Part 1

Transcriber's Note: Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=.

ON YACHT SAILING

A SIMPLE TREATISE FOR BEGINNERS UPON THE ART OF HANDLING SMALL YACHTS AND BOATS

BY

THOMAS FLEMING DAY

Editor of "The Rudder," Author of "On Yachts and Yacht Handling," "Hints to Young Yacht Skippers," "Songs of Sea and Sail," etc.

NEW YORK AND LONDON: THE RUDDER PUBLISHING COMPANY 1904

COPYRIGHT 1904 BY THOMAS FLEMING DAY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

PRESS OF THOMSON & CO. 9 MURRAY STREET, N. Y.

_CONTENTS_

SPECIAL REMARKS 9 GENERAL REMARKS 11 THE BOAT AND RIG 19 THE SIDES AND TACKS 23 THE HELM 27 NOMENCLATURE OF RIGGING AND SAIL 33 SAILING ON THE WIND 35 SAILING OFF THE WIND 43 REEFING AND JIBING 48 TAKING CARE OF THE BOAT 52 MANEUVERS 56 RULES OF THE ROAD 60 GLOSSARY 65 DIAGRAMS AND PLANS 73 LIST OF BOOKS 96

UNIFORM EDITION

RUDDER ON SERIES

_Bound in blue buckram and gold, 32mo. illustrated_

ON YACHTS AND YACHT HANDLING. By Thomas Fleming Day. Price $1.

ON YACHT SAILING. By Thomas Fleming Day. Price $1.

ON MARINE MOTORS AND MOTOR LAUNCHES. By E. W. Roberts, M. E. Price $1.

ON YACHT ETIQUETTE. Second Edition Revised. By Captain Patterson. Price $1.

SOUTHWARD BY THE INSIDE ROUTE. Reprint from THE RUDDER.

HINTS TO YOUNG YACHT SKIPPERS. By Thomas Fleming Day. Price $1.

_PREFACE_

There is no difficulty in the learned writing for the learned, but it is extremely difficult to compose a work for the instruction of the ignorant. The more comprehensive and exact knowledge the writer has of his subject the more arduous is the effort to express his thoughts in such simplicity as will make it understandable to those who have little or no knowledge of the subject he treats. This is doubly so when the subject is one like sailing--an art whose language is wholly technical and almost totally divorced from the common expressions of life. It is impossible to translate sea language into land language; nor is it possible to explain the conditions and operations of the art without employing sea terms.

In this work I have endeavored to avoid as far as is possible the employment of intricate or obscure technical language, and where it is used have endeavored to explain the meaning and define the application. This book is intended for the use of persons who are supposed to be altogether ignorant of the art of sailing. It is a primer and, therefore, is almost absurdly simple and profuse in explanatory details. But my experience as a teacher has taught me that such books cannot be too simple, and that in order to be understandable they must be loaded with explanations of explanations until nothing is left to explain. To those who know, this will seem unnecessary, but it must be remembered that many who will learn from this book, have not only never handled a sailing boat, but have never seen one before, and have but extremely crude notions of how the canvas and helm are employed to drive and direct them.

In regard to the glossary: The definitions given are those that define the terms as used in sailing or navigating small craft, and may have a different meaning when applied to larger vessels. It is very difficult to exactly define many nautical terms, as they are words in action, and consequently present different phases, as they are differently employed. In many cases only one who is a trained seaman can comprehend their exact purport or understand their significant application.

_SPECIAL REMARKS_

The first question before you start to learn to sail is: Do you know how to swim? If you don't, you have no business in a sailing boat--in fact you have no business on the water. No parent should allow his boy or girl to have a sailboat until they have learned to swim. It is not difficult to learn to swim; any child can be taught that art in ten days, and it should be a compulsory course in all our schools. If people knew how to swim, nine-tenths of the drowning accidents that do happen would not. Every summer a large number of young people are drowned in this country through the overturning of boats or by falling overboard. Had these persons been taught to swim the majority of them would not have been drowned. A person who can swim has confidence. If suddenly thrown in the water he or she retain their presence of mind, but if unable to swim they become panic stricken, and are not only drowned but in their struggles frequently drown others.

Another custom prolific of accident on the water is the overloading of boats. The green hand should be warned against this practice. Never take a lot of people out in a boat, particularly a sailboat; especially do not take out women and children, or men who are not familiar with boats.

Another thing, never play the fool in a boat. A man who with others in a boat plays such tricks as rocking or trying to carry large sail in a breeze, climbing a mast, or any other silly stunt, is a fool, and is not fit to be trusted with any sort of a craft.

A properly designed and well-constructed boat is perfectly safe in the hands of a sensible person, and if properly used be made to give pleasure not only to the owner but to others. Sailing is one of the safest of our sports; very few yachtsmen lose their lives while boating. It is nothing like so dangerous a sport as bicycling, automobiling or carriage driving. I have met thousands of yachtsmen during my long service in the sport, but of all my acquaintances I can only recall one who was drowned.

_GENERAL REMARKS_

If you are going to learn to sail get a small boat. Men who learn in large boats seldom become good helmsmen. Another thing, do not learn in what is called a non-capsizable boat; get a boat that can be upset. The modern outside ballast, non-capsizable, finkeel or semi-finkeel, is a very easy vessel to handle, and it requires very little skill to sail them; as a fact, you don't sail them; you simply steer them. The old-fashioned, inside ballast, capsizable, long-keel craft was a very different proposition, and it required considerable skill to handle such properly. It is for this reason that the best sailors we have ever had graduated from the helms of that type of boat.

The best boat for a boy to get to learn in is one of not more than twenty feet length; a fifteen-footer is better. She should be half-decked, and be of such construction and weight that even if filled she will float. It is better to have a boat that requires little or no ballast. If in a place where the water is generally smooth, the Lark type is an excellent craft to learn in; if where it is rough, get one of those cheap sailing dories. THE RUDDER Skip is also a good boat, but is somewhat more expensive. Another good boat for a beginner is a 15-foot, half-decked, cat-rigged boat; a boat with considerable freeboard and a water-tight cockpit. Such a boat can be built in first-class style for about $250 or $300. I strongly advise the beginner to use the cat rig, no matter what type of hull he employs.

Many begin in a rowboat, fitted with a sail. These are generally poor craft, not being of the proper form for sailing. While they will do, if nothing better can be had, they are far inferior to a properly designed sailing dory or a Lark. If the beginner starts in a poor sailing craft he is apt to get disgusted with the results of his work and give up.

After you have learned to handle a boat under cat rig you can get one with a jib, and learn to sail the more complicated rig. It is not best at first to go in for too many sails, as it means much more gear and this is apt to confuse the beginner, and make the task of learning harder.

By starting to learn to sail in a capsizable boat you will gather the first and most important part of sailorizing, and that is caution, and you will gain from sailing such a boat that nicety of touch which is the acme of helming skill, and which can never be acquired in an uncapsizable craft. Knowing that inattention to your work will perhaps result in a spill, you will be constantly on the alert, and you will learn that by quick and proper movements of the helm you can control and maneuvre your boat so as to keep her on her bottom at all times.

If you have your boat ready take a day when the wind is light and steady and get somebody to go with you who understands sailing. Let the old hand tend the sheet while you handle the tiller. Then sail up and down in a quiet place until you get confidence in the boat and in yourself. This will soon come when you find that you can perform the different sailing maneuvres. It is a good plan after you have the hang of handling the tiller to choose a mark to windward, and to start and beat up to it, then turn the mark and run back again. Repeat this several times as it will give you practice in sailing both on and off the wind.

If the wind is strong and you feel afraid of the boat, don't go out, but wait until the conditions are more favorable to have your first try. If you get afraid or rattled, as it is called, by the boat getting a knockdown in a puff, just let her come up in the wind and rest, and you will see that she is perfectly safe, and your courage will soon return.

I have taught many--both boys and girls--to sail, and I always put them right at the helm, and insist upon them staying there. If they get in a tight place the beginner will generally want to give up the helm. At such a time I make them retain it, and by a little judicious advice and a few words of encouragement get them through the difficulty. This at once instills confidence. One of my favorite tricks is when the green hand is approaching the shore on a tack to leave him and go below, pretending to pay no attention to his actions. If he is good for anything, he will when the right time arrives go about. Once he has done this by himself he is confident, and will not hesitate to do it again. This is the principal thing to make a beginner understand, that he must depend upon his own judgment and not rely upon yours.

Some persons can never be taught to sail. They can learn to steer perhaps, but never can learn to handle a sailing boat. I have found that comparatively few females can learn to sail, but when they have the sailor's instinct it is very strongly developed, and they make excellent skippers. They are far more fearless than men, and can invariably be relied upon to carry out orders, even to the death.

_THE BOAT AND RIG_

Having picked out the boat that best suits your ideas and pocket, start right in and learn all about her. Study out her rig, and learn the proper names of everything from keel to truck. Nothing sounds worse than to hear a man who is sailing a boat call the ropes, spars, etc., by wrong names, and use in speaking of the boat and her actions unnautical language. One of the quickest and easiest ways to learn the nomenclature of the boat is to build and rig a small model. You will in this way not only learn the proper terms but also get an understanding of how a boat is rigged. The first lesson I had was in trying to re-rig a topsail schooner, the model of an old U. S. man-of-war. I was about seven or eight years old, but having the boat mania stuck to the task, although it was long and difficult, and at last, with the kind assistance of a lady, succeeded in completing the job. In this way I captured at an early age a thorough knowledge of how to rig. You need not make a block model, just step your mast in a flat board.

If you are going to buy a boat, not having the opportunity to borrow or steal one, look about for a good second-hand craft. This if in fair condition will do to start with, for you will, as soon as you have learned, want a bigger and better one. If you can use tools, and have the materials and space, I would advise building your own boat, as by so doing you will gather knowledge that will prove invaluable to you in your after days. But don't build from your own design. Such boats are invariably failures. A man must have considerable knowledge of boats before he can design a proper one. A deal of money has been wasted, and many have been sadly disheartened and made sick of the sport at the outset because they have built a boat after their own plans, and it has turned out a failure. If you are going to build get one of THE RUDDER _How-to Books_, and you will from it be able to construct a good sailing craft for a reasonable price, with the least amount of labor.

If you buy a boat be sure the hull is in good condition, and that the boat is not a heavy and consistent leaker. Also, find out if the boat will sail on the wind, for many small boats will not. If the hull is all right, buy the boat. The condition of the sail and rigging is not so important, as you can renew these for a few dollars, and it is better to start off with a new sail and first-class gear. A boat with old canvas and weather-wasted gear will not be satisfactory, and it is better to spend a few dollars and get these things right.

In rigging the boat use as few ropes as possible. A green hand, like a canoeman, generally wants to decorate his spars with all the strings he can get on, but the less rope and the simpler tackles you use the easier will it be to handle the craft.

Whatever you use be sure it is strong. Always use the best cordage you can buy; the difference in price per pound is only a few cents, but there is considerable difference in the way the two kinds will work. A rope used for running should render freely through the block. To do this it must be soft and pliable. Use blocks with a larger swallow than the rope size you intend to run through them, then the rope won't stick when it gets swollen with dampness or rain.

_THE SIDES AND TACKS_

The sides of a boat have two sets of names, the use of which is apt to confuse the green hand, but if you once clearly understand how these terms are applied you will experience no trouble in properly employing them.

The right-hand side of a vessel when standing looking toward the bow is called the _starboard_ side.

The left-hand side of a vessel when standing looking toward the bow is called the _port_ side.

These names are permanent, and no matter which way the boat is turned the starboard side is always the starboard side and the port side always the port side.

The other names for the sides of a vessel are not permanent, but are always changing, shifting from side to side, as the boat is turned about. Their particular position is determined by the direction of the wind.

These names are _lee side_ and _weather side_.

The _weather side_ is that side of a vessel upon which the wind blows.

The _lee side_ is that side of the vessel which is farthest from the wind, and is, in a fore-and-aft rigged craft, the side on which the sail is stretched.

Now you will understand that, in consequence of the vessel turning round and presenting first one side to the wind and then the other, these names are continually shifting from side to side.

For instance, if the wind is blowing on the port--left-hand side--that is the weather side, and the starboard--right-hand side--is the lee side. Turning the vessel round, so that the wind blows on the starboard side, that becomes the weather side, and the port side becomes the lee side.

Having these sides and their names clearly fixed in your mind you will be able to understand what a tack is.

When a vessel is sailing on a wind we say she is on the port tack or starboard tack, meaning the way she is heading in regard to the direction of the wind. This tack is determined by the side upon which the wind blows.

A vessel is on the starboard tack when the wind strikes upon her starboard side and the boom of her mainsail is over on the port side. The reverse of this puts her on the port tack.

Or, to be more concise, when the starboard side is the weather side the boat is on the starboard tack. When the port side is the weather side the boat is on the port tack.

_THE HELM_

A boat or any vessel is steered by a contrivance called a rudder, which is hung like a door on hinges, and swings freely from side to side. This rudder is moved by a handle called a tiller, which is attached to the post and projects forward into the boat. The whole apparatus for steering the boat is called the helm, but in this chapter, when we speak of the helm, it must be understood to mean the _tiller_.

When the helm is put, i. e., pushed in one direction, the rudder moves in the other. For instance, if the helm is turned to the right the rudder moves to the left, and vice versa. The result of such a movement of the helm is to turn the boat's bow in the direction the rudder points, so that the boat's bow, or head as we say, turns the opposite way to the way the tiller is pushed. Remember, that if you put the helm to the left the boat's head will turn to the right; if you put the helm to the right it will turn to the left.

The left side of the boat, as I have explained, is always called the port side; therefore, if I order you to put your helm to _port_ you must push the tiller toward the left. This will move the rudder toward the starboard side, and as the boat's bow moves the same way as the rudder it will also move to starboard.

But in a sailing vessel, when going under canvas, we do not usually order the helm to be put to starboard or port, but employ terms that derive their signification from the direction of the wind under whose influence the vessel is moving. These terms are _up_ and _down_, and _a-lee_ and _a-weather_.

To put the helm _up_ you push the tiller toward the side of the boat on which the wind is blowing. This causes the vessel to move her head away from the wind--to _fall off_, as it is called.

To put the helm _down_ you push the tiller toward the side on which the sail is. This causes the vessel to move her head toward the wind--to _luff_, as it is called.

The easiest way to fix these two actions in the wind is this: When a boat is heeled, i. e., tipped, as she usually is when sailing on the wind, the helm is put up by moving it toward the high or up side, and it is put down by moving it toward the low or down side.

To put the helm _a-weather_ is the same as putting it _up_, or toward the weather side of the boat. To put the helm _a-lee_ is the same as putting it _down_ or toward the lee side of the boat.

_Up--a-weather._

_Down--a-lee._

The green hand must get the above information firmly fixed in his mind, as it will save him lots of future trouble. I have met men who have sailed for years who confuse these orders through not thoroughly understanding what they mean.

You will frequently hear a man when conning the helm of a boat--that is, directing the steering--tell the helmsman to _keep off_, meaning by that to put the helm up and cause the boat to move further away from the wind or course which the boat has been holding; or else he will order the helmsman to _luff_, meaning for him to put the helm down, and bring the boat's bow nearer to the wind.

The order to _steady_ or _right_ the helm means to bring the tiller amidships, or in such position that it does not influence the boat in either direction.

Large boats are steered by a wheel, which is simply an apparatus used to give additional power, so that the helm can be turned easily; but as we are dealing with small boats using a tiller, we will not bother at present to understand its working.

_NOMENCLATURE OF RIGGING AND SAIL._

DOWNHAUL--A rope for hauling down a sail.

CLEWLINE--A line used to draw together a sail so that it can be easily furled.

HALYARDS--The tackles by which a sail is hoisted.

GUYS--Are ropes used to support or control a spar, and are either permanent or shifting. On spars they generally act in opposition to the sheet.

TOPPING LIFT--A rope or tackle for lifting and holding up the end of a boom.

SHEET--The rope or tackle by which a sail is controlled or trimmed. It is made fast to the clew of the sail, or to the boom.

SHROUDS--Ropes generally of wire employed to support a mast or bowsprit by holding it sideways. They are attached to the rail by chain plates, and are set up with either lanyards or rigging screws.

STAYS--Ropes used to support or control a spar in a fore-and-aft direction.

LUFF--The fore edge of a sail.

LEACH--The after edge of a sail.

HEAD--The upper edge of a sail.

FOOT--The lower edge of a sail.

PEAK--The upper outer corner of a triangular sail, also the upper corner of a jib or gaff topsail. In this book the more common name _head_ is used. See sail plans.

THROAT--The upper fore corner of a triangular sail, also called the _nock_.

TACK--The lower fore corner of a sail.

CLEW--The after lower corner of a sail.

_SAILING ON THE WIND_

Sailing on the wind, or by the wind, or close-hauled, is a purely mechanical action, the motion being the result of opposing two forces, the wind pressure and the water pressure. The wind pressing on the canvas forces the boat sideways, her form causes the water to resist this movement, and as it is easier for her to progress in the direction of her length she moves that way. Her sails being arranged so as to transfer this movement in the direction of the bow, she moves ahead. It is to prevent her going sideways that a boat is given a keel or centerboard.

In sailing to windward a boat's sails are trimmed flat--that is, the sheet is hauled in until the foot of the sail lies nearly parallel to the line of the keel. How close to being parallel depends largely upon the form of the hull, an easily driven model being able to sail with a flatter sheet than one of coarser dimensions. No rule can be laid down for trimming the sheets of a boat when sailing on the wind, it depending upon the form of the vessel, the strength of the wind, and the condition of the water.

As the movement of the boat is dependent upon the pressure exerted upon her canvas by the wind, it is necessary that the wind strike the sail on one side and fill it, and that it exert this pressure in a constant manner. Therefore, the boat's bow cannot be kept pointing in the direction of the wind, but must be made to approach it at an angle. This angle, in a good sailing vessel, is one of 45 degrees, or four points by compass.

Let us suppose that the wind is blowing from the North. Now, if the boat's bow is pointed North the current of air will pass along both sides of her sail and exert no pressure upon the canvas, acting just as it does upon the fly of a flag. But if we turn her head slowly round to the West we will find that the breeze begins to press on the canvas, gradually filling it until when her bow is pointed Northwest, or four points away from the wind, the whole sail will be distended with pressure. She is now said to be on a tack or board, and will move ahead in the direction Northwest.