With such canvas aloft, the latest improvements in ballasting must be adopted, and the new boats are all fitted with metal keels, 3 cwt. to 5 cwt. in weight. In one or two, all the internal ballast is also lead ; but, whether lead or iron, it is neatly cast in blocks, weighing about a hundredweight, which fit close down to the skin, but hang entirely on the keel and floor timbers. As shifting ballast is allowed in the Large Club, most boats, whether belonging to this club or no, are fitted with a shelf for stowing weather ballast in each bilge, as shown in the arrangement plan and midship section (Plate XXV. and Fig. 101). This shelf also makes a capital seat for the crew, where they are well up to windward and also in shelter. The celebrated Largs boat Neva (possibly borrowing the idea from the China clippers, which, when racing, hung water-butts over the weather side) used to get her ballast still farther to windward, by slinging pretty nearly all of it (some 6cwt.) right outside. The Western Yacht Club, however, has most stringent rules against shifting ballast, and rigidly enforces these rules, also limiting the crew to three in the 17ft. and 19ft. boats, and four in the 22ft. boats, so as to prevent, as far as may be, " live ballast." These boats go out in pretty well any weather, the sail reefing down very snug, and the boats, when not recklessly driven, being most seaworthy little craft. Accidents of any kind are therefore rare, and we cannot call to mind a fatal one, owing doubtless to the excellent rule enforced in all the clubs, that "every boat shall carry life-saving apparatus sufficient to float every person on board." The modern boats seldom or never miss stays, but in the event of their doing so, it is admissible to use an oar to put them round, " but the strokes are to be backward, and in no case to be ahead," a very necessary clause, as before its introduction, a morbid horror of missing stays prevailed, especially in calm weather. At one time in running, the Western Club did not permit extra sails, and did not even allow "booming out," but the Western now follow the rule of the other clubs and allow spinnakers, or more generally " shadow sails." The shadow sail is generally an old lug sail hoisted opposite the other, and the boom shipped into a snotter on fore side of mast.
The 22ft. boats are invariably rigged as cutters, with mainsail, fore sail, and jib, and small topsail on the pole mast. They carry also the usual balloon canvas for running to leeward, and occasionally indulge even in jib topsails. In the following table we give particulars of the best boats in this class, the " Thisbe," built by McLaren, of Kilcreggan, and owned by Mr. Allan Macintyre, and the " Ayrshire Lass," built by Fife for Mr. Thomas Reid, of Paisley. It is by the courtesy of these gentlemen we are enabled to give the following particulars. Alongside are given those of a 22ft. boat built to our drawing.
The Clyde boats are invariably clencher built, so that in the event of anyone building to our drawings it would be necessary to put up a " roof tree " between stem and stern post, then make half moulds for, say, 2, 4, 6, and 8 sections, pivoting these on their centre lines so as to swing round and do for both sides. She may be planked to these
moulds, the frames then bent in, and last of all the floors, as if the floors are pat on before planking it is unlikely that the bottom will be kept as fair. The sections can be drawn down full size from the following table of offsets.
In all cases the water-lines are named from the load, or first water line down (see Fig. 102). The diagonals are also named in like manner, the top one being first diagonal, and so on. The gunwale heights and breadths explain themselves. The dimensions given are in all cases moulded, that is, to the inside of the plank. If it is desired to make calculations of any elements of these boats, once and a half the thickness of plank must be drawn on.
22s. to 23s. per foot, and other builders are pretty much the same; the items, therefore, would tot up about as follows : [NoTE.—Auguet, 1879.—Since this article was written there has been an enormous stride made in the construction of " Clyde Sailing Boats" through the general adoption by nearly all the clubs of the Y.R.A. rule of measurement. Although this was decided on a year ago, the effects are only seen now, the various builders having launched a number of miniature yachts which in no way possess any special features as to hull, sails, or ballasting. They are, indeed, simply models of big yachts; in one or two instances, indeed, they have been built direct off the lines of five or ten toners, the scale being altered to suit. Three-and-a-half, two and-a-half, and one-and-a-half ton yachts have therefore been competing in the old 15ft., 19ft., and 22ft. classes, the new boats being one-third to one-half longer, and having half as much displacement again as their rivals, while they have the further advantage of carrying a large proportion of the ballast outside, the result being that the old type of boat is likely to be improved off the face of the water. One or two of the builders, however, stick pretty closely to the old type of boat, simply adding a counter; this year's build may be somewhat deeper than the vessel shown in the plate, but if a counter be drawn on (the buttock lines will give a good enough guide as to its outline) she will very fairly represent them.
Iron masts were successfully introduced last year in several of the boats, they being found as light as, and much stiffer than the wooden ones. They were made of boiler tube, about 4in. diameter, and nth to tin. thick, tapered at top by slipping a small piece inside, and then a smaller, somewhat after the fashion of the Chinese bamboo fishing rods.
Lead and everything else being a good deal cheaper, 5/. might be deducted from the cost as given above of a 19ft. boat of the old type. The cost of a 2f-tonner (corresponding to the old 19ft. class), with all lead ballast, racing sails, and gear would not fall far short of 150/.
In the table (page 348) are given the particulars of a 2i-tonner for better comparison with the old boats.]