Boat Sailing In Fair Weather And Foul, 6th Ed. - free ebook by A. J. (Ahmed John) Kenealy

BOAT SAILING, FAIR WEATHER AND FOUL.

Good Luck and a Fair Wind. A. J. Kenealy....

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PREFACE.

When the first edition of this little book was printed in 1894 my publishers thought they would be very lucky if they ever disposed of half the number of copies turned out by the press. I had the same melancholy forebodings. The result has shown that our fears were groundless. The book was written in a simple sailorly style for all lovers of the sea and boats. That it should have received such cordial commendation as it has from amateurs and professionals has been both a pleasure and a surprise.

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I. ADVICE TO AN AMATEUR.

All of us remember the old sailor's retort to the man who reproached him for soaking his clay in bad rum. "There ain't such a thing under heaven as bad rum," he sagely remarked. "Of course some rum is better than another, but I have been knocking about the world for more than fifty years and never did I drink a glass of rum that deserved to be called bad , and I got outside of some pretty fiery tipple in my time." The same is true in a general way of boats. There are many types of boat and each

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II. THE CHOICE OF A BOAT.

If any ambitious would-be mariner, old or young, hailing from anywhere were to ask me what sort of a boat I would recommend him to build or buy, I would answer him frankly that an able cat-boat, with a centerboard and stationary ballast would, in my judgment, be best. I would advise him to shun the "sandbaggers"—not that one cannot enjoy an immense amount of exciting sport in one of them, but because they seem to me to be only fit for racing, and I will tell you why. A man when he goes on a quie

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III. TRIAL SPIN IN A CAT-BOAT.

Before getting a cat-boat under way from an anchorage, or casting adrift from moorings, the captain should see all gear clear, that the centerboard works easily in its trunk, and that oars, rowlocks and a baler are aboard. An oar is very handy for turning a boat's head round in a light air when she has barely steerage way on; and in case you are confronted with a flat calm, a pair of oars are indispensable for working homeward. A boat-hook, too, should not be neglected. There is a story that I h

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IV. THE YAWL RIG.

Though I recommend the catboat as a general craft for knocking about and having a good time in, I am not blind to the advantages of the yawl rig. In fact, the bold young seaman contemplating long cruises and sometimes venturing out of sight of land will find that the yawl rig possesses no mean merit. For single-handed cruising its worth has long been recognized. The sails are so divided that they are small and easy to handle, but this division of sail inevitably decreases the speed and also the

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V. THE KNOCKABOUT CLASSES.

The knockabouts, which had their origin in Boston, have much to recommend them. They are free from freakiness. None of them at this time of writing have been fitted with fin-keels to harass their skippers when they come in contact with the ground. They have a moderate sail area, and thus are under control at all times. In a blow one is as safe aboard one of these craft as a converted Chinaman under the lee of his fair Sunday-school teacher at church-time. The variety in vogue in Boston in 1897 w

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VI. KEEP YOUR WEATHER EYE OPEN.

The sailer of a boat, little or big, should keep his weather eye open all the time. When sailing in a river where the banks are of irregular height he should be especially on his guard, because puffs of considerable violence frequently come with little or no warning. A few inches of sheet eased off, and a gentle luff not quite sufficient to spill the sail, will generally prevent the shipping of water over the lee gunwale, and a possible capsize. Thus the mainsheet should never be made fast perma

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VII. OVERHAULING THE YACHT.

No matter how small a craft the yachtsman owns she will, after a winter's lay-up, require a good deal of attention before she is fit for the water; and there is no reason why a keen yachtsman who owns a tidy little craft should not fit her out himself in his spare time. In fact, I am acquainted with many boat-owners who find nearly as much delight in getting their own vessels into proper fettle for the season's sport as they do in navigating them. There is much to be said in favor of this enterp

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VIII. FITTING OUT FOR A CRUISE.

In equipping a boat for a cruise, even in summer, it is always well to remember that gales of wind are not unusual even in July. I once knew it to blow with spiteful ferocity in the last week of that month, and to disperse the Atlantic Yacht Club squadron and drive them to seek shelter in various harbors of Long Island Sound, between Black Rock and New Haven. Out of the whole fleet only two yachts reached their destination, New London. One was the sloop Athlon , Vice-Commodore E. B. Havens, on b

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IX. BEATING TO WINDWARD.

There is an old nautical truism to the effect that a haystack will sail well to leeward, but that it takes a correctly-modeled vessel to beat to windward. It is easy to comprehend how a straw hat thrown into a pond on its northerly edge will, under the influence of a brisk breeze from the north, make a fast passage to the southerly bank. It is more difficult to understand how the same straw hat, if put into the water at the southerly end of the pond, might be so manœuvred as to make a passage to

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X. COMBINATION ROWING AND SAILINGBOATS.

Whip purchase and traveler. Fig. 1. A boat intended for both rowing and sailing should be partly decked, and have as high a coaming as possible round the cockpit. A folding centerboard should be fitted as in Fig. 10, so as to avoid the awkwardness of a trunk, which in a small craft takes up too much room. Outside ballast is not necessary; a few bags of sand will do instead. An open boat under sail is dangerous except in the hands of a skilled boatman. In a scrub race the helmsman cracks on until

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XI. RIGGING AND SAILS.

Wire has entirely superseded rope for standing rigging, and deadeyes and lanyards are fast giving way before the advance of the turnbuckle. An old sailor cannot help regretting the decline and fall of his profession and the growing popularity of the art of the blacksmith. So far as the rigging of ships is concerned, when wire rigging was first introduced it was thought that its rigidity would prove a fatal objection to its successful use. Science has, however, set its foot down firmly on such ob

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XII. LAYING UP FOR THE WINTER.

The judicious yachtsman will personally superintend the laying up of his craft. If he has that inestimable blessing, a good skipper, he should not discharge him at the close of his summer season. If he does he will bitterly regret it. A yacht requires as much watchful care as a baby, and this is especially true during the trying winter season. So wise yacht-owners who have in their employ faithful captains should hold on to them like grim death to a deceased army mule. Good men are not too plent

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THE LEAD LINE.

The hand lead weighs fourteen pounds. The line to which it is attached is twenty-five fathoms long, and is marked as follows: At two fathoms, leather with two ends; at three fathoms, leather with three ends; at five fathoms, white muslin; at seven fathoms, red bunting; at ten fathoms, leather with hole in it; at thirteen fathoms, blue serge; at fifteen fathoms, white muslin; at seventeen fathoms, red bunting; at twenty fathoms, strand with two knots in it. By the different feel of the materials

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LIGHTS.

Between sunset and sunrise the following lights shall be carried by a steamship when under way: At the foremast head a bright white light, visible on a clear night at a distance of five miles, showing the light ten points on either side of the ship from right ahead to two points abaft the beam. On the starboard side a green light showing from right ahead to two points abaft the beam, visible at a distance of two miles. On the port side a red light similar in all respects, except color, to the gr

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FOG SIGNALS.

In fog, mist, or falling snow, whether by day or night, a steamship under way shall blow a prolonged blast of her steam whistle every two minutes, or oftener. A sailing vessel under way shall blow her foghorn (which must be sounded by a bellows or other mechanical device and not by mouth power) at intervals of not less than two minutes, when on the starboard tack one blast, when on the port tack two blasts in succession, and when with the wind abaft the beam three blasts in succession. Vessels n

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STEERING AND SAILING RULESFOR SAILING VESSELS.

A ship running free shall keep out of the way of a ship closehauled. A ship closehauled on the port tack shall keep out of the way of a ship closehauled on the starboard tack. When both are running free with the wind on different sides, the ship which has the wind on the port side shall keep out of the way of the other. When both are running free with the wind on the same side, the ship which is to windward shall keep out of the way of the ship to leeward. A ship which has the wind aft shall kee

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FOR STEAM VESSELS.

If two ships under steam are meeting end on, or nearly end on, so as to involve risk of collision, each shall alter her course to starboard so that each may pass on the port side of the other. If two ships under steam are crossing so as to involve risk of collision, the ship which has the other on her own starboard side shall keep out of the way of the other. Steamships must, in cases where there is risk of collision, keep out of the way of sailing vessels. A vessel, whether sail or steam, when

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BUOYS AND BEACONS.

In approaching channels from seaward red buoys marked with even numbers will be found on the starboard side of the channel and must be left on the starboard side in passing in. Black buoys with odd numbers will be found on the port side of the channel and must be left on the port hand in passing in. Buoys with red and black horizontal stripes will be found on obstructions with channel ways on either side of them, and may be left on either hand. Buoys painted with black and white perpendicular st

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XV. THE COMPASS.

I have no space in this volume to write an exhaustive chapter on navigation. It is, however, an art easily acquired, and may be wholly self-taught. There are certain rudimentary rules for finding one's way at sea by dead reckoning, that everyone starting out on a cruise should master. The instruments needful are a compass, parallel rulers, dividers, patent log, lead line, aneroid barometer, clock, and the necessary charts of the sea which it is proposed to navigate. In a small cruiser a compass

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XVI. CHARTS.

There are no better charted coasts in the world than those bounded by the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The United States Navy has done and is doing magnificent hydrographic work. The charts issued by the Government are accurate, reliable, up-to-date and reasonable in price. The top of a chart when spread out in front of you so that the reading part appears to you like the page of a book, and you can read it from left to right, is the North, the bottom is the South, the side on your right i

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XVII. MARLINESPIKE SEAMANSHIP. WITH INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING SPLICESKNOTS AND BENDS.

MARLINESPIKE. The amateur yachtsman should be able to make all the splices and most of the knots in common use. This knowledge will come in quite handy when fitting out his craft in the spring, and will save him the expense of hiring a sailor to do the work. I have spent many happy hours in rigging a fifteen-ton cutter, doing all the work myself (except stepping the mast) with the aid of a boy. A few fathoms of rope, a marlinespike, a knife, a small pot of grease, a ball of spun yarn, another of

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XVIII. WEATHER "WRINKLES"

The boat sailer or yachtsman should be able, from close observation of the barometer and the general appearance of the sky, to foretell the weather with a certain degree of accuracy. The aneroid barometer is peculiarly sensitive to all atmospheric changes, and is thus invaluable for meteorological forecasts. A regular code of phenomena has been formulated by meteorologists, from which I take the following: A rapid rise indicates unsettled weather. A gradual rise indicates settled weather. A rise

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XIX. SEA COOKERY FOR YACHTSMEN.

Those who go a-sailing for pleasure in small craft, frequently suffer hardships, or at least inconvenience, in the way of meals, because of their lack of knowledge of the provisions to take with them, and of simple methods of preparing wholesome and appetizing dishes. Fig. 1. A Yachtsman's Stove. Sea cooking differs materially from shore cooking, inasmuch as the stove in a house is erected on a floor that is both stationary and stable. The yachtsman who has a cosy galley with a fixed stove that

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XX. NAUTICAL TERMS IN COMMON USE.

Aback—A sail's condition when the sheet is to windward and it drives the vessel astern. Abaft—The position toward the stern of any object or point such as "abaft the mast" or "abaft the binnacle." Afore—The contrary of abaft. Ahoy!—An interjection used in hailing a vessel, such as " Vigilant ahoy!" Athwart—Across the keel. Atrip—When the anchor is broken out of the ground. Avast—Stop, discontinue. As "avast hauling" (stop hauling). Balance reef—A diagonal reef in a fore-and-aft sail extending fr

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Established 1840.

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SPAR COATING

PRESERVATIVE COATINGS E.S. 1827 &amp; CO. TRADE MARK. A PERFECT FINISH FOR ALL WOODWORK, SPARS AND IRONWORK EXPOSED TO EXCESSIVE CHANGES IN WEATHER AND TEMPERATURE. EDWARD SMITH &amp; CO. VARNISH MAKERS AND COLOR GRINDERS 45 BROADWAY, NEW YORK...

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Boat Sailing Fair Weather and Foul.

The original spelling and punctuation has been retained. Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved....

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