SS6 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov. 14, 1889. 



o 



ANOTHER DELUSION DISPELLED. 



NE by one they are taken from us, the dear old delusions of 

 ^ our childhood. The stern statisticians of the present age 

 tell us we must give up our sentimental picture of William Tell, 

 cleaving with whizzing shaft the apple off the head of his smiling- 

 son. Thev rob us even of George Washington and his Hatchet, 

 and will prove to you in the same breath that Aladdin could have 

 had no lamp, for thev then used candles, and Robin Hood never 

 split the peeled osiers, for there were no willows in that country, 

 and further, that 'twas not the season for them to peel, had there 



It is bad enough to have our idols of sentiment and belief shat- 

 tered bv the busy hammer of these ruthless iconoclasts, but to 

 see them crumble before our own eyes is doubly bitter. What 

 must then be our grief ? B 



Such an experience I have to relate, and such a grief to assuage 

 bv sharing it'with the sympathetic readers of the Forest and 

 Stream. Not the. critical, quarter-mch fellows, who want re- 

 corded to the last tiny scale tlie number of scales on the lateral 

 line of that big trout. For them I write not. But into whose ear 

 hath entered the whispered voices of the woodland, and into the 

 heart of whom stealeth the secret communion of Nature, for him 

 is the tale I would relate, his the sympathy I seek. 



In the blue-covered, well-thumbed reader, in whose pages I 

 sought out the vexatious mystery of my mother tongue, was one 

 page, a trifle more dog-eared and finger-worn if possible, than its 

 fellows. A picture on this page has always shone, from a highly- 

 honored place, upon the walls of memory's picture gallery, with 

 radiance undimmed, as my steps have receded from it along the 

 long corridor of life. A picture faulty. I doubt not, in artistic 

 merit, but in the lesson to be taught, faultless. A watery waste 

 with an occasional fence stake projecting from the flood. A half- 

 demolished cart wheel in the background represented, as you 

 chose, either the risintr or setting sun. Some of the minor details 

 I may have forgotten; but the noble figure in the foreground, tbe 

 keynote in the whole symphony, I certainly never can. 



A mammoth squirrel, by comparison with its surroundings at 

 least as large as a coon, sits in calm, unmoved complacency aoiid 

 the raging flood. A huge tail, proving indisputably his claim to 

 the original classic of his name "shady-tail," curls over his back, 

 and, parted like a cockney's beard, serves as a sail, whereby the 

 piece of drift upon which he sits is driven merrily onward toward 

 the distant forest. There, I always imagined, the fearless navi- 

 gator would find in abundance fat grasshoppers and "shag-barks" 

 as big as pumpkins to reward his bold voyage. 



How my boyish heart admired the sublime courage of this won- 

 derful animal, sitting so smilingly upright, with not a hair wet or 

 displaced, and faring so blithely onward over water enough to 

 swamp a world. Here was your original canoeist; your primeval 

 navigator: your fearless explorer, before whose exploits the feeble 

 deeds of him who "died and was buried beneath the still waters 

 of the Mississippi" were but child's play. It was the dream of my 

 boyhood and the dearest hope of my youth that some day, as I 

 wandered through the forest, I might encounter a fleet of these 

 Corinthian sailors; or, at the very least, a select "club" of them 

 cruising the billows. ' ' 



Now behold the irony of fate. That twice in one short vacation 

 I should have my hopes shattered and my dreams dispelled by an 

 actual experience, which I proceed to narrate, 



In the montu of August of last year, while cruising with my 

 friend the "Dr." on the Fulton Chain, we saw something swim- 

 ming across the river ahead of us. Urging the boat swiftly along, 

 we intercepted the swimmer, which proved to be a common reVl 

 squirrel. In the water swimming! With tail afloat and haunches 

 well up, an unmistakable red squirrel, swimming! Yes, actually 

 swimmmer, like a water rat or any other ordinary plebian rodent. 

 When an oar was thrust out he at first attempted to dive, and 

 succeeded in getting afoot or eighteen inches beneath the surface. 

 But his hair seemed to hold so much air that he looked like an 

 animated silver image, and evidently found it difficult to over- 

 come the buoyancy of his coat and tail, so returned at once to the 

 surface. When a Hand was extended to lift him into the boat, he 

 laid back his ears with so manifest a disinclination to come aboard 

 and so evident an intention of debating the question that he was 

 allowed to continue his journey to the near shore. 



The encounter took place where the stream was some twenty 

 rods wide, and as there was no way for a squirrel, desirous of 

 changing bis habitation, to go around without a loug journey, 

 we did not so much blame this special individual for crossing. 

 "Yet," we thought, "he might have used his canoe." We con- 

 soled ourselves, no wever, by thinking that probably some other 

 fellow hid borrowed it, or it might have been undergoing repairs, 

 thus compelling its owner to resort to so unpoetic a mode of 

 travel. _ ._ . 



Though our preconceived ideas on squirrel navigation were 

 rudely jarred, still we clung to them; and as human nature is 

 wont, found any number of explanations to account for the un- 

 pleasant fact which we were loth to accept. 



"it never rains but it pours I" Scarcely a week after this 

 entrance of the edge of the wedge of disenchantment, it was 

 driven home by a second, still more cruel, blow of fate ! 



While paddling in an open canoe, in company with my sister, 

 upon one of the little lakes near "Fourth," we encountered a 

 second swimming squirrel. As in the former instance, 'twas a 

 "red brother," and as before he seemed perfectly at home in the 

 water; swimming "dog-fashion" very rapidly and quietly. 



When first seen he was about midway from shore to shore, and 

 we lay in wait for and intercepted him. He was evidently "going 

 somewhere," because he wanted to, and had no intention of being 

 turned from his purpose a hair's breadth by such insignificant 

 beings as ourselves. For, instead ot turning back or changing 

 his course, he came straight on in a Decline, passing within two 

 or three inches of the cutwater of Budge without deigning to 

 notice us, and "traversing the watery way till he gained the 

 wished-for sands." The lake was some eighty or one hundred 

 rods in diameter, and of such shape that the distance, to one fol- 

 lowing the shore, from the point where the squirrel took to where 

 he left the water, was but little, if any, more than tbe distance 

 across. 



Evidently this fellow swam because he chose to, not because he 

 was obliged to. There being then, in this case, no extenuating 

 circumstances as in the former, but on the contrary a wanton dis- 

 regard on the part of Sciurus for our cherished notions of the fit 

 and proper, we were moved to remonstrate with this young up- 

 start on his falseness to the traditions of his race and disrespect 

 to the memory of his fathers. By the time, however, that the 

 vague intent in our mind had crystalized into a definite purpose, 

 the object of our righteous wrath had reached the shore, flirted 

 the water from himself with a disrespectful whisk of his tail, and 

 from a stunted pine tree was calling in a voice hoarse with rage, 

 "Where's the impudent fellow who invited me to come over and 

 get tanned?" 



Need I say that my cherished idol, shaken before, could not en- 

 dure this fresh shock, but tottered and fell? Never shall 1 cease 

 to regret that fiction, so pleasing, so loug and carefully fostered. 

 Nor can I hope to find a picture in all the galleries of the world to 

 replace ttiat of the squirrel of aldermanic proportions, with the 

 self -satisfied smile, sailing away, away, with that impossible tail, 

 into the glowing regions of the sunset. Korax. 



"COMPOUND CENTERBOARDS." 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In your issue of Oct. 31 you publish a letter under the above 

 caption, from Mr. T. R. Brough, in which he declares the center- 

 board used by Mr. Butler in his canoe Fly to be an iafringement 

 of his patent of Aug. 2, 1837, and states one of the claims of his 

 said patent to be for "a lower hollow blade adapted to contain 

 other blades." I have no interest in the matter save the general 

 one inspired by a sense of justice, but that prompts me to say that 

 Mr. Brough goes too far. His patent is tor a folding centerboard 

 of the well-known pivoted fan-blade type, and he obtained no 

 claim of the character aoove indicated. He quotes but a portion 

 of his fourth claim, which is as follows: "Thy combination, with 

 a eeries of pivoted centerboard blades, of a hollow lower blade 

 adapted to contain the upper blades, substantially as described." 

 Nothing appears in your descriptions and illustrations of the Fly 

 to warrant the conclusion that Mr. Butler used the parts of this 

 combination, and hence there is not even a semblance of infringe- 

 ment. Patent Attorney. 



Washington, D. C, Nov. 6. 



THE A. C. A. TROPHY.— The citizens of Brockville have 

 shown a most gratifying appreciation of Mr. Ford Jones's skill, 

 and on Oct. 34 a public meeting was held, at which, after a very 

 complimentary address by the mayor, a handsome gold medal 

 was presented to Mr. Jones. The meeting also discussed the 

 question of a yacht and canoe club for Brockville, and it is likely 

 that Mr. Jones's victory will bear substantial results in the form 

 of a new club on the St. Lawrence. 



FA. 0. A. MEMBERSHIP.— Central Division: Everett Smith and 

 W. H. Peckham, Schenectady, N. Y, 



RED DRAGON C. C- Editor Forest and Stream: The Red 

 Dragons have, after a most successful season, mostly gone out of 

 commission for the winter; and now we hear tales of the wondrous 

 rigs, of area vast, to be swung next season, deck seats en regie 

 upon which the rash racer will shoot to wonderful distances to 

 windward, and, while we do not care to croak, we have our eye 

 on several wet men elect. The cruising season began with the 

 early spring and has extended over some hundreds of miles of 

 water, fresh and salt. Since its reorganization, the club has pros- 

 pered wonderfully, and a limit to membership seems necessary 

 before next season opens. Our new house has accommodations 

 for thirty canoes, and could be enlarged should we find it to our 

 advantage to do so. It is a great improvement upon our old quar- 

 ters and better situated for launching and hauling out the boats. 

 In future it will be necessary for all club members to become 

 members of the A. C. A. We expect to be represented at the meet 

 next season by the majority of the club. There is a rumor of a 

 representation at Squaw Point, a movement which the elder 

 cruising cranks are endeavoring to frown down. Several new 

 boats are to be added to the fleet: the old craft are all being 

 greatly improved with new rigs and fittings. Each owner is mak- 

 ing an earnest effort, for a better place in the club races. There is 

 material in the fleet for some very interesting racing, the trophy 

 cup being won by a different boat in each of the three races 

 sailed for it, and should next season's weather prove propitious 

 there will be some hotly contested events. Several of our pad- 

 dlers have greatly improved in the last season, and if our genial 

 vice-commodore wishes to keep the place which he has held in 

 the past seasons, he will have to do some vigorous fanning with 

 his 10-f ooter or else put a screw in the Valesca. Strenuous efforts 

 are being made for a club Uak-ta-hee.— H. E. McCormick. 



ST. JOHNS BURY BOAT CLUB.- Editor Forest and Stream: 

 The first annual meeting of the St. Johnsburv Boat Club, held 

 Nov. 5. the following officers were elected: Captain, J. S. San- 

 horn; Mate, Wm. A. Smith; Purser, Dr. R. W. Warner; Sailing 

 Master, 1. H. Hayes. Executive Committee, J. S. Sanborn, E. O. 

 Fine! and F, A. Batch. The club numbers thirteen active mem- 

 bers, has three steam launches, one catboat, five sailiug canoes 

 and numerous smaller fry, most of which are kept at our head- 

 quarters on Lake Memphremagog, 1% hours from here. Visiting 

 canoeists will be cordially welcomed, Any communication con- 

 cerning these waters will be most cheerfully answered.— Wm. A. 

 Smith. 



THE A. C. A. PADDLING TROPHY SUB8CRIPTIONS.- 

 New York, Nov. 11.— Editor Forest and Stream: The committee 

 which undertook the collection of the above beg to report the 

 receipt of $232, and to state that the order has been given to Mr. 

 C. V. Schuyler, for the firm of Domiuick & Haff, and the cup is 

 nearly finished. It will be ready for presentation at the meeting 

 of the executive committee— R. W. Gibson, Wm. Whitlock. 



Inciting. 



"West India Hurricanes and the Great March Blizzard." By 

 Everett Hoyden, 77. S. Hydrographie- Ofwe. Large quarto, with 23 

 lithographic plates. Price $1. Contains full history of the great 

 storm of March, 1888, icith practical information how to handle a 

 vessel in a cyclone; use of oil at sea, etc. 



SEAWANHAKA C. Y. C.« 



REPORT OP THE MEASUREMENT COMMITTEE. 



BEFORE proposing a change which, if adopted, must exert a 

 very strong influence on the yachts of the club, it is but 

 prudent to look to the history of previous changes, in order to 

 profit by their results and perhaps to take warning by past errors 

 of legislation. 



It is now eight years since the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht 

 Club took the first bold and decided step iu the direction of a sys- 

 tem of measurements which should include the' area of sail as an 

 important factor in connection with the length of hull. Though 

 discussed for some time on both sides of the Atlantic, no club 

 had yet ventured so far as to adopt a length and sail area 

 rule, and the action of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club 

 was condemned by many as premature, if not radically wrong. 

 In spite, however, of doubts and dismal forebodings, the pioneer 

 work done by the club has received the strongest possible indorse- 

 ment from the leading yacht clubs of the world in the adoption 

 of the same principle of measurement by length and sail area. 

 Not only is the present "Seawanhaka rule," as it is commonly 

 called, in use by many American clubs; but in the great change of 

 rule which has lately takeu place in Great Britain, a change 

 made only after the most searching investigation of the whole 

 subject; the formula adopted, though different in detail, places 

 very nearly the same value upon sail as compared with length as 

 that established by this club four years before. 



A brief trial of the formula first adopted, using a nominal sail 

 tonnage as the basis of measurement, served to show that it 

 could be materially improved, and in 1883 the present rule was 

 adopted, other minor changes having since been made; but the 

 results of all the changes of the past eight years have been such 

 as to justify the recommendations of the respective committees, 

 and the action of the club in indorsing them. 



Tbe reputation which the Seawanhaka Corinthian Y, C. has 

 thus won in the past as a leader in the advancement of yachting 

 is of too great value to be imperilled now by any hasty and ill- 

 considered legislation; and in recommending the following 

 changes we do so with a full sense of the trust reposed in us, and 

 of the responsibility devolving on us personally, and on the club. 



While it would be more satisfactory to lay directly before the 

 club the full sources of information on which our conclusions 

 have been based, the great bulk of the matter considered makes it 

 impossible to do so within the limits of a report like this; and we 

 have endeavored first of all to bring out the more prominent 

 features, trusting that the club will deem them so important as 

 to warrant a thorough discussion. In the six busy months that 

 have elapsed since the committee was appointed we have been 

 in communication, either by letter or in person, with the leading 

 designers of America and Great Britain, and have had as a guide 

 very complete records of races and of racing yachts built both 

 here and abroad during the past two seasons; while in connec- 

 tion with the similar committee of the New York club we have 

 been called on to answer objections and to discuss the question in 

 its many varying phases. 



The various subjects to be considered were briefly as follows: 



First— Tbe general system of classification and measurement, 

 whether as at present with a aeries of fixed classes by waterline 

 length, or by using the. present basis of measurement, length and 

 sail area, as the basis for classification also. 



Second— The most desirable ratio between the two factors, 

 length and sail, under the system selected. 



Third— The limits of new classes if auv be deemed desirable. 



Fourth— The method of measuring sail for the rule. 



Fifth— The possible improvements in the allowance, tables. 



In dealing with the first two heads the chief point to be con- 

 sidered is the great increase in sail in the newer yachts of all 

 sizes; an increase which has excited very general comment and 

 condemnation. That some restriction is needed which shall be 

 even more binding than the present rule of this club, is so uni- 

 versally admitted as to require no proof, though plenty might 

 be adduced were it necessary. Even though the owners of some 

 of the most extreme vessels express themselves as satisfied with 

 their craft, it is evident that the type of yacht now directly en- 

 couraged in all classes is by no means the best for the encourage- 

 of yacht owning and yacht racing; white there is reason to fear 

 that it will grow worse rather than better under the conditions 

 now existing: and especially that the overgrown rigs in the small 

 class, where though undesirable they may be safely carried, will 

 exert a strong influence toward the expansion of sail plans in the 

 larger classes, where a big rig i3 not only expensive and unhandy 

 but positively dangerous. 



If the only end in view was to restrict sail area on any given 

 length there would be no difficulty in replacing the present for- 

 mula of the club, k+^S A by . an0 t, ner i n wn jch the proportion 



of sail would be increased; but the fault of the present system 

 seems to lie deeper t han such a remedy would reach. With any 

 given proportion of sail to length in the rule the designer is com- 

 pelled to accept a fixed length, and consequently a certain amount 

 of sail appropriate to that length under the existing rules; as the 

 experience in nearly all cases Is that it is more beneficial to give 

 than to receive time. The liberty of the designer in the selection 

 of the main elements of speed, in dimension and model, is redueed 

 to a minimum, and he must look to an exeeBs of ballast and sail 

 to win. The alternative to this system, by which the class in 

 which a vacht will race is governed not by one of the factors of 

 measurement but by the product of the two factors, seems to offer 

 both in theory and practice a very different result. The designer 



is left, free to select his proportions of length and sail, and with 

 them the beam and depth; being only limited by the rule in that 

 the product of tbe two former shall not exceed a certain sum for 

 any given class. With the two factors disposed of in this manner 

 the actual tax on sail maybe much lighter than under the present 

 system of classification by waterline length without driving the 

 designer to an excess of canvas: and, if the system be adopted, the 

 present formula of the club, now familiar to all yachtsmen, could 

 be retained with advantage. On this point. Mr. Watson expressed 

 himself this spring as follows in speaking of the English rule: 

 "The only safe check on sail is to class by the ultimate rating and 

 not by length of waterline; were our rule (the Y. R. A.) not a rat- 

 ing rule it would pay, and pay splendidly, to build a boat of the 

 extreme length of the class, and then overspar her, allowing time 

 for the extra sail." 



While any increase of the direct tax on sail under the present 

 system must result in a hardship to some of the new yachts, 

 compelling them to cut down canvas perhaps to an extent incom- 

 patible with racing, the proposed system has the great advantage 

 of leaving the existing fleet in precisely the same relation to each 

 other as they now stand, its influence only extending to the new 

 yachts to be built under it. 



Before considering what these would be it is necessary to recall 

 that corrected length was at one time used as a basis for classifi- 

 cation in this club precisely as it is now proposed to do it. The 

 rule adopted in 18S3 was in this form, but in adopting it the com- 

 paratively novel feature of combining length and sail in the 

 measurement, engrossed the whole attention of its proposers, and 

 the other important principle involved was not brought into the 

 prominence which it deserved. The estimate at that time placed 

 on the value of sail as compared to length was so high as to blind 

 men to the possibilities of the rule, and not a yacht was built to 

 take advantage of it while it was in force. Id almost the first 

 trial of the rule a slight difficulty was encountered in the method 

 of its application, and after the season of 1884 a change was con- 

 sequently made to waterline length as the basis for classification. 



In practice the operation of the rule would be, taking the 40ft. 

 class as an illustration, to allow an addition of about llOsq. ft. of 

 sail for each reduction of a foot of length; and conversely, to take 

 off about 110ft. of sail for each addition of a foot to the length. 

 In the 70ft. class the equivalent of sail per foot of length would be 

 about 1703q. ft. The result of such a classification would certainly 

 be to intfoduce a class of slightly longer yachts with more mod- 

 erate sail plans, but after very careful investigation of the yachts 

 built abroad under a similar rule we can find nothing to warrant 

 the inference that in America at least there would be any in- 

 ducement to go to an extreme of narrow beam. The objection 

 has been made that the rule would directly encourage the old 

 tonnage cutters, but the incomplete figures given in support of 

 thia view are at variance with those collected from the most re- 

 liable sources, all of which show that British de iguers take to-day 

 an amount of beam from 50 to 90 per cent, in excess of that of the 

 old cutters; and that further, the wider of the new boats have 

 proved the most successful. 



The varying sizes of the larger yachts make a close comparison 

 impossible; but in the 20 rating class, corresponding to the Amer- 

 ican forties, the widest boats win, beating the fastest of the old 

 narrow boats, the latter carrying more sail; while in the 10 rating 

 class, about 35ft. waterline, the conspicuous success of the year is 

 the Decirna, 35ft. 8in. waterline and 10ft. Gin. beam. Two excep- 

 tions are found to the rule that beam wins, the boats in each case 

 being both longer and wider than their fellows, consequently 

 larger and with less sail; apparently not enough to drive thetn. 

 On the other hand, in all the racing abroad for two years there 

 are no instances of the old narrow yachts winning from the new 

 and wide in the classes where competition has been closest and 

 all types have been interested. 



Under the proposed rule the modern British 20-rater, 45ft. 

 waterline by 10ft. beam, would race on even terms with a forty of 

 Maraquita's measurement, giving time to Nymph and Baboon; 

 but when the very small sails of the foreign craft are taken into 

 account, together with her draft of only 8ft. or 8ft. Bin., there 

 seems little danger that she could race successfully in Amorican 

 waters, or that anything is to be feared from vessels of her pro- 

 portionate length, but with very small sail plans. We would 

 recommend, then, that Rule Il.be changed by the substitution of 

 the words "corrected length" for "waterline length" wherever 

 the latter occurs; the present formula, as in Rule III., remaining 

 unchanged. 



in readjusting the classes to suit the proposed change the 

 at tempt has been made to preserve the same division of the yachts 

 as has existed for some time, without perpetuating any faults that 

 could be avoided in the new system. As tbe prop jsed classifica- 

 tion, if adopted, is expected to stand for an indefinite period, it is 

 very important that it should be as perfect as possible in itself- 

 but at the same time it is desirable that no existing yacht should 

 be robbed of its rights to race m the class which includes its 

 former classmates. 



The great irregularity existing in the schooner classes has 

 made this a difficult matter, and several changes have been neces- 

 sary, but the arrangement on the whole seems satisfactory so 

 far "as the future fleet is concerned without being unfair to exist- 

 ing craft. The proposed classes are: Over 100ft. corrected length, 

 90 to 100ft. corrected length, SO to 90ft. corrected length, 70 to SOft. 

 corrected length, and under 70ft. corrected length. The yachts 

 included in the various classes would be: Over 100ft., Constella- 

 tion, Yampa and Palmer; 90 to 100ft., Fortuna, Sea Fox, Alert. 

 Mayflower: 80 to 90ft., Elma, Grayling, Miranda, Iroquois. 



In the sloop classes all of the larger yachts accommodate them- 

 selves to a division which brings the same yachts together in each 

 ease; but in the smaller classes an obstacle has been encountered 

 in the heavily rigged boats of the present season, whose large sail 

 plans would necessitate class limits which would clash with the 

 moderate rigs in the classes immediately adjoining, disturbing a 

 symmerical arrangement of all the larger classes as well. The 

 limits of the classes which would accommodate the majority of 

 tbe fleet would be as follows: 



Present SOft. waterline class to be 30ft. corrected length; 35ft. 

 jlass, 43ft. corrected length: 40ft. class, 18ft. corrected length; 40ft. 

 class, 54ft. corrected length; 53ft. class, 60ft. corrected length; 

 01ft. class, 68ft. corrected length; 70ft. class, 77ft. corrected lengtn; 

 80ft. and class I., all over 77ft. corrected length. 



Under this series of classes the yachts of the Seawanhaka Cor- 

 inthian fleet as well as those of other clubs which race with them 

 will be in the same classes and under the same allowance of time 

 as at present; the only exceptions being in the 40ft. class, Liris, 

 Tomahawk, Gorilla and Maraquita, and in the 30ft. class Kath- 

 leen. At least three of these boats could reduce to the limit of 

 the class, 48ft., without serious detriment if not with advantage, 

 but tbe other two exceed any limits that can be made without in- 

 terfering with tbe entire series of classes. Rather than do this 

 were commend that Ihe final clause of Sec. L, Rule II., be changed 

 to read as follows, "Any yacht in the 86 and 48ft. class on the roll 

 of this club on Dec. 1, 1889, which shall exceed the higher limit in 

 these classes by not over a fraction of a foot shall be included in 

 that class." 



The entire arrangement of classes seems such as will conduce 

 to good sport and at the same time allow an ample number of sizes 

 from which those about to build may select. 



Looking now at the method of measuring sail and its possible 

 evasions, there seems little occasion for change in the general 

 form of measurement, but in the details we recommend the fol- 

 lowing minor changes: 



First — That in order to secure greater accuracy where a long 

 gaff and a short topmast are to be measured, the topmast shall be 

 measured from the hounds of lower mast to the lower side of the 

 topsail halliard block or sheave, and that 30 per cent, of this 

 length be subtracted from the gaff, tbe remainder being added to 

 the baseline in place of 25 per cent, of the gaff , as now used. 

 This method appears to give good results with any proportion of 

 gaff and topmast, or even with no topmast at all, provided the 

 throat halliard block be used as the highest point of the perpen- 

 dicular. 



Second — In the measurement of the baseliue we recommend 

 that the forward point of measurement on the bowsprit be ex- 

 tended to a distance half way hetween the present poiut of meas- 

 ureme-.it, the jibstay, and the jibtopsail stay. 



Third— In order to check the tendency to excessively long spars 

 in a direction not otherwise included in the measurement, we 

 recommend that any excess in. the length of the spinaker boom 

 over the distance from the forward side of the foremast in schoon- 

 ers, or of the mainmast in singlestick vessels, to the forward point 

 of baseline, shall be added to the baseline. The only effect of this 

 rule will be to shorten the spinaker boom if longer than the desig- 

 nated distance, as no one would have his measurement increased 

 for the sake of a little greater area of spinaker. In the case of 

 new sail plans, the influence of the proviso will be to keep the 

 mast aft rather than forward, as is desirable. 



With the changes proposed above above there seems no necessity 

 for any change in the present allowance tables, based on a per- 

 centage of .50 of the theoretic speed; but in order to facilitate the 

 work of sailing committees we recommend that the extension of 

 the present scale to intervals of one-tenth of a foot, as already 

 provided for, be carried out at once, no smaller fraction than one- 

 tenth being used in the calculation of measurement. By this 

 means the operation will be greatly simplified for those who are 

 not well accustomed to the calculation, while even in the case of 



