advantage of the sloop rig in beating to windward in narrow channels. More sail can be hoisted on this rig and the cutter than upon luggers, by means of topsails and spinnakers. Of the latter we shall treat afterwards. The topsail is shown on the figure. There is a topsail halyard leading through a sheave hole in the mast. This is bent on to the topsail yard at the point which experience determines to be the best for the set of the sail. A few experiments will determine this, and the place should be marked. The proper knot is figured afterwards in the chapter on knots and splices. There is a heel rope or tack to the topsail. A turn of this around the mast before it is belayed to the cleats below will keep the sail from tearing away from the mast. The topsail sheet is bent to the clue, then passes through a sheave fastened on the end of the gaff, and through another at the throat. When this is hauled upon the sail is sheeted home, and it is belayed; the topsail should be fully hoisted and set before it is sheeted home. The most successful centre-board sloop upon the Thames is the Alert, of which the lines and dimensions have been published in the Field. She is noteworthy in that she is not over-canvassed or over-sparred, a most common fault in racing craft. The following are some of her measurements: If the reader wishes to rig a sloop for himself let him make a drawing to scale, and then taking the length of the boat he has, or is designing, find her other dimensions according to a suitable scale. C It may not be amiss here to give an easy method of preparing a scale. Suppose you see a B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 drawing of a boat, and you wish to apply it to a design of, say, 16ft. Draw the line A B (Fig. 22), of the length of the drawing; draw CD and E F at each end at right angles. Take any inch measure and G lay one end of it at A, then slope it down until the line E F marks off sixteen divisions, as at G. Mark off the divisions from the measure on the line A G; then rule parallel lines from them up through A B, which is now FIG. 22. DIAGRAM FOR DRAWING divided into sixteen equal parts, forming a scale for the rest of the drawing. The centre-board boats which are sailed in the matches of the Yare Sailing Club in Norfolk are of a greater rise of floor and draught of water than those in use on the Thames, and would, we think, beat them in racing. The press of sail they carry is something astonishing, and their speed and handiness leave nothing to be desired. They, however, require two men to sail them effectively. The following are the dimensions of a typical boat: Length over all, 18ft. Beam, 5ft. 9in. Depth, 2ft. 6in. Draught of centre-board, 1ft. 6in. Length of centre-board, 6ft. Head of mainsail, 14ft. Foot of jib, 14ft. 6in. They are heavily ballasted inside, but have none outside save the centre-board. We like the look of the sloop rig better than any other, but we do not like it for single-handed sailing, unless the boat is a deepkeeled, heavily-ballasted one, when the mainsheet need not be started in a squall, but the jib is eased, and the boat allowed to luff up. Even then there may not be room in river sailing to luff up, and the mainsheet must be eased. With two sheets to ease, and the helm to look after, the sailor alone will have too much to do. In a shallow boat, especially if it is an open boat, luffing up with the mainsheet fast is better in theory than in practice. More than once we have sailed with the jib sheet in one hand and the main in the other, with one knee across the tiller, in a squally wind, and found there was more to do than could be done with credit to the boat and oneself. In a small boat it is often absolutely necessary to ease the principal sail. In a main and mizen rig you ease off the main, and the mizen may be left to take care of itself; in the sloop rig you cannot ease the main without easing the jib, or she will fall away. Hence he who sails alone in centre-board craft should stick to the lug or main and mizen rig, or adopt the Una rig. CHAPTER VIII. THE UNA RIG. THERE is a fashion in boat sailing as well as in everything else, and every two or three years there is a run upon a fresh rig. The Una rig was at one time far more popular than it is now, the balance lug having to a great extent taken its place. Those FIG. 23. THE UNA RIG. who have sailed on the flooded Port Meadow, at Oxford, or up the reaches of the adjacent river, will, however, have a lively idea of the handiness of the Una rig. For river work it is certainly unsurpassed, and, in our opinion, seems to have a greater impudence in going into the wind's eye than even the single balance lug. Upon a reference to Fig. 23 it will be seen that the boat is a centre-board one, very shallow, in fact, a mere skimming dish, very wide in proportion to its length, and displacing but very little water. The mast is stepped right in the bows, and carries one sail fitted with a boom and gaff. There is but one halyard. One end of this is fast to the gaff, then passes through a double block on the mast, down through a single block on the gaff near the jaws, up through the double block, and then down the mast, where it generally passes through a block or sheave, and leads aft to be belayed to some convenient cleat. When you haul upon this halyard the gaff goes up at right angles to the mast until the throat is as high as it can go, and then the peak asserts its dignity. This plan of halyard is in use on the Norfolk wherries, and sets their enormous yards to perfection. Of course the Una sail can be lowered with the same ease, but a down haul should be bent to the yard, as it is not an agreeable job for the finger nails if they have to claw at the body of a sail while attempting to pull it down. There will not be much difficulty, however, if the mast is occasionally touched with a little grease in order that the hoops may slide easily up and down. These hoops will sometimes jam, particularly in hoisting sail, and an ingenious plan is figured in Vanderdecken's "Yachts and Yachting." It consists of a line fastened from the fore side of the top hoop, opposite to the sail, and to every hoop down to the bottom one; thus, when the sail is hoisted the fore sides of the hoops also feel the lift, and go up parallel with the aft sides. The plan looks satisfactory, and will be tried on board the writer's boat this next season. We have often wondered why the Una plan of halyard is not adopted in small sloops, for it would dispense with one rope, the peak halyards, which would be an advantage. A Una boat should have a topping lift, otherwise the long boom will be a nuisance. This should pass through a sheave at the other side of the foot of the mast, and lead aft, like the halyard. The boom can then be topped without leaving the tiller, and this may be an advantage when running dead before a stiff |