SPRIT SAILS.
Sprit sails formerly were in high favour, but during the last twenty years they have gradually fallen into disuse. It is still a favourite rig, however, among watermen, and they probably adhere to it because the sprit stretches the sail so fiat. The old Ryde wherries, celebrated for their fine weatherly qualities, were sprit-rigged, but of late years they have generally adopted the gaff instead of the sprit. The advantages of the sprit over a gaff for setting a sail in a small boat cannot be denied, as by crossing the sail diagonally it takes up all the slack canvas in the middle of the sail, even if it be an old sail. On the other hand, a sprit is an awkward spar to handle, and it need be much longer and heavier than a gaff to set similar sails.
In small boats the lull of the sail is usually laced to the mast through eyelet holes about 2ft. apart ; the throat is secured to an iron traveller, or sometimes to a grommet strop. In large sails galvanised iron rings or mast hoops are used. The tack is lashed to a small eyebolt screwed into the mast. The sail is hoisted by a single halyard and belayed to the gunwale to serve as a shroud. The foresail is also belayed by a single halyard, and belayed to the opposite gunwale. The sprit is supported on the mast by a strop called a snotter; this strop is a piece of rope with an eye spliced in each end; it is put round the mast, and one end rove through an eye; the heel of the sprit is put in the other eye. After the sail is hauled up on the mast the upper end of the sprit is put into the eye or loop on the peak of the sail, and then shoved up and the heel slipped into the snotter. The sail is then peaked by pushing the snotter and heel of sprit as high as required; the sail is then sheeted. If the sail is large and the sprit heavy, a traveller and whip purchase are used : (See Fig. 74.) A pendant with a running eye in it is fitted over the masthead ; at the lower end of this pendant is a block, through which the hauling part is rove, one end being fast to the thwart. Sometimes a gun-tackle purchase is used instead of the whip purchase. Either is to be preferred to the snotter alone, as without any other support the snotter will be continually slipping down. If there should be much wind when the snotter slipped down the mast the heel of the sprit might go through the bottom of the boat ; and this accident has very often happened. The waterman's remedy for this is wetting the mast, but the single whip purchase is to be infinitely preferred, as it not only keeps the sprit from slipping down, but enables the sail to be set better.
An improved form of the sprit sail rig is in use in America, an illus tration of which has been made by Mr. R. B. Forbes, as shown (see Fig. 75). The sprit comes down to the gooseneck of the boom and is inserted in a pocket a, stitched diagonally across the sail : b b are brails on both sides of the sail, but leading through one purchase block p; p, of course, is a double block. The standing part of the purchase is fast to the stem at 8, then leads up through the block p, down through a block on the stem 8, and the fall f, to a cleat inside the waterways. c is a reef point, one on each side of the mast, round which they are tied when the sail is reefed.
When reefing the mast is allowed to rake aft, either by having a long slotted step for the mast, or by pivoting it in a tabernacle. (See the French rig, p. 275.) The process of reefing is very simple : luff into the wind, slack up sheets, haul on the brans ; make everything fast, rake the mast, and fill away again. Fig. 76 shows the sails reefed with the upper part of the luff of the sail brailed up. To make a neater " brail up" another pair of brails might be attached to the head of the sail at k, and lead to a, then to the mast head down to the block p. This forms a very easily reefed sail.
Fig. 77 represents another American rig (drawn by Mr. Forbes), and has the advantage of the sails being in three pieces. The main and wizen are fitted on the lateen plan, but are shoulder of mutton in shape. a is the halyard made fast to the yard, and leading over a sheave in the mast head to the deck. B is another halyard leading through a bull's eye at the mast head and belayed to a cleat on the heel of the yard at f. The yard or reefing boom d is jointed to a traveller c. The reefing tackle is shown by e. r r are reef points. The foresail is hanked to a wire stay. A short club yard, g, is laced to the foot of the foresail; the fore sheet block is fast to this yard, and works on a traveller across the deck.
To reef the sails luff up head to wind and cast off the halyard a, and the sail will lower until the traveller c rests on the boom at o, b of course coming down to the bull's eye on the mast head. Haul on the reefing tackle e, and tie the points at leisure (see Fig. 78). Next let the foresail run down, and stow it on the bowsprit. To further shorten sail stow the mainsail. The small jib is set flying.
The sliding gunter, it has been claimed, has all the advantages of the lug sail ; has lighter spars compared with sail area, and is less dangerous. This may be true enough of the old-fashioned dipping lug, which no doubt is a dangerous sail, but we very much question if the gunter will ever be able to compete with the balance lug, in weight of spars or in handiness, effectiveness, or safety.
The mast, it will be seen by Fig. 79, is in two pieces, the upper part sliding on the lower by two irons. When hoisted the lower part of the luff of the sail is laced to the mast. The irons should be of brass or of galvanised iron, covered with leather, and they should be kept well soaped or greased.
The irons are fitted to the upper part of the mast (usually termed the yard), and should fit the lower part very loosely, as a common peculiarity of the iron is to jam either in hoisting or lowering—mostly during the latter operation—especially if the boat be heeled. The yard is hoisted by a single halyard rove through a sheave-hole at the lower masthead. The halyard is fast to the heel of the yard, and a score is cut out for it on the fore-side of the yard ; it leaves the yard at the upper iron. The gunter rig is some times applied to long boats with three masts, a stay foresail being invariably used. The sketch given shows a sail fit for a 17ft. boat (such as Plate III.), and has foresail and Median wizen.