210 
does not,. indeed, controvert the supe- 
riority of Sir Henry Heathcote’s patent 
stay: sails over those in common use; but 
he denies that there is any necessity for 
retaining any of the stay-sails of the main 
or mizen-masts, except the two lower 
stay-sails, and those only for occasional 
use: all the rest of the main and mizen 
stay-sails he would for ever exclude; 
and he conceives that when he shall 
have given his reasons for this revo- 
lution, it will also be found practicable 
to dispense with one-half of the cum- 
brous and troublesome stern or steering 
sails, the modern spanker, and all the 
try-sails and gaff top-sails, excepting the 
mizen try-sail, which may at times be 
useful, making together more than 
twenty sails, about one half the number 
with which a ship is now equipped, and 
which contain above one fourth of her 
canvas; he also expects it will appear, 
that his principle of rigging ships would 
dispense with the so frequent use of the 
remaining half of the stern or steering- 
sails. This great reduction, and the 
removal of all the running rigging, 
booms, spars, end other top-hamper be- 
longing to those excluded, would save 
much of the seaman’s toil, would leave 
a large proportion of the crew dis- 
posable to better purposes, with vast 
additional improvement of the sailing 
properties of ships in lying nearer to the 
wind, and also in going faster a-head, 
both close hauled and when going large 
or before it. A ship thus improved 
would have greater stiffness or stability 
to enable her to open her lower deck 
ports in bad weather, as she would be 
relieved from so much top weight, and 
she would have much more symmetry 
and simplicity in her sails and rigging. 
The principle of this change remains to 
be explained. 
The well-known fact, that fore and 
aft-sail vessels can lay a course, and 
retain their headway, much nearer to 
the wind than square-rigged ships, 
proves that the windwardly power of 
canvas is greater than has yet been de- 
veloped in the latter, and that such de- 
ficiency is caused by an error in their 
equipment. This difference in wind- 
wardly power between those two kinds 
of vessels is one point of the mariner’s 
compass, which is equal to an angle of 
11° 15” in favour of gaff-sail vessels, and 
a point and a half making an angle 
of 16° 522” in favour of lug-sail vessels ; 
lateen-sail vessels will lie still nearer 
‘to the wind, but as that species of sail 
is unfit for large ships, it need not be 
here examined. 
Miller on the Sailing Properties of Square-Rigged Ships. 
{Oct. 1, 
- It is also well known, that sails sus- 
pended from yards, slung in an horizon- 
tal position, or in a direction approach- 
ing to it, are the most lively, lifting, and 
propelling species of sails, and are not 
pressing, like gaff-sails, which cause a 
vessel to heel or incline with the wind 
more than she would under an equal 
spread of canvass in square sails, or 
lug-sails. Now, the lug-sail combines 
those good properties, in a superior de- 
gree, with its own windwardly power 
when close hauled, and also has greater 
propelling power than the square-sail 
when going large or before the wind: 
for these reasons it is the most power- 
ful of all fore and aft-sails, and would 
be the fittest for chase, but that, as now 
slung and worked, it is not so manage- 
able as the square-sail, and therefore is 
not so applicable to large vessels. The 
lug-sail, as now slung and worked, is 
subject to the great inconvenience of 
dipping the yard in stays, and of shift- 
ing it and the sail to leeward of the 
mast, and of hoisting thenr up again, 
which inconvenience at present ex- 
cludes the lug-sail from all vessels ex- 
cept small craft; the largest of these 
are obliged, for the purpose of avoiding 
that troublesome operation, to carry 
some of their lug-sails to windward of 
their masts, which diminishes the power 
of a lug-sail so carried, by making the 
luff operate as a back sail, it being diffi- 
cult, if not impossible, to carry the 
tack so far to windward, as entirely to 
prevent the sail from touching the mast. 
Other luggers, to avoid the trouble of 
dipping their yards in stays, are pro- 
vided with two lug-sails for each mast, 
which they have ready on deck for use 
upon alternate tacks, the leeward sail 
being hoisted, and the weather sail 
lowered—a very insufficient remedy. 
It is therefore necessary to improve 
the affinity that exists between the 
square and the lug-sail into a perfect 
union, by inventing a species of sail 
which shall combine the advantages of 
both, being as windwardly and power- 
ful as the one, and as manageable as 
the other. That important improve- 
ment would be effected, if we could free 
the square-sail from certain impediments 
to its proper set and action, that are 
caused by the present position of the 
stays of the masts in respect of other 
parts of the standing rigging, without 
depriving the mast of support, andif we 
could substitute a mode of suspending 
and working the square-sail, which shall 
enable it to take, upon each tack, the 
true 
