The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-02
sAILMAIz1NG FOR YACHTS.
Different Methods of Cutting the
Wings For Rncers.
From the New York Tribune.

From the New York Tribune.
1.-THE proper cutting and making of sails
for racing yachts should. receive as care
ful attention as the skfull designing and
thorough construction o. their hulls"
This remark was made to a Tribune re-
porter yesterday by A. Cary Smith, the
well known designer of many fast sailing
AID steam yachts, and of the swift sound
steamers Richard Peck and City of Lowell,
IN discussing the new keel-sloop Defender
"As l understand it," continued Mr..
Smith, "one suit Of the Defenders racing
sails is of the kind commonly known as
crosscut sails that Is, sails the cloths of
which run square with the after leech.
This method of making sails is a very old
one, but is generally supposed to be new.
Such sails, however, were used on North
river sloops over forty years ago, and
were then quite common. The old sloop
yacht Maria, of that day, which was owned
by Mr.. Stevens, had similarly made sails
and old yachtmen of the present day re-
member that frequently, when she was
sailed in a strong breeze, her mainsail
was split.
"A man came to me a month or so ago
with some English patent records which
showed that crosscut sails had been
thought of as early as 1874, over fifty
years ago, SO that this manner of making
sails now is only a revival of a very old
method. The strain upon a crosscut sail
comes upon the thread with which its
seams are sewed, instead upon the canvas
itself, as is the case with sails that are
made with cloth running parallel with the
leech. The erosscut sail, therefore, has
less strength, and is more likely TO split
in strong breeze, especially when bear
ing a heavy boom. A comparatively new
English method for making sails for rae
ing yachts is to have the leech cloths. saw
for distance OF four or five feet from the
leech slightly longer than those between
them and the huff. The cloths are so
graduated in their increase of length from
huff to leach that the last one IS from six
to ten inches longer than It would be nv
the old method In light airs the Ieech
would be slightly slack, but in a heavy
breeze it would become fiat and the sail be
better than in a light breeze.
by the old method OF making sails the
leech often becomes so taut that it causes
the aftercloths to curl up and form a
bag, which makes the yacht carry more
weather helm than she ought to carry
besides spelling the shape Of the sail. 1t
is a fallacy TO assume that sail, to be
well cut well-htting and eIncient. must
set perfectly fiat like a board. The wind
will be spilled from, or in other words
will slide off from such a sail. while q
n
draught. hold its wind ana therefore have
greater propulsive power. Referring again
to the crosscut sails, will say that, ac-
cording to an old maxim, history re-
peats itself This may be the case with
yachts of the present day which use cross
cut sails, as did the old Maria, whose
mainsail was so often split by a breeze
which would have bad no damaging eff
feet upon a sail made in the old style I
trust that this history will not repeat
Itself. The cutting and making Of sails for
racing yachts will be a much more i'm
portant factor in the future than. in the
past, and it is to be hoped that the sub
ject will receive study and experiment
commensurate with its vital importance.
veteran yachtsman, to whom were
shown the foregoing remarks by Mr..
Smith, said: Il fully agree with Mr..
Smiths opinions on the subject. and can
give a very striking practical illustr.,-
ton in support of his theory. When the
international race between the Mayfower
and the GalateHwas sailed. several yachts
men, including myself, were on board the
Mayfiower as guests Of Gen, Paine, her
enterprising owner. For fifteen or twenty
minutes after the competing yachts had