Douglas Frazar - Practical Boat-Sailing

Mariners compass

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 summer months in these latitudes,many not as safe. Some one has truly said "that the boat is always under the perfect control, and subject to the will, of its master; whilst in driving, for instance, one is dependent for life and limb upon the forbearance, good-temper, and training of a brute whose strength is greater than one's own, and whose over-vaunted intelligence is often exceeded by his obstinacy."

It is simply wonderful what stress of wind and sea a small boat will sustain with perfect safety when properly managed.

It is hoped that the following pages will be sufficient to post all tyros in the technique of the science, and enable them to execute all the manuvres that are needful, and to know the names and uses of all the important ropes, sails, &c.; so that they will not have to ask anybody any questions, and be able to "paddle their own canoe."

If the author has succeeded in making himself understood, so that the student will feel competent to take charge of his own boat or yacht with confidence, he will be amply repaid.

There is no doubt but what there may be a difference of opinion amongst yachtsmen and boatmen as to the best manner of executing many sea-evolutions. The author has chosen those which have stood the test of time, and are comparatively simple, and easy of execution, fitted for small craft, and perfectly safe.

Several useful hints have been gathered by an inspection of Bowditch's "Epitome" and Brady's "Kedge-Anchor."

"Three wise men of Gotham
Went to sea in a bowl:
If their wits had been stronger,
My song had been longer."

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 almost always defined by the "custom" of the waters in which it is to be sailed: still it is perhaps well to give a few general rules for the selection of a boat. For bays, sounds, harbors, and inland tidal waters connected with the sea, the boat or small yacht should be of a shoal model, and what is termed the centre-board principle, and usually the sloop or cat-boat rig.

For ponds, and small lakes of fresh water, the boat should always be of good beam, light draught, and small sail, on account of the frequency of puffs of winds from unexpected quarters from the neighboring hillsides. In fact, if there is any danger in sailing, it is upon these land-locked ponds or lakes, where more seamanship is often needed than on the larger bays and sounds of the ocean itself.

For outside work, or in places where the tidal currents are strong, or the wind may sweep across the water for miles, "kicking up a sea," the deep keel model, with schooner or cutter rig, will be the better boat; this class being considered superior in working to windward in a heavy sea to the shoaler craft. But, even on this question, there are disagreements; and you shall hear of those who maintain that the shoal-water centre-board craft is the better boat in a heavy sea-way; and some lovers of a craft called a "sharpie" tell startling tales of its endurance in heavy weather, although it is the shoalest of all shoal boats. The advantage of the centre-board boat over the keel boat for harbor and sound sailing, or wherever the tide rises and falls to any great extent, is obvious. With the latter, one is liable to be brought up upon an unknown sand-bank or ledge, and compelled to remain, sometimes for hours, till floated off; whilst with the centre-board, upon touching any danger or shoal, the board is hauled up, and the boat that a moment before drew, perhaps, six feet of water, now draws but one foot, allowing one to "go about," or steer to one side, and avoid the obstacle, and get home in time for supper. In short, in the opinion of the writer, it is only for outside use, and for a larger class of vessels than this book will treat of, that the keel boat is needed.