MISSING STAYS.—To get in irons or to get stern way on a vessel is not exactly missing stays, as to miss stays means to come up head to wind and then to fall off on the same tack again—in fact, to fail in going about. Generally a vessel has a tendency to miss stays through having too little after-canvas ; that is to say, the centre of effort of the sails is too far ahead of the centre of lateral resistance. The fault may be cured by reducing the head sail ; by increasing the after sail; by shifting the mast aft without reducing the sail ; by rounding up the fore foot and heel ; or by rounding up the heel.
But a vessel may generally stay well enough, and only fail in going about through meeting a sea on her weather bow as she is brought to the wind; or through the wind following her round ; or through the helm being put down too quickly or too slowly ; or through the head sails being badly worked ; or through her having insufficient way on when the attempt was made to tack. Whatever the cause, directly it is seen that
the vessel is going to fall off on the same tack again after coming to, lose no time ; haul the fore sheet, and jib sheet too, if necessary, up to windward, slack off the main sheet, and, if the vessel has stern way, bring the helm amidships. Directly she has fallen six or seven points off the wind, ease over the head sheets and trim them to leeward; and as she gathers headway haul in the main sheet, and sail the vessel a good full and try again. At the next attempt, as- the helm is put down, ease up the jib sheet smartly and haul in the main sheet, but let the fore sheet lie till the vessel falls off on the desired tack.