SAILS FOR CENTRE-BOARD BOATS.
Opinions are very much divided as to the best kind of rig for a centre board gig; but, at any rate, the balance lug in some form or other appears to be most generally in favour. It has been contended that a boat rigged with a single balance lug is likely to miss stays, and this is perhaps true in what is termed a " lop; " but a boat with one large sail in the hands of a clever boat sailer, need never miss stays in smooth water at least, unless the wind headed the boat round, and then of course she would miss stays, what ever her rig. It is an advantage to have the sail all in one piece for going to windward—tacking out of the question—and for a single hand it is of course convenient to have no head sails to work. No description of boat will stay quicker or with more certainty than the American cat-boat, or Una, and, if not brought head to wind by too free a use of the rudder, they lose very little way in tacking.
On the other hand, a boat with one sail may fail to go about in a disturbed sea, and may get in irons ; whereas if she had a foresail the operation of tacking, without getting stern way on, might have been successfully performed by keeping the head 'sheets aweather. A clever boat-sailer will always work his head sheets without inconvenience even in a lop, as he will see his craft safely filling on the opposite tack before he attempts to "let draw," and, as the head sheets will lead aft, he need not move from his seat. The argument pro and con. the foresail can, therefore, be summed up thus : In light winds it is an advantage to have the sail all in one piece, especially for beating, and the trouble of working the head sheets does not exist; but in strong winds and rough water there will be more security in a smaller mainsail, with the addition of a headsail ; and, although there will be the trouble of working the head sheets, there need be no difficulty about it even for one hand. Concluding that it is " safest to be safe," it will be best to be provided with a foresail for sailing in rough water.
Another very strong argument in favour of the foresail or jib in addition to the balance lug is this : if there be much wind, the boat when sailing " along," or off the wind, will exhibit a very great tendency to come to against her helm, that is, she will require a great deal of weather helm to keep her out of the wind; this tendency will be greatly relieved by the jib.
Again, if there be any sea, the boat will have to be constantly " chucked " up in the wind to avoid a comber that may be coming in on the weather bow, for it will not do to sail boats very hard in rough water; yet must they be kept full, and to avoid getting into irons after luffing to a comber, or to meet a heavy puff, a foresail will be found very useful. The foresail can either be set on a bowsprit or bumpkin, as shown in Plate V. repre senting the standing lug rig. The manner of fixing the bumpkin will be found described in the chapter on Itchen boats.
Many experienced boat sailers recommend a mizen instead of a foresail, and they argue that a mizen can be made as great a help to a boat's staying as a foresail. There is not much doubt that a mizen is a powerful lever to assist in throwing a vessel's head to wind; but it is of no use for paying a boat's head off, if she gets in irons. However, as shown in Mr. Baden Powell's sketch, if the tiller is carried aft (say 2ft.) of the rudder, to act as a mizen bumpkin, then each time the tiller is put down, or to leeward, the mizen will be brought to windward and push the stern round. This may be so, and, if the boat kept moving through the water, she would no doubt ultimately describe an arc of a quadrant through the wind acting on the mizen ; but when a boat is in irons she does not move through the water — at least not ahead, although she may get stern way on. Now if the mizen is kept across the boat whilst she is in irons, it will, if it has any effect at all, drive her astern as well as tend to push the stern on one side. As the latter motion will be counteracted by the direction the rudder is necessarily turned (presuming that the boat is making stern way), we doubt if the mizen can be manceuvred so as to be of much service in the case of a boat that has no head sail getting into irons. In fact, the proper thing to do, if a boat in a " lop," when under main and mizen sail, did get into irons, would be to let the mizen sheet go, and reverse the helm, and then haul the mainboom over to the side which is to be the weather one when she has filled ; then, with stern way on, the boat's head will be boxed off, and she may be helped by a timely kick from a cross sea. Thus far the conclusion is forced upon us that, if two sails are decided upon, the foresail and mainsail have a slight advantage over the mizen and mainsail.