Evening star., 1900-08-11
Modern Types Are on the Same
General Model.
CHINESE JUNKS ARE EXCEPTIONS
Size and Style Of Sails Give the
Class Names.
HOW TO TELL THE RIG


Copyright, 1900 by Morgan Robertson)
Written for The Evening Star
With the exception of scows. catamarans
and Chinese junks. the last in a class by
itself sailing craft of all nations are mod
eled on similar lineS-the familiar shape of
a rowboat. There may be more or less over
hang at either end and difference in proper
tional details. but the keel, rounded bilge
WedSe-shaped bow, and stern with swelling
buttocks or quarters are found everywhere.
The size of a sailing craft, with the COM
bination of sails used in her makeup. is
what classifies her as ship, bark, barken-
tine, brig, brigantine. schooner, sloop. yawl,
lugger or one of the host of lateen-rigged
vessels known the felucca type.
Sails may be loosely classed under two
general headings-square and fore-and-aft.
AS the name implies, the former is square,
or nearly so, and is hung by its upper edge
to a spindle-shaped spar called a yard
which is fastened at its middle to the mast
and is steadied by lifts and braces. 1t is
set by hoisting this yard after the lower
corners or clews are hauled down to the
ends of the yard below, and is furled by
lowering the yard hauling the clews and
body up to 1t. and bundling the whole on
to of the yard in a taperng roll. A low
yard, however. does not hoist nor lower,
and the clews are hauled down and made
fast to the rail of the vessel. Another man.
ner of handling a square sail Is to haul 1t
out and in on hoops sliding on the creased
yard; and still another, as In the case of
flying square SAIL" or a stunsail. is to set
1t from the deck, but creased yards, flying
square sails and stunsails are nearly OBJ
Solete.
Fore-and-Aft Canvas.
Fore-and-aft canvas is in several distinct
designs, the most common and important
Of which is the trapesium-shaped pattern
Of sailboat's largest sail. AS a sail alone
it has no name unless "schooner-rig" is
name; It is a mainsail, a foresail, miZZen,
1igger spanker or trysail, according to the
type of the vessel and the name of the mast
which supports il. Its characteristics are
it's immovable forward edge. or lufr, secured
to mast hooks, and its gaff which extends
the upper edge 1t may or may not have
boom at its lower edge, and the gaf may
hoist from the Geek. or remain fixed up
aloft, while the sail travels out and in on
hoops. Above this sail in schooners and
large sloops Is a triangular gaff-topsail.
filling the space between the gaff and the
topmast; and in racing yachts large light
weather sail fitted with small spars to ex-
tend it out past the end of the gaff and up
above the topmast head is called a club-top-
sail.
Jibs and staysails are triangular, and are
hoisted on a fixed. slanting rope, called a
stay-whose main mission is to support
mast from forward-which grips the upper
edge, leaving the rest of the sail to the con-
troll of the "sheet'-a rope, be it known,
not sail.
Lug sails give luggers their name. A lug
is shaped like a schooner'S mainsail. but is
hung to yards instead of gaff. and. when
hoisted. about a quarter of this yard
tends forward Of the mast. leaving the for
ward edge free but for the confining ten
sion of the upper and lower corner-one Sc
cured to the end Of the yard, the other to
the deck.
lateen sail also hangs from a ward. hut
the sail being triangular, the forward end
of this yard is hauled down snug to the deck,
and the after end is high in the air. 1t is
picturesque rig, very common on oriental
seas.
A leg of mutton is a gaff1ess triangle
hoisting on mast hoops and extending aft
with, or without, boom on its lower edge.
This design of sail Is often used on board
large ships for spanker. or trysail, on
yawl-rigged smaller craft on saiIboats and
on pleasure canoes; but wherever used 1t
is a COMPROMISED makeshift where full
cut sail with a gaff would be too large