Evening star., 1900-08-11


nomenclature. reversing the rule, and Civ
ing their names to the stays which sup
port them. The innermost headsail or
tib, however wears logical name. Hoist
Ing on the fOretopmast stay, II is called the
foretopmast staysail: next is the jib, or in
large craft, the inner jib, which is then
followed by the outer jib, and next is the fly
ing Jfb-theSe three hoistng on stays call
ed after the sails, and out beyond all is
another misnomer. the jbtopsail, which
sets on the foretopgallant stay.
The trysail, more often called the spen-
Ger, Is a spanker fitted to the mainmast.
Like the foresail, topsails and spanker it
Is made of the strongest canvas woven.
these sails being the last to be taken off
in bad weather. In the spaces between the
masts are staysails, each named after the
stay on which it sets, and these vary in
number with the ships size and prosperity
StunSatls-light wings rigged out beside the
larger square sails-are practically obso-
lete.
So much for the ship. a complicated fab
rlc requiring trained specialists in the han
dllng, and raved over by certain sea poets
as the most beautiful of mans handiwork
as with Straining stunSails above and aloft
storming along before a quartering gale
nftlng her clean-lined bow above the surg
ing pillow of foam created by her rush
wnlle the sunlight glintS from the bur
nshed copper at the bends like scattering
flakes of molten gold, plungfng down
down. down, until the lee cathead is hidden
IN solid green, and a white. shivering cloud
of spume blankets the belly of the foresail
and thins away to leeward; then, slowly
shaking her head like a swimming dog.
hitting to another wild rush over the crest
of a sea-
So much, too for sea poetry She was A
wet ship, or badly overloaded. The men
who danced attendance on those old-fash-
loned stunsailS allow and aloft" and who
We're drenched to the skin by that white
shiVerins cloud of spumc'' had no particu-
lar admiration for the rig Most would
nave preferred a five-maSted schooner with
a donkey engine.
Difference Between Them
Next in order of importance is the bark
rig-fore-and-aft canvas on the mizzenmast.
square on the fore and main. This rig gives
vessel no special advantage and is otter
detriment in wearing ship tsquaring away
before the wind to round TO on the other
tack); but, as n bark is usually smaller
than a ship, the dividing of the mizzen can
vas into but two parts-Spanker and gafe
topsail-ieaVes each not too large to be
handled by the crew, and much is saved in
cost OF running rigging. Barks may range
from 800 to 1,GD tons register. Above this
tonnage the full square rig is claimed TO be
more practical
A further modification of the ship is the
barkentine-about the happiest combination
possible of the square and the schooner rig
Only the foremaSt carries yards and st;uare
sails, the main and mizzenmast being
schooner rugged. This gives the craft the
advantage of fore-and-aft canvas in beating
to windward, while leaving her the only
good feature of ship. well balanced and
braced square rig forward to scud under IN
bad weather.
Now comes the brig-what might be called
a two-masted ship. She has no mizzen
mast, and is full square rigged on the fore
and main, and, having been failure from
the time OF her inception, she has nearly
disappeared from the seas. Possessing but
two points of wind contact, and with her
cumbersome square rig, she was hard on
the helm and often missed stays in going
about though In wearing she had the same
advantage over the bark and barkentine as
has the ship. But the brig was the favor
lite craft of certain old-tme gentlemen of
fortune, who roamed the seas, gathering
wha- they found.
AS her successor she has left up the
hybrid known as the hermaphrodite brig,
or, with regard to slight difference of de-
tail no longer considered the brigantine-
half brig, half schooner. She came into
being in the days when schooners-the next
distinct type-were small and carried but
two masts. A vessel too large for a schoon-
and two small for a brig was given the
salient features of each-the large MAIN
mast mainsail and gaff-topsail of
schooner and the square-rigged foremast of
a brig. But the combination was not so
successful as in the case of bark; for the
bark retained the short mizzenmast of the
ship, and comparatively small spanker,
easy to shift over in following gale. But
a brigantine, with her longest mast aft,
and, fitted to 1t, the large mainsan of a
schooner. must, when running before n
strong gale and in need of "jibbing" get
that great expanse of canvas over against
the full force of the blast. Ii is the posi-
tfon most trying to a schooner, and the
brigantine has borrowed her one weakness
the largest sail farthest aft But with that
mighty mainsail slowed and out of the way
she may scud under her square forward
canvas as long and as safely as may her
larger sisters.
The Schooner's Advantages.
A lesser departure from the schooner
rig to the square was the topsail schooner.
two-masted craft. schooner-rigged, except