236 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct. 19, 1882 



SINGLE HAND YACHTS. 



niIKI!l<; is a peculiar eharn 



■elati.: 



vith j 



i.f Mli; 



iendsbeleft brliin.] in .lusly cities. 

 In- thiils a fresh ami concilia] substitute ill l.lit- intimate acquaintance 

 df his boat, for soon lie learns to invest his Moating home with a per- 

 sonality, causing the boats character to appeal to his appreciation as 

 though being endowed with actual life. He discovers the brave, 

 sturdy qualities his ship may possess and approvingly recounts them 

 over and o\er to himself, lie finds she is not perfect and seeks to 

 ' rect her weaknesses and caprices. He handles her tenderly and 



£oi 



v it li e 



She lieeom 



Line tn Li m 



■s the apple of his eye. There are no "guests' 

 I ashore, wanting to catch an impossible train 

 no sooner board the yacht than their selfish 

 ated upon the best method of fetching up 

 . There are no croakers, no nervous lubbers 

 calm, fretting about getting somewhere in the 

 hough the yacht were a tiresome prison anil the 



e clothes to mar the ideal of 

 fere with the devotion to the 

 n fancy has perhaps depicted 

 inths of waiting. His ship, his 



ailor than the tiny s 



igle bander. 

 . _rk he would 



escape in larger vessels, an. I main- a practical lesson which might 

 never be learnt bin fur the demands of clausing alone, but life'jn 

 these small jraehis develops in man or lad an innate love for blue 

 water, a spirit ol restless adventure, a longing for "going foreign,'' 

 which distinguishes tile real sailor from the sham article, best de- 

 Scrtl ' ■ ' 'excursionist.'' The quarters may be cramped, but 

 tio very ia i ■ -.-by of making small room go far affords as an offset 

 greal p] osure in seeking by cunning devices and economical plan- 

 ni] . toclrct] nvenl limited space, Serving up three mealsadayin 

 courses is certainly imp. ■ssible. lint what may be missing in seductive 



variety at isl appi tite derived from sea 'air and hard work will 



more than make good. It is an old and true saying that appetite is 

 the best sauce, and many a time havewe had occasion to verify. this 

 adage-. Perched it]- nn the weather quarter, peering into the dark- 

 ness for a landfall afb-r a heavy day's homing with the sea, the inner 

 i. j i . eln-w roue or old shoes in satisfaction of a ten or 



twelve hours' fast, how grateful then even such a modest, common- 

 place article as a biscuit or even forecastle hardtack, spiced with a 

 lump of cheese, washed down witha hasty pull at the flask. Not for 

 the finest feast a I loli-ionici. factory or an epicure's larder affords 

 would w-e exchange the gratefth sensations of such a moment, 

 supremo wiili satisfaction, unknown to aught but those who have 

 earned th-hr appetite by serious toil. And then when the mark you 

 have laid your course for all day at last looms through the dark, wet 

 night, and lb-- -tie,.-,--- t'ul close <'i' your work- and care for the day is 

 announced by the racing of the chain through (lie hawsepipe, 

 aud the final clink as. the turns fall about the bits for a full due— such 

 welcome music from the rattling links sends a thrill of victory to the 

 heart of tin- weary mariner, to which the trumpeting of a brass band 

 ashore is perfectly insipid. Ami the cosy feeling of snugness as you 

 hud your pet ruling quietly under a lee after the rich- buffeting of the 

 day, as you push back tin- slide, light the pretty little cabin lamp be- 

 low, and start the kettle sizzing for a feast at leisure upon the best 

 your ample, well-selected stores afford, topping off with the soothing 

 pipe, all that makes up a combination of bliss" unapproached, much 

 less equaled, by anything else we have ever experienced in the pur- 

 suit of enjoyment-. 



The mind plans and the body executes. You set yourself a task, 

 and in its accomplishment above all difficulties lies your reward. It 

 is play, yet it is work. It is pastime, yet it is a school of instruction. 

 It is theory and practice in the same instant. It is recreation but 

 also health. It may at times seem like coarse, vulgar work, down- 

 right labor, yet its influences arc broadening and refining. It may 

 strike the casual observer as a waste of time. Those who have 

 tried it know better. Even from the sordid standpoint of the money 

 grubber, the time is capital veil invested with heavy interest in vigor, 

 boldness, circuiu.-pection and the habit of looking before you leap. 



The single hand cruiser lias his annoyances, his disappointments 

 without doubt, but the endless opportunities for solid, rational enjoy- 

 ment, study, observation, ^experiment, and the unlimited range for 



self improvement in body and mental capacity-, coupled with a dash 

 of romance and the spice of aihenture, so far outweigh adverse con- 

 siderations, that, we need not hesitate in counseling tin- beginner, no 

 matter what his wealth, to start in at the bottom of the ladder, to 

 ship as skipper, crew ami cook aboard [he right kind of single-hand 



\Ve publish herewith plans' for a small cruiser designed' by W. P.' 



Stephens, of West Brighton, Statan Island, and next week will pro- 

 duce the sail plan, and enter into detailed consideration of form and 

 rig most suitable for the purpose intended. The illustrations will 

 readily explain themselves. The yacht is 14ft, load line, 17ft. on 

 deck oft. beam, 3ft. 3iu. draft, 2ft. Sin. least freeboard, displacement, 

 approximate. 1b, tons, iron on keel iambs., iron inside, 8501bs., area 

 of plain sail 25U sq. ft., length of cabin Oft, (iiu., depth 3ft. lOin. 



Coc7* 7 o ? Cc 



5/NGL£J-/aND d/RU/SER Des^e* i r W.p. Stephens. 



