Golden Days for Boys and Girls, Vol. XIII, Nov. 28, 1891Various
General
Golden Days for Boys and Girls, Vol. XIII, Nov. 28, 1891
Various
Children's literature -- Periodicals
There is a general notion that a full-rigged ship is of the same pattern
all the world over, and this notion has been supported by the diagrams
usually published which have taken a war ship as an example.
Now a man-of-war has an enormous crew compared to a merchant vessel,
and her rigging is set up accordingly. The things that are done on a
man-of-war in spar-drill make a merchant sailor's hair stand on end.
The rigging of a merchantman is designed for a much smaller crew to get
along with, and in many respects differs from that of a full-rigged
man-of-war.
Complicated as a ship's rigging may look, it becomes intelligible enough
when attacked in detail. There are three masts and the bowsprit, which
is simply the old bowmast that has gradually increased its angle until
it is now almost horizontal.
These four spars are built into the ship, and all the other spars and
the rigging and sails are fixed on to them.
The three masts, known also as the lower masts, are the foremast,
mainmast and mizzenmast, and each of these carries two masts
by way of continuations. Thus we have foretopmast, maintopmast and
mizzentopmast, and over them foretopgallantmast, maintopgallantmast
and mizzentopgallantmast.
The part of the topgallantmast above the topgallant-rigging is
called the royal-mast or royal-pole, and the continuation above the
royal-rigging, if any, is the skysail-pole. Answering to the topmasts on
the three masts is the jibboom on the bowsprit, and in continuation of
that the flying-jibboom.
The jibboom and flying-jibboom are generally in one spar, as are the
topgallantmast, royal-pole and skysail-pole, but sometimes they are
fitted into each other on much the same principle as a fishing-rod, and
in some of the newer ships, bowsprit, jibboom and flying-jibboom are all
one steel spar.
Crossing the masts are the yards. On the mainmast we have, beginning
below, main-yard, lower maintopsail-yard, upper maintopsail-yard, lower
maintopgallantsail-yard, upper maintopgallantsail-yard, main royal-yard
and skysail-yard; on the foremast we have the fore-yard, then the
topsail-yards, topgallantsail-yards and royal; and on the mizzenmast we
have a similar series of yards, beginning with the mizzen or crossjack.
Up to the close of the last century, in very old ships, there was
no sail hung on this lower yard of the mizzenmast, it having been
introduced only for setting the mizzen topsail; and instead of the gaff
spanker we now have there was a huge lateen sail which extended some
distance forward of the mast and worked under this yard.
This lateen was the crossjack. When the gaff came in, the projecting
corner of the lateen disappeared so as to make room for the sail hanging
from this lower yard, and the yard took the name of the old lateen boom.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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