gaff, topsail yard, and bowsprit. They are hauled up by means of halyards, and worked to the necessary angles by means of ropes called sheets. With these remarks we dismiss the reader to the study of the rather intricate diagram and the following tables of reference : The sails have names for their different parts. Thus the fore edge is the luff, the after edge the leach, the top edge the head, and the bottom edge the foot. The lower fore corners are the tacks, the lower after corners the clews; the top fore corner is the throat, and the top aft corner the peak. Across the mainsail and the foresail, and sometimes across the jib, are rows of reef points, by means of which the reefs are tied down when sail is shortened. CHAPTER IV. DECKING AND BALLASTING. We now come to the consideration whether boats should be decked or not. In those under 16ft. in length, which must of necessity be intended only for smooth water, a deck had better be dispensed with, as it is not necessary, and more room is gained for rowing and moving in a boat. In boats much larger, however, or which have to encounter rougher water on lakes, estuaries or sea, a half-deck forward and waterways all round, with a coaming a few inches high, are invaluable. You need not fear if she is sailed with the gunwales awash, though it is not expedient to sail her so, as you get less speed out of her, and canvas had better be reduced. If a wave comes curling over her bows, why let it, it will glide harmlessly off, while if she were entirely open it would half fill her. Therefore the decking must be governed by circumstances. A more difficult subject to decide upon is the ballasting of boats. For those in which rowing must play a principal part, all the ballast should be inside and easily removable. Bags of shot are the most convenient things, but expensive. Where sailing is the chief consideration, about half the ballast should be got on the keel, either in the shape of an iron keel or a lead one, with a slot cut through it for the centre-plate to work through, if there is one. Lead is much better than iron, because it takes less space for the same weight, but then it is dreadfully expensive. The more ballast a boat carries the deeper will she up sink, the more resistance will she experience, and more sail power will be required to drive her. Not, however, in the same proportion, and the boat which can, by weight of ballast or breadth of beam, carry the most sail, is generally the fastest. We are quite unable to give any very reliable formula. Mr. Kemp, in his standard work, gives the following proportions of ballast for centre-board boats, built according to the designs he gives: 10ft. long, about 1cwt. 14ft. long, about 3cwt. to 4cwt. Twenty feet long would require about 10cwt., with their passengers in addition. These calculations are only approximate, as boats vary so much in their build. It is best to try experiments and see what your boat likes. In beating to windward against a current, weight is an advantage, as the boat "shoots," or retains her way much longer in tacking. As you gain experience in sailing you will find that boats are very human. They have each their special tastes, fancies, and whims, and, what is more, there are days when they seem utterly out of sorts, and will not do their work at all well, even with their own particular timoneer at the helm. They are a beautiful study, and if a man has nothing to do and wants a hobby, let him take to designing and building boats, and if he can think of anything else while eating, sleeping, working, or playing, than his vessels, he has more self-control than we have. CHAPTER V. THE BALANCE LUG. ALTHOUGH no man can learn to sail by precept alone, yet is the practice made wonderfully easy when the theory is well mastered. The first craft the reader is likely to try his hand at, and the FIG. 13. MIDSHIP SECTION OF CENTRE BOARD BOAT. one we should recommend, is the balance lug centre-board gig, suitable both for rowing and sailing. This craft, which is in such general use on the Thames and many other inland waters, is generally from 10ft. to 17ft. in length, with a beam of a little more than one-third its FIG. 14. DECK PLAN OF CENTRE-BOARD BOAT. length. It has a very flat and shallow midship section, and is a capital boat both for fresh-water sailing and for rowing. It is furnished with a centre-board, which should be made of galvanised iron of from a quarter of an inch to half an inch in |