PART II. ENGLISH SAILING-BOATS, YACHTS, ETC. 'The breeze fills my sails, so adieu to the land! THE AUTHOR. THERE is considerable variety in English sailing-boats, both as regards form and rig; and although some possess fewer general advantages than others, it is often found that the nature of the coast in some parts-the harbour, river, or other circumstances -renders it necessary that a boat of a different, and in some places peculiar, form and rig, should be adopted for the purposes of safe and useful navigation. And a sailing boat, to be safe and serviceable, must be adapted to the waters and locality in which it is to be employed; the most useful and reliable being that in most general use by the resident boatmen, the form and rig of which will usually be found to possess some special advantages with reference to the nature of the waters and coast to which it belongs; and generally such advantages or peculiarities are the result of years of practical experience, by those familiar with the navigation and locality of the waters. A boat constructed and rigged for sailing on the smooth surface of inland waters would be ill suited to the rough waters of a sea-coast, and vice versa. And, as some parts of the coast are much more dangerous than others, it is found that the ingenuity of the native boatmen has enabled them, from long experience, to design a form of boat admirably suited to the locality and purposes required. For instance, the north-country cobles, employed off the perilous north-east coast at Flamborough Head, and such-like exposed parts, are ingeniously contrived to meet the dangers of the navigation cf that bold and stormy coast; but they would be ill adapted to the shallow waters of an inland bay or a narrow river. So also as to the yawls employed on and off the coast of Yarmouth and the neighbourhood, which abounds with shoals, shallows, and sands. The feats of seamanship and daring constantly performed in both, by the native boatmen, are truly astonishing; whilst in boats of an ordinary form, it would be certain destruction to attempt such. Sailing-boats for sea-going purposes must have high bows, and the ballast should be trimmed rather farther aft than in such as are employed in smooth water. It is also better for small sea-going boats to be so rigged as to carry a mizzensail, which is of great assistance on 'coming about" in a sea-way. Boats employed in the pilot service, which have constantly to be run up, under sail, alongside of vessels at sea, for the purpose of putting a pilot aboard, are rigged with a view to the convenience and facilities of that service, and generally carry all their sail inboard; some, however, have a mizzen, the clew of which is run out on an outrigger at the stern, but they seldom carry any sail extending beyond the stem of the boat, nor indeed any bowsprit, because of the peril of snapping it off, or of its becoming entangled with the ship in a rolling sea. The main-mast of a pilot lugger is therefore placed forward, in the bows of the boat. (See the engraving which faces this page.) With boats so rigged, pilots fearlessly luff up to leeward alongside ships at sea, deliver a pilot, and bear away again without striking sail or lowering any of their canvas. Pilot boats, however, are not all rigged as luggers; there are various other rigs for pilot boats, as schooners, cutters, sloops, &c. River boats for sailing should not be less than fifteen feet in length, by at least five in breadth: they should be sharp and fine at the bows, broad a-midships, and by no means narrow at the stern. Inexperienced persons are warned against the danger of setting sail in small boats of a narrow form of hull; such boats, though well suited to the oar, are unsafe with a sail. Boats with narrow sterns are not desirable for sailing; those with tolerably broad sterns and good breadth of beam, are enabled to carry sail with far greater safety than those with wedge-like bottoms and narrow beam. Short, wide boats are the safest and swiftest for beating to windward in tortuous rivers and narrow channels. Long boats are best adapted for wide waters, sailing on a bowline, and running free; and generally, in places where long tacks may be made. Boats with a narrow deck, or water-way within the gunwales and around the interior, are called 'half-decked boats,' the object of the water-way being, to render them safer under sail, when listing over in a breeze. All open boats with large sails should be so furnished. The half-deck or water-ridge is a great safe-guard, as well as convenience and comfort; it also makes the sailing-boat more complete; but notwithstanding, if too much sail be set, and the sailor too venturesome, the half-decked boat is equally liable to be upset and sunk. THE SPRIT-SAIL AND FORE-SAIL RIG. For small open sailing-boats, there is no better, safer, nor more convenient rig than the sprit-sail (or spreet-sail), and fore-sail. There is no sail which stands flatter than a well set sprit-sail; and it has the merit, when old and out of shape, of standing as well as ever. To a tyro boat-sailor it is recommended as superior to any other, for a boat under eighteen feet in length; when longer, some other rig is preferable, as the spreet required to set the sail will be found too long and heavy to be convenient, and it is besides, in many respects, dangerous. Should it suddenly or accidentally slip out of the strop or snorter which holds the lower end to the mast, it would strike the bilge or some other part so violently as to go through the side, and probably stave the boat and sink it on the spot. The sprit-sail, in shape, resembles a cutter's mainsail, but has a sharper peak, which is raised by means of a small spar |