New-York tribune., 1911-12-17
SAILING CRAFT
The Evolution of the Fore-and-
Aft Rig

FORE AND AFT. The Sl0rL ol ~. ,,, A.
and-kft Rig from the Earliest Times 10
r. Present Dav. Bv =. Kcble chatter.
ION With over 30 illustrations anu
mans. svo. pp 2i7. Philadelphia: inc
J. r. Lippncott CompanN'
Mr. Chatterton is the historian Of the
shin not only Of its technical develop
mont and of the services il has rendered
to man. bnt also of it's romance which
some dread. died with the advent ol iron
and steam. though Rudyard kipllns mas
cssaved to prove the contrary MI
Chatterton's Romance of the snip
was reviewed in these columns some
time ago. His present volume Is IN
sense. a continuation of his SAILING
ships and Their story Vhich ueals
With the square-riggers only. lu' iot
ard-aft rig proves fully as Interesting j"
his able hands. for. besides exhaustive
tnowledge. h possesses a genuine en-
tbreiasm for his subject which capt.
Yates his reader. Moreover, Whl' INV
souare-rigger is rapidly being driven
from the deep seas by the steamship
fore-and-aft sailing craft hold their own
in coastwisc waters. though generally
i, ,ho struggle FOR continued existence
they add an auxiliary motor to tho'r
oouipment. This artificial drlNnE
mower. if SO it may he called does not
however. come within the scope Of MI
Cbatterton's survey. What he gives us
here is. first. the historic beginning oi
th rig. and then. in chronological order'
the general manner in which TINS went
on developing during the succeeding cell
,urjos and how it became modlhed 10
s,;it particular and local purposes. with
special regard. however, to the manner
in which it has been employed IN the
waters Of Northern Europe.
The earliest form of sail was the
square sail of the Egyptians and PhF-
uicians. and from this sail was lmpro-
vised the earliest fore-and-aft rig by
the simple process of "braclng' the yard
and depressing that part Of 1t Whlch
projected before the mast Thus came
into being the lateen sail which the
Venetians. Spanards and Portuguese
employed later even on their largest YES
sells. When This lateen rig, which per-
sists to this day in the Mediterranean
and is found also in Chinese and East
Indian waters. first reached Northern
Europe it were hard to say. The sails
Of the Vikings were square. Mr.. Chat
terton reminds us. and so were those or
the fishermen on the North Sea during
the Middle Ages Whether the idea of
the fore-and-aft rig was first suggested
TO Northern Europe by Mediterranean
visitors or whether it was born on the
spot from the requirements OF SHALLOW
waters ana tortuouS eStuaries is ques-
ton that cannot be settled, but our
author informs US that the earliest date
at which he has been able to find any
evidence Of that rig in these latitudes Is
the year 147J, when it was in use IN the
Low Countries. II is indeed. in the
Netherlands that must be sought the
earliest chapters of the evolution Of the
fore-and-aft rig as it has come to be,
on the schooner and the catboat the
cutter. yawl and sloop and many others
of their kind
The lateen sail. with its enormous reach
OF yard, quite safe under the equable
skies of the Mediterranean. must OF ne
cessity soon have been discarded III the
tortuous rivers and the changeablc
weather of the North for safer canvas,
more easily handled. Headsails came
later MI Chatterton points out by the
way that
II Is a little curious at first sight that the
Dutch with al their inventive ability for
matters connected with the ship, never
seemed to adopt the centreDoarG. II was
not the case that the centreDoard had not
been thought Of iu those DAYS, for ! nave
read i'm an entertaining little book. pup-
lishcd IN England in 1.1S. q suggestion for
"a thing 10 be- lcttcu dOwnc, and To he
wound up againe" through the ships keel.
SO as to make = ship 10 draw or zoe but
a little way into the water, and Vet To saiie
well by the wind and 50 mot to suffer
the Ship to fall 10 LccWardes' If tnat
is not the exact idea of the ccntrcboard. !
know not what il can lc.
But the Dutch prefer to this day the
Iceboard. partly, no doubt, in order not