CERTAIN IMPROVED MEANS OF REEFING AND SHORTENING SAIL IN SHIPS AND OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1859

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Clark at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 30th May
1859. A communication from abroad by Enoch Erastus Mulliner, of
New York, in the United States of America, Mariner.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "CERTAIN IMPROVED MEANS OF REEFING AND SHORTENING SAIL IN SHIPS
AND OTHER VESSELS," to be as follows:-
This Invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a back view of a ship's topsail, topmast, and head of lower mast,
showing the whole sail spread; Fig. 2 is a side view corresponding with
Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a central section showing the lower part of the sail furled ;
Fig. 4 is a side view, which represents either a schooner's mainsail, or a ship's or
brig's spanker having my improvements. Similar letters of reference indicate
like parts in all the Figures.
A (Figs. 1, 2 & 3) is the lowermast; B, the topmast; C, the main yard;
and C, the topsail yard; all of these are intended to be constructed and
applied in the usual manner. D, E, Figs. 1, 2 & 3, is the topsail divided.
horizontally into two parts, the lower part E of which is fitted to the upper.
part, like what is known to seamen as a "bonnet," and is sometimes applied
to jibs and lug sails, loops a, a, being attached near the upper margin of the
lower part E, to pass through eyes in the lower margin of the upper part D,

page_text: '
and interlace with each other in such a manner as to be secured by one knot or
key, like the usual method of attaching bonnets to sails. The upper part D
of the sail constitutes a complete sail without the lower part E, the said upper
part being secured to the yard C¹ in the usual manner, and having roller
clews b, b, applied at its lower corners to recieve the reef pennants c, c, which
are attached by one end to the yard C, and pass thence through said roller
clews, thence downward under pulleys d, d, attached to the yard C, and
thence through blocks e, e, attached to the mast, and below these blocks they
should have reef tackles attached. The lower part Ę of the sail is intended to
be attached to the yard C by sheets, after the manner of an ordinary topsail,
but these sheets are not represented in the Drawing. When the two parts
D & E of the sail are secured together and spread, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,
they are equivalent to a single sail. When it is necessary to "shorten sail,"
the yard C is lowered by the halyard f, and the reef pennants hauled taut
by the "hands" on deck, to bring the clews of the upper part D close to the
yard, the reef pennants then constituting sheets to the upper part D of the
sail, which then constitutes of itself a complete sail. This leaves the lower
part E slack in front of the yard, and free to be disconnected from the upper
part when it is convenient to send men aloft to unloose the knot or key which
fastens all the loops a, a, which operation permits the lower part E to be
furled snugly to the yard C, so that it will not chafe like the reef of an
ordinary sail. The lower part E should be connected again to the upper part
before hauling up the yard C, in order to spread it again. The fore-and-aft
sail F, G, represented in Fig. 4, is made in two parts, F and G, of which the
top of the upper part F is attached to the gaff H, in the same manner as the
top of an ordinary fore-and-aft sail, and the bottom of the lower part G is
attached to the boom I in the same manner as the bottom of an ordinary
fore-and-aft sail. The two parts F, G, are connected by loops a, a, like the
two parts of the square sail above described, to make them constitute the
equivalent of a single sail when spread. The outer lower corner of the sail
has attached to it a roller clew b, through which passes a reef pennant c, which
is attached to the boom near its extremity, and which passes upwards there-
from to and through the roller clew b, and thence down to and under a pulley
d attached to the boom. This pennant should have a reef tackle applied to
it. To reef or take in the lower part of the sail, the gaff is lowered by the
throat and peak halyards h, i, in the manner as the gaff of an ordinary fore-
and-aft sail, and the roller clew is bauled down to the boom by means of
the reef pennant c. The lower part G is then disconnected by unloosing the
knot or key which secures all the loops a, a, and is furled and made fast to

page_text: the boom, leaving the upper part F entirely independent, so as to constitute to
all intents and purposes a complete sail. It may be observed, that in Fig. 4
the reef pennant c is applied so as to come entirely on one side of the part G
of the sail, and leave the latter entirely free of it. As the upper part F is
being hauled down to the boom, thus permitting the part G to be furled
without interfering with or being interfered with by the upper part F. One
advantage of my Invention in its application to fore-and-aft sails is, that it
prevents any chafing of the sail on the boom, which is unavoidable with
ordinary fore-and-aft sails when reefed. The same advantage also results
from its application to square sails.
Many other advantages of my improvement might also be stated, among
which are the following:-By the division of the sail as described, the surface
of canvas presented to the wind is stronger than if it were a single sheet like
the common sail; this is owing to the necessary employment of foot and top
ropes of the respective parts D, E, and F, G, where they unite. My improve-
ment permits the "shortening-in" of sail in a very brief space of time,
without altering the vessel's course, and without sending men aloft. It also
requires a less number of men to "shorten-in" or "make sail" than the
common rig. These advantages are evident, because instead of letting down
the yard on to the mast head, or lowering the boom upon deck, as the old
plan of reefing requires, it is only necessary to lower the yard or the gaff far
enough to bring the clews of the upper part of the sail down to the under yard
or boom. Thus there is little or no hoisting up of the gaff or yard to be done
after the sail is shortened. Under the old plan of reefing, whether schooner
or square rig, it is often a matter of great difficulty, if not imposibility to
raise the gaff or yard to its place after reefing. This difficulty is increased in
proportion to the violence of the wind and waves. If the sails are loaded
with ice, the trouble is greatly augmented. Ice sometimes entirely prevents
reefing under the old plan, owing to the imposibility of lifting or bending, or
tieing the reef points around the sail to the yard or boom. The result is, that
the vessel must run before the gale, and drive out to sea again, even when
nigh a safe harbor; or perhaps her masts are carried away, and the ship is
driven upon the rocks a pitiable wreck. My improvement obviates all these
difficulties, because, no matter how violent the gale, or how much loaded with
ice the sail may be, all that is necessary to "shorten-in" is to lower the yard
or gaff just far enough to bring the clews of the upper part of the sail down to
the under yard or boom. When this is done, and the emergency is such that
the lower part of the sail cannot readily be secured, it is only necessary to sever
the key a with a knife, and let the lower part of the sail blow away. The old

page_text: plan requires that a large number of men shall be sent. aloft upon the yard, in
order to "shorten sail." The great danger of life, and the long space of time
that is sometimes involved in this operation are so well known as to require
no demonstration here. My improvement entirely removes this great difficulty
in the way of mariners, since my plan requires no men to be sent alopt, and
renders the operation of "shortening saili easy and expeditious, even under
the most trying circumstances of sea and wind. My improvement does
not add to the parts of a vessel's rig, and thus render it more complicated
than before, but my plan dispenses with a number of parts, and so simplifies
the whole.
I do not claim broadly the Invention of a "bonnet," as that has been
applied to jibs and lug sails; but what I consider new is the following:-The
combination of the divided sail D, E, or F, G, with the reef pennants c,
roller clews b, pulleys d, and the yard or boom C or I, as and for the purposes
herein shown and described.