The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1876-11-02

The going out of fashion Of the insight
ly three masted schooner recalls an article
published in a Maine paper some twenty
or twenty-five years ago, when the rigging
OF large sea-g going craft rs tore-;tnd-aiters
first came into vogue. Much of what was
then written experience has since proved
true; and it certainly requires no argu
ment to convince a connOisseur IN marine
architecture that Il big three mastcd
schooner is rs lubberly looking craft us
floats. But Of the schooner rig the article
above referred to says
What advantage can be derived from rig
ging sea-going vessels in this way, we never
could ascertain. 1t makes the Spars very cost
ly; it wears out more sails, because inost of the
sails being in two large pieces, when they are
gone all is gone, while in the Square-rg every
thing may be made light but the topsal5 and
courses, and in heavy weather the topsails
alone stand the brlnt. 1t is no economy i'll
help, for though there is more pulling and haul
ing in brig, yet a schooner's sails are 50 heavy
to handle that it requires more beet to get her
main sheet in or to hoist her sails. than it does
TO moist any sail in ship. Then, As TO handling
the sails, II it IS very rough every sailor knows
it is rs much his life is WORTH to reef
schooner's foresai, and that any well discipline
ed ship can have all her tOpsails reeted and
every thing made snug, frequently while this is
being done. The reason is that these great fore
and-aft sails, when they are lowered, 90 over
board i'll the first place, and when they are
hauled in they cover every thing up, and the
boomS and CATS must, of course, have !; nightly
tightly before you can DO anything. Then, Just
as 'all hands and the cook have got the sheets
ill., dashed the gatl, and got the tackle ON to haul
an the foot n the Siij rpm,prf
bling in over the waist, and it is quite as much
as they can do to keep themselves from pitch
ing over the lee rail; while in square rugged
vessel there is none of this slatting-the tight
sails are first taken in and easily made snug,
and when reef lopsals' is the word, the reef
tackles are easily hauled out, the sail settled
down, the braces hauled talt, and then the
yards manned without any danger, at least
from the sea-
OF course, the three masled schooner of
to-day is not open to all the objections the
writer Just quoted from has urged against
the big iore-andatters of Il quarter Of q
century ago. To day. by means of
wnches. less beef is required to hoist
sails. and brails render them less liable to
slat or 90 overheard Then, the three
master does not spread so large single
piece Of canvas as the big two-masters
above referred to- Sill, it is evident that
to rig any vessel over 100 tons as a fore
and-atter is Il mistake, and so our ship
masters and owners have found it. Prob
ably the best thing to do with all the
threcmasted schooners now alloat, which
are in good condition, is to transform
them into arkentincs by square rigging
the foremost. We agree. however. with
our contemporary that for beauty and
convenience in a vessel between 200 and
800 tons, nothing can surpass the barque."
And we further endorse him when he says
but Of all rigs to 90 to sea in, give us
anything but q fore-and-ait schooner, and
we are glad to learn from all hands that
they have been run in the ground, and
that every body is getting rid of Them