CHAPTER IVVARIOUS RIGS

Probably the first sail ever placed upon a boat was merely a piece of hide or skin, lashed to a sapling and kept spread open by a rough stick lashed across it. Through all the countless centuries this first form of sail has been retained and while the skin has been replaced by cloth and the rough saplings have given place to well-finished poles or spars, the spritsail, as it is called, still remains one of the simplest, handiest and most widely used of sails.

The true spritsail is a square, or nearly square, piece of canvas laced by one edge to the mast and kept stretched flat by means of a pole known as aspritwhich extends from the lower part of the mast diagonally across the sail to the upper, outer corner.

Sometimes the sail is attached to hoops or rings which run up and down the mast and a halyard is used in hoisting the sail but, in order to spread the sail well, the sprit must be pulled out by hand and cannot be arranged to rise or fall with the sail. The ordinarymethod of securing the sprit is to place the tip in a small loop, or eye of rope made at the corner of the sail and then heave the sprit out until the sail is taut by means of a rope known as alanyardwhich is attached to the mast and is passed through a hole or a notch in the lower end of the sprit.

Another very simple sail, which is really a modification of the spritsail, is theleg-o’-mutton. This differs mainly from the spritsail in form, for instead of being rectangular it is three-cornered and the sprit, instead of extending from the mast to the upper, outer corner of the sail, extends almost horizontally across it. Leg-o’-mutton sails, like the spritsails, are often arranged to be raised or lowered by a halyard and owing to the position of the sprit it is not necessary to remove it when lowering a leg-o’-mutton sail.

Some spritsails have two sprits, but this is a nuisance and for most purposes the leg-o’-mutton is the far better sail of the two. In the first place it stays flatter and thus enables one to sail closer to the wind; it does not have the tendency to “kick up” and wrap itself about the mast, like the spritsail, when sailing before the wind, and finally it is not so liable to capsize a boat in a heavy wind as the greatest area is low, whereas in the spritsail the upper portion presents the largest surface to the wind.

Various Rigs

1—Felucca. 2—Lugger. 3—Nonpareil. 4—Dandy. 5—Bermuda boat. 6—French gunter. 7—Batten sail. 8—Settee sail.

Somewhat similar to the leg-o’-mutton sail in form is thegunter sailorsliding gunter, which is a great favorite in many parts of Europe but which has never been widely introduced in America, although it has a great many advantages over other sails for smallboats. The gunter sail is a very easy one to raise or lower, for there is no sprit to remove and it is very easy to reef. In the gunter sail the mast is made in two sections with the upper portion sliding by travellers over the lower portion, and to this movable part the single halyard is attached. In order to reef sail it is only necessary to lower the sliding mast a trifle, tie the reef points to the boom and again hoist the sail taut.

Another form of rig, which is seen everywhere in Oriental waters, and is the prime favorite with all Latin races, is thelateen. Like the leg-o’-mutton and the gunter rigs the lateen is triangular, but unlike the two former it is longer than high, or in other words, is placed horizontally, instead of perpendicularly. The lateen is a particularly good sail for small boats as the greatest area is low and why it has not been more generally adopted is something of a mystery. As used in the West Indies the lateen is rigged on a single, short mast which points or “rakes” slightly towards the bow of the boat. It has two yards and is raised and lowered by one halyard. It is kept taut and flat by a crotch, or ring, passed around the mast and fastened to the lower yard. Properly made the lateen will set very flat and smooth, it is easily and quickly raised or lowered, readily reefed and is the most graceful and picturesque of all rigs.

Somewhat like the lateen, but with the forward end cut off, is thelugsailwhich is the sail most often used by the fishermen of northern Europe and the British Isles. Personally I could never see any advantagewhich this sail possesses over the common and much more simple spritsail or the ordinary boom-and-gaff sail and on large boats it is heavy, clumsy and far less to be recommended than several other forms.

The commonboom-and-gaffsail is the one so familiar to everyone who lives on or near the water or who has ever seen sailing boats or vessels, for it is more widely used than any other form and is the basis of all fore-and-aft rigs in most localities.

Parts of Sails, Spars, Etc., of Fore-and-aft Rig

The true fore-and-aft sail or boom-and-gaff sail is really an adaptation of the older lugsail and is a vast improvement over it. It is attached to the mast by means of rings or travelers and has two spars; the one at the top known as thegaffand the one at the bottom known as theboom. There are two halyards used, known as the peak halyard and throat halyard; the latter being used to hoist the sail and the former to spread it tight and flat. This rig is noted for itsability to sail close to the wind; it is easy to handle and in case of a sudden storm or squall the peak may be dropped and the area of the sail thus reduced without stopping to reef. For very small boats it has the disadvantage of requiring rather heavy spars and mast and a multiplicity of ropes, blocks, etc., and hence for this purpose the sprit, leg-o’-mutton, gunter or lateen rigs are preferable.

Aside from the shape or type of sails there are various rigs which are well recognized as standards and which are combinations of several sails. Thus the rig known as thecat rigis a single fore-and-aft sail near the bow of the boat. Thejib-and-mainsailrig has a boom-and-gaff sail and a small triangular sail known as ajib, which is set on a stay running from the masthead to the bow, or to the end of the bowsprit. Theslooprig is like the jib-and-mainsail rig but in addition has a small sail known as atopsailbetween the gaff and the topmast; it may also have two or three other small triangular sails on the forestays. When there are two of these the lowest is known as thefore staysail, the next is thejiband the third is theflying jib.Schoonersare two-, three-, four-, five-, six- or even seven-masted vessels with the masts fore-and-aft rigged and with jibs like a sloop and with staysails between the various topmasts. In schooners the various fore-and-aft sails are all of nearly the same size with the sail on the rear mast the largest.

1—Ketch Rig.2—Cat Yawl Rig

Two other rigs which have two masts and carry fore-and-aft sails are theketchand theyawl. The ketch has a foremast rigged like that of a sloop, or schooner, with a much smaller boom-and-gaff sail on a mast near the stern, while theyawlis practically the same with a still smaller rear sail. If the rear mast or mizzen is placedin front of the sternpostthe rig is theketchwhereas if placedbehind the sternpostit is ayawlrig. There are alsocat yawlswhich have no jibs and some ketches and yawls carry lugsails on both masts, or have a boom and gaff mainsail and a lugsail mizzen or even a sprit, lateen, leg-o’-mutton, gunter or other type of mizzen sail. Yawls and ketches are at times rigged with leg-o’-mutton, lug, gunter or lateen sails on both masts, but when thus rigged the crafts are not, properly speaking, either yawls or ketches. If lugsails are used the rig is really alugger; if both masts carry leg-o’-mutton or gunter sails therig is known as thenonpareil; if the mizzen is a leg-o’-mutton sail the boat isdandy-riggedand if both main and mizzen sails are of the lateen type the boat becomes afelucca, which is one of the favorite Mediterranean rigs and is familiar to every reader of sea tales as the typical rig of the Eastern corsairs.

All of the sails mentioned on these various rigs are those known asworking sails, but in addition there are numerous light sails used when there is little wind or when racing, such asspinnakers,jib topsails,balloon jibs, etc., but which are of little interest in connection with small boats or boats for the amateur sailor. Nevertheless some knowledge of such matters never comes amiss and it is well to know the names and uses of these racing sails.

Spinnakersare immense triangular sails used when running before the wind and which are spread out from the side of the boat by means of a spar known as a spinnaker boom.Balloon jibsare huge, jib-like sails of very light cotton or silk used in place of the smaller head sails when running on, or before, the wind, whilejib topsailsare triangular sails run up on the stay which extends from the topmast to the bowsprit.

Nowadays fore-and-aft-rigged vessels form the bulk of all sailing craft, many of which are of immense size and capable of carrying many hundreds of tons of cargo. The use of fore-and-aft sails on any but small boats is comparatively recent, however, and formerly all large craft were what are known assquare-riggers. Although far more beautiful andstately than the schooners the square-rigged vessels gradually gave way to the more economical and handy fore-and-aft rigs and a few years ago one seldom saw a square-rigged vessel, save in out-of-the-way places. With the tremendous demand for ocean-going vessels, brought about by the European War, the square-riggers once more came into their own and today one may see ships, barks and brigs everywhere in the important ports of the world.

Although small boats are seldom square-rigged yet everyone who is fond of the sea and of boats should know something of square-rigged craft and should be familiar with the various rigs and their sails and should know the proper names and terms to use in speaking of them. To the landsman, and to many sailors as well, the rigging of a square-rigged vessel appears most complicated and confusing, but in reality it is very simple.

A great many people call every large vessel a “ship” and many more who can distinguish a sloop from a schooner, and a schooner from a yawl, fail to note the differences between the various square-rigs and call all square-rigged vessels “ships.” As a matter of fact “ships” are only one type of square-rigged craft and it is just as erroneous to call a bark a “ship” as to call a sloop a “schooner.”

Sails of Square-rigged Vessels

1—Topsail schooner. 2—Brigantine. 3—Brig (main course in dotted lines). 4—Barkentine (with double topsails). 5—Bark (with double topsails). 6—Ship (with double topsails, fore and main skysails (mizzen course in dotted lines)). Staysails are omitted in Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6.

Oddly enough one may trace the transition from the original square-riggers to the modern fore-and-aft schooners by the various rigs, for the old square sails died hard and even after the many advantages of fore-and-aft sails were proven sailors still held tenaciouslyto certain square sails and thus many types of square-rigged vessels are combinations of the two forms and are really connecting links between true square-riggers and fore-and-aft rigs.

This is the case with the so-called “topsail schooners” which are almost a thing of the past in most countries but are still used in Newfoundland, the Canadian provinces and in parts of Europe. The topsail schooner is essentially a two-masted, fore-and-aft schooner, but the foretopmast is equipped with yards bearing square sails, the lower sail being known as theforetopsailand the upper one as theforetopgallantsail. Another step backward and we find the foremast equipped entirely with square sails, the fore-and-aft sail on the foremast missing and a fourth square sail above the foretopgallantsail. This rig is known as thebrigantine, while in the rig known as abrigboth masts carry square sails and in addition the mainmast is furnished with a fore-and-aft sail known as thespanker. In every square-rigged vessel there are a definite number of square sails on each mast and these always have the same name, although some vessels do not carry all of them. Thus, the lowest sail is thecourse, the next is thetopsail, the next thetopgallantsail, the next theroyaland the highest of all is theskysail.

Formerly each of these sails was in one large piece, but in order to make it easier to handle themdouble topsailsanddouble topgallantsailswere invented and are now in general use. Thus one may see square-rigged vessels withseveninstead offivesquare sails oneach mast, but the names remain the same, the second and third sails above the deck becominglowerandupper topsails, and the two above these beinglowerandupper topgallantsails. Many other vessels carry double topsails and single topgallantsails, but one can always recognize thesedoublesails as they are much narrower than the full sails. Comparatively few vessels carry skysails, many do not even carry royals and still others carry more on one mast than on another.

Just as brigantines form a sort of connecting link between brigs and two-masted schooners sobarkentinesandbarksare connecting links between three-masted schooners and real ships. The barkentine has the forward mast square-rigged with the main and mizzen masts fore-and-aft rigged, while thebarkhas the fore and mainmast square-rigged and only the mizzen fore-and-aft rigged. Finally there is the trueshipor “full rigged ship,” as it is often called, in which all three masts are square-rigged with a small fore-and-aft spanker on the last, or mizzen, mast.

In former years barks and ships never had more than three masts, but with the advent of steel hulls, and donkey engines to hoist and trim sails, four-, five- and even six-masted barks and ships came into use. It is sometimes difficult to tell whether these vessels are barks or ships, but if there ismore than one mast fore-and-aft riggedthey are properlybarkentines, ifonly onemast iswithout square sailsthe vessel is a bark and if square sails are on all masts it is a ship;—regardless of how many masts there are. Just as fore-and-aftrigged vessels carry light sails to supplement the ordinary working sails, so square-rigged vessels often spread additional canvas when the winds are light or when greater speed is desired. Between the various mastsstaysails, shaped like jibs, are extended, while at times small sails known asstudding sailsorstunsailsare set at the outer ends of the square sails. These light sails take the names of the masts or yards from which they are set and thus there aremainandmizzen topmastandtopgallant staysails;fore,mainandmizzen topgallantandroyal studding sails, etc.

These great steel and iron square-riggers often have each of their masts in one piece orpolemasts, but the older and typical square-rigged vessels had their masts made up of several pieces, each of which carried a sail, and the names of each section corresponded to the sail which it carried. Thus the lowest section was themastproper, the piece above was thetopmast, the next was thetopgallant mast, the next theroyal mastand the slenderest, uppermost part was theskysail pole.

Each of these masts had its own stays and shrouds and between the masts triangular, jib-like sails known asstaysailswere set. These were named after the masts to which theupper endswere attached and thus the staysail which extended downward from the top of thetopgallantmast was atopgallant staysail, etc.

Hull, Spars and Rigging of a Ship

1—Jib boom. 2—Bowsprit. 3—Dolphin-striker or martingale. 4—Cathead. 5—Capstan. 6—Cable. 7—Stem or Cutwater. 8—Hawse-pipe or hawse-hole. 9—Starboard bow. 10—Starboard beam. 11—Water line. 12—Starboard quarter. 13—Rudder. 14—Rudder post. 15—Counter. 16—Deck house or cuddy. 17—Fore royalmast. 18—Main royalmast. 19—Mizzen royalmast. 20—Fore royalyard. 21—Main royalyard. 22—Mizzen royalyard. 23—Fore topgallantmast. 24—Main topgallantmast. 25—Mizzen topgallantmast. 26—Fore topgallantyard. 27—Main topgallantyard. 28—Mizzen topgallantyard. 29—Fore topmast. 30—Main topmast. 31—Mizzen topmast. 32—Fore topsailyard. 33—Main topsailyard. 34—Mizzen topsailyard. 35—Foretop. 36—Maintop. 37—Mizzentop. 38—Foreyard. 39—Mainyard. 40—Mizzen, or Cross-jack, yard. 41—Foremast. 42—Mainmast. 43—Mizzenmast. 44—Foregaff, or fore-spencer-gaff. 45—Trysail-gaff, or Main-spencer-gaff. 46—Spanker-gaff. 47—Spanker-boom. 48—Bulwark, or rail. 49—Starboard ports. 50—Starboard scupper-holes. 51—Starboard chain-plates.A, A, A—Fore, main and mizzen royal-stays. B—Flying-jib-stay. C, C, C—Fore, main and mizzen topgallant-stays. D—Jib-stay. E, E, E—Fore, main and mizzen topmast-stays. F, F, F—Fore, main and mizzen-stays. G, G—Fore and main-tacks. H, H, H—Fore, main and mizzen royal-lifts. I, I, I—Fore, main and mizzen topgallant-lifts. J, J, J—Fore, main and mizzen topsail-lifts. K, K, K—Fore, main and mizzen, or cross-jack, lifts. L, L, L—Fore, main and mizzen royal-braces. M, M, M—Fore, main and mizzen topgallant-braces. N, N, N—Fore, main and mizzen topsail-braces. O, O, O—Fore, main and mizzen, or cross-jack, braces. P, P, P—Fore, main and mizzen starboard shrouds. Q, Q, Q—Fore, main and mizzen backstays. R, R, R—Peak halyards. S, S, S—Trysail and spanker vangs. T, T—Fore and main sheets. U—Spanker topping-lift. V—Spanker sheet. W—Flying martingale. W′—Martingale stay. X—Bobstays. Y—Chafing gear.

A, A, A—Fore, main and mizzen royal-stays. B—Flying-jib-stay. C, C, C—Fore, main and mizzen topgallant-stays. D—Jib-stay. E, E, E—Fore, main and mizzen topmast-stays. F, F, F—Fore, main and mizzen-stays. G, G—Fore and main-tacks. H, H, H—Fore, main and mizzen royal-lifts. I, I, I—Fore, main and mizzen topgallant-lifts. J, J, J—Fore, main and mizzen topsail-lifts. K, K, K—Fore, main and mizzen, or cross-jack, lifts. L, L, L—Fore, main and mizzen royal-braces. M, M, M—Fore, main and mizzen topgallant-braces. N, N, N—Fore, main and mizzen topsail-braces. O, O, O—Fore, main and mizzen, or cross-jack, braces. P, P, P—Fore, main and mizzen starboard shrouds. Q, Q, Q—Fore, main and mizzen backstays. R, R, R—Peak halyards. S, S, S—Trysail and spanker vangs. T, T—Fore and main sheets. U—Spanker topping-lift. V—Spanker sheet. W—Flying martingale. W′—Martingale stay. X—Bobstays. Y—Chafing gear.

Note—Modern vessels carry double-topsails and often double topgallantsails also, in which case the words “upper” or “lower” are prefixed to the sails, spars and rigging of these sails. Skysails also are carried at times. These are small sails set on the skysail poles above the royal masts and their rigging takes the prefix “skysail.” Spencers and trysails are often omitted and are obsolete, as are studding sails.

It will thus be seen that in order to know the names of all the sails on a square-rigged vessel it is only necessary to learn the names of the five parts of each mast, for every sail has the same name with the additionof fore, main, or mizzen as the case may be. The same is true of the yards, the stays, the halyards and every other part of a ship’s rigging and so the seemingly complicated maze becomes very simple, for all you have to do is to learn the names of the various parts on one mast and prefixfore,mainormizzento them for those on the other masts.

Just as the little catboat has its stays, halyards and sheet, so the huge, towering ship has its stays and shrouds, sheets and halyards and the use of each is exactly the same as on the catboat with its single sail. The stays or shrouds always hold the masts in position and strengthen them. There arebackstays,forestaysandbobstayson every vessel, and each is designated by the proper prefix offore,mainormizzen,top,topgallant,royal, etc.

The halyards are to hoist the sails and they take their names from the sails to which they are attached. The sheets are used to haul the sails flat and tight and they extend from the corners of the sails to the tips of the yards, but in addition there are many parts ofthe rigging which have no counterpart on fore-and-aft-rigged vessels. For example, thebracesare used to swing or set the yards in various positions, theclewlinesare used to gather up the sails ready for furling and there arebuntlines,garnet-linesand many otherlineswhich are only used on square-riggers and are of little interest, unless you expect to use a square rig or are interested in all things pertaining to sailing craft.

It may sound foolish to speak of using a square rig, but one can have a lot of fun and can learn a great deal about ships and sailing by fitting up a small boat as a brig, bark, or ship. I once had a twenty-foot sharpie rigged as a miniature full-rigged ship. Of course there is no practical advantage in this, for the square rigs require a great deal of care, they do not sail as well as fore-and-aft rigs when tacking to windward, and they should never be used, save as a means of recreation and for sailing on smooth waters, on a small boat.

As to which is the best fore-and-aft rig to use on small boats there is a great diversity of opinion, for every boat sailor has his own ideas and his own favorite rig and what may prove very satisfactory to one person may not be at all satisfactory to another.

The best method to follow in determining your rig is to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each, adopt the one you think best suited to your special requirements and your boat and if this doesn’t fulfill expectations try another. No two boats, even of the same model, sail just alike and often one rig will givefar better results on one type of boat than on another while the character of the waters sailed, the prevalent winds, the size of the boat, its form, the purpose for which it is used and many other factors must be considered when deciding upon a rig.

If you are a beginner and your boat is small and open, a leg-o’-mutton or gunter sail will probably be as good as any, whereas if your boat is very stable or heavy, or if you sail where there are light winds, a lug, sprit or boom-and-gaff sail will be better.

It is a great mistake to place too much sail on a boat for nothing is gained by it and the dangers of sailing are vastly increased. Too much sail on a boat will invariably and inevitably result in one of three things. If the boat is not wonderfully stable she will capsize, or will lean over until she swamps; if so heavy or stable that she still stands up, the wind will rip the sail or tear out the masts and if neither of these casualties occur she will simply “drag” sail and will handle badly. Every boat will sail to the very best advantage with a definite amount of sail and the amount will vary according to the breeze. Hence it is no economy to carry on with all sail in a heavy wind, for if the sail used is adapted to the boat for light winds it stands to reason it will be far too much in heavy weather.

Flat-bottomed boats are usually very safe if properly handled and not provided with too much sail, but owing to their shape they capsize very quickly once they are tipped a trifle too far. For this reason leg-o’-mutton or gunter sails should be selected for thistype of boat, partly because they offer a small area to the wind near their tops and because they have the quality of “spilling” the wind when at an angle and thus preventing the boat from being tipped dangerously. A flat-bottomed boat may be sailed in perfect safety with these sails when lug or boom-and-gaff sails of the same area would be extremely dangerous.

Another matter to remember is that a greater amount of sail may be safely carried as two or more sails than would be possible in a single sail, but for boats less than twenty feet over all a multiplicity of sails is a nuisance. The question of just how much sail should be carried is a very difficult one to answer, for boats vary in their stability and a great deal depends upon how they are handled and the skill of the sailor. For ordinary open boats used for pleasure where a single sail is carried, the sail area should not greatly exceed one and one-half times the number of square feet obtained by multiplying the boat’s length by its extreme breadth. Thus a boat twenty feet long by five feet wide could safely carry one hundred and fifty square feet of canvas, but for safety this should be as low as possible. A sail fifteen feet high and seven feet wide might upset the boat before it would drive it along and yet a sail ten feet high and twelve feet wide might serve to sail the boat very well and without any danger of capsizing. At any rate, until you are thoroughly familiar with handling your boat and with the rudiments of sailing under all conditions, you should confine yourself to a small amount of sail and should make haste slowly.

In addition to the fore-and-aft sails describedthere are many which are combinations, adaptations or improvements and which are known by different names. Among these are theFrench gunterin which the upper portion of the mast not only slides on the lower part but may be lowered like a gaff as well; the leg-o’-mutton with a boom at the lower edge in place of the sprit; the variousbattenedsails which are really lugsails fitted with light wooden strips, or battens, across them to keep the sails flatter and to make reefing easier; the old-fashioned lugsails which have no spar or boom at the lower edge; thesetteesails which have a boom and a much curved and very long upper yard like alateen, and finally theBermudasails which are different from all.

The Bermudians consider a boat’s ability to carry sail in heavy weather and to sail close to the wind of the greatest importance and their boats and sails are designed primarily for these objects. The true Bermuda sail is like a leg-o’-mutton with a curved lower edge and with the top point cut off and attached to a short piece of wood orclubto which the halyard is fastened. In place of a boom there is a sprit-like pole which is provided with a small tackle on the mast end and the sail is set very flat by hauling out on this tackle, very much as in the leg-o’-mutton sail. The greatest peculiarity of the Bermuda rig is that the mast is set very far forward and leans orrakessharply backward and a good-sized jib is carried. It is a splendid rig for windward work, but is a bad rig before the wind and for amateur use is not to be recommended.

For boats over twenty-five feet long nothing ishandier or better than the yawl rig. In the first place it is just as easy to sail as a sloop or jib-and-mainsail rig, for the tiny mizzen practically takes care of itself. When coming to a mooring or to anchor the mainsail may be lowered and the boat handled under jib and mizzen and by hauling the mizzen close in and lowering the other sails the boat will lie right in the wind’s eye when at moorings or riding out a gale. If in a narrow channel a yawl may actually bebackedout by swinging the mizzen across the boat and lowering the other sails and when tacking or coming about in a seaway or where there is a strong current the mizzen helps wonderfully and the boat’s head may be quickly brought about by hauling the mizzen to windward. In case of a sudden squall or a heavy wind the boat may be sailed safely under jib and mizzen and, best of all, when one is obliged to reef, it is not necessary to anchor or toss about helplessly and drift down the wind, for the mainsail may be lowered and reefed in comfort while holding on the course under jib and mizzen.

Nevertheless the beginner should never attempt to learn to sail or handle a boat with a yawl, schooner, sloop or even a jib-and-mainsail rig. Commence with a single, simple sail, such as a sprit, a leg-o’-mutton, a gunter, a lug, a lateen or a gaff-and-boom sail and when you have become thoroughly accustomed to this, when you know how to sail and handle your simple boat and sail under all conditions, then and not until then, you may try your hand at craft with more sails and rigging.

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