THE LATEEN (OR LATINE) RIG. THIS is one of the prettiest and most elegant modes of rigging a pleasure boat of any that is known. A lateenrigged boat never fails to win admirers, if the sails are true lateens, well cut, and fairly set. But there is no rig in which the pretty effect so much depends on the shape and make of the sails. Lateen sails never look better than when seen gliding along under the shadow of lofty mountains, or beneath the frown of high basaltic cliffs; their tall slender peaks and white triangles contrasting favourably with the dark features of mountain scenery. (1) The shape of a lateen sail is triangular, or precisely that of a large jib or fore-sail; it requires a long, stiff, tapering yard to spread it. A boom is sometimes used in English boats rigged with lateen sails of a large size, though seldom in foreign lateens. The mast for the lateen rig rakes forward, or towards the bows of the boat; it is very short, and requires to be well secured with stays and shrouds. Boats sail very fast under this rig, particularly when closehauled; the one objection is, the very long yard that is required to set the sail fairly, often considerably longer than the boat, therefore somewhat cumbersome and inconvenient for stowing away if let down on deck. This inconvenience, however, only arises when the boat is rigged with a single lateen sail; when two are used (and such is a very general mode with lateen-rigged boats), the yards are not so long as to be inconvenient. In lateen-rigged boats of broadish build, carrying only one mast and sail, the yard required would be nearly twice the length of the boat. If rigged with two masts and lateen sails, then each yard would be at least the full length of the boat. (') See the Frontispiece engraving of the Nile boats, which are rigged with lateen sails; and see also other engravings of Lateen Sails, infra. For the yards for lateen sails there is really no proper kind of spar but bamboo, which is not one-tenth the weight of fir or pine spars. Good sound bamboo spars suitable for large lateen sails are, however, very difficult to procure in England, though found in abundance in far Eastern lands. The lateen rig is suitable for smooth water and light winds, but perilous in heavy seas and strong winds, because of the loftiness of the peaks of the sails and the difficulty of satisfactorily reefing them. The peak cannot be dropped or lowered, as that of a gaff sail, though brails may be fitted for frapping the sail close to the yard; but, even then, the swaying to and fro of the long yards, in a heavy sea, is sometimes dangerous. But in smooth water the rig is safe enough, for, although the peak of the sail stands very high, the principal breadth and body of the canvas is low-a great consideration in rigging all open boats. It is also worthy of remark that, when running before the wind, if the boat be rigged with two lateens, they may be 'goose-winged,' that is, boomed out over the gunwale, one on each side of the boat; and when scudding before very light winds, the jib is occasionally slung as a topsail between the two peaks of the lateen yards. A lateen-rigged boat, with the sails goose-winged, and running before a fresh breeze, is a very pretty object; when viewed from a distance, it looks like an enormous bird skimming the waters, with extended wings. The Mediterranean is said to be the birth-place of lateen sails; there they are met with in every size and variety, and among them are many fast-sailing and beautiful boats. Every one who has cruised in Mediterranean waters, and along the coast of Spain and Portugal, must have seen and admired the lateen-rigged boats, with their lofty-peaked and graceful-looking sails; also the activity of the Spaniards who man them, the nimble manner in which they climb the slender yard, and perform other feats of seamanship very amusing to English sailors. These boats are seldom seen off the coast of Spain in fine weather, without two or three of the crew clinging to some part of the yard, or at the top of the stumpy-headed mast, where they sometimes remain for an hour or more at a time, but for what purpose it would be difficult to say. The lateen rig has been adopted by several other nations, although but little used in England. It is found in full perfection in and about the Mediterranean Sea, on the River Nile, the Lake of Geneva, at Bombay, and in various other parts of the world. It is an excellent rig for a sailing-boat where light airs and smooth waters prevail; but for strong winds and rough seas, there are other rigs which probably answer better. When a boom is attached to the lateen sail, the foreend should be united to that of the yard by a small joint, or S; a hook should also be fitted to the lower part of the mast, so as to hold the boom close to the mast on the leeward side. By this method, the heel, or lower end of the yard, must not be secured at the stem of the boat; in fact, no other guys or fastenings will be required for the lower part of the sail, except the main-sheet aft, and a small tackle at the bows, which will enable the sail to be easily worked and turned about in any direction by one person alone: a very flat and effective sail for working to windward may be set in this manner. Lateen sails are reefed, not at the foot, as other sails, but along the fore-leech, close to the yard. The operation of reefing is performed by the Spaniards, in large boats, without lowering the yard. Lateen-rigged boats generally require more hands to manage them than those of other rigs. NORFOLK LATEEN RIG. The lateen-rig, as shown by the engraving on the opposite page, consisting of a lateen fore-sail and lug-mizzen, is one adopted on the River Yare, in Norfolk, for the pleasure-boats of that locality. It is admirably suited for narrow waters and tortuous rivers, where short tacking is unavoidable. Boats for turning to windward in narrow channels must be short and wide; a long rakish craft is unmanageable in such waters. Among the Norfolk lateens are some of the fastest and prettiest boats, after this rig, of any in England: the largest |