RECREA TION. 



403 



non-capsizable cutter, with a snug rig, 

 is the better in a blow or for offshore 

 work, and is more suitable for cruising. 



A cruising boat need not necessarily 

 be a tub, although the dream of a rac- 

 ing craft, of small size, being at the 

 same time a satisfactory, all round craft, 

 has yet to be realized. There is more 

 than one staunch little cutter, sloop or 

 yawl afloat that combines dry quarters, 

 reasonable dimensions, safety and speed 

 within its trim form. Much, of course, 

 depends on the area of sail carried. 

 The fewer skyscrapers and clubtopsails 

 displayed by a small cruiser the better ; 

 the snugger the rig, within reason, the 

 better it will prove for all round cruis- 

 ing purposes. 



As a detail, the cutter rig of double 

 headsail, forestaysail and jib, is an im- 

 provement on the large single jib, that 

 becomes a wet, unmanageable incubus 

 when reefing in a heavy, plunging sea. 

 Our British brethren surpass us in some 

 of these particulars, and in some points, 

 again, their boats are inferior to ours. 

 Our cruising cutter is 

 evolved from the old type 

 of racing cutter, for years 

 characteristic of the Eng- 

 lish yachtsman, additional 

 beam and minor differ- 



ences of rig being the main essentials. 

 The British racing craft of the smaller 

 rates, for the past few seasons, has taken 

 on the Herreshoff lines. Several of the 

 more successful of the one, two and 

 three raters have been built by that firm 

 for British yachtswomen. 



Although the English sailmakers have 

 a world-wide reputation, they run to 

 some peculiar rigs, the fad of the past 

 two seasons having been the lug sail, 

 frequently with a jib attached, set to 

 the boat's stem instead of to a bow- 

 sprit. For river sailing, on the Thames 

 for instance, the balance lug, as seen on 

 so many of our own canoes, may have 

 possible advantages, but a boat so rigged 

 lacks grace and that unity of line and 

 all-over-drawing appearance noted in 

 the cutter, yawl or schooner. The latter 

 is the handiest of all rigs, although 

 hardly adapted for small yachts. For 

 my own part I should prefer the leg-of- 

 mutton to a lugsail. 



The yawl displays an excellent ar- 

 rangement of sail power, handy, of un- 

 questionable ability in 

 all weathers and all cir- 

 cumstances ; the spread 

 of sail divided into small 

 surfaces rendering it 

 easily controlled by a 



A HANDY CRUISING CUTTER. 



