Popular Science Monthly 



933 



/ 



may be ballasted if desired. Perhaps 

 the best way to do this is to fill a couple 

 of canvas bags with sand or fine gravel, 

 and place them on either side of the 



centerboard trunk. A cleat --.,^ 



tacked along the floor will ^^^^ 



prevent the bags from ^-^ 



shifting. Ten or twelve- / 



ounce canvas bags re-en- 

 forced by sewing a length 

 of 3/16-in. rope around the 

 seams will be suitable. A 

 rope strap-handle will , 



make it easier to handle / 

 the bags, which should t,_ 

 weigh about forty pounds 

 each. ^'^ 



In ballasting, the boat ,''' 



must be trimmed /^^ 



to ride on an even -A/ 



keel, or with just a ^^^ 

 trifie more weight Kthe wind is not "dead 

 aft of midship. If ahead" the "tacking" 

 sandbags or other must be irregular 

 weights are used, ballast to an even keel, 

 and your weight aft will trim the boat 

 correctly. Too much weight forward 

 makes a boat difificult to steer, and too 

 much ballast aft causes the stern to 

 drag too much water. 



The skipper of any boat — be it large 

 or small, should keep his "weather 

 eye" open at all times. When sailing 

 in a river or landlocked lake or bay, 

 one must be on the watch for pufTs, and 

 head up into the wind or ease off the 

 sheet a few inches. Moreover, the main 

 sheet should not be made fast, but held 

 in the hand, so that the rope may be 

 cast off to run free at a moment's notice. 

 In a brisk breeze, a half-turn around the 

 cleat will take all strain from the hands. 



\ 



up into the wind, rather than pay off 

 and jib the boom over. The experi- 

 enced skipper can jib in even a heavy 

 wind by easing off the sheet as the 

 boat pays off and the boom swings 

 over, and quickly pulling the sheet as 

 the craft swings on the other tack. 



It is well to keep in mind this rule of 

 the road at sea; that a boat on the 

 starboard tack has the "right of way" 

 over a craft on the port tack. By 

 starboard tack is meant the wind blow- 

 ing from the right or starboard side 

 (sail to left or port) and vice versa when 

 on the port tack. 



When sailing past the lee of a 

 vessel at anchor, or an island, keep your 

 weather eye open. Your boat is certain 

 to be becalmed or "blanketed" while 

 passing, and as she draws clear of the 

 object, the full force of the wind will 

 strike your sail. Remember this and 

 avoid a possible capsize. It is fool- 

 hardy to attempt to sail close to steamers 

 and other large craft, for the sake of 

 riding the swells. Keep away from 

 them. 



Sailing a boat in rough water demands 

 judgment, especially when the wind 

 and sea are a-beam. This is the most 

 dangerous point of sailing, and calls for 

 a cautious hand on the tiller. If the 

 wind is strong and fresh, it is the wisdom 

 of a sailor to reef and shorten the sail, 

 rather than to stagger along under the 

 whole spread. There is an old maxim 

 which runs something like this — "A 

 sailor shortens sail in time, but the 

 landlubber cracks on sail until all is 

 blue." Keep this in mind and avoid 

 taking chances. 



In rough-water sailing, with the boat 



I. 



but allows the rope to render \ 



free at will. --<C3---<C3--<Z>--<ZI>-<:3-<CI> 



When running straight be- ^"^ ^\ \ \N \'^ j"*" 



fore the wind, every boat will ' => -? ^ /r .e 



swing more or less from side 

 to side, and this "yawing" 

 is counteracted by swinging the rudder 

 slightly in the opposite direction as the 

 bow swings. A little sailing experience 

 will show how the trick is done, for the 

 good sailor can tell the behavior of a 

 craft by the "feel" of his hand on the 

 tiller. 



When going about or changing the 

 course, the novice should always come 



Diagram showing the trim of the sail with the wind at 

 different points of the compass 



heeled over to some fifteen degrees, 

 a heavy roller may even capsize the 

 boat. Guard against this, and when 

 you note a particulary big wave coming, 

 put up the helm a trifle, so that the wave 

 may be taken on the bluff of the bow 

 or abaft the beam. This use of the 

 weather helm is one of the essentials in 

 seamanship, Should a big wave seem 



