strong-hold on shore removes all difficulty, and a list towards the side at which the yard is coming in is desirable. Lower yards are usually rigged while resting across the gunnel; they are swayed up by the jeers, and slung with strong chains—the part round the yard being connected with that round the lower mast-head by a tongue and slip. The yards must be prevented from canting forward with the weight and drag of the sail; accordingly the slings, either chain or rope, should be put on with the bight coming up the fore side (see fig. 18, where the arrow indicates the fore side and the direction the sail pulls); they are generally put on the wrong way. Merchant ships are invariably fitted with iron trusses, which are fixtures on the mast, holding the yard at the requisite distance and acting as a universal joint. They are of great advantage where there is not a large crew.

While the rigging is progressing the disposition of all heavy weights is worthy of serious attention; for not only ought the vessel to be brought to the draught and trim designed by the builder, or that which has by experience been found the best, but there must not be too much strain at any one part, especially the extremities. In ships intended for sailing or steaming rapidly this is of vital importance; the bows and sterns of cutter or schooner yachts should be empty. Placing the weights in the wings of the hold will steady the rolling motion and make the intervals longer; but this may be carried too far for stability,— especially if the vessel has a low free-board. Weights low down close to the keel will increase stability at the expense of a quick uneasy jerking motion. A yacht which carries much ballast low down will be very stiff under canvas and may sail well in the Solent, but would be unfit to go outside the Isle of Wight. When heavy weights are carried in merchant ships as part cargo, they should never be placed as a solid mass; railway bars, for instance, may be stowed gridiron fashion a foot apart, by which means they will occupy as much space and act upon the ship in the same way as an equal weight of provision casks.

Before bending sails all the ropes are rove ready for use. A yacht’s sails if new should be scrubbed, to take the stiffness out of them. In all cases they should be set when bent and the yards braced each way (unless it is blowing too hard), or there is a risk of something going wrong when they are required for use. In setting them care should be taken that no part is stretched or girt unduly.

The inner end of a chain cable is usually secured by a tongue-slip and by a short piece of cable which passes round the mast or is shackled to the keelson; it still retains the name of “clinch.” The tongue should not have scope enough to reach the compressor, as it has been known to strip back the ring and slip the cable. It is a good thing to trice up the slip before the cable is stowed, so that it will be accessible at all times, either for slipping, shackling another cable, or bending a hawser. It may be thought that a chain cable would run into the locker and stow itself, but that is a mistake; if care is not taken to spread it evenly, it will form a pyramid with turns round the base, upon which the upper part will fall as soon as the ship leans over; it will then be necessary to haul up several small bights before the cable will run clear.

A ship should never lie long at single anchor in a tide-way or during variable winds, for fear of fouling her anchor and thereby destroying its holding power. Frequently space is wanted, as ship and cable range over a large circle, with liability to foul other ships or their anchors. A long scope of cable will only keep a ship clear of her anchor during very light winds, unless assisted by close attention and correct judgment on the part of the seaman. The direction of the two streams of tide should be considered in connexion with the wind in order to keep the ship to leeward of her anchor each time she passes it. A strong wind blowing across the direction of the tide and acting on the hull of the ship will secure that effect; but, when the directions of wind and tide are the same or nearly so, precaution is necessary at each turn of the tide; it is then that a buoy watching over the anchor is of great service. When the wind and tide are in the same direction the helm should be kept over to that side which will cause the ship’s head to point in the direction on which she has previously passed the anchor, as the bight of the cable will be dragging that way. The force of the tide alone will cause her to shoot over considerably; but when she is assisted by the fore-top-mast stay-sail (or stay-fore-sail in a small vessel) the sheer will be much greater. The sheet in either case is better to windward and the fore-top-sail braced sharp abox if the wind is light; but, when the tide commences to change, the sail should be allowed to fill, or it should be taken in and the helm placed in midships. If sufficient effect has not been produced by elm and head-sails before the tide ends, the mizzen-top-sail should be set as soon as the ship falls head to wind, first braced abox to turn her stern in the desired direction and then flat aback so as to drag the cable straight. Cutters and schooners have not that advantage; they must depend on the helm and head-sails. At the end of a weather tide the helm and stay-sail will guide the vessel past the anchor. If a ship should break her sheer (pass the wrong way), or during calms and variable winds should approach her anchor, the cable should be hove in, and if there is reason to suspect the clearness of the anchor it should be sighted, since it will be of no use as an anchor if a turn of cable is round the fluke. When anchoring, the state of the tide must be considered in connexion with the depth of water; a vessel was once left high-and-dry by the ebb-tide near Dungeness, and a large iron ship drove her own anchor through her bottom in the Solent, off Lymington.

The avoidance of the anchors in shallow water is another reason for mooring.

When a ship is in an exposed position, where it may become necessary to let go two or three anchors through stress of weather, in any part of the northern hemisphere, the bower on the port side should be used first, next the foremost one on the starboard side, and as a third the after one on the starboard side, since the ordinary wind veers with the sun, and at the end of the gale the cables will be clear of each other. In the southern hemisphere the reverse order holds good.

When a ship is likely to remain many days at an anchorage where there is a tide or variable winds it is better to moor at once on arrival, with a scope of cable each way six or eight times greater than the depth of water, and an open hawse towards the worst wind. The two cables combined should always be much in excess of the distance between the anchors, otherwise they will possess but little strength to resist a rectangular strain,—an error frequently committed. The amount of support which cables will render under such circumstances will be in proportion to the sine of the angle contained between the anchor and the ship’s bow and a line from one anchor to the other. Suppose, for example, a ship moored with anchors east and west of each other, 100 fathoms apart and having 55 fathoms on each cable, in 10 fathoms of water. With chain cables the hawse pipes would not be more than 53 fathoms from each anchor, consequently with a south wind the support given to the ship by each cable will only be 33 per cent. of the strain on the cable,—that is, say, 66 tons combined when the cables are strained up to 100 tons each. The support increases rapidly as the cable is veered; an addition of 5 fathoms each way will (under the above circumstances) give 101 tons, and a scope of 80 fathoms each way will give 153 tons. In practice the cables by dragging over the ground, especially soft mud, assume a direction more ahead, particularly when each cable has a long scope. The anchors should be placed sufficiently far apart to prevent fouling with the slack chain, but not farther, unless the water is too shallow to allow the ship to pass over her anchor at low tide. Such an anchorage is not suitable for very long ships unless special moorings are provided, for which purpose Parks’s mooring-blocks are very suitable and inexpensive; they are commonly used in Portsmouth harbour. These blocks are recommended as moorings for the use of yachts and small craft, as being trustworthy and less likely to be stolen than anchors of any kind. Should a ship that is moored with a good scope on each cable have the misfortune to part one of them, her position will be preferable to what it would be if parted from a single anchor, as the bight of cable dragging over the ground will retard her progress, giving more time for another anchor to be let go. In all cases of veering cable either it should be done so freely that the ship will fall off broadside to the wind, when it may be secured while drifting, or it should be done very slowly, a few fathoms, or even a few feet at a time, the ship not being allowed to get any stern way. Veering during a squall should be avoided if possible; it should be done in time, before the violence of the squall is felt; but, if it is intended to pay out freely till broadside on, the head-yards should be braced abox to assist and another anchor should be ready. A cable should never be secured entirely by the bitts or windlass, but the compressor and deck stoppers should participate in the strain. When unmooring, the riding cable should be veered freely to allow the ship to get directly over the lee anchor; if it is embedded, stopper the cable while vertical and heave on the other, which must break it out.

The laborious operation of clearing hawse was mitigated or avoided by the introduction of chain cables and the invention of the mooring swivel. As the cables unshackle at every 12 ½ or 15 fathoms, the end to be dipped round the other cable need not be long. There are two general methods of holding the weight of the lee cable while the turns are taken out. The simplest is to have a light tongue slip to take the flat link, but only about one-tenth the strength of the cable; in a large ship it should have a roller at the top, so that the end of a hawser may be rove and form a standing part. The slip being fixed on the lee cable close above the turns and the hawser taut, the nearest shackle inboard is taken out, and the short end thus formed is hauled out of the hawse-pipe by the fore-bowline, or else by a rope from the bees of the bowsprit, a hook-rope being also attached for hauling it inboard again. A boat should be in attendance from which to detach the hook-rope from the end of the cable, pass it round the riding-cable, and make it fast again to the end of the cable (hanging by the bowline) for hauling it back through the hawse-pipe; thus an elbow is formed taut round the riding-cable in the reverse direction to the elbows and turns below the slip. That operation must be repeated till the same number of turns is formed above as below the slip,—observing that a cross cannot be removed, but the lee cable can be brought under the other. When the cable is taut in and shackled, the slip is knocked off, which allows the turns to drop clear. The cables will then be as they were when moored, with the addition of one or two fathoms on the lee cable. If the short end of the cable is lowered into a boat and lifted by the bowline only for each turn, the operation can be performed much quicker. The second method is to lash the two cables together above the turns with a piece of old rope, which acts as the slip and is cut when done with. In rough weather when a boat cannot lie under the bows the lashing must be passed by a man on the cable (if it is not high enough, heave it up), after which both cables are hove into the same hawse-pipe, whence they are easily cleared inboard; if there are many turns a small lashing will suffice in moderately deep water.

One of the objections made to slack mooring is that turns are formed below water where they are not visible. To meet this objection a piece of paper representing a ship stuck to the glass cover of a compass, with two differently coloured threads attached to paper anchors or inserted into cuts at the edge of the card, in the directions the anchors actually bear from each other, will represent all the turns which the ship makes with the cables.

There are various ways of putting on a mooring-swivel, but doing it inboard appears to be the safest and easiest. First place it in the riding-cable by shackling the two short legs of the swivel; leave the two linked ends for the second cable, the end of which being hauled out of the hawse by the bowline is hauled into the other pipe by a hook-rope and shackled to the outer long leg; the stopper just inside the hawse (which had been holding the weight outboard of the lee cable) is then slipped and that hawse-pipe is left clear for hauling out the inner end of the lee cable, which is hauled in the other side and shackled to the inner (upper) long leg of the swivel; it then becomes a bridle. There are thus three parts of cable in that hawse-pipe; the last, having no weight, should be stopped here and there to the others so as to be carried out as the swivel is veered towards the water’s edge and the bridle hove up square. Ships constructed as rams take in both bridles on the same side. A mooring-swivel should always be taken off by first heaving it inboard. If moored very slack, turns may form below the swivel during a calm with still water, but they will disappear with a cross strain; and if the ship is about to get under way the swivel and turns may be hove in together. If it becomes desirable to put on a mooring-swivel when turns are in the cables, let it be put on over them; they will soon shake out. One of the bridles is sometimes taken off the swivel for the sake of clearing that side of the deck; the error is obvious on considering that the strength of the remaining part is not equal to the strain which may come upon the span, and the nip in the hawse-pipe is always the part most severely tried. The importance of frequently white-leading and greasing all cable shackles and swivels is obvious, but, being troublesome, it is much neglected. The bow of a cable shackle should always be forward; if the reverse is the case, the shoulder may strike the side of the hawse-pipe or get jammed under the compressor. The shape of a shackle bolt should be such as to prevent it entering the wrong way; they often go half way in and jam.

It is desirable that every vessel should carry anchors as large as she can stow and work conveniently, and cables to correspond. A wooden-stocked anchor is lighter when under water than an iron-stocked one of similar holding power, and the wooden stock is less liable to foul when let go; but the durability of iron has nearly rendered the wooden stock obsolete. The old-fashioned anchor with long shank, fluke, and stock had greater holding power and certainty of grip than the more compact dumpy anchor now in common use. Backing large anchors by smaller ones is now seldom practised, except when vessels are on shore and the anchor is laid out on a sandy bottom; it is generally better that each anchor should have its own cable and proportionate strain. Floating anchors were formerly used to keep ships’ bows up in a gale; they were made of iron crossbars and three or four thicknesses of strong canvas, or a spar with a heavily weighted sail, spanned with a stout hawser; such a contrivance might frequently be improvised and used to prevent a boat or small vessel from foundering.

Should an anchor be lost in sand or soft mud after having borne a heavy strain, it may be buried entirely, when it can only be recovered by grappling the chain, if that is of sufficient length. This is best done by a small anchor with a bar of iron to assist the stock and dragged by a long scope of chain. If the anchor is on ordinary ground and only sunk as far as the shank or a little more, as shown in fig. 38, it is easily recovered whether there is any cable on it or not. The full length of a hawser strong enough to weigh the anchor should be used as a sweep, with a boat at each end pulling very slowly or dropping with the tide, in the reverse direction to the strain when it parted, so as to catch the fluke as a hook. Towing a hawser against the tide is generally waste of time, and a chain forms too narrow a bight, unless the anchor is buoyed. When the anchor is felt both boats should close together and their crews pull with all their strength for a minute or two. Then, while one boat remains stationary, keeping her part of the hawser steady, the other should cross her bows with a slack hawser, which thus passes under the tauter part; this second boat, by continuing in a circle round the anchor and returning to the side of the stationary one, will cause a turn to be formed round the fluke, as represented in the figure. Both crews should again pull hard to tighten the turn round the fluke, after which, both parts being held in one boat and made equally taut, an anchor shackle (buoyed) is placed round them and shaken down by a veer-and-haul pull on both parts by the crew of one boat, while the other tows ahead to keep a strain on the hawser till it is nearly vertical, when the anchor is secured. The ship can then take in the two parts of the hawser and weigh it.

In getting a ship under way there are a few precautions which should necessarily be observed. If the ship is moored, the first anchor to be weighed is that which it would be least convenient to sail from. At the time of unmooring the direction of the tide is very important in the case of sailing ships, and should not be disregarded by steamers. The hauling part of the cat-fall is always through the foremost sheave, to prevent the tackle from fouling owing to the ship’s motion through the water. The cable on the second anchor should always be hove short before making sail. Should there be plenty of room and the wind moderate, there is no caution necessary beyond placing leadsmen in the chains with newly marked lines, and putting the helm hard over each way to ensure its being clear. The after-yards should be braced up on one tack and the head-yards on the other, to pay her head off; in cutters and schooners the stay-fore-sail is used for that purpose. If another vessel is at anchor too close astern to ensure gathering way while ahead of her, it should not be attempted; but, by squaring the after-yards as soon as the anchor is tripped, the ship’s head will pay off till it becomes safe to fill all the sails and pass under the stern of the other vessel. The anchor should have been catted and perhaps fished also during the interval; much way should never be on the ship till the anchor is secured, for fear of it slipping or of a man falling overboard. Should rocks or shallow water be inconveniently close astern different means must be adopted. If the wind blows directly on shore, offering no choice of direction, and a current runs parallel to the shore, the ship’s head should be cast against the stream. The yards should be braced abox sharp up, with as much sail set over them as the force of the wind will allow, every means being taken to heave the anchor up quickly; and, in a well-manned ship, as soon as it is out of the ground, haul on board the main-tack and aft with the sheet, set jib and spanker. The helm being alee, keep it so as long as is required, and brace round the head-yards quickly; the ship will soon spring ahead. Then, by keeping close to the wind, the rate of movement will be retarded till the anchor is secured; then set the fore-sail.

The above is applicable in moderate weather when all or nearly all plain sail could be set. But, should there be a strong wind and a rough sea, it might not be possible to weigh the anchor or to prevent it staving the bows if it were hove up; in that case it must be sacrificed for the safety of the ship by passing the strongest hawser from the after-port (padded with mats) to the cable, making it fast by a rolling-hitch, and hauling it taut; an axe and block should be in readiness, also guys, to prevent the spring of the hawser breaking men’s legs. The courses should be reefed and all ready for setting; the top-sails (double or treble reefed) should be set or sheeted home ready for setting; and all the yards should be braced up on the tack it is intended to go off on. The first opportunity should be taken when the ship is commencing a yaw in the desired direction to slip the cable, set the fore-stay-sail and fore-top-mast stay-sail; as soon as the top-sails fill, cut the spring, set the reefed courses, and the main-and mizzen-try-sails. To veer the cable previous to slipping would be more likely to break the hawser. The expedient of losing an anchor should only be resorted to when there is too much wind and sea to admit of weighing it and not too much to prevent the ship, of whatever description, from gaining something to windward under a press of sail. Otherwise her condition is made worse by the loss of the anchor; it would be better to decide upon riding the gale out, letting go other anchors, veering all the cable available, striking the top-masts, and bracing the yards nearly fore-and-aft. The cutting away of the lower-masts, when necessary, must always be done with great care to avoid killing people or bilging the ship with the wreckage. The lanyards of the lower rigging on one side should be cut as the ship rolls in that direction, and a few notches made in the mast on both sides 3 or 4 feet above the deck, the men running aft out of the way when it is likely to fall, for which operations they would have from eight to fourteen seconds. As soon as the mast has fallen the lanyards of the stays should be cut and the most strenuous efforts made to cut and clear every rope which would still hold the mast to the ship.

"When weighing in rough weather with sufficient room to drift, it is better to have the anchor fully secured before making any sail; or, if it is intended to run before the wind, the ship can be kept on her course by the jib only till the anchor is stowed. Steaming up to an anchor against strong wind or tide is objectionable, as it requires great attention and judgment to avoid jerks; the same applies to steaming in a gale to ease the strain on the cable; a con- stant watch should be kept to prevent the cable ever becoming slack. Fore-and-aft rigged vessels have much less difficulty in getting under way when close to a lee shore, as their main-sails can be fully set without holding wind, and directly she pays off all the sails draw.

If the anchors drag and the ship strikes the bottom, especially on rocks, and it is apprehended that she may go to pieces or founder in comparatively deep water, it would be right to select the best place on shore (if there be a choice), and endeavour to thrust her into it by slipping or breaking all the cables and making sail, if there is still the means of doing so, with the view of driving her up as high as possible and so saving life; let it also be at the top of high water, if that can be waited for. When there is a heavy strain on a chain cable it is easily broken by scratching a notch with a common saw on a link that rests firmly on the bitts and then striking it with a maul or sledge-hammer.

The usual way of testing whether the anchors are holding or not is by dropping the lead over the side and leaving the line slack; but the ship is liable to swing over it, causing it to be disturbed. A grapnel over the bow or from the bowsprit is preferable. Also by sitting on a cable before the bitts a tremulous motion is felt if the anchor is dragging.

If instead of a dead lee shore we have the wind oblique with the line of coast, and the ship from some cause too close to admit of a stern-board towards it, the head-yards should be braced abox to cast her head inshore, while the after-yards are kept square; this will cause the ship to make a long stern-board from the shore, which will not terminate till the wind is well abaft the beam. The helm up to that time may be kept in midships, as there is no reason to diminish the curve. As the stern-way is lost the helm should be put hard up, the head-yards squared, and the mizzen-top-sail kept shivering till braced up on the desired tack. The main-top-sail should be kept full. If it is necessary to get the ship round as quickly and as shortly as possible, the fore-yard, instead of being squared when about to shake, may be braced entirely round quickly so as to continue paying her bow off till the wind comes aft, then squared to allow her to come to. The jib or the fore-top-mast stay-sail (according to the weather) may be hoisted when the anchor is tripped or not, until the wind is before the beam on the desired tack; if at the former time the sheets should be hauled to windward and kept so till the ship is before the wind, then eased off till the wind comes before the beam. The spanker or mizzen-try-sail should be set as soon as it will draw the right way.

What has been said about trimming the sails as the ship is turned round after casting with her head inshore is equally applicable to a case of ordinary wearing when it is desirable to turn the ship with as little loss of ground as possible. As a general guide to the position in which the yards should be placed, it may be remembered that the pressure on the sails always acts at right angles to the yards. This may be exemplified by bracing the yards sharp up when the wind is two or three points abaft the beam. As it will then blow directly into the sails they will certainly receive greater strain, but the speed of the ship will be less than when the yards were square; and it may be observed that considerable leeway will be caused by the lateral pressure. In wearing ship all the fore-and-aft sails should be taken in except the head-sails, and when the helm is put up the main-sail should be taken in and the mizzen-top-sail shivered, —the latter continued till it is sharp up for the new tack. A fashion has been adopted of leaving the mizzen-top-sail square till after the head-yards have been squared; hence everything depends for a time upon the action of the rudder, and the ship sails a considerable distance before the wind and loses so much ground. The operation of wearing a cutter requires much more care than with a square-rigged vessel on account of the heavy boom. A schooner is treated similarly, but the spars and sails are lighter in proportion to the size of the vessel. Before putting the helm up, the tack of the main-sail is triced up (the top-sail clewed up), and the peak dropped till it is nearly in a line with the boom topping-lifts, which is called scandalizing the main-sail. Both peak and boom are secured firmly in midships by means of the down-haul and sheets. Not only is the diminution of after-sail necessary to allow the vessel to pay off quickly, but the change of wind from one quarter to the other will only cause a gybe which is perfectly under control. The jib and stay-fore-sail are gybed by hauling the sheets flat just before the wind is aft so as to diminish the jerk as much as possible. The peak of the main-sail is easily rehoisted while the tack is up and the vessel luffed up to the wind. The runners and weather-boom topping-lift should be pulled up while the ship is before the wind and the top-sail-sheet hauled out as soon as the peak is up,—the tack-tackle being shifted to windward and pulled down. In wearing during fine weather, especially in yachts when racing, some risk may be preferable to the loss of time and the main-sail may be kept set. As the main-sheet is usually rove through a treble block on the boom, a double block to move along the horse, and a single block on each quarter, a strong crew can man each part at the same time and haul the boom in midships quickly, belaying the part which was at the lee side and is about to become the weather side directly the boom is over the leading block, while the other part is kept in hand till the gybe has been effected to lessen the jerk.

The sails of all vessels are most effective when set as nearly flat as practicable, and also each sail, as well as each part of a sail, should be spread at the same angle from the keel. If under that condition too much or too little weather-helm is required, the balance should be established by changing the quantity of canvas at either end or by altering the trim, not by permanently easing off a sheet, for that is as detrimental as dragging the rudder at a large angle. By altering the stand of the masts materially the angle and consequent set of all gaff-sails are thrown out.

To tack a fore-and-aft-rigged vessel is very simple; by easing off the jib and fore-sheets at the time the helm is eased down and hauling over the main-sheet, the vessel will soon run up to the wind; then if the fore-sheet is hauled flat over as for the former tack it will assist to pay her bow off the right way. The jib-sheet would be hauled aft while shaking, but not too soon to cause it to take the wrong way. The fore-sheet is shifted over as the other sails are about to fill, according to the speed with which the vessel is paying off. In a smart vessel, such as a cutter-yacht in smooth water and with a good breeze, there will be no occasion to retain the fore-sheet, but allow it to shake itself over similarly to the jib. Returning to the idea of tacking with difficulty,—the helm should be put hard over as the speed decreases and reversed directly sternway commences; this remark applies to vessels of all shapes and sizes, as will also the advice not to put the helm over to a large angle while the vessel is going at great speed. At an angle of 10 degrees, more than 98 per cent. of the force on the rudder is applied to turning the vessel and 17 ½ per cent. to retard her; while at 30 degrees one-half the force would retard and 86 ½ per cent. tend to turn. Hence we see the reasons for recommending close fitting, broad, tapering rudders.

While the vessel is in stays the weather-boom topping-lift should be pulled to take the weight of the boom, the runner-and-tackle on the weather side set up, and the lee one slacked as soon as she is round; also shift the main tack-tackle over to windward and set it up; get a pull of the gaff-top-sail tack if necessary.

The jib of a cutter, yawl, or schooner with a running bowsprit is a difficult sail to handle when the vessel is under way. If there is sea-room it is better to keep the yacht away before the wind and let go the outhaul, when the traveller will run in, or pull at the same time on the inhaul, which should be fitted with a span to keep it square. Haul the stay-fore-sail sheet over to make room to haul in the jib to leeward of it. Gather in the slack canvas smartly to keep it from getting overboard; get hold of the luff of the sail by the stay-rope, while some hands pull on the downhaul. When the sail is perfectly under control let go the halyards and continue hauling on the stay-rope and downhaul. When there is not room to run before the wind, it is best to heave to with foresheet to windward while taking in or shifting a jib; by letting go the outhaul the traveller will run in and the sail can be handled as before, a good hold being always kept of the weather side, that is, the luff of the sail. If another jib is to be bent it should be laid along the weather side of the deck in readiness, with the tack forward and the head aft. The sheets are then untoggled from the former sail, handed across outside (to windward) of the fore-stay, and toggled to the second jib; also take the tack to the traveller, hook it, and run it out. Hook the halyards and hoist the jib up by them; then tauten the luff by the purchase while the sheet is flowing.

A jib-headed gaff-top-sail is preferable for use on a wind and commanding breeze, though for light winds a long yard spreads a fine sheet of canvas. Such a yard should be slung at one-third from the fore-end (as a boat’s dipping lug), the clew-line block secured at the length of the leech from the upper end, and the standing part of the clew-line made fast to the lower end,—this last to keep it clear of the cross tree when being hauled down, which must always be done on the side it has been set, a tack being made if necessary to bring it to windward. On the approach of a squall the fore-sail should be hauled down by means of the downhaul and the vessel luffed up; it is dangerous to attempt bearing up at such a time until the main-sail has been scandalized; the effect of the water on the rudder aids greatly in tripping a vessel over.

As bad weather comes on the main-sail must be reefed (a smaller jib having been already set) by topping up the boom, easing down the peak and throat, and hauling down the reef cringle to the boom by the reef-tackle; lash the tack and tie the points without rolling the slack canvas. The second and third reefs are taken in as the wind increases and the fore-sail reefed again or stowed, during which time the jib-sheet should be hauled flat, the main-tack triced up, and the vessel kept close to the wind to avoid plunging the sea over the bow. To reef the bowsprit,—house the top-mast, let the jib run in, slack the bobstays and bowsprit shrouds, take out the fid, and let the bowsprit run in one or two reefs; then refid it, set taut the gear, and set a small jib. It is at all times much more difficult to steer a short vessel than a long one, but especially in a heavy sea, when the mode of treatment must be entirely different. A small vessel should be luffed up to meet every large wave in order to bow it as much as possible. She will have but little way on at the time of meeting it and will drop into it easily; the bow will then fall off, the sails fill, and a run be made parallel to the waves till she is luffed up again. A four-oared gig has been taken through a heavy sea under oars by pulling up to meet every dangerous crest which could not be dodged, and just before it broke over the bow backing away from it. The smallest amount of sail which can be shown by a main-sail is when it is balance-reefed; this is accomplished by close-reefing it and lowering the jaws of the gaff close down to the boom, while the peak stretches up that part of the leech above the close-reef cringle. The plan is more frequently adopted by fishing smacks than by yachts or other well-found vessels; they have a try-sail which, being laced on a smaller gaff, is hoisted by the same peak and throat halyards as the larger sail, and has its sheet secured to a bolt near the stern, while the boom is crutched and secured with the main-sail and the large gaff lashed to it. The try-sail admits of being reefed; it is a safe sail either on or off the wind in rough weather. The greatest care is necessary when running before the wind to keep the vessel on her course and to avoid gybing. A vessel should never get under way without a small boat, and a cutter should never be without her legs for fear of taking the ground unexpectedly. In racing to windward, if the wind is variable, keep nearly dead to leeward of the mark vessel, as every change in the direction of the wind will then be an advantage; unless there is a tidal preference for one direction over the other, that will of course decide it.

If taken aback by a change of wind, and wishing to remain on the same tack, put the helm up and haul over the fore-sheet. In a ship haul over the head-sheets and brace the head-yards abox. The way to tack a ship under favourable circumstances may here be assumed as well known, and only a few hints relative to doubtful cases given. A few minutes prior to the attempt set all suitable sail, keep steadily “rap-full " with a small helm, so as to get as much way as possible. If the crew is large enough to list the ship, send them over to leeward, ease down the helm slowly, haul the boom in midships, haul down the head-sails, ease off the foresheet, let go the head-bowlines, and check the head-braces. Directly the wind is out of the fore-top-sail, brace the head-yards sharp up again and haul the bowlines. When the wind is entirely out of the main-top-sail, let go the top-gallant bowlines (if those sails are set) and raise tacks and sheets, except the fore-tack, which should be raised after the main-yard has been swung. As soon as the vessel loses her way, shift the helm hard over, and send the men to their stations. If she brings the wind across her bow, hoist the head-sails with the sheets on the same side as before; if the wind takes them well and the ship is still going round, give the order “mainsail haul,” haul down the main-tack, aft the sheet, shift over the head-sails, haul the after-bowlines. As the main-top-sail fills, or before, according to the rapidity with which she pays off, swing the head-yards to the order of ‘‘ haul off all.”

If when near head to wind it is found that the bow is falling back and stern-way commencing, it is evident that she has “missed stays.” The helm in that case should not be shifted, as with stern-way it will help her to pay her bow off in the direction it was before. The head-sails should be hoisted, the main-sail and spanker taken in, the fore-sheet hauled aft, the after-yards squared. As the wind comes abaft the beam the mizzen-top-sail should be kept shivering and the main-top-sail just full; shift the helm as she gathers headway. When before the wind square the head-yards, shift over the head-sheets, and keep them flowing. Set the spanker when it will take the right way; complete wearing as before described. This is similar to “box-hauling”; it is not necessary to brace the head-yards abox if she will fall off without. The manoeuvre of putting the helm down and letting the ship shoot up in the wind before wearing is sometimes adopted for the sake of diminishing the run to leeward. Hauling all the yards at once is very objectionable; the sails are longer aback and have to be hauled round by main strength against the pressure of the wind.

“Club-hauling” may occasionally save a ship even in these days of steam, as a paddle-steamer will not turn with her head against a strong gale and a heavy sea, nor will a sailing-ship with an auxiliary screw-propeller. It may be done when the ship is found edging down on a lee shore, too close to wear, and having a depth of water not exceeding 20 fathoms. It will take two or three minutes to open the hawse-pipe, get the cable clear, and procure hammer and punches for unshackling, and mauls for breaking the cable if necessary. Put the helm down and act as in ordinary tacking till she ceases to turn nearer to the wind; then let go the anchor, whether she has entirely lost her way or not, as passing the anchor a little will give a greater swing back when the strain comes and allow more time for slipping the cable, which should be done directly the wind has crossed the bow; at the same time swing the afteryards. If the cable has been slipped successfully, the head-yards may be hauled as soon as the after-yards have been braced up, as she will soon be broadside on. It has been proposed to run a spring from the after-lee-port to the anchor, but that would take too much time.

“Backing and filling” is practised in a tidal channel which is too narrow to allow a ship to gather way for tacking. One top sail, with the jib and spanker occasionally, is generally sufficient to give slight head or stem way, to avoid either bank or another vessel, while the tide carries her broadside against the wind; the less sail exposed the less the lee way. Fore-and-aft vessels having less power to get stern-way should have a boat in attendance with a line and a small anchor.

“Hedging” was a frequent performance before steam-tugs were introduced; it consisted of a series of movements from one small anchor to another, previously laid out by boats. For a similar purpose harbours that were much frequented were formerly furnished with a succession of warping buoys. The large ropes used for transporting ships are called hawsers, and by a strange anomaly were formerly cable-laid nine-stranded. Such rope is hard and stiff to handle; it absorbs more wet and retains it longer, therefore is less durable; when new the strength is far inferior to hawser-laid rope of similar size. Manila and coir hawsers float on the water and are therefore very useful.

Dropping through a narrow tidal channel by means of an anchor just touching the bottom is called “dredging” or clubbing; it can be practised in a passage which is too narrow for backing and filling, such as the upper part of the Thames, where it is done every day. The vessel swings to her anchor and points her stern up (or down) the stream; by heaving in the cable (for which the steam capstans and windlasses afford great facility) the tide takes the ship on as fast as it is running so long as the course remains clear. When it is desirable to approach either side, a few fathoms of cable paid out will cause it to hold; the helm and the action of the tide will then sheer the ship as desired, and by heaving in cable she will go on again, so that a sailing-ship should go up at half the rate of the tide at least. With a screw-steamer it is far easier, as the screw will straighten her as well as the tide, and when fairly pointed through an open space she can make a stern-board at five knots an hour while perfectly under control.

A few words may be said about making and shortening sail in bad weather. One point holds good in all cases: the sails should never be allowed to flap, as that exposes them to the danger of splitting. The tack or luff is invariably secured first, while the sheet bears a steady strain enough to keep the sail from shaking. Before hoisting fore-and-aft sails the sheets are steadied aft; and, should a sheet carry away, the sail is hauled down or brailed up instantly. Spankers and try-sails should be taken in entirely by the lee-brails, the stack only of the weather-brails being at first taken down. A practice has become general in the British navy of securing the top-sail clew-line blocks to the lower cap instead of round the yard, for the sake of saving time when shifting top-sail-yards; the use of the clew-lines for hauling the yard down and steadying it is thus lost; this is one of many objectionable practices.

There has been a difference of opinion as to the mode of setting and taking in top-sails and courses; but the same rule should apply to all square sails alike: that which is safest for one will be safest for the others. Experience and the balance of opinion favour the hauling home of the weather top-gallant-sheet, top-sail-sheet, and tack of the fore-sail or main-sail first, with a good strain on the clew-lines, clew-garnets, and bunt-lines, to avoid flapping. The lee sheet may then be hauled and eased down by clew-line and buntline. Each bowline should also be steadied taut in succession to prevent the leech from flapping. There appears to be no advantage in first hauling the lee-sheet partially down. The taking in of these sails has been equally a matter of dispute, and many advocate taking in a top-sail in a different manner from that which they would adopt in taking in a course. Falconer’s rule was often quoted and followed in former times. It runs thus—

“And be who strives the tempest to disarm,

Will never first embrail the lee yard-ann.”

It must be remembered that the decision there supported by the sea-poet was then a novelty, and opposed to the opinion of the practical seaman. A main-sail had been split by “letting fly” the sheet; but that proves nothing, as all sails will split if the clew flies loose in a gale. The lee clew of an eighty-gun ship’s maintop-sail was blown over the yard-arm in consequence of the weather-sheet having carried away; that clew was hauled up first. It might not have happened had the bunt-lines been well manned and had there been a small strain on the lee bowline. Either plan will answer if the bunt-lines are well manned and the sheets eased steadily; but that the weather clew should be set first and taken in last is preferable.

In taking in top-gallant-sails before the wind both sheets should be kept fast till the yard is down. When a top-sail is to be reefed the yard should be pointed to the wind; and for the first reef the top-gallant-sheets, bunt-line, and bowlines should be hauled taut, for the second reef the top-gallant-sail should be clewed up, to keep the sheets from knocking the men at the yard-arms. In rough weather a preventer parrel and rolling-tackle should be put on before the men go on the yards. For a fourth reef the top-sail should be clewed up during the operation; it will then be performed with less difficulty. The long reef-points in top-sails and courses have generally given place to the lighter and more expeditious method of having reef-lines on the sails, with beckets and toggles on the jackstay. The whole strain of the sail is thus thrown on the jackstay and small eyebolts, instead of the points being firmly tied round the yard itself. Also the slab of each reef is usually allowed to hang down and chafe at the fold; but this can be prevented by fastening three or four small slab-lines on each side of each reef. Cunningham’s invention for reefing top-sails is very valuable in all weakly manned ships, but it requires to be kept square upon the yard while rolling up. If it becomes necessary to shift a top-sail during a gale, it should be made up on deck in the shape it would assume if furled on the yard, and stopped with spun-yarn, with the reef-earings and bowline bridles showing near the ends and the clews and bunt-line toggles near the centre, where it would be slung by a slip strop. When the two earings are taken into the centre it will form four parts, and the weather top-mast studding-sail halyards being bent round it will cause it to look like a large bale. In that state it is hoisted into the top by the sail tackle, at the same time being steadied by the studding-sail halyards; there all the ropes are bent, clew-lines and bunt-lines hauled up, reef-tackles hauled out, and the sail bent to the yard before the stops are slipped or cut; then it is reefed as desired before the weather sheet is hauled home. A fore-sail or main-sail is bent in a similar manner, except that the various ropes employed on a course are bent on deck, by which ropes and the burtons it is swayed up. Studding-sails are very useful in long voyages; their disuse on the main-mast is to be regretted, especially in long ships. A top-mast or top-gallant studding-sail is shifted “before all,” by a man on the yard gathering in the sail as it is lowered to him and holding the outer leech till it cants the right way.

During a coasting voyage the vessel must be within a moderate distance of the shore, therefore the person in charge should constantly be ready to run for shelter when necessary, and have the moral courage to do it in time. In yachting voyages, however distant, there is a natural desire to see the land and all that is worth seeing, and, being well provided with charts, such vessels can enter any harbour, when perhaps a pilot is not able to get out. A ship starting on a foreign voyage should seek “blue water” as soon as possible, and keep a safe distance from all land which is liable to become a lee shore, and not be tempted to edge in because a certain tack is much nearer to the desired course than the other. For the choice of track and for trade winds, see Navigation.

To heave to for the purpose of stopping is done in a cutter by easing off the jib-sheet, hauling over the weather fore-sheet, and tricing up the tack of the main-sail. A schooner is treated similarly: the top-sail (if she has one) is backed and the gaff-fore-sail is taken in. A ship has her courses hauled up, head-sheets eased off, and either the main or fore yard squared. Upon the latter point opinions differ. If two ships are close together, the one to windward had better back the main-top-sail and the ship to leeward the fore-top-sail; they should always preserve a little headway. Boats invariably board ships on the lee side; small vessels, when drifting fast, on the weather side. A ship at anchor in a tide-way will always present a lee side during some period; but a ‘ ‘ weather tide” causes a dangerous sea for boats. A boat’s oars should never be tossed up or forward when there is danger of their fouling, for fear of staving the boat or injuring some one in the after part.

When in the vicinity of a lee beach and landing by means of a boat is determined on, the oars should be manned to the utmost and the waves watched (as they always vary), and the boat forced in on the top of the third large wave, care being taken to keep her exactly end on to the sea. At the instant of touching the ground every man should jump out and begin to haul up the boat, if she is of reasonable weight; the next wave will probably put them all out of danger. By holding on to the boat they give and receive mutual support, and avoid being sucked back by the receding water or crushed by the boat.

The term " hove to” as applied to a vessel in a gale of wind is derived from the desire to turn her bow up towards the wind and sea; this under all circumstances of sail should be the point aimed at, since then the seas strike the side obliquely and also the bow, which is the strongest part. The best sails to keep on a ship during a violent gale are the close-reefed main-top-sail, main-and mizzen-try-sails, and fore-stay-sail. The fore-try-sail also may do good, and is far preferable to a main-stay-sail. The pressure of the maintop-sail tends greatly to mitigate the violent motion; also by heeling the ship she presents a higher side to keep the sea out and a sloping deck to aid the water in running off. The helm should be about one turn “a-lee,” never hard down. When north of the equator ships should heave to on the starboard tack, and the reverse in southern latitudes. More sail should be made as soon as the gale moderates, to steady the ship. The violent rolling motion may sometimes be diminished by altering course, so that the period be tween the waves reaching the vessel may be made to disagree with her own period of oscillation, or when running before the wind by bracing the yards up in opposite directions. Steamers at a reduced speed can scarcely be considered as hove to; their masts and sails are too weak to be of any use in a gale and too small in moderate winds; they make the rudder do all the work. The best sail to scud under is close-reefed main-top-sail, reefed fore-sail, and foretop-mast stay-sail.

Three contingencies should always be anticipated by the captain and officer of the watch, and in some degree by every man in the crew, so that the alarm should lose half its dread and be met by prompt action,—a man falling overboard, fire, and collision. A boat’s crew should be appointed in each watch, who on going on deck should see the boat ready and the plug in. If the ship be on a wind and capable of tacking, on the cry “A man overboard !” the helm should be put down and the ship steered round on the other tack, with either the fore or main yards left square and the courses up; she will then drift down towards the man, while the boat, which was at first on the weather side, is being lowered to pick him up. If the ship is running free the case is worse; she must be brought to the wind instantly with the head-yards square. Various plans have been devised for lowering boats, many of them very good when executed by trustworthy men; the same may be said of the old system with plain blocks and tackles; practice and coolness will render either successful.

With regard to fire, prevention is better than cure; lights in the hold should never be without a protecting lantern, and passengers’ sleeping-cabins should be lighted by lamps fixed in the bulkhead, inaccessible from the inside. Pumps and engines for extinguishing fire should be on the upper deck, for fear of being cut off by the first outbreak. Fire stations and exercise should be frequent even with the smallest crew. On the first alarm all ports and ventilators should be closed, wind-sails hauled up, hatchways closed as much as practicable, awnings and all lower sails taken in, and the ship kept before the wind, unless the fire is in the after-part, in which case the boats should be lowered at once. Many other things will present themselves to a cool head; perhaps the first order should be “Silence !”

Collisions may be reckoned among those dangers against which no man can guard himself, be he ever so wise and experienced; it avails not that one ship should do what is right, unless they both do so. The laws upon the subject appear to be all that can be desired (see “Rules of the Road,” under Navigation, vol. xvii. p. 277); but the mode of enforcing obedience is very lax and lenient. A purely nautical tribunal is greatly needed, and every unjustifiable deviation should be severely punished, whether followed by an accident or not. It is admitted that in most cases of collision the evidence is so conflicting that a judge must be puzzled where to find the truth. The great increase of speed diminishes the time of approach; the increased length of vessels demands a larger circle to turn in; the want of sail at the extremities diminishes the power of turning, throwing all the work on the rudder, which is proportionately much smaller than it was. The perpendicular stem gives a deadly blow at the flat side, instead of first cutting down the upper works by the sloping cut-water, and probably coming to a state of rest before reaching the water’s edge. Sufficient care is not taken to keep all lights from the upper deck and all places where they may disable the eyes of the officer in charge or the lookout men. Even holes have been made at the back of the bow-light box to enable the officer of the watch to see them burning; of course his eyes are thereby rendered unserviceable for seeing distant objects. Officers in the merchant service are invariably in two watches, which does not allow them sufficient time for sleep, especially in windy weather. If immediate action is not taken the instant a sail or a light is reported, the officer in charge should take bearings by the compass, by which he will soon know if the other vessel is inclined to pass ahead or astern. If it remains stationary by the compass, they must both be converging on the same spot.

If a ship should spring a leak at sea which may be attributable to straining and is sufficiently serious, she should be run before the wind and sea under small sail. If the pumps then clear out the water, she may run for a port or resume her voyage when the gale ceases. If the leak does not abate, though the motion of the ship is easy, it will be evident that a butt (end of a plank) has started if it is a wooden ship, or that a plate has given way if an iron ship. In that case, two stout hauling-lines should be placed under the bowsprit and head-gear, and the end of one secured to the head-earing, the other to the clew of a spare top-sail or course, also two similar ropes to the other side, each of the four ropes being marked at 10 and 15 fathoms from the sail. Half a hundredweight of iron (shot or furnace bars) should be attached to each clew, the ship’s progress completely stopped, the sail thrown overboard and drawn square across the bows; the hauling-lines on the clews being carried aft and kept square by the marks, while the ropes on the head of the sail are veered, the sail is placed like a large patch over the place desired. Should the position of the leak not be discovered, it might be well to place the sail under the main-mast; if this has no effect, place another sail under the fore-mast and the fore-foot. This simple device is no doubt very ancient and was nrob-ably the process called in the book of Acts "undergirding the ship.” Sails have usually been thrummed; but that requires much time, and the utility is questionable. If a large hole has been made by collision a spread sail would be burst by the pressure; but, such a hole being usually at the side and partially visible, a large sail nearly in the form in which it was stowed, having the stops cut, should be thrown over before the hole end downwards, and, when sunk below the supposed depth of the fissure, brought towards it till the bight of the sail enters the vortex, when it will be sucked in violently and either disappear within the ship or block the hole; if the latter, smaller sails can be spread slack over the hole to be sucked iu. The use of sails for the above purposes has been strangely neglected during late years, though much more frequently needed.

A leak can be stopped from inboard when accessible by placing over it pads of oiled or tarred canvas, tarred coal-sacks, bags of white lead, tallow, paint, clay, or any material which fits close when pressed by boards and shored down firmly,—that or something similar could be done when a ship is on shore. If a ship is on shore with a large hole in one part of her bottom, she might be recovered, especially if ebb-tide recedes many feet, by building a double partition with a space of about 2 feet between on each side of the injured part, filling the space with clay, and shoring it well, —in other words, by improvising two water-tight bulkheads; the water having been pumped out of the sound parts the rising tide would float her. When a ship is on shore with numerous cracks in her bottom, but not a clear hole, she may be floated by constant pumping, even though at first the expedient should fail to prevent the tide from ebbing and flowing in the hold. By maintaining as much as possible an inward flow the small fissures will gradually choke with weed and sand, till the inflow is so reduced as to be within the power of the pumps; hay, oakum, or dirt of any kind should be thrown over where it can be sucked into the leak. The ordinary pumps of a ship may be supplemented by nailing together four common deal boards and fitting two square valves weighted with lead, hinged and lined with leather, to rest on seats 2 feet from one end, which must be weighted on the outside as the bottom. A large hole near the top should be provided with a leather lip to shoot the water over the combings. When slung in the bights of two ropes four men jerk it up and down; the force with which it descends through the water will send a stream up the tube with less labour than baling entails.

Ships on shore should be secured from driving into a worse position before being freed from any weight. Hard substances such as guns and shot should not be thrown on the lee side or where the ship in hauling off might strike on them. Keep sufficient fresh water for immediate use. An anchor· is usually carried out between two boats, the flukes being hung to a spar across the boats chocked up from the thwarts, while the stock is suspended across the sterns of the boats. The boats should be hauled out to a kedge anchor, while other boats support short bights of hemp cable. Good axes should be used for letting go the anchor.

A wooden rudder when immersed is very little heavier than water and can be shipped and unshipped by seamen with ordinary appliances; but iron ships have metal rudders sometimes weighing as much as 20 tons. The following remarks apply to wooden rudders only. To unhang a rudder remove the woodlαck,—a chock recessed and nailed to the stern-post close above the upper pintle,— the use of which is to prevent it being unhung by accident. From a beam or chock above the rudder-head suspend two luff-tackles, single blocks, and two leads up, and the double blocks down to strops through the tiller hole. A few men on each luff-fall will easily lift the rudder the length of the pintles; and as they are drawn from the gudgeons it will swing free and may be lowered between two boats provided with spars across their gunnels; the bight of a rope avili bring the heel up to a position similar to that of the head,—nearly horizontal. It can then be taken under the main-yard and hoisted in, or be carried for repair to a wharf or suitable beach at high water. Before a rudder is taken off to be hung, two long guys are rove through holes for the purpose at the fore-part of the heel, one end of each being hitched to the band for the rudder-chains, while the other is in readiness to hand into the ship halfway forward and low down. On the rudder-head being suspended by the luff-tackles a little higher than its position when shipped, the guys will haul it to the exact line with the stern-post; it is then lowered into the gudgeons, the guys unrove by means of the short ends, and the woodlock replaced. Smooth water is desirable for that operation; a little tide in a line with the keel will assist. The tiller should be firmly wedged or secured in the rudder-head so as to prevent any jerking motion; for the same reason, the wheel ropes should be kept moderately taut; they should also be rove in two parts, lashed together on top of the wheel, for convenience in shifting them one part at a time. The rudder-chains are shackled to a band, which embraces the rudder a little above the water, and are attached to a stout rope, usually stopped up round the counter ready to receive tackles, by which the ship may be steered imperfectly after the rudder-head is disabled.

The construction of a temporary rudder has always been considered an interesting and highly useful piece of seamanship. One easy plan is to pass the end of a large hemp cable out of the rudder-hole or central port, haul it up to the ship’s side, lash to it one or more large spars, sling the whole bundle about the centre of the spars with stout hawsers as guys, throw it overboard, and heave in a part of the cable, leaving the part with the spars lashed to the side of it far enough away not to be lifted out of the water with the pitch of the ship. The guys when rove through blocks on the spare top-sail yard-arms, which are lashed across the gunnel for the purpose, are taken to the capstan; by this means the ship may be steered with the assistance of her sails. If there be not a hemp cable on board, the largest hawser must be used with a spare topmast or the largest spar available.

Early in the 19th century Captain Edward Pakenham contrived an efficient rudder with the material in his ship. Part of a top-mast heel up formed the rudder-head and main-piece, the fid-hole becoming the tiller-hole. The main-piece passed through the round hole of the lower cap, which was made of elm and lined with leather, and which, being secured by a collar near the lower part, acted for pintles and gudgeons, and was drawn into place by two hawsers A, A, till it embraced the stern-post by the square intended for the mast-head (fig. 39). There should be ropes to the bolts b, b to keep it horizontal.

Another top-mast was cut, which with the remainder of the first made four parts in all, flattened and fitted together, woolded and bolted, and so forming the required width. Three pigs of ballast were let into the lower part and the whole planked over and secured with spike nails.

Fine weather was necessary for shipping it and a collar was built above the rudder-nole to confine the motion and to support the weight The materials carried in modern ships may differ, but a fertile mind will generally find substitutes.

The “Pique” frigate, commanded by the Hon.

II. J. Rous, steered across the Atlantic during sixteen days cf almost continuous gales, a distance of 1500 miles, by means of a cable over the stern and a Pakenham rudder during part of the time. She had been on shore in the Gulf of St Lawrence; during the voyage she was making 20 inches of water an hour and she had also two masts sprung; she reached St Helens in the Isle of Wight on the 13th of October 1835.

It is a difficult thing to get a lower yard from the deck into its place without letting go either stays or rigging, and this the following instance will illustrate. The “Thunderer,” an eighty-four gun ship, broke her main-yard, which was 112 feet long, completely in two, 5 feet to leeward of the slings. The broken parts were sent down, and a main-top-sail-yard crossed instead, while a reefed topsail did duty as a course and a mizzen-top-sail over it as a main-topsail. The parts of the main-yard were placed together on deck; the two halves of a spare anchor stock were let in on the fore and aft sides and an oak mast fish on top, with some studding-sail-booms to round it off. All parts were bolted, hooped, and woolded together, making it as strong as ever it was, entirely from the material carried in the ship. The sketch (fig. 40)

represents the time of dipping the port yard-arm under the main - stay: represents the jeers, which bear the principal weight (total, 5 1/4 tons); f the two fore-tackles lashed to the mast-head pendants; t a top-burton; s a sail-tackle to the top-mast-head; m, m main-tackles from the mast-head pendants; l the main-lift; y a yard-tackle secured to an upper-deck beam. The main-yard was entirely rigged before being crossed; the blocks are not shown. In a long ship the operation would be easier. When a fore-yard has to bo got across from the deck, time and trouble can be saved by letting go, half at a time, all the fore-rigging and back-stays which are on that side.

When feeling the way into harbour during a thick fog, let a boat pretend to tow the ship with the deep-sea lead-line; by this means a margin of 100 fathoms of safety will be secured. Care should be taken that every running rope in the ship be slacked previous to rain or heavy dew.

For further information and variety of opinions see Captain Francis Liardet, R.N., Points of Seamanship and discipline; Robert Kipping, Masting, Mast-making, and Pigging Ships; Vanderdecken, The Yacht Sailor; R. H. Dana, Seaman's Manual (10th ed., 1867); Captain Alston, Seamanship; Charles Uushell, Rigger's Guide ; Captain Sir George S. Kares, Seamanship (6th ed.). Glossary. Λ. B.,“ able-bodied,” signifies a trained seaman. Abaft (prep, and adv.), relatively nearer the stern. Abeam, in a direction abreast the ship. About ship, to tack or turn head to wind. Accommodation-ladder, a flight of steps over the side, suitable for ladies. Adrift, severed from all security. Aft, towards the stern. Arming the lead, placing tallow in the cavity at the end to bring up specimens from the bottom. Astern, behind; to pass astern is to go behind. Athwart, across; as across the bows. Avast (as in the expressions, “Avast there,” “Avast heaving”), stop.

Back and fill, a inode of drifting safely with the tide, against the wind. Back a sail, to let the wind press it the reverse way. Backstay, a support at the side and abaft an upper mast. Bale-slings, a long strap of rope for hoisting packages. Ballast, anything carried for the sake of its weight. Banyan-day, formerly a fast-day on which oatmeal was issued in lieu of meat. Bare poles, at sea without any sail set. Barrica, a small cask for water in boats. Batten down, to cover the hatchways with canvas secured with battens, in order to exclude the sea. Beam, the extreme width. Beam-ends, a ship is on her beam-ends when inclining over at a right angle. Bear a hand, make haste. Bear away and bear up, steer farther from the wind. Bearing, direction; down to her bearings, a point in the inclination of a good ship at which she resists going further. Becket, a rope eye to receive a knot or toggle. Bees, strong projections bolted on each side the bowsprit. Belay, to secure a rope by turns round a belaying pin or cleat. Bells, one sound is made for each half-hour from setting the watch (see “watch”). Belly, in a mast, a curve with the convex side aft. BeUy-band, a broad strip of canvas across the middle of a sail, to strengthen it. Belly-stay, a rope from the centre of the mast led forward. Bend, sails are said to be bent to the yards; a kink formed in a hemp cable when stowing it; to make fast anything; to bend on. Bentick shrouds, formerly used to assist the futtock shrouds and set up on deck. Berth, the situation of a ship or other thing. Between wind and water, at the water’s edge. Bight, a loop formed by a rope. Bilge, a gutter nearly the length of the bottom of the ship; hence bilge-water. Binnacle, a box for the compass Bite, the anchor bites when it hooks the ground. Bitts, a rack with sheaves and pins; cross timbers or iron to secure the cable. Block, a shell of wood or metal containing one or more sheaves. Blue water, clear of the English Channel; at a distance from shore. Bluff, broad, as applied to the bows. Boarding-netting, a rope net to exclude an enemy. Bobstays, strong ropes or chains to keep the bowsprit down. Bold shore, that which has deep water close to it. Bolsters, soft wood and canvas under the eyes of the rigging. Bolt-rope, a superior description, made of fine yarn, used for roping sails. Bonnet, an addition to a try-sail (or other sail), attached by a row of beckets rove through each other. Boom-irons, supports for studding-sail-booms. Booms, spare spars (indefinitely). Both sheets aft, running before the wind. Bower anchors, the two principal anchors for use. Bowline, a rope to bow the leech of the sail forward; bowline-bridle, a span for the same; to . sail on a bowline, to sail close to the wind. Bowse, a violent pull. Box, or braced abox, the head-yards crossed the reverse way of the after-yards; box her off, to force her bow from the wind. Box-hauling, letting the ship come to the wind, hauling round all the yards, making a stern-board, and wearing. Brace to or by, to bring the yards back a little, to make them shake or nearly so. Brace up, to place the yards as far forward as they will go. Brail up, to take in a sail by means of brails. Break bulk, to commence discharging cargo. Break her sheer, to pass the wrong side of her anchor. Breast-fast, a security at right angles to the side. Bridle, two parts of cable from the hawse to a mooring. Bring by the lee, to fall off till the wind, after crossing the stern, backs the sails. Bring to, either to anchor or to stop by backing a sail; to connect the cable with the capstan, or a tackle to a rope. Broaching to, coming to the wind against the helm. Broadside, the whole side; the discharge of every gun on one side. Broadside on, the flat side against anything. Broken-backed, a state caused by weakness or strain, when the centre sinks unduly (see “hogged ”). Bucklers, shutters and bars to secure the hawse-holes at sea. Bulk, the cargo is stowed in bulk when without sacks or packages. Bull-rope, a rope from the jibboom to keep a buoy or boat from the bows. Bull’s-eye, a wooden fair lead or a round thick piece of glass. Bumpkin, a short spar projecting from each bow, to which the fore-tack is hauled down; it is supported by bumpkin shrouds. Bunt, the centre part of a square sail when furled. Bunt-lines, ropes from the foot of a sail by which to haul it up. Buoy-rope, the rope between the crown of the anchor and the buoy. Burton, a long purchase with a double and a single block. Bush of a sheave, the brass lining upon which the pin rests. Butt, the end of a plank. Butt-slings, strong slings for casks. By, brace the yards by, nearly in the direction of the wind, but not so as to shake. By the board, overboard entirely, as a mast going over the side. By the head or stern, drawing more water forward or aft.

Cable-laid, the designation of nine-stranded rope. Caboose, a cook-house on deck. Cant, to turn over. Cap, a large piece of elm fitted on the top of a mast by a square hole, with a round hole for an upper mast to slide through; with iron masts the cap is of iron. Capshore, a support to the fore-part of a lower cap. Capstan, a drum on a vertical spindle for heaving heavy weights. Careen, to heel over bottom out of water for repairs. Cast off, to let go. Cat-block and cat-faU, used in hoisting the anchor. Catharpin legs, short ropes connecting the lower parts of the futtock shrouds. Cat-head, timber-head projecting from the bow on which to hang the anchor. Cat’s-paw, a slight puff of wind; a means of hooking a rope. Caval, a large cleat for securing ropes. Chafing-mats, mats to protect the rigging. Chain-plate, an iron plate securing a dead-eye. Chain-pump, the largest hand-pump, which by an endless chain and valves produces a continuous flow. Channels or chains, projections from the ship’s side to spread the rigging. Chock-a-block or block and block, when the blocks of a tackle meet together. Choke-a-luff, to pass turns of spun-yarn round both parts of the fall to prevent their moving when let go. Cleat, a piece of beech with two horns for belaying ropes; a piece of wood nailed to secure a thing from slipping. Clew-garnet, for hauling up the clew of a course. Clew-line, the rope which hauls up the clew. Cleιυ of a sail, the corner to which the sheet is attached. Clews, an arrangement of small lines called knittles for hanging cots and hammocks. Clinch, the inner end of a cable; also a mode of fastening a hemp cable to an anchor, and for other purposes. Clubbing, dredging, or driving, each word implies dropping with the tide, while the ship is governed by the helm and an anchor scraping the bottom. Club-haul, to tack by means of letting go and losing an anchor. Coamings, the raised frame of a hatchway. Cockbill, when the anchor hangs loose from the cat-head. Collars, the upper parts of the stays and large straps round the bowsprit. Come up, to render slack or let go. Coming up, when the change of wind allows a nearer approach to the course. Commander, a large mallet for hammering rope. Companion, a high covering over a hatchway. Compressor, a curved bar to squeeze the chain cable against a beam as a stopper. Conning, directing the helmsman. Counter, the angle of the stem on either side. Courses, fore sail and main-sail of a square-rigged vessel. Crank, unstable, easily turned over. Cringle, an iron ring to confine a sail to a stay; an eye formed by a strand on the leech of a sail. Crossing the bows, passing close ahead. Cross-trees, spreaders under the tops and at the top mast heads to support the top-gallant rigging. Crow’s-foot, several spans of small rope brought to a common centre. Crow’s-nest, a seat for a lookout man at the top-gallant mast-head. Crupper, a chain to keep down the heel of the jibboom. Crutch, an iron rest for a boom; a metal swivel for an oar to work in. Cut and run, to cut the cable and go in haste.

Davit, a derrick of wood or iron to lift a weight. Deaden her way, to retard progress. Dead-eye, a clump of wood with three holes, without sheaves; an iron frame for setting up rigging. Derrick, a single spar held by guys to lift a weight. Dog, to pass the tails of a stopper or other ropes zigzag. Dog's-ear, the ieech of the sail between the reefs when allowed to stick up. Dog-vane, made of feathers for the use of the quartermaster. Dog-watch, 4 to 6 and 6 to 8 p.m.; figuratively, a short time. Dowse, to lower a sail; put out a light. Drag, applied to an anchor not holding. Draught, the depth of water required to float the ship. Draw, when a sail takes the wind properly. Dredging, see “clubbing.” Drift, floating without guidance. Driving, dragging the anchor unavoidably in a gale; dropping intentionally with the tide and very little cable. Drop astern, to fall behind. Drop of a sail, the distance the foot is from the yard. Dunnage, firewood or valueless things placed under the cargo.

Earings, the upper corners of a square sail; the ropes by which they are secured to the yard. Ease her, in steamers, go slow. Ease off, to slacken a rope. Ease the helm, move it back towards midships. Edge away, to steer farther from the wind, or obliquely from a ship. Edge in with, to steer obliquely towards something. Elbow, an angle formed by two cables or ropes. Embrail, to brail up (obsolete). End for end, changing a half-worn rope, substituting a strong part for a weak. End on, in a direct line with the length of the ship. Estivador or stevedore, a man who stows holds but does not go to sea. Even keel, when a ship draws as much water forward as aft.

Fag-end, the end of a rope unlaid; refuse. Fair-way, the free passage to a harbour. Fair wind, a wind which allows a ship to steer direct for her destination. Fake, one circle of a coil of rope. Fake down, to arrange a rope to and fro clear for running. Fall, of a tackle, the part which is hauled upon. Falling off, when the change of wind obliges the ship to deviate farther from her course. False keel, an addition to the main keel, not vital to the strength of the ship. Fetch way, to move through being insecure. Fid, a piece of wood or iron to key up a mast or keep out a cutter’s bowsprit; a wooden cone used by riggers. Fill, to place the sails to the wind so as to propel the ship forward. Fish, a piece of wood or irop secured to a weak mast or yard to strengthen it. Fish-davit, a derrick for hoisting the flukes of an anchor; hence fish-block, fishhook, fish-fall. Flat aft, when the sheet of a sail is as taut as it can be; flatten in is the order to produce that effect. Flaw of wind, wind sudden and unstable in force and direction. Fleet, to rearrange a purchase for another pull. Flemish horse, a foot-rope at the yard-arm for men to stand on. Flotilla, a fleet of small vessels. Flowing sheet, the sheet eased off to a fair wind. Flush, level. Flush-decked, having neither poop nor forecastle. Foot-ropes, ropes on the yards, the jibboom, and the flying-jibboom for men to stand upon. Fore and aft, from one end to the other lengthways of the ship. Fore-and-aft sails, those not set on yards, therefore capable of being placed in a line with the keel. Forecastle, the front part of the upper deck, but more correctly the deck built over that part; top-gallant forecastle, a short piece of deck open beneath. Fore peak, under the front part of the deck; the forward extremity. Fore reach, to sail faster through the water than another when on a wind, though not gaining to windward. Forge ahead, the ship moving ahead slightly when hove to, or in a calm, or over a shoal. Foul, entangled (of a rope); contrary (of a wind); weedy (of the bottom). Foul hawse, when the cables are twisted. Frapping, an irregular lashing to bind things together. Freeboard, that part which is above water. Freshen the nip, to veer a little cable, or any rope, in order to relieve the parts strained. Full and by, to steer close to the wind, keeping the sails full. Funnel, a copper sheath at the top-mast or top-gallant-mast head. Furl, to roll up square sails; other sails are stowed. Futtock-shrouds, short ropes below each top.

Gammoning, a strong lashing of rope or chain to secure the bowsprit down to the head knee. Gangboard, a plank with battens for people to walk upon. Gangway, the narrow deck between the quarter-deck and forecastle; the entrance to a ship; any passage kept clear. Gaskets, bands of platted rope-yarns to secure the sails when furled. Gird-lines, ropes which are on a mast when it is hoisted in and by which the shrouds are triced up. Girt, when the mooring cables are so stretched as to prevent the ship swinging freely. Glut, a piece of wood which keeps a knot or hitch from closing. Goose-neck, a crooked iron to support a studding-sail-boom. Goose-wings, the parts of a course which are exposed to the wind when confined by clew-garnets and bunt-lines only. Graft, to cover a rope with fine line in an ornamental manner. Griping, coming up to the wind against the helm. Ground-tackle, anchors, cables, and all connected with them. Grow, a term applied to the direction of the cable when it is being hove in. Grummet, a rope ring made by a strand. Gudgeon, that part of the hanging of a rudder which is bolted to the stern-post. Guess-warp, a rope stretched taut to haul something to and fro upon. Gunnel or gunwale, the highest part of the bulwark. Guys, ropes to keep a spar or other thing in the desired position. Gybe, to let a fore-and-aft sail shift from one side to the other when nearly before the wind.

Halyards, ropes exclusively for hoisting sails. Hand over hand, to pull with one hand after the other; figuratively, done quickly. Handsomely, an injunction signifying slow motion; with care. Handy billy, a small axe kept on deck. Hard down and hard-a-lee, position of the helm, the reverse of hard-a-weather and hard up. Haul on board, the usual order for hauling down the main-tack. Haul up, altering the course more towards the wind. Haxvse-holes, the openings in the bows through which the cables pass,—the iron lining is the hawse-pipe ; a large piece of wood which stops the hole at sea is the hawse-plug; open hawse, when the cables are clear of each other; a cross, when the ship has swung half round; an elbow, when once round; a round turn, when twice round; in the hawse, in the space close ahead. Hawser, a large rope for moving a ship, now frequently of steel wire. Head-sails, the flying-jib, jib, and fore-top-mast stay-sail. Head sea, when the waves run contrary to the course though the wind may not be so. Headway, motion in the direction of the vessel’s head. Heart, a block of hard wood, which takes a large rope round it and many turns of a lanyard through it. Heave down, to careen for repairs. Heave in stays, to come up in the wind for tacking. Heave short, to heave in the cable to a short scope. Heave the lead, to cast the lead to ascertain the depth. Heave the log, to throw the log over to test the speed. Heel, the lower part of a mast, spar, rudder, or stern-post. Heel chain, from the bowsprit cap to keep the jib-boom out. Helm's a-lee, a word of command implying that the helm is down. Hog, to scrub or scrape the bottom. Hogged, applied to a vessel when through weakness the bow and stern droop, so that the profile is that of a hog’s back (see “broken-backed”). Home, when sheets are close down to the yard they are home; when an anchor is hove upon and draws through the ground it is said to come home. Hoops, broad wooden bands used with gaff-sails and wind-sails. Horse, a bar upon which the fore or main sheet blocks of small vessels run. Hounds, large cheeks on a mast to support the trestle - trees. Housing, of a mast, the part below the upper-deck. Hove to, an abbreviation of hove to the wind, to bow the sea; to stop. Hulk, an old vessel without masts. Hull, the body of the vessel exclusive of masts and rigging. Hull-down, so far distant that the hull is below the horizon.

Inboard, any place within the ship. In irons, when the sails are so badly arranged that the vessel will not obey the helm. In the wind, too close, the sails flapping.

Jack-stay, a tight rope to which others are made fast. Jacob's ladder, a rope ladder with wooden steps. Jaw-rope, to confine the jaws of a gaff to the mast. Jeers, a heavy purchase for swaying up the fore and main yards. Jewel-block, at the extremity of a yard for the studding-sail halyards. Jew's harp, a shackle at the head of an anchor. Jigger, a small handy tackle with a double and a single block. Junk, old cable or large rope, used for making swabs, mats, spun-yarn , &c. Jury-mast, jury-yard, jury-rudder, temporary substitutes for mast, &c.

Keckle, to pass old rope round a hemp cable to protect it from chafing. Kedging, to move by means of warps and kedge anchors. Keelson, a timber inside on top of the keel. Keep away, steer farther from the wind. Keep her full, the helmsman to keep the sails full of wind. Keep your luff and keep to the wind, synonymous expressions. Kink, a knotty twist in rope; a bend in wire-rope which is difficult to straighten. Knees, angular supports of iron or wood. Knittle-stuff, small line made by hardening two or three rope-yarns and twisting them together. Knot, a geographical mile (see art. Loo).

Lacings, small lines securing sails and other things. Landfall, finding the land as expected. Landlocked, protected by land in every direction. Lanyard, a rope for tightening larger ropes; a line to fasten knives, marling-spikes, &c. Larboard, the old name for the left side, now called port. Lash, to secure two or more things together by ropes. Lay to, to wait; to heave to. Lazy-guy, a rope or tackle on a spanker-boom or main-boom to keep it steady. Lead, the weight for ascertaining the depth of water. Lead, the lead of a rope is its proper direction through the blocks. Leech, either side of a square sail and the lee-side of all others (see “luff”). Leech-lines, on courses only, to haul the leech of the sail close up to the fore-side of the yard. Lee lurch, a deep roll to leeward. Lee shore, a shore upon which the wind blows directly and which is unsheltered. Lee side, the side farthest from the wind, either inside or outside the ship. Under the lee, a ship is so spoken of in relation to the land by which it is protected; similarly a boat may be said to be “under the lee” of a ship. Lee-way, the distance a ship drifts out of her course, indicated by the angle formed by the wake. Legs, spars carried by cutters to keep them upright when on the ground. Life-lines, small ropes to steady the men when standing on the yards, to hold by when being lowered in boats, and for similar purposes. Lift, a rope near the extremity of each yard to top it up, i.e., lift it. Limbers, boards or plates to keep the bilge clear. List, to lean over continuously. Lizard, a lanyard with a thimble to confine another rope or to slip at pleasure. Loose sails, letting them fall free to dry or for use. Lubber, a man not skilled in seamanship. Lubber's hole, an open space in the top near the eyes of the rigging, through which a man can crawl instead of going outside. Luff, an order to steer closer to the wind; of a sail, the fore-part of a stay-sail, try-sail, or jib, and the weather-side for the time being of any square sail. Luff-tackle, is formed of 3-inch or 4-inch rope, a double and a single block, and is used for various temporary purposes.

Make sail, to set sail. Make unter, to leak. Manger, a tight enclosure to catch the water from the hawse-pipes. Man-rope, placed over the side at the gangway for people to climb up by, and at other places. Man yards, men to stand in a row on each, as a salute. Marl, to secure things together by a succession of half-hitches. Marling, soft-laid white line for securing sails to the bolt-rope. Marling·spike, an iron or copper spike used by sailmakers and riggers. Marry, to fit the strands together ready for splicing. Martingale, a tackle to keep down a spar. Maul, a large double-headed hammer used by riggers. Messenger, an endless rope or chain from the capstan to bring in the cable. Mid-ships, the centre, or, when applied to the helm, the neutral point. Miss stays, to try to tack and fail. Mooring-swivel, a swivel with four short legs to meet two cables from the anchors and two bridles from the hawse. Mouse, a swelling or obstruction raised on a stay; also a seizing across the point of a hook.

Neaped, of a ship, to be in a dock or on shore requiring more water to float than neap-tides afford. Near, a caution to the helmsman that the ship is too close to the wind. Necklace, a chain or band round a lower mast for the futtock rigging to be set up to, or round the top-mast for the top-gallant rigging to reeve through. Nip, the part of the rope which bears the chief strain; to freshen the nip is to veer out and change the place. Nipper, a selvagee, rope, or chain for binding the messenger to the cable. Norman, a block of wood placed in one of the holes of a capstan for veering a rope by. Nun-buoy, a buoy of any material in the form of a double cone.

Offing, a distance from the laud. Off the wind, not so close as she might be if sailing on a wind. Open, an anchorage is open when exposed to the sea; the hawse when the cables are clear of each other; an object when visible, not obscured. Orlop-deck, the lowest in large ships. Out of trim, when the weights are wrongly placed. Overhaul, to slacken every part of a tackle; to overtake; to examine.

Painter, the rope by which boats arc made fast. Parbuckle, to hoist by rolling a thing with two ropes. Parcelling, covering a rope with strips of tarred canvas. Parrels, stout ropes covered with leather, used to confine an upper yard to the mast. Parting, breaking, as parting the cable. Pay a seam, filling it with pitch. Pay away and pay out, applied to slacking hawsers or cables. Pay down, lowering things, as the cable to be coiled or stowed. Pay off, from the wind, as by hoisting head-sail or putting the helm up; to pay and dismiss the crew. Peak, the outer part of a gaff and of a gaff-sail. Pendant, a large rope with a tackle attached. Pennant, a narrow signal flag; a long strip flown by ships of war. Pig, one part of iron ballast; the largest is 3 cwt. Pintle, a large pin bolted to the rudder, by which it is hinged. Pitching and sending signifies plunging the bow into one wave and the stern into another. Plain sail, all except studding-sails and stay-sails between the masts. Point, a platting or line to tie up a reef; to secure the end of a rope with knittles. Pooped, a vessel is said to be pooped when a wave breaks over the stern. Port, the modern word for left. Press of sail, very much sail. Preventer-brace, an additional rope to support the yard during a gale. Prize, to move by a lever or a spar; a lawful capture. Purchase, a tackle or lever.

Quarter the part of the side near the stern, hence quarter-boat; also the part of a yard between the centre and the yard-arm.

Rack, a frame with sheaves and belaying pins. Rake, to fire through a ship from end to end; the inclination of the masts aft. Range of cable, it was formerly customary to haul up cable equal to the depth of water. Rap-fuU, the wind acting fully on every sail. Ratlins or ratlings, small lines as steps up the rigging. Razee, a ship reduced in height by one or more decks. Reach, the open straight part of a river between two bends. Ready about, ready o' ready, words of warning preparatory to tacking. Reef-tackles and reef-pendants, for hauling up the leeches of top-sails and courses ready for reefing; the latter also on a boom for reefing a sail. Reeving-line, a small rope rove through blocks to drag a larger one after it. Refit, general repair. Relieving tackles, placed on a tiller to assist the wheel-ropes during a gale. Rendering, slipping, not holding as a knot or fastening should. Ribs and trucks, flat boards and rollers alternating; used for jaw-ropes and parrels. Riding between wind and tide, when balanced between the two. Ruling cable, the cable bearing the strain. Rigging stoppers, for securing the standing rigging when broken. Right a vessel, to recover the upright position. Right the helm, to relinquish the position the helm is in at any moment and place it in midships. Ring-ropes, cable stoppers which pass through the ring-bolts. Robands, small tyers to fasten a top-sail or course to a jack-stay. Rogue's yarn, a thread of worsted spun in the rope to mark it; each British royal dockyard formerly used a different colour. Rolling tackle, stretched from the lee quarter of a yard to the mast, to relieve the parrel or truss from the jerking strain of the lee roll. Roping, the bordering of every sail. Round down, to overhaul, to slack by hand. Rounding, old 3-inch or 4-inch rope for hack purposes. Round in the weather-braces, the wind becoming more favourable, to bring the yards nearer to square. Roundly, to lower or veer quickly. Bound to, to come to the wind and heave to. Round turn, a double twist in a cable; to veer a rope round a bit-head or cleat. Bound up, to shorten up a tackle; to pull up a slack rope through a block. Rouse it in, as hauling a hawser by hand without a purchase. Rowlock, an opening in the gunwale of a boat for an oar. Rudder chains and pendants are shackled to a band on the rudder ready to steer the ship if the rudder-head gives way. Rudder coat, canvas or leather round the aperture and rudder-head to exclude the sea. Runner and tackle, a long pendant and tackle for staying lower masts; the chief support aft to a cutter’s mast Running rigging, that which is rove through blocks, or is otherwise hauled upon.

Saddle, a wooden rest for the heel of the jibboom and the end of the spanker boom. Sag to leeward, to make more leeway than headway. Sail close to the wind, to sail with the sails barely full. Sail large or free, to sail off the wind, as “with a flowing sheet.” Sail tackle, from the top-mast-head to sway up top-sails and top-sail-yards. Samson-post, a strong piece of elm to fit against a beam above it and in a step on the deck. Scandalize a boom main-sail, to trice up the tack and drop the peak. Scope of cable, the length veered out of the hawse. Scotchman, an iron plate to protect a part of the rigging from chafing. Scudding, running before a gale either with or without sail; the latter is described as “under bare poles.” Scull, a small oar. Sculling, propelling a boat by moving the flat of the oar over the stern to and fro while changing the angle. Scupper, a passage for water to run off a deck. Scuttle, a hole in the side to admit light and air; a hole made in the side or deck to let water flow in. Sea, a wave; a long sea or a short sea has reference to the distance between the waves. Sea-boat, a vessel is said to be a good or bad sea-boat according as she behaves in a gale. Sea-room, free from land or shoals. Seizing, a small lashing. Selvagee, a strap made of yarns or small rope wound as a skein and marled together. Sending, see “pitching.” Sennit, a platting of three or more rope-yarns. Serving, covering a rope closely with spun-yarn, hove on by a serving mallet. Set up, applied to standing rigging to make it tight. Setting-fid, a large cone of wood used in fitting rigging. Sewed, to be lifted out of the water, as by running on a ledge, or being left by the tide. Shackle, a curved bar, with two eyes and a bolt, for joining chains. Shank-painter, a stopper which holds up the fluke of an anchor at the bows. Shape a course, to steer in the desired direction, the wind favouring. Shear-hulk, a vessel fitted permanently with shears. Shears, two large spars with their heads lashed and heels spread, for masting ships and lifting heavy weights. Sheave, a wheel of brass or lignum vitae for ropes to travel on; all the fakes of a coil of rope to complete a layer. Sheer, to swerve from the course, the curve formed by the bow and stern being higher than the centre. Sheer-batton, a bar of iron to keep the dead-eyes square. Sheer off, to edge away. Sheet, the rope which holds the lee lower corner of a sail. Sheet-anchor, one of the largest, and the third for use. Sheet home, to haul the sheets of square sails to their positions. Shift the helm, put it over the other way. Shipped, taken on board; anything fixed in its place for use. Shipshape, in a proper and seamanlike manner. Shiver a sad, to make it shake and render it neutral. Shoot, to go ahead after the propulsion has ceased. Shorten sail, to take in some portion. Skid, a spar for something to rest or slide upon. Skin of a sail, the part exposed when it is furled. Skipper, the old name for the master of a small vessel. Slab of a sail, the slack part which hangs down after the leech-lines are hauled up. Sleepers, timbers in the hold and strengthening pieces in the tops. Slew, to turn or cant over. Slips, ropes with toggles, shackles, and tongues, and various contrivances for letting go quickly. Small helm, when the sails are well balanced and the rudder but little used. Small sail, and snug sail, low and reduced, ready for bad weather. Sound, to ascertain the depth of the sea, or of water in the pump-well. Span, two parts of a rope spread to divide the strain, or for making a point secure in an intermediate place. Spanish windlass, a bar of iron and two marling-spikes to heave seizings taut; tightening ropes by twisting them together by a lever. Spell, a turn or relief. Spider, a small iron outrigger, to keep the main-brace block clear of the counter. Spilling-lines, ropes passed round a part of a sail which is flapping, to confine it. Spitfire-jib, a small storm-sail used in cutters. Splice, to join two ropes by entwining the strands. Splice the main-brace, to give a glass of grog to every man after some unusual fatigue, or on some occasion of rejoicing. Splicing-tails, a short piece of chain with three tapering tails, for splicing to a hemp cable. Spring, a hawser from the after-part to cant the ship. Spring a leak, to cause a leak by straining. Sprit-saU, formerly set on the sprit-sail-yard; an efficient four-sided sail for boats and barges, the peak of which is held up by a spar called a sprit. Sprung, cracked, fractured. Spun-yarn, rope-yarns laid up together softly. Square-rigged, having yards and square sails, as ships and brigs have. Square sails, those set upon such yards as have lifts and braces, regardless of their proportions. Square yards, to adjust them by means of their lifts and braces. Stand by a rope, to be in readiness to let it go. Standing off and on, sailing to and fro, as off a port. Standing part, the fixed end of a running rope. Standing rigging, such as shrouds and stays. Stand on, to continue the same progress and course. Starboard, the right-hand side. Starboard and port tack express the direction of the wind, on the right hand and on the left respectively. Stay-sails, any sail set on a stay, except the jib, flying-jib, and fore-sails of cutters and schooners. Steady, to the helm; to keep the same course. Steadying-lines, passed from eye-bolts in the gunnel of a boat to the slings to keep it upright. Steeve, the angle which the bowsprit forms with the horizon. Stem on, striking head foremost at right angles, the reverse of stern on. Stern-board, having considerable stern-way. Stevedore, see “estivador.” Stiffness, stability under canvas. Stirrup, a short rope from a yard to support a foot-rope. Stop, a light temporary seizing. Storm-sails, stay-sails and try-sails of the strongest canvas. Stranded, when one strand is broken; wrecked on a beach. Stream-anchor, about one-third to one-fourth the weight of a bower anchor. Stream the buoy, to throw over the buoy which is to watch over the anchor. Strike, to send down from aloft. Strike colours, a token of submission. Strike soundings, to succeed in reaching the bottom with the lead. Studding-sails, light four-sided sails set only with a fair wind. Surge, to slack back quickly, as a hawser round a capstan, to make it slip up to its place. Swab, a large bundle of rope-yarns for soaking up water; a drunkard. Sway away, to hoist by running with a rope. Sweep, a large oar; to search the bottom with a hawser or chain. Swifter, a single shroud, when there is an odd one; to draw rigging together; a rope or bar to keep things equidistant, or in their proper places. Swinging, the act of turning to the change of wind and tide. Swinging boom, a large spar for spreading the foot of the lower studding-sail; in harbour for making boats fast.

Tabernacle, a frame for receiving the heel of a boat's mast to make it higher. Tack, the lower weather corner of every sail; to change course by bringing the wind ahead and round to the other side. Taken aback, applied to a vessel when the wind coming ahead reverses the action of all the sails. Taking in sail, clewing it up and perhaps furling it. Taunt, high masts, comparatively. Taut (also taught), the only word among seamen to signify tight. Tending to the tide, beginning to swing to the change of tide in opposition to the wind. Thimble, an iron ring with a score to receive a rope; union thimble, two thimbles welded within each other. Thole pin, a peg of wood on the gunwale of a boat to confine the oar. Thorough-foot, the fall of a tackle being foul, requiring to be unrove or the block turned over between the parts. Three sheets in the wind, a ship too close to the wind; a man half drunk. Throat, the upper corner of a gaff-sail nearest the mast. Throat halyards, for hoisting the end of the gaff nearest the mast. Thwart, across; the name of all seats which cross a boat. Thwart ships, across the ship. Tide-way, an anchorage or position affected by tide. Tiller, a lever which moves the rudder. Toggles, pieces of wood varying in shape, generally secured to one piece of rope so as to hold the eye of another, as a button. Top, a large platform resting on the cross-trees of each lower mast; to top a yard is to raise it by the lift. Top-rope, a large rope rove through the heel of the top-mast. Tow, one vessel pulling another in any relative position. Transport a ship, to move her in a harbour by ropes. Traveller, an iron ring covered with leather, for jibs, royals, and boat sails. Travelling backstay, a support to the top mast always close above the yard. Traverse, to make several tacks; the free motion of a sheave or rope. Trestle-trees, pieces of wood which rest on the hounds of the mast and support the cross-trees. Tricing-line, a small rope used for hoisting up a tackle or larger rope. Trim of the ship, neither too deep nor too light, and having the right draught of water forward and aft. Trim sails, to brace the yards and adjust the sheets. Trip, the anchor is tripped when the shank is raised and the flukes broken out of the ground. Trough of the sea, the hollow between long waves, which are generally nearly parallel. Truck, a disk of wood at the summit of the mast, generally having sheaves for signal halyards; a long wooden fair-lead seized to the shroud. Trusses, fitted variously to confine the centre of the lower yards to the mast. Try-sail, a foul-weather gaff-sail. Try-sail-mast, a smooth spar abaft each mast to support the jaws of the gaff and luff of the sail. Turning in a dead-eye, fitting the shroud or stay round it. Turning to windward, tacking frequently. Twice laid, rope that has been unlaid and retwisted to the desired size. Twiddling-lines, for securing the wheel when not in use. Two blocks, signifying that the two ends of a purchase have come together. Tye, a large rope on which the halyards act when hoisting a yard.

Under foot, said of an anchor when dropped without veering more cable. Under sail, free from moorings and propelled by sail only. Under steam, propelled by steam only. Under way, having motion; the anchor off the ground.

Vangs, ropes to steady a gaff. Veer, to slack out cable, hawser, or tow-rope; the old expression for “wear.” Veer and haul, slacking and hauling alternately, by a number of men simultaneously, so as to gain by the jerk.

Waist, the centre part of the ship before the gangway port. Wake, the track left in the water. Warp, a small hawser for moving the ship; yarns or rope stretched over pins for making straps. Warping·buoys, buoys moored in suitable positions for ships to warp by, now-rendered nearly obsolete by the use of steam-tugs. Watch, sailors’ watches commence or terminate at 4, 8, and 12 o’clock, also at 6 p.m. ; a buoy over an anchor is said to watch while it floats and can be seen. Water-borne, to be entirely afloat. Water-logged, full of water, unmanageable. Way, motion, as under way, headway, sternway. H ear ship, to bring the wind on the other side by first running before it. Weather-bound, detained by contrary winds or bad weather. Weather-gage, being to windward of the enemy. Weatherly, sailing well, without much leeway. Weather-side, that on which the wind blows. Weather-tide, the stream running contrary to the direction of the wind. Wedging a mast, securing it in the partners or frame on each deck by wedges made to fit. Weigh, to heave up the anchor. Whip, a single rope passing through a block. Whipping, a light seizing of twine at the end of a rope to prevent fraying. Whiskers, projections from the cat-head to spread the jib-guys. Wind a ship or boat, to turn her head where her stern was. To take the wind out of another’s sails, to pass close to windward, as yachts sometimes do. Windlass, a machine for heaving in cable. Wind-rode, being head to wind though in a tide-way. Wind-sail, a canvas ventilator. Wood-lock, a chock to keep the rudder in its place. Woolding, a stout lashing to secure sprung or fished spars. Work a ship, to perform every manoeuvre. Worm, to heave small line between the strands of a rope to make it smooth.

Yard, a spar which spreads a sail. Yard-rope, a rope by which a top-gallant or royal yard is sent up from the deck, and afterwards becomes the tye and halyards. Yard-tackles, permanently on the lower yard-arms of large ships for hoisting in things and as preventer braces. Yaw, an involuntary deviation from the course. Yoke, a bent lever across the ship or boat which acts as a tiller.