ALGOA BAY LATEEN.
The lateen rig is met with all over the world, and is much in use on parts of the African coast. In Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, a curious contrivance for hoisting the sail on sheer masts instead of on a single mast has been adopted ; the plan is common to the prahus of the Eastern seas, and to the river rafts of the Mayaquil rivers. Mr. William Fleming, of Port Elizabeth, Algoa Bay, had a boat fitted in this way as shown by the accompanying sketch drawn by him (Fig. 83) ; the rig is thus described : In lieu of the usual way of fitting and stepping a mast, two short poles are fixed triangle fashion, and secured to each side of the boat with a goose-neck, so as to move fore and aft. The heads of the poles fit into sockets, a a (diagram A), which can be made either of iron (galvanised) or of gun metal ; a transverse bar, g, keeps the sockets from opening at the throat. The sockets must be made deep, to fit the spars well in, and a small bolt, a a a, running right through for further security. The upper socket will hold a flag pole. The forestay will be fast to each mast by a bridle, and the runner and pendants will on either side be fast to a mast. A double block with tail is made fast round the neck of the sockets at o (A), for the halyards to work through. The standing part of the halyards is fast on the yard, then leads through the block under the throat of the socket, through a block on the yard, and back through the double block. The advantage of the two mast plan is obvious—no dipping of a lug when going about, and affording scope for any variety of cut sail, peculiarly adapted for lateen rig. Masts and sails can be lowered by the run by just slacking up the forestay, and hauling on it again when required to make sail, without starting halyard, sheet, or tack. The tack
of the sail may be fitted to travel on a horse, and kept in any position by a rope rove through a single block, one to be fitted on each side. Wire rope should be used for forestay and the pendants. The plan now suggested has this advantage, that everything can be lowered at a moment's warning, masts and sails snugly stowed in the boat, and if necessary to use oars, no masts stand in the way to prevent doing so effectually.
Commander T. B. Horner, R.N., has proposed the following plan for a lateen sail : The yard at its heel is pivoted into the fore end of the boom e, and can be lowered so as to reef the sail diagonally by the foot, as shown; while the " down tackle " at the mast keeps all in place, and a leathered bar (which may be called the " truss-rod "), fitted to open on a hinge (d), acts as a traveller to bind the yard to the mast, and to follow the shifting of it aft as reefed ; while a horse and traveller abaft the rudder-head would be useful to keep the boom down in working to windward. The main sheet and down-tackle being overhauled when lowering the yard for furling, the sail would make up upon the boom.
A topmast could be added to the rig, and a topsail set as indicated by the dotted lines, the sheet of which might be fitted with an india rubber stopper at the bitts, to meet the spring of the lateen yard.