BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK: CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM. Copyright , 1879, By LEE AND SHEPARD. All rights reserved....

This little work is not written to teach any thing new to those who know how to sail boats well and safely, but only for the purpose of enabling any person, after a perusal of its pages, to feel confident of handling a boat so as to be perfectly safe , and to have some knowledge of the rules which should govern its movements under all conditions that might naturally arise. This sport is far less dangerous than is supposed; and it may even be asserted that no kind of amusement is safer during the

It would be beyond the province or scope of this work to enumerate all the different models and peculiarities of the numerous crafts and rigs that are used to navigate the waters, both in civilized and uncivilized countries; and we must content ourselves by taking into consideration a few of the most pronounced types that are now in vogue, and explaining their principles as briefly as possible. Local prejudices rule strong in all parts of the world; and the rig, size, and model of a boat, are al

Ballast.—Useful Knots.—To anchor in a Gale of Wind.—Getting the Anchor, and Casting.—Anchoring for Fishing.—Grounding and Floating.—Warping by Means of an Anchor.—To make a Running Moor. Having learned the names of all the important spars, sails, and ropes, and their uses, it becomes necessary to study the other appurtenances of a boat to acquire a thorough knowledge of boat-sailing; and for that purpose we will pass briefly in review the following. Nearly all yachts are made of such a model as

The Helm and Rudder.—Sheets.—The Topping-Lift.—Springing a Leak and the Use of the Pump.—Sailing "close-hauled," "by the wind," or "full and by."—To know when a Yacht is as near the Wind as she will lie.—Running free.—Before the Wind, or Scudding.—To execute a Pilot's Luff. Control the movement of the yacht through the water, and serve to direct her course. The rudder may be described as pieces of boards or planks, in a line with the keel, hung upon pivots at the stern of a vessel, in an upright

Tacking.—Beating to Windward.—A Long and a Short Leg.—How to put a Yacht about.—How to distinguish the Starboard Tack from the Port Tack.—Jibing, or Wearing.—Dropping the Peak.—To beat to Windward in a Tide-Way.—To take in a Jib, and furl it.—To take in a Mainsail, and furl it.—To reef a Jib, or take off a Bonnet.—To clap one Reef in a Mainsail.—To cast out a Reef. Is the art of putting a yacht about, so that the wind, which has been blowing upon the starboard side, we will say, shall blow upon

Signal-Lights.—The United States Regulations for Steering and Sailing, and the Rules of the Road.—Fog-Signals.—Salutes.—Dipping Colors.—Coming alongside.—Quarterdeck Etiquette.—Useful Articles of Cabin Furniture.—Anchor Watch.—Method and System versus Disorder. In all night sailing it is important to know the direction in which any passing vessel is proceeding, and also to be able to give notice of the direction in which one's own yacht is sailing, or, if she be at anchor, to so denote, so as to

Cross-Bearings.—Two Examples.—Table of Proportional Distances.—Table for Determining the Distance that an Object at Sea can be seen in Statute Miles.—Determining Distance by the Flash of a Gun.—To find the Difference between the True and Apparent Direction of the Wind.—To find the Distance of an Object on Shore from the Yacht, by two Bearings of the Compass.—Use of the Charts.—Soundings.—Lead Line.—Eight Bells and Watch and Watch.—Boxing the Compass.—Velocity of the Wind.—The Log Reel and Half-m

Remember, in the first place, that no small boat fit to be called a sail-boat can capsize, unless the sail is confined by the sheet being made fast. If the sail is loose, and the boom, or lower leach of the sail, as the case may be, can move in a direction parallel to the wind, or in the "wind's eye" as sailors would say, the boat cannot be upset by an ordinary gust of wind. In other words, in all fore-and-aft sails, such as are used almost the world over for small sail-boats, the sheet, or rope

"Well, uncle Charley, when are you going to give me a sail in your yacht? You know, that, although I have sailed a little, I look forward with the greatest impatience to a trip with you; so that I may become posted in all respects, and finally turn out a first-class sailor." "Your ambition is a worthy one, Tom; and I am willing to gratify it. But it is yet very early in the season; and I am afraid that we shall encounter some dirty weather, should we attempt now to make a trip." "Well, that is t

Aback. —A sail is said to be taken aback, when its forward surface is acted upon by the wind. Abaft. —The position, towards the stern, or hinder part of the yacht, from any stated point; as, "abaft the forecastle," "abaft the mainmast," "abaft the cabin." Abeam. —Any object is said to be abeam that bears at right angles to the line of the keel; and an imaginary line drawn at right angles across the keel, equidistant from the bow and stern, divides the yacht into two parts. Any thing bearing forw