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A Patent Reef Gear. 
THE patent reefing gear illustrated is the in- 
vention of a Mr. Ericson, of Chicago, Ill, The 
photo shows a working model made by the in- 
ventor. One view shows the sail set and the 
other shows it partly reefed or brailed in. The 
head of the sail instead of being laced or hitched 
to the gaff is seized to jacks which slide on a 
track similar to the track hoists used up and 
down the mast on many eastern boats, particu- 
larly catboats. 
There is an 

outhaul, to set the sail, rove 
through a sheave on the end of the gaff and an 
inhaul to brail it in. It seems odd to us to see 
such a device patented, for nearly every large 
ship of every nation save the Yankee has its 
spanker fitted with exactly the same device and 
has used it for years and years. 
Yankees would not resort to such easy means 
—they wanted something for their sailors to 
earn their princely salaries by—so retained the 
heavy hoisting gaff sail until large four-masters 
made the work so heavy they condescended to 
adopt the brailing spanker. Even as far back 
as 1817 we find the U. S. frigate Constitution 
fitted with a brailing spanker. 
The idea is a good one on a 
sail is 

boat where this 
but one of many, but for a single sail 
such as a catboat or sloop rig, the loose cloth 
rolled up into a bag along the after edge of the 
sail would prove a serious hindrance to its use- 
fulness. The wind would hold back about as 
much as the rest of the sail pushed ahead, on 
the tack where the canvas curled to windward 
It would not be quite so bad when the loose 
cloth went to leeward, but the set of the sail 
would be spoiled. 
It does accomplish the result of shortening 
sail, and for boats where rank amateurs are to 
sail them, might be a safeguard. A far better 
way, however, is the English “roller boom” 
style, such as yachtsmen on Long Island Sound 
have seen in actual use on the little racer 
Hamburgh. Here the boom at the mast has a 
ratchet and cogwheel, by means of which the 
boom can be turned round like a shade roller 
and the sail wound tightly around the spar, the 

SAIL—SET. MR. ERICSON’S PATENT REEFING SAIL—REEFED, 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
mainsheet blocks being secured to a large open 
ring which grips the spar and yet allows the 
sail to roll up into a bundle inside of it. 
To reef this sail all you have to do is slack 
the halliards and then turn the crank. No reef 
points to tie, no cringles to haul out and lash. 
This rig is largely used in England, but like 
the brailing spanker, the Yankee looks upon Jit 
as a bit unshipshape—he’d rather work harder: 
that’s what he has a sailboat for. If he didn’t 
want to work, he would get a put-put boat and 
be done with sail altogether. 
Teddy Bears. 
Tue craze for Teddy bears seems to have hit 
England even harder than America. In this 
country the craze never spread to the water, 
but from the following, which ‘The Bosen” 
writes in The Motor Boat, they have invaded 
the boating quarters: 
“Joking apart, this craze of having a doll or 
toy on the bow of nearly every punt, boat, and 
launch is too silly for words. Luckily for the 
credit of the motor boat section of the river 
users, they are not such frequent offenders as 
most of the others. Punts are probably the 
worst, and it is now almost the exception to 
see one without a doll. When a family party 
in a punt, with a lot of children, put one of the 
youngster’s toys up on a stick in the bows it 
is not so bad, as it may be supposed to be done 
to amuse them, but when one sees a couple of 
weedy youths in green shirts and purple socks 
lounging in a bored and dejected attitude in a 
punt, with three little toy dogs on the fore deck. 
it is hardly to be wondered that remarks about 
‘five pups in a punt’ should be made. It is to 
be hoped the so-called fashion will die a natural 
death this year, or there is no knowing to what 
lengths people will go. Probably the next thing 
will be toy clockwork trains running round the 
deck to amuse a couple of elderly maiden ladies, 
or each member of the crew of an eight 
solemnly holding a coral and bells. Verily. the 
second childhood is coming upon us rapidly. 
Here, nvése, I want my feeding bottle or I 
shall cry.” 



Sails. 
I AM in search of knowledge under difficulties, 
having read not only that interesting chapter in 
the Bible which treats the subject, but the history 
of the royal navy and every available authorita- 
tive work that alludes to it. ~The fact is: sails, 
one and all, have been neglected in the standard 
works on ship building, yachting and designing. 
If Lapthorn, Wilson, Sawyer or some other com- 
petent sailmaker “had a mind to” he might 
evolve something on the subject that would be 
of surpassing interest, but the antiquary who 
has already committed to writing a history of 
sail making from the beginning—which dates as 
far back as the Arabic numerals—is the man 
yours truly happens to be after. Do not all yell 
at once, now! Bide-a-wee, I have discovered that 
the Arabic was the first written language of 
which we have any definite record, and if there 
is not a mine of unopened interest relating to 
canvas and its original application to this sub- 
ject in that fact, many historians who have 
alluded to it are the cause of my error. How- 
ever that may be we can “start suthin’” for the 
winter by inviting the learned to get inside their 
spectacles and furnish us with written testimony 
best calculated to clear up the mystery. The 
songs of the sea will be hushed when canvas 
goes out of fashion. Steamboating is not yacht- 
ing, and dull indeed will be the day which 
dawns upon bare poles with no royal yards across. 
Ah, thou bewitching sail, 
That 
Doth 
Erstwhile ‘‘a 
Aloft in 
Spellbound 
with such graceful curves 
bend before the 
gale, 
fair wind serves,”’ 
cloudless space, 
among the stars, 
‘Asleep’ in night’s embrace,” 
think 

“you beat the cars.” 
Gaeae): 
A. C. A. Membership. 
MEMBER 
Atlantic Division.—J. Russell 
York city, by Ames Chipperfield. 

PROPOSED. 
Magers, New 





