Seamanship for yachtsmen

Preface

There is a growing tendency among owners of small yachts to dispense with professional assistance, and in view of the difficulty of obtaining suitable paid hands at a reasonable wage this is perhaps not surprising. Anyone who first acquires a knowledge of the general principles of seamanship can with a little practice soon learn to handle a small yacht with confidence and will derive far more enjoyment from sailing than would be the case if the vessel were controlled by a professional skipper.

In this little book I have endeavoured to explain the theory of seamanship and its practical application in simple language that should be intelligible to the beginner, for whose further assistance I have added a very full glossary of nautical terms. Although ostensibly written for the novice, it is possible that others who have passed the tyro stage may be able to glean some hints which will be of use to them, as the book is based upon some thirty years 5 experience of handling small yachts of many types.

As it is desirable that the Corinthian yachtsman who sails his boat without professional assistance should know how to fit out his vessel and effect such repairs and renovations to her gear as may from time to time be necessary, I have devoted some space to marline-spike seamanship. In the diagrams of knots and hitches plain outlines have been used, as, in my opinion, such are easier to follow than more elaborate drawings, and I am indebted to my daughter Kathleen for the illustrations.

F. B. C.

Introduction

Yachting has the reputation of being a very costly sport and so, indeed, it is when the yachtsman employs paid hands and allows himself to be fleeced. But there are hundreds of people of com¬ paratively small means who own and maintain little yachts at a cost that compares favourably with that of many other open-air pastimes. Such yachts, however, are seldom heard of by “ the man in the street,” who gleans his ideas of the sport from photographs of large racing vessels and palatial steam yachts which figure in the limelight of the illustrated Press. It is not therefore altogether surprising that he should labour under the delusion that yachting is beyond the means of all but the very wealthy.

Fortunately in yachting it is not always the man with the longest purse who gets most fun for his money. The owner of a little craft of four or five tons, who dispenses with professional assistance, reaps a far greater return for his outlay than the wealthy owner of a large yacht with a crowd of paid hands. If the former has to do all his own work he has the pleasure of sailing and navigating his vessel, whilst the latter, more often than not, is a mere passenger who has nothing to do but pay the bills. To my mind it is extremely foolish to pay others to do what you can very well do with pleasure yourself, and the management of a small yacht is within the capacity of anyone of average intelli¬ gence. Only those who have experienced it can appreciate the joy of a successful passage to some distant port when one has been solely responsible for the navigation and handling of the craft.

B

There is an extraordinary fascination about it that never palls, for custom cannot stale its infinite variety. Contending with such unstable elements as wind and water, no two cruises are alike and there is always some fresh situation arising to titillate the yachtsman’s interest. In the course of his travels, moreover, he visits many delightful old-world villages, of the existence of which most people have never even heard, and taking his floating home with him wherever he goes he is independent of hotels.

Apart from the question of expense a paid hand is seldom a desirable shipmate in a small yacht. I am not referring to paid hands as a class, for those in large racing yachts are for the most part good sportsmen and loyal to their ship and owner. Inexperi¬ enced owners of little craft, however, are seldom fortunate enough to secure the services of such men, and are far more likely to fall into the clutches of the worst type of waterside loafer, whose chief aim in life is to fleece his employer and do as little work as he can. Yacht hands such as these always call themselves “ captain,” and they certainly do their best to “ boss ” the owner.

As he sits in the train on his way down to join his little vessel, the yachtsman who employs a paid hand probably plans a nice little cruise for the week-end, but it is seldom that he carries out the programme. His “ captain ” will raise all sorts of objections to any project that is likely to take him away from his home for a night. Either there is too much wind or not enough, or else the tide is not right, and the wretched owner, afraid of exposing his ignorance, meekly submits. Instead of the delightful cruise that he has mapped out in his mind he is condemned to potter about for an hour or two in the neighbourhood of his moorings. After dinner, for the sake of company, he goes ashore to his club, whilst his “ captain ” joins others of the same kidney in the bar of the waterside pub he is in the habit of frequenting. The paid hand in a week-end yacht is a prince among loafers, for it is only on two days a week he has to make even a pretence of working ; for the other five he can pass his time propping up the wall of the afore¬ mentioned pub, discussing with his cronies the private affairs of his employer. And in this connection it may be remarked that the more amenable to imposition the owner, the better gentleman he is in the eyes of his “ captain.”

INTRODUCTION

For his valuable services the paid hand will demand £3 a week or more as wages, and if the owner, when he returns to town on Monday morning does not leave sufficient food on board to keep the man for half the week he will be regarded as a mean skunk. In addition to these generous wages, custom ordains that the man shall receive a complete rig-out of clothes each season, which becomes his property when the yacht is laid up. As most of the garments are as good as new at the end of the season, the man sells them, knowing that he will get a fresh outfit the following spring. That is why one sees at every yachting port half the population clad in blue guernseys bearing the name of a yacht and club initials.

Another way in which these “ land sharks ” prey upon the inexperienced yachtsman is in the matter of gear. They make a practice of ordering such new gear as the yacht requires, or rather that they tell the owner is required, and get a commission from the supplier on the purchase. The condemned gear they claim as their perquisite and sell to the local fishermen, who find it quite good enough to use for several years in their smacks. Every loaf of bread or pound of meat the man buys on behalf of his employer yields the former a commission, and if the owner, in self protection, brings his supplies down from town, he is contemptuously referred to as a “ nose-bag ” yachtsman. My advice to the budding yachtsman is to keep out of the clutches of these brigands at all costs. Buy a boat and learn to sail her yourself. If you feel that you cannot get on without a paid hand, give up all thoughts of yachting and save your self respect.

Since the Great War the difficulty of obtaining young recruits to yachting has been much discussed and the question is often asked, “ What has become of all the sporting youngsters ? ” I think I can supply the answer to that question. If you go on the Portsmouth or the Brighton road any week-end you will see them by hundreds—tearing along on motor-cycles. And curiously enough quite a large proportion are speeding to the coast. That the sons of an island race should make for the sea is not, perhaps, surprising, but why is it that they stop short at the coast and do not go afloat on the element that calls them ? I believe it is that they are scared away from sailing by the bogey of expense. They have been brought up to consider the possession of a yacht the last word of extravagance, and it never occurs to them that yachting on a modest scale is within their means. Now, the first cost of a small yacht is no more than that of a motor cycle and sidecar, whilst the expense of upkeep is a good deal less. I am not overlooking the fact that the yacht will be a second-hand one and probably ten years old, whilst the motor cycle is new, but the depreciation of the latter is so great that in four years’ time the yacht will have the higher selling value. As regards upkeep, the motor cycle requires feeding with petrol and oil, to say nothing of frequent renewals of tyres and driving chains, the cost of which wo aid more than suffice to maintain a five-ton yacht that is used for week-ends and perhaps two or three weeks’ holiday cruising in the course of the summer. If the motor cyclist uses his machine for touring, which may be regarded as the equivalent of the yachtsman’s cruising, the hotel bills of himself and passenger will amount to a pretty penny in the course of the year. The yacht owner, on the other hand, can enjoy his week-end cruises at no greater expense than his railway fare and a few shillings’ worth of food, which he will cook himself. After a good many years’ personal experience of both, I can say emphatically that yachting is the more economical proposition of the two, and no youngster who can afford to go in for motoring need fear that sailing is beyond his means.

Sometimes the tyro employs a paid hand, not with the idea of saving himself work, but with a view to tuition. He thinks that in this way he will soon learn sufficient seamanship to enable him to dispense with professional assistance and manage alone. This is a great mistake, for it is obviously not in the man’s interest to teach his employer how to do without him. Even if the owner were fortunate enough to secure the services of a paid hand of the best type, it by no means follows that the man would prove a good teacher. The professional seaman is more used to doing things than explaining why they are done and it is essential that the pupil should thoroughly understand the why and where¬ fore of every manoeuvre carried out. In seamanship theory and practice must walk hand in hand, and nobody can hope to become an expert sailor until he has a thorough grasp of the general principles.

INTRODUCTION

In my opinion the best way for a novice to learn is for him to buy a boat and work out his own salvation. He will no doubt get into many scrapes at first, but, having to act on his own initiative in order to extricate himself, he will learn more prac¬ tical seamanship in a single season then he would in several years if he had a paid hand to think and act for him in “ tight ” places. Should the novice be lacking in self-confidence, however, it would perhaps be advisable for him to sail with friends for a season before buying a craft of his own. If he did not thus acquire a very profound knowledge of seamanship, he would learn to feel at home in a boat, to say nothing of gleaning a good deal of useful information about sails and gear.

The novice must not run away with the idea that he can gain an extensive knowledge of seamanship by merely reading books on the subject, for he cannot. It takes years of practice and experience to make an efficient yacht sailor, but all the same, he can learn a good deal about the theory of sailing from books, which will be of great assistance to him in the early days of his novitiate.

When, as a youngster, I bought my first yacht—a four-ton cutter—I knew nothing about sailing but what I had picked up from reading a little shilling handbook, but, nothing daunted, I went to Gravesend, accompanied by a friend who knew even less, to take delivery of the boat and sail her to Hole Haven. We were in trouble from the very first, as we fouled innumerable vessels in our struggles to get out of the Canal Basin at high water. We were ultimately pushed out ignominiously into the tideway by a man with a long quant. We were no sooner clear of the shore than ribald jeers from a passing barge apprised me of the fact that I had set the jib the wrong way up, and, hot with shame, I hastened to rectify the error. Then I had to repair one of the bowsprit shrouds which had been carried away in the dock scuffle. Hardly had I finished this when the mainsheet carried away. The gear was hopelessly rotten—and so was the boat; but fortunately we did not discover that until a later date. All the way down the river we were in trouble, which culminated in my crew falling overboard. However, all our breakages were temporarily repaired with the aid of fearful and wonderful knots of my own devising, my companion was rescued, and, as the shades

SEAMANSHIP FOB YACHTSMEN of night began to close in, the boat crept into Hole Haven. But I had made a passage—a short one certainly—and reached the destination for which I had set out, a successful achievement which gave me confidence in myself which I never afterwards altogether lost.

The man who elects to teach himself to sail boats is bound to get into many scrapes, but provided that he keeps in compara¬ tively sheltered waters whilst he is learning, he is not likely to come to much harm. He must not be discouraged when things go wrong, but remember that he learns more from his failures than from his successes. It was a wise man who remarked that “ he who never makes a mistake never makes anything.”

The novice must learn to use his brains. Every manoeuvre should be carefully thought out before it is executed, for hap¬ hazard methods will lead to little progress. If the plan adopted proves successful, a definite advance has been made, and even if it does not pan out as anticipated the effort has not altogether been wasted, for it will have been learnt that that particular method is not practicable under such conditions. The tyro, however, should not be content to leave the matter there, but endeavour to find out why the operation failed. If unable to solve the problem himself, he should submit it to some yachting friend more experienced, who will probably be able to explain it. He should make sure, however, that the person he selects as his mentor is really experienced, and in this connection it may be remarked that those who talk loudly in trains and other public places of their wonderful adventures afloat are usually novices themselves.

Accompanied by a friend who is noted for his bluntness of speech, I was once travelling up to town from Burnham in a carriage in which there were several other yachtsmen. One of these was talking very boastfully of his boat and what he had done in her. My friend got more and more restive, and at last, when the talkative yachtsman claimed to have made a passage from Burnham to Harwich in some impossible time, he could contain himself no longer. “ Excuse me, sir,” he exclaimed,

“ is it a boat you own or a-pigeon ? ” We heard no more

of the gentleman’s yachting adventures that journey.

INTRODUCTION

Although really expert yachtsmen are not given to “ gassing ” in public, the majority are keenly interested in their sport and will not mind in the least explaining away the difficulties of a beginner who is anxious to learn. The novice should try and find out not only how to do a thing but why it is done, for it is only thus that he can acquire a knowledge of the principles of seamanship.

In the following chapters I will endeavour to give the beginner some hints on the management of small yachts, or, at any rate, on the evolutions most common in the practice of seamanship. Before becoming the owner of a yacht he will probably have learnt the names of the various items of a vessel's gear and also the nautical terms in common use by sailormen. He wall, however, be able to refresh his memory by reference to the spar and rigging plan of a pole-masted cutter on page 18, and he will also find a glossary of nautical terms at the end of the book.

Chapter II

“ What is the best sort of boat to get ? ” is a question that the novice may reasonably ask, but it is not by any means an easy one to answer. To reply that there is no best sort might convey the impression that any type of craft would suit his purpose, and yet it would be the correct answer, for the matter is one that must depend largely upon local conditions and the work for which the vessel is destined. It would be folly, for instance, to buy a narrow yacht drawing seven or eight feet of water if it is the intention to station her at Southend or Maldon, where the boats dry out at low tide, yet such a craft might be eminently suitable for the West of England where there is plenty of water at all states of tide.

Yachtsmen are often advised to follow the lead of the local fishermen when selecting a vessel, it being contended that such craft have been gradually evolved from the exigencies of their home waters. This is no doubt true to a certain extent, but it must not be forgotten that the objective of the fisherman is not quite the same as that of the yachtsman. Although to both sailing qualities are a consideration, the former’s main interest is fishing, and his boat is specially adapted to such work. The yachtsman who blindly follows the lead of the professional may find that he has a craft that is not at all desirable for pleasure sailing. In the West of England, for instance, the lugger is extensively used by fishermen, in whose hands it is extremely powerful and effective, but for yachting purposes it is generally regarded as unsuitable.

Some yachtsmen try to effect a compromise by changing the rig of boats built on the lines of fishing craft and other vessels used by those who seek their bread upon the waters. Thus we see luggers rigged as sloop*, barge yachts with gaff main sails, Falmouth quay punts bereft of their mizzens, and bawley boats with booms, but such modifications seldom prove successful. As a rule it is far better to select a vessel designed and built as a yacht, bearing in mind local geographical conditions and the kind of cruising it is intended to practise. If the boat is to be kept in a tidal harbour she must be of shallow draught and preferably fitted with a centre-plate, but if there is sufficient water for her to lie afloat at all states of tide a keel boat with a fair draught will be more suitable. Should one’s cruising ground be on the East Coast, the draught should not be much over four feet, or otherwise one will be debarred from exploring the innumerable delightful creeks and rivers that there abound. For such work extreme handiness is a quality to be sought after, as when working up a narrow creek over the tide it is essential that the boat should be quick in stays. If your fancy lies in the direction of deep sea cruising you can go to six or even seven feet in the way of draught, although it is not really necessary, but the boat you select should have a fairly long keel and not too much of her forefoot cut away. A vessel with a long keel is much steadier on the helm, and will sail herself on a reach with the tiller lashed for hours on end in a steady breeze. She will also heave to and ride comparatively comfortably in heavy weather. Until you have had considerable experience, however, you will be well advised to confine your cruising to short trips round the coast, and for such work a little craft of four or five tons, drawing not more than four feet of water, will best serve your purpose.

It is possible that your choice of a yacht may be restricted by financial considerations, for if you have only a limited sum to spend on a boat you will have to make the best of what you can get for the money you have at your disposal. Even so, it will be prudent to exercise a little discrimination and, if necessary, wait for a year or so until you happen on a craft more or less suitable for your requirements. You will probably have all sorts of vessels offered to you in the meantime, and among them is likely to be a converted ship’s boat, for there are always some of these in the market. As they are usually offered at a very low figure they are rather attractive to the inexperienced. The mere term “ ship’s lifeboat ” suggests to the mind something very staunch and seaworthy, and a craft of six or seven tons, offered at about £30, certainly seems a lot for the money. It would be ungracious of me to damn such boats altogether, for in the days of my youth I owned several and had some of the best times of my life in them. But I know their failings and limitations, and I strongly advise the novice to have nothing to do with a converted lifeboat if he can afford anything better. And incidentally I would remark that I know of nothing worse in the way of yachts. They almost invariably leak, they are extremely unhandy, and their windward work is positively futile. On the other hand they have any amount of cabin room, although the headroom is rather restricted. Three or four impecunious youngsters by pooling, say, £10 apiece, could probably buy a vessel of this type and have a few pounds left over for emergencies. If they were not able to cruise very far or fast, they would get a lot of fun for their money and probably learn more practical seamanship in her than they would in a smarter yacht, for the man who can handle a converted ship’s boat efficiently can handle anything.

If a converted ship’s boat appeals to you, buy one that some misguided enthusiast has already converted. Don’t convert one yourself, for that way lies the bankruptcy court. You may be able to buy a stripped hull for a few pounds, but by the time you have strengthened her and built up the top-sides, added a keel, bought ballast, sails and gear, furnished the cabin and provided the hundred and one articles that go to make up a yacht’s inventory, you will have spent far more than a second¬ hand yacht, well found and in first-rate condition, would have cost you. Although ships’ lifeboats are provided with small sails for use with a fair wind, they are designed mainly for propulsion by oars. They are consequently not strong enough to withstand the lateral stresses engendered when sailing to windward under a press of canvas. Even if additional floors be added and the garboards doubled, they begin to leak sooner or later after conversion, and then one is driven to that drastic remedy for leaky boats—cement. If for financial reasons you are obliged either to buy a converted lifeboat or nothing at all, I should advise you to select, if possible, one that has the bulk of her ballast inside, comparatively light draught and small sails. She will not go to windward very well, but she may keep reasonably tight. Pumping a boat is no doubt very good exercise, but it is apt to pall when it has to be done every three or four hours to keep the water off the cabin floor. I once owned a converted lifeboat with an iron fin keel which drew more than five feet of water. She certainly went to windward very well, but—Lord !— how she leaked.

Converted racing boats are sometimes to be picked up at a fairly reasonable figure, and they are certainly very fast and handy. But what you gain in speed you have to pay for in the way of comfort. The long overhangs are practically wasted, as they as a rule have neither sufficient depth nor beam to be of any use but for stowing sails and warps. Ex-racing craft, more¬ over, sail for the most part at a considerable angle of heel, which is rather disturbing to one’s domestic arrangements. To cook and enjoy a meal when under way is next door to impossible in a yacht of this description, and if you happen to run aground you are likely to have a very uncomfortable time of it until she floats again. The modern type of racing yacht is not a good sea boat, or at any rate she is not a comfortable one. It is true that she seldom ships green water, thanks to the flare of her overhanging bow, but when going to windward in a rough sea she sends aft a continual shower of spray which will find its way through any oilskins. And her overhangs slam abominably. To a yachtsman whose leisure is limited and to whom it is a matter of importance that he should get back to his moorings in time to catch a certain train, a converted racing craft possesses advan¬ tages lacking in slower craft. She will turn over a foul tide in a light air, conditions which would compel an ordinary cruiser to anchor, whilst in threatening weather her speed will often enable her to get into port before it comes on to blow hard.

Another type of small yacht which has attained some measure of popularity of late years in districts where there is not much water is the barge yacht. Her chief characteristic is fine internal accommodation, and in smooth water she sails very well. Of her sea-going qualities, however, I am rather sceptical, for although I have never owned one myself, I have had opportunities of watching their behaviour in fairly heavy weather, and their sailing in such circumstances has never struck me as convincing. The barge yacht, moreover, is not in my opinion a desirable craft for a novice, as under certain conditions she is unsafe. A yacht of the ordinary type, having all or the greater part of her ballast on the keel, gets stiffer as she heels. The more she heels, in fact, the greater righting power has the ballast, and provided her spars and gear do not carry away, she may be hove down almost on to her beam ends with impunity. Now% the barge yacht, although she possesses great initial stability, loses it all of a sudden. When heeled to a certain angle her stability vanishes altogether and over she goes. And it must not be forgotten that the windage of her flat bottom will con¬ tribute to the disaster. I do not wish to suggest that small barge yachts are in the habit of capsizing, but the danger is always there, and in the hands of an inexperienced yachtsman a capsize is within the bounds of possibility.

There is, however, a form of barge yacht which strikes me as a far better proposition. I refer to the semi-sharpie type, having the bottom in the form of a broad V. It was in such a yacht, of only five tons measurement, that Mr. Thomas Fleming Day crossed the Atlantic some twenty years ago, and she proved an excellent sea boat. Mr. Day’s Sea Bird did not come to this country, as her destination was Rome, and I consequently did not have an opportunity of inspecting the yacht, but I believe she was very similar to the eight-ton Skate, which was built about the same time by Mr. Howard Messer from his owm design. I have frequently seen SJcate sailing about in the Blackwnter and creeks round about West Mersea, and she is an astonishingly handy craft with a good turn of speed. Mr. Messer crossed the Channel and North Sea on several occasions in the vessel, and told me that she behaved admirably. A barge yacht of this type would be comparatively cheap to build, and would be a very desirable craft for shallow waters. The ordinary type of barge yacht usually has lee boards to give her the necessary lateral resistance to enable lier to go to windward, but Skate is fitted with a centre plate which seems to me a much better arrangement.

The question of rig is a very debatable one, as every yachtsman has his views on the subject. Personally I prefer the cutter or sloop rig for a small cruiser, and as about ninety per cent, of small yachts are thus rigged it may be assumed that the majority of yachtsmen are of the same opinion. As to which of the two is the better rig must depend largely upon the size of the boat. Simplicity is a quality much to be desired in small craft, and that points to the sloop rig, which requires less running gear than the cutter ; but there are other considerations that must not be lost sight of. When the sail area is divided up into a number of sails a certain amount of power and weatherliness is sacrificed, and it naturally follows that, ceteris paribus , the sloop will sail faster and point higher than a cutter of the same size and sail area. The natural inference is that the sloop is the more desirable rig, and so perhaps it is for quite small boats.