rope; the ends are tucked under the strands, and with a little humouring and hammering it will look like a solid rope.

The

Next, a short length of rope may have its two ends spliced together so as to make a ring, but this is not so neat as the other. The easiest for the amateur to make neatly, the most flexible and the strongest, although taking the longest time, is the selvagee strop (Fig. 63). You take a ball of spun yarn and wrap it round two nails or screws, or other strong points of attachment, until a circle of yarn of sufficient thickness is formed. yarns are then bound together at short intervals by knots or hitches. This is called serving. The whole process must be done upon the stretch, as, if some strands are tight and some slack, the strength of the whole will be considerably lessened. If made on board, the hook of the main or jib halyard blocks and some other handy point of attachment may be made use of, and the strop well stretched. The strop when finished should be covered over with leather If the former, it should be wetted before being sewn on, when it will adapt itself to the strop without wrinkles. If canvas it should be painted when the strop is finished.

or canvas.

FIG. 63. SELVAGEE
STROP.

We have recently made selvagee strops for all the blocks on a small yacht, and are well satisfied with their neatness and strength.

CHAPTER XXV.

RACING.

It is scarcely to be supposed that any boat sailer will attempt to race until he has gained some knowledge of sailing by experimental cruising, and we shall not follow the plan often adopted by nautical men of describing every incident in an imaginary race upon the assumption of entire ignorance upon the part of the yachtsman. Racing requires coolness and steadiness of nerve; an attack of nervousness in a steersman has lost many a race. There must be no hesitation as to the course to adopt in emergencies, and there must, in sea racing at all events, be courage without rashness. None of these things can be taught by books, and it is no use laying down laws for imaginary circumstances. The reader's own aptitude in understanding the lessons his cruising will have taught him, are the only guides to be depended upon. There are, however, some things respecting racing which may well be treated of here.

The first is the terms on which yachts and boats race. Of course, the yachts and boat must be put into classes and placed on an equality as to size and rig, as far as possible. This is done by measurement of tonnage and by time allowances.

Open boats are generally classed by lineal measurement. Length and beam added together, the two not to exceed a certain stated figure, is a favourite and fair method. Sometimes the depth is also added, but the effect of this is to lessen the freeboard, and, therefore, the safety of the boat. With decked

boats and yachts there is a tonnage measurement, which seeks as nearly as possible to determine the actual size of the yacht. The principle used to be to take the length of keel as one of the factors in the measurements, but this led to many evasions, the keel, by various devices, being kept very short, and the weight of the vessel borne by a tremendous counter. Thus a large yacht was by the then measurement of tonnage reduced to the same size as a smaller and less powerful vessel with a longer keel, over which she had thus a great advantage.

We have not space to recapitulate all the arguments as to the proper way of measurement. The result in the case of the Yacht Racing Association is that they have adopted the load water line of the yacht as the chief factor, and their rule now runs as follows:

"3. Measurement for Tonnage.-The tonnage of every yacht entered to sail in a race shall be ascertained in the manner following:-The length shall be taken in a straight line from the fore end to the after end of the load-water line, from which length deduct the breadth, and the remainder shall be esteemed the length to find the tonnage; the breadth shall be taken from outside to outside of the planking in the broadest part of the yacht, and no allowance shall be made for wales, doubling planks, or mouldings of any kind; then multiplying the length by the breadth, and the product by half the breadth, and dividing the result by ninety-four, the quotient shall be deemed the true tonnage; provided always that if any part of the stem or stern-post, or other part of the vessel below the load water line project beyond the length taken as mentioned, such projection or projections shall, for the purposes of finding the tonnage, be added to the length taken as stated. Any fraction of a ton shall count as a ton. If from any peculiarity in the

construction of a yacht, or other cause, the measurer shall be of opinion that this rule will not measure the yacht fairly, he shall report the circumstances to the council or sailing committee, who, after making such inquiries as they consider necessary, shall award a certificate of tonnage accordingly. The certificate of tonnage of the Yacht Racing Association shall be deemed a yacht's true racing tonnage, so long as she remains unaltered."

We thoroughly agree with the alteration, but, nevertheless, think that there is still room for improvement. It will be noticed that there is a very heavy penalty on beam, which is to be deducted from the length before multiplication of the latter. Thus a very long, narrow, and deep vessel is the one which will have the most advantage under the rule, and yacht designers will not give their vessels a wholesome and shipshape breadth of beam when it increases the tonnage in a proportion so far exceeding that given by an increase of length. As someone has said, we shall soon see yachts made of a single long plank, heavily leaded, so as to swim on edge.

On the Norfolk rivers the length for tonnage is taken from the foremost part of the stem to a spot half way between the stern post and the end of the counter; these boats have a very long immersed counter. Of course in racing a boat will be classed according to the local rules, and these should be ascertained before any boat is designed and built for use in any particular locality. In our opinion, our readers had better, if they have a choice, have their yachts five or ten tons, as those are convenient limits of size, which will always be adopted by framers of rules, and the time allowance given to yachts smaller than the limit is not worth having.

The rules of the Yacht Racing Association, of the London Sailing Club, and of the Yare Sailing Club are given in the appendix as a guide to intending racers.

Of course, longer spars and a larger spread of canvas will be carried when racing, and these will probably be fitted and bent the day before or on the morning of the race. You must look very well to all knots and fastenings, and the soundness of every rope, for it will not do to carry anything away after the start; and, if possible, take a preliminary sail to see that everything is in order. Remember that it is of no use "carrying on" with a spread of canvas if the yacht will not stand it, and a boat with hundred-weights of water pouring over her lee deck is not doing so well or going so fast as one with the lee rail only just awash. If it blows hard, it is best to reef before starting; the reef can easily be shaken out afterwards, while to take a reef in during a race is an operation we had rather not be compelled to perform. Many a time the carrying of a topsail in beating to windward has spoiled a yacht's chance in a race. In order to make the topsail draw, the mainsheet is pinned in so that the effective power of the mainsail is greatly lessened. The moment a topsail shakes it is far worse than useless.

All unnecessary gear, cabin fittings, &c., should be taken ashore, so as to lighten top-hamper and to keep the weights as low as possible.

There are several ways of arranging the start. The fairest, where practicable, is to have buoys moored in a row and have lots cast for stations. If the wind permits after sails should be allowed to be set before the start, so that the head sails only have to be set after the gun fires. It need scarcely be said that all the power at command should be at the halyards, so as to get the jib and foresail properly set at the commencement. Frequently, when the wind is light, it is possible to have all the sails set before the start, and then the break away is very pretty and effective. If you are lying head to wind you will, in addition to the buoy rope, get a rope from your quarter to