el cid

In Mariposa we referred to this as "cosmetic snow." Not a lot, to be sure, but I like winter, and I don't feel like we've had a proper one unless I get at least one decent snowfall. Like some fruit trees, I need a certain amount of cold set to feel well-adjusted and productive for the coming spring and summer.

George,
 
As long as I am doing this for me I think I should share it with others. After all, others are sharing a wealth of knowledge on this Forum for me to use and enjoy.
 
About Rankine - you just have to appreciate someone who helped develop the Laws of Thermodynamics!
 
James Burke told a story about the development of thermodynamics. The Brits were trying to figure out how to make steam engines work. The Scots were trying to figure out how much heat they needed to distill a gallon of Scotch Whiskey. Does this say something about priorities?
 
And you are right about the research being as interesting as the actual model building. I really enjoy it. I always wanted to understand how all that rigging worked on sailing ships.
 
When I was "building" the CAD model of the USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 I got so sidetracked with the research that it took 14 years to complete. In the meantime I investigated how just about everything on the ship worked and created a web site for the ship! One of these years I will use all of that information to build a real model of the ship.

This is somewhat of a repeat as the various points have come up in various posts in a few forums, but I recently saw photos of sails for a schooner model that were beautifully sewn on the edges and along the panel seams.  If this had been a scale of 1:12 or larger they would be  close to scale, but as the scale was 1:48 they were grossly out of scale and, for me at least, ruined what was an otherwise very nice model.  I know this comes up quite often but there is a solution to get sails that are close to scale and I hope it is worth repeating for those that may want to try something that may add to their repertoire.
 
The smallest common sewing machine thread that I could find and measure was a little under 0.01" in diameter.  I wrapped 125 turns on a steel rule in a 1 inch spacing to get the diameter.   At a scale of 1:48 this would be about over 3/8"  inch diameter thread.  At 1:64 it would be over 1/2 inch diameter and at 1:96 it would be over 3/4 inch in diameter, all of which are rope sizes rather sewing material.  The tightest spacing on a modern home sewing machine yields about 25 stitches per inch which is having each stitch 2 inches long at 1:48 and 4 inches long at 1:96, again also too large to be realistic in regards to scale.  The seams on the panels are typically 2" wide and 4" around the periphery of the sail, that is 0.04" and 0.8" at 1:48 and 0.02" and 0.04" at 1:96 scale.  The thickness of duck canvas varied with the types of sails, but 15 ounce canvas was one of the common sizes.  This is about 0.06" thick so scale sail material should be about 0.00125" thick if at 1:48 and 0.0006 if at 1"96.  Even the finest cloth that I have found so far, with a sufficiently high thread count to look like the  threads spacing are close to scale,  is 0.008" thick, thus far out of scale as well.
 
In contrast, some folks, myself included, have been working with silkspan, a nonwoven paper for making sails.   With two coats of acrylic that I used to get the right color and strengthen the material, it is 0.002" thick, much closer to scale compared to 0.008"  for 1:48.    The sails can be set up full or furled.  Adding reef points and tying off to mast hoops and spars or booms  is not a problem.   I add a small dot of tubed acrylic that I mix to match the color of the thread where the line goes through the sail and it is very strong when a hole is punched or drilled through these small dots.
 
2 inch seams for the panels were made with an acrylic paint marker pen slightly darker than the color of the sail itself.  The tip of the marker  was shaved with a scalpel to a little under the 0.004" for 1:48 scale that I needed as it does expand a bit when charged with paint.
 
Silkspan is not as strong as cloth, but with one or two coats of diluted tubed acrylic paint, it is surprisingly strong.
 
Hope this gives some members a few ideas on making sails that are closer to scale.
 
Allan

Well I have sort of finished all except for the flybridge screen rail which I broke and have not yet decided whether to solder and install. I should have done it when the flybridge was being constructed offline but I was missing a part which Amati sent me (thanks) and now that I  have it I am in two minds about doing it .
Overall a happy camper. Some detail I have changed to suit myself so can't claim absolutely faithful to the kit but not much kit bashing really, changed the colour scheme, made a different support for the radar antenna, enhanced some doors and rear companionways with some more detail.
Good kit....I found the chrome plated brass rails and posts generally the most difficult to manage, need to be bent in most cases but prone to breaking so bending has to be done very carefully so if you are starting out then watch for that.

Watched the Netflix movie last night and liked it. Interesting story, really good cinematography and lighting, and Fienes’ depiction of Brown was excellent. The romantic side stories felt contrived and unnecessary. Wife, a true Anglophile, really enjoyed it.
 
Cheers,
 
Keith

Display Stand Continued.
 
I toyed with the idea of trying a bit of inlay on the base but decided that the natural wood was better. I did however mill the edges to add interest and give it a more professional look.
 
I cut down the door handles to create pedestals. On the end of the "T" I added turned polythene cones. The cones contact the hull and I wanted something pliable to prevent hull damage. The cones are attached by screws and these give a degree of adjustment. This helps with the levelling of the model when displayed.
 
The bottom of the pedestals are drilled and tapped to take the mounting bolts which locate through the holes in the base. I then polished the pedestals on a polishing wheel.
 
I did an initial check on the functioning of the pedestals by mounting them on a scrap piece of MDF as per the photographs. The check confirmed that the pedestals would give the hull adequate support.
 
I did find that the base was prone to flexing (splaying of the pedestals). Although the mahogany base was going to be more rigid I decided to add a strengthening strap (visible in the previous pictures).
 
I then assembled the stand and placed Endeavour on it. A bit of levelling and the waterline was horizontal and the yacht had the characteristic rise towards the bow.
 
Now all I have to do is disassemble it all and polish up the base.
 

Shops main gun 

Starting on the bridge, adding the decals 

COG - not so much people forgetting, but info overload and therefore a quick indicator as to what 'state' the thing can be left in, or where not to step is needed.   Not only do you need to be aware of the moving hazards of rotating turrets and machinery, but:  the blast zone distances of all weapons, decoys etc, radio hazards ( working / normal distance, standard conditions and when refuelling, loading ammo), laser hazards, chemical hazard etc, trip hazards and so on-and on.  Then you need to know what ventilation flaps, openings etc can be left open/closed in what state/condition the ship has been ordered to keep (different depending on the current situation - harbour, warning level, preparedness etc) - e.g. is it a condition A, B, Y, Z flap/opening, can this door hatch be left open or not in Action, Special Sea Duty, etc, or in what material state (how well/tightly the ship is closed down for various operational conditions).   This is the RN marking system, the USN and other navies have variations and their own specific markings.
 
Reminders are very useful and necessary, but some are probably more useful when it comes to an 'Accident Investigation' or a Court Case  - something about protecting their Royal Highness' A%#@  
 
cheers
 
Pat

I have been studying rigging dimensions, and that has been an adventure. First, here is a drawing showing various dimensions used for determining mast, spar and rigging diameters.
 

 
The biggest problem is that many authors use the term "length" ambiguously and just assume you know what they are thinking. This is known as "functional illiteracy" and it is very common.
 
The Hull
 
The length of a sailing ship's hull is often the length on deck - for the uppermost continuous deck from bow to stern. Poop decks, forecastles and gun decks add to the confusion.
 
The line of flotation was the distance at the ship's normal (load) water line between the rabbits in the stem and stern posts.
 
The length between perpendiculars is the distance between the fore peak and the after peak. The fore peak is always the forward most part of the hull at the load water line. This is true for older vessels as well as modern ships. For modern ships the after peak is the after most part of the hull at the load water line. But for wooden sailing vessels the after peak is usually the center of the rudder post at the water line (but not all authors agree on this).
 
The beam is always the broadest part of the hull along its length. Normally it is the absolute widest part of the hull plating or planking unless it is specifically stated as the beam at the waterline.
 
Masts
 
Mast dimensions are even more confusing.
 
The measured length is the total length of the mast timber(s) from the bottom (heel or foot) to the top (cap). This is often used as a reference for calculating other mast and spar dimensions. But it assumes the heel was resting in a step on the keel or keelson (a timber resting on top of the keel timber). But on most models the bottom of the mast stick is some distance above the top of the theoretical keel. This can screw up your calculations if you are not aware of it.
 
The other length that is sometimes used is the hounded length. Take a deep breath, because this gets messy! This is the distance between the mast heel and the mast hounds. And there are just about as many definitions of "hounds" as there are authors. For some authors hounds and cheeks are synonymous, and the cheeks are the pieces on the sides of the mast below the trestletrees in the top. But some say the hounds are supports a third of the length of the mast between the partners (the deck) and the trestletrees. So is the hounded length up to the bottom of the hounds or the top? The authors never say and assume you know.
 
Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., William Benton Publisher, 1966 (three volumes) says:
 
hounds - the framing at the masthead of a ship for supporting the heel of the topmast and the upper parts of the lower rigging.
 
So the hounds are the top of the cheeks or the trestletrees. Harold Underhill is the only author I have found that specifically states this is the definition he uses. The others leave you guessing.
 
The head is the part of the lower mast from the hounds to the top of the cap at the very top. The measured length is the hounded length plus the head. But hounded length has the same problem for modelers as the measured length. It assumes the mast foot rests on the keel or keelson, and this isn't the case for many models.
 
Some mast dimension tables use the deck to hounds length, and this is a bit more useful for modelers. This is also called the partners to hounds length - the partners are where the mast penetrates the deck - whichever deck is being used for the measurement. And modelers sometimes just use the deck to top length.
 
Whatever measurement you use to determine the mast length, first determine the overall measured length. The measured length (or hounded length) is used to calculate most other mast and spar dimensions, and for mast diameter calculations.
 
Then correct for any distance between the model's keel and the actual mast foot to decide how long your mast sticks should be.
 
Then after you have determined the theoretical main mast diameter from the theoretical measured length (not the corrected model length), multiply it by 4/5 (0.80 or 80%) to get the more probable mast diameter for a schooner. The 4/5 rule comes from Underhill's Masting and Rigging (see references in an earlier post).
 
Got that?
 
Now we can determine the length and diameter of all other masts and spars. Almost everything is based upon the dimensions of the main mast, and that is usually based upon the beam width of the hull. Rigging diameters are calculated from the mast diameters.
 
I have found James Lees' book to be the most complete. Zu Mondfeld's book is almost as complete. But they are both for full rigged square riggers. Howard Chapelle (The Baltimore Clipper) lists actual dimensions of schooners taken off ships in the early 1800s by the Frenchman M. Marestier from ships he inspected. Chapelle also gives masting rules for schooners by John Fincham, a Royal Navy (Great Britain)  naval constructor, and Scottish mathematician Professor William Rankine who refined Fincham's rules. Rankine's calculations give minimum, average and maximum dimensions based upon variations in actual ships.
 
I have compiled just about all of these rules in this spreadsheet, using a beam of 20 feet to derive the numbers:
 
EDIT: See later posts for a more inclusive spreadsheet for schooners.
 
 

 
If you examine these calculations closely you will see that Lees' and Mondfeld's rules for square riggers give significantly different results than Fincham's and Rankine's schooner dimensions. The Fincham and Rankine rules agree pretty well with the actual dimensions listed by Marestier. Mariestier's data also agrees with Underhill that the schooner masts were significantly lighter (smaller diameter) than given by Lees' and Mondfeld's rules.
 
So this is the basis for the mast and spar dimensions I will be using on my model (as topsail schooner of 20 foot beam).
 
Rigging dimensions will be next.

Sail Rigging
 
The diagram shows the parts of the common types of sails.
 
The leech is the after or outboard edge of a sail. It is normally free (unattached). The luff is the forward part of fore-and-aft sails. The luff is often attached to a mast or stay. Some authors refer to the luff as the "fore leech" and the leech as the "after leech."
 
The square sail, gaff sail and yard topsail are four sided sails with a head and a foot. The head is laced to a spar or boom.
 
Triangular sails (foresails and staysails) have the luff attached to stays, although this side is sometimes called a head on staysails. Sometimes the side of the sail that attaches to the stay is called the stay.
 
The foot is usually free or unattached; although gaff sails often have the foot laced to a boom. Sails that have the foot free are called loose-footed.
 
The peak (or peek)is the highest part of a sail, although the highest parts of a square sail are just called the head. Halliards that are used to raise the sail are attached to the peak.
 
The clew is the lower corners of a square sail, and the aft corners of fore-and-aft sails. The sheets are attached to the clews to control the loose parts of the sail.
 
The tack is the corner of a fore-and-aft sail opposite the clew along the foot. It is usually positioned close to a mast or bowsprit. Tack lines or downhauls are attached to the tack to pull down on the sail to tighten it or lower it.
 
Roach and gore are two terms you will come across in discussions of sails.
 
Roach is a curved edge to a sail. It allows the sail to curve outward. The leech of gaff sails and triangular sails, may have an outward roach curve to increase the area of the sail. The foot of square sails and gaff sails may be curved outward or "bellied." However, the foot of square sails may be roached upward to create an arc that rises over stays or other rigging. I am not sure all authors agree that the upward curve of a square sail foot is a roach, and they may have another term for it.
 
Gore is a term applied to sails that are wider at the foot than at the top, as in the square sail illustration above. Gore is accomplished by adding triangular cloths to the outer edges to expand the foot of the sail.
 
Flying Jib or Outer Jib
 
The flying jib or outer jib is the foremost of the foresails, although not all vessels carried one. If the sail is "flying" (not attached to a stay) it is supported only by the halliard at the peak and the downhaul at the tack. Often the outer jib is laced on the forward or luff side to a stay with many hanks (loops of small rope). The stay may be called the flying jib stay, the topgallant mast stay, the royal stay, or outer jib stay, depending upon how the ship is rigged. If the vessel has a flying jib boom the stay is attached at the forward end of the flying jib boom, otherwise it is at the forward end of the jib boom as shown in the drawing. Many modern schooners have a single long bowsprit with the stays attached at more or less even spacing along the spar.
 
The flying jib halliard is rigged with a gun tackle attached to the fore topmast and the peak of the sail. It hoists the forward side of the sail up the stay. The lower end of the halliard is often fastened to a pinrail, either at the base of the mast or on a bulwark.
 
The flying jib inhaul is attached to the peak and leads down through a few hanks on the head rope to a single block attached to the jib boom at the stay. From there it runs back to the bow. It is used to pull the sail down when reefing. Port and starboard flying jib sheets are attached to the clew. The sheets and inhaul are attached to pins or cleats in the bow.
 
When the vessel changes course or the wind shifts the windward sheet is loosened, the clew is pulled over the jib stay, and the leeward (downwind) sheet is tightened to control the loose corner of the sail.
 
The flying jib sail can be small or large, depending upon the vessel. It can be positioned anywhere along the supporting stay, and a smaller sail may be hauled high to the topmast so it flies above the other foresails.
 
The sail tack is hooked to the boom near the stay. If the stay leads to the end of the jib boom or flying jib boom, the tack may fasten to a traveller (free moving ring around the boom) and the inhaul through a block on the traveller and back to the bow. The inhaul pulls the traveller aft to so the sail can be furled.
 
An outhaul runs through a sheve in the fore end of the jib boom and back to the bow. The outhaul pulls the traveller to the end of the boom to set the sail. However, depending upon how the stay is rigged, the stay may run through a sheve on the traveller and out to a sheve at the end of the boom. From there it leads back to the bow. With this rig there is no separate outhaul. The stay is loosened to allow the inhaul to pull the traveller aft, and the stay is pulled taut to haul the traveller back forward to the end of the boom.
 
Jib
 
The jib is another of the foresails. The forward edge is attached to a jib stay that normally leads down from the foremast top to a point at the end of the jib boom or to attachments just aft of the bowsprit cap as shown in the drawing.
 
The jib halliard attaches at the peak through a gun tackle attached to the fore top. The fall leads down to the deck. The halliard hauls the sail up the say.
 
The tack is hooked to the jib boom near the stay. If the jib stay leads to the end of the jib boom, the tack may fasten to a traveller as described for the flying jib or outer jib.
 
The jib inhaul fastens to the jib peak and runs through a few hanks on the head rope to a block on the bowsprit bees (or a sheave at the end of the jib boom or traveller), and back to a belaying point in the bow. The inhaul pulls the sail down along the stay for reefing.
 
When the vessel changes course or the wind shifts the windward jib sheet is loosened, the clew is pulled over the fore stay, and the leeward (downwind) sheet is tightened to control the loose corner of the sail.
 
Some larger vessels have an inner jib,  outer jib or fore topmast staysail rigged between the flying jib and jib. As many as five triangular fore sails were flown on the largest fore-and-aft rigged vessels.
 
This sail may be four sided, with a short head stick at the peak. The short top edge is lashed to the head stick. The head stick has holes at the ends. A short head rope attaches at each end to an end of the head stick, and has a thimble or eye spliced in the middle. The halliard tackle attaches to the thimble.
 
 

Fore Staysail

The fore staysail  is the aftermost of the fore sails. The leading (luff) edge is laced around the forestay. The fore staysail halliard attaches at the peak through a gun tackle attached to the fore top. The fall leads down to a point on deck near the base of the mast.
 
The tack is hooked to a point in the bow near the forestay.
 
The fore staysail inhaul is attached to the peak of the sail and leads down through a few hanks on the head rope to a single block attached to a point near the base of the forestay and runs back to a belaying point in the bow. It is used to haul the sail down for reefing.
 
The clew has port and starboard fore staysail sheets attached. The sheets are attached to pinrails or cleats on the bulwarks. When the vessel changes course or the wind shifts the windward sheet is loosened, the clew is pulled around the foremast, and the leeward (downwind) sheet is tightened to control the loose corner of the sail.
 
On some vessels there is only one fore staysail sheet. It is attached to a traveller riding on a "horse" or bar running transverse (port to starboard) slightly above the deck in front of the fore mast. As the ship changes course, or the wind direction shifts, the clew of the sail blows to the downwind side.
 
This sail may have a head stick as described for the jib.
 
 
 

Topsail
 
The topsail is bent to the topsail yard. The topsail sheets (port and starboard) are attached to the clews of the sail and run through single blocks attached near the ends of the fore course yard. From there the sheets lead to single blocks fastened to the fore mast top and from there down to points on deck near the base of the fore mast. The sheets pull the clews down to stretch the sail between the topsail yard and the fore course yard.
 
The standing parts of the port and starboard topsail clew lines are fastened to the strop eye of single blocks that are fastened to the topsail yard near the center. The running part of the clew line runs through a second single block attached to the clew of the sail, and from there back through the first single block at the topsail yard. Then the falls lead down to the deck near the base of the fore mast. The clew lines hauled up the clews of the sail when it was being reefed. They could also be used to haul down the topsail yard to the fore course yard when the topsail yard halliard was loosened.
 
The port and starboard topsail buntlines were used on some vessels. They were attached to the foot of the sail and ran up through eyes on the topsail yard, and from there to single blocks attached to the topmast above the yard. From there the buntlines ran down to the deck near the base of the foremast. The buntlines were used to haul up the foot of the sail when it was being reefed.

Fore Course
 
The fore course was a loose footed square sail flown below the fore course yard. It was not normally flown on topsail schooners, and was deployed to increase speed when running with the wind from astern.  When not in use the sail and rigging were stowed below. However, on some schooners the course was more or less permanently rigged and reefed to the fore course yard as it would be on a square rigger.
 
The fore course head is bent to the fore course yard. The fore course sheets (port and starboard) runs through a single block attached to the clews of the sail. The standing parts lead to ring bolts on the outboard side of the bulwarks. The running parts of the sheets lead through sheaves set into the bulwarks aft of the fore mast and tied off to cleats on the inboard sides of the bulwarks. The sheets pull the sail down from the fore course yard. A separate short boom attached to the bulwark was used sometimes to pull the windward clew of the sail outboard to catch more wind.
 
The standing parts of the port and starboard fore course clew lines are fastened to the strop eye of single blocks that are attached to the fore course yard near the center. The running parts of the clew lines run through a second single block attached to the clew of the sail, and from there back through the first single block at the fore course yard. Then the falls lead down to the deck near the base of the fore mast. The clew lines hauled up the clews of the sail when it was being reefed.
 
The port and starboard fore course buntlines were attached to the foot of the sail and ran up through single blocks attached to the fore course yard, and from there to single blocks attached to the fore top cap above the yard. From there the buntlines ran down to the deck near the base of the foremast. The buntlines were used to haul up the foot of the sail when it was being reefed.

Foresail
 
The fore sail head was bent to the fore gaff. The luff was attached to the fore mast with rope loops or lacing, or with hoops that were free to ride up and down on the mast. The throat of the sail was fastened to a ring bolt on the jaws of the gaff and the peak was fastened to the end of the gaff. The sail was raised and lowered with the fore gaff peak halliard and fore gaff throat halliard.
 
If the sail was “loose-footed” without a boom the fore sail tack was attached to the double block of a luff tackle. The single block was fastened to the deck and the fall was tied to a pin, cleat or bitt at the base of the mast. If the sail had a boom it was rigged as described for the main sail.
 
The port and starboard fore sail sheets had gun tackles with the running blocks hooked to the sail clews. The standing blocks were hooked to ring bolts on deck near the bulwarks, and the falls were tied to cleats or pins on the bulwarks. When the vessel changed course, or the wind shifted, the windward sheet was slacked (or unhooked), the sail clew was pulled around the mast to the leeward side, and the lee sheet was pulled tight to stretch the sail. Some vessels had a single sheet attached to a traveller on a horse as described for the fore staysail.
 
The sail may have had a fore sail brail if it was loose footed. The brail is attached to the clew and leads up through a single block on a pendant attached to the gaff jaws. From there the fall runs down to the deck. The brail is used to haul up the clew to clear the main stay. The clew is pulled over the main stay and the lee sheet is hooked to the clew and drawn tight as the brail is slacked to extend the sail again on the lee side. The brail was also used to loosely furl the sail close to the mast.

Main Sail
 
The head of the main sail was bent to the main gaff. The luff was attached to the main mast with hoops that were free to ride up and down on the mast or rope loops or lacing. The throat of the sail was fastened to a ring bolt in the jaws of the gaff and the peak was fastened to the end of the gaff. The sail was raised and lowered with the main gaff peak halliard and main gaff throat halliard.
 
The foot of the sail usually was bent to the main boom, although some vessels had a loose footed sail secured only at the clew and tack. The tack was attached to a ring bolt in the boom jaws. The main outhaul was attached to the clew and ran through a sheave set into the boom near the end (or possibly a single block attached near the end of the boom). The outhaul lead forward to a luff tackle with the double block hooked to a ring bolt at the boom jaws. The fall was tied to a cleat on the boom. The main outhaul pulled the foot of the sail tight along the main boom.

Main Topmast Staysail
 
Some ships carried a main topmast staysail while others used a fore gaff topsail. The gaff topsails were rigged like the main gaff topsails described below. The main topmast staysail luff or head was loosely tied to the main topmast stay so the sail could ride up and down on the stay.
 
The main topmast staysail halliard attached to the peak and lead through a single block attached to the main topmast at the stay. From there it lead down to a luff tackle attached to the deck near the base of the main mast. The fall was tied to a pin or cleat on the bulwark. The halliard pulled the peak of the sail up the stay to spread the sail.
 
The main topmast staysail sheet attached to the clew and ran through a single block fastened to the main top cap. From there it lead down to a luff tackle attached to the deck near the base of the main mast. The fall was tied to a pin or cleat on the bulwark. The sheet pulled the sail clew down to spread the sail. It was loosened when the sail was reefed.
 
The main topmast staysail downhaul was attached to the peak and lead down through a single block attached to the fore mast top cap. From there it lead down to the deck. The downhaul was used to pull the peak of the sail down the stay to reef the staysail.
 
Fore Gaff Topsail
 
A ship may have a fore gaff topsail instead of the main topmast staysail. It was rigged like the main gaff topsail.
 
Main Gaff Topsail

 
There are three common configurations for this sail (but seven or eight possible configurations).
 
Standing Gaff Topsail
 
The standing gaff topsail luff is fastened to the top mast with hoops. The sail usually has a cut to clear the main mast top.
 
The main gaff topsail halliard from the peak runs through a single block tied to the mast top or a sheave set into the mast and down to a tackle hooked to a ring bolt on deck. The halliard pulled the peak of sail up the topmast to spread the sail.
 
The main gaff topsail sheet runs from the clew through a single block at the end of the main gaff or a sheave set into the end of the gaff. From there it runs to a single block attached to the gaff jaws and down to the deck. It is used to spread the foot of the sail along  the gaff.
 
The main gaff topsail tack line leads down to a tackle hooked to a ring bolt on deck. The tack line pulls down on the tack to stretch the sail.
 
A brail (not shown) is sometimes attached to the tack of the flying gaff topsail, run through a single block at the peak and back to the deck. It is used to raise the tack over the gaff peak halliards when changing course, and then the tack is drawn down again. In this case there would be port and starboard tacks. The lee tack would be pulled taut to stretch the sail while the windward tack would be loose and ride over the peak halliard.
 
In some cases a brail was attached to the center of the sail luff or the lowest mast hoop. From there it ran down through a single block at the tack, out through cringles on the foot of the sail to a single block at the clew, up through cringles on the leech of the sail to a single block at the peak, and the fall lead down to the deck. This allowed the sail to be furled (drawn into a bunch) quickly from the deck.
 
A gaff topsail clew line (not shown) may be attached to the gaff jaws, run through the clew cringle, back to a single block on the jaws and down to the deck. It is used to reef the sail by loosening the sheet and drawing in the clew.
 
 
 
Flying Gaff Topsail
 
A triangular flying gaff topsail (not shown) has the same rigging as the standing gaff topsail, but the luff is not attached to the mast.
 
 
 
Yard Gaff Topsail
 
A yard gaff topsail has the same sheet and tack as the other topsails. However, it is a four sided sail with the head laced to a topsail yard. The main gaff topsail halliard attaches to the topsail yard about or below the center of the yard. The line runs through a single block or sheave at the top of the mast and down to a tackle hooked to a ring bolt on deck. The halliard hauls the topsail yard to the top of the mast.
 
The shape of the sail varies with nationality and period. Originally the yard was more or less horizontal, and this was common on European vessels. But the American ships usually had the yard vertical as shown in the drawing. This raised the sail higher to catch more of a breeze above the water. The luff edge was not attached to the mast.
 
The flying gaff topsail and yard topsail could be rigged on deck and raised with the halliard, and then lowered again using the tack. This avoided having to send crew aloft to reef the sail at the top.
 
There are several variations of the yard topsail. A Cornish yard topsail had the lower end of the topsail yard attached to the gaff boom near the jaws. A jackyard topsail had the topsail yard at the head of the sail and another jackyard laced to the foot of the sail. The sheet attached to the jackyard and ran to the deck as with the other topsails. The topsail yard and jackyard allowed the sail to be much larger than a simple standing gaff topsail or flying gaff topsail.
 
 

Studding Sails
 
Studding sails were flown to increase speed when the vessel was running with the wind. They may be raised on one or both sides of the topsail. When they were not flown the sail, yards, booms and tackle were stowed below. Some ships kept the studding sail booms on the fore course yard all the time.
 
When the sails were to be flown the studding sail booms were extended through boom irons on the fore course yard and the inboard ends were tied to the fore course yard. On some ships the studding sail booms were positioned forward and above the fore course yard. Merchant ships often had the studding sail boom below the fore course yard, A few had the studding sail boom behind and above the fore course yard.
 
The sail is bent (fastened) to the studding sail yard with short lengths of yarn called “kittles” or “earrings.”

The studding sail halliard attaches to the studding sail yard about 1/3 of the way from the inboard end. The halliard passes through a small single “jewell block” attached to the end of the topsail yard and then to another single block that is fastened near the top of the fore topmast. From there the halliard leads down to a point on deck. The halliard hauls the studding sail yard up to the topsail yard to spread the sail.
 
The studding sail tack attaches to the tack corner on the sail. It runs through a single block fastened to the outboard end of the studding sail boom and from there to a single block “whip.” The standing end of the whip line through the block was attached to a point on the deck and the fall was secured to a pin or cleat. European ships often had the tack lead through a single block fastened to the mast near the topsail yard and then down to the deck. The tack pulled the sail down to the outboard end of the studding sail boom.
 
The studding sail sheet is fastened to the studding sail boom at the inboard end and passes through a cringle at the clew of the sail. From there it runs down to a point on deck. It pulls the foot of the sail taut along the studding sail boom.
 
A studding sail downhaul was sometimes used on larger ships, but probably not often on smaller vessels. It was fastened to the outboard end of the studding sail yard and lead down to a single block attached to the tack clew of the sail and from there to a point on deck. Sometimes it passed through a cringle at the center of the outer leech of the sail. It was used to pull down the studding sail yard as the halliard was loosened.
 
The halliard, sheet, tack and downhaul were all rigged in different ways depending upon the ship. The halliards and sheets were often led through blocks or fairleads on the mast and then to the deck while the tack and downhauls were lead directly to the deck.
Studding sails could also be rigged for topgallants when a ship carried these. The rigging was the same as shown here.

Ringtail
 
The ringtail (or driver) was rigged like a studding sail but was flown aft of the main sail to increase sail area. The yard and rigging were set up only when the ringtail was to be flown and were stowed below when it wasn’t used.
 

The head of the ringtail is bent to the ringtail yard. The ringtail halliard is attached to the ringtail yard and runs through a single block fastened to the end of the main gaff. From there it leads down to a whip tackle with both ends of the whip line tied to cleats on the port side of the main boom. The halliard is used to haul up the ringtail yard to spread the sail.
 
The ringtail boom is held to the end of the main boom with boom irons attached to the main boom. On some ships the ringtail boom rode on top of the main boom and on others it was positioned below the main boom. When the ringtail is to be set the boom is pushed out through the boom irons and the forward end is lashed to the main boom.
 
The ringtail outhaul is attached to the clew and leads through a single block at the aft end of the ringtail boom. From there it runs forward to a whip tackle with both ends of the whip line tied to cleats on the starboard side of the main boom.
 
The ringtail tack line is attached to the tack and to a whip block. The ends of the whip line are tied to cleats on the port side of the main boom. The tack line is used to pull the foot of the sail tight.

Running Rigging on Masts and Spars
 
Running rigging is the ropes and cables that are used to control the spars and sails. It is frequently adjusted according to course changes and weather conditions to get the desired performance from the sails.

Fore Course Yard (or Spreader)
 
This yard may or may not have foot ropes to support the crew. It may also have been fitted with irons for studding sail booms. These yards may have carried a Jackstay, especially if the ship carried a fore course sail.
 
If the vessel did not carry a fore course, and the spar didn't have any of the fore course rigging or foot ropes, the spar was called a "spreader." In some cases it was referred to as a "crossjack yard" as the lower yard on a square rigged mizzen mast was called.
 
The yard was suspended from the fore top by a rope sling that was looped around the mast top. The yard was held to the mast with a two rope truss. The upper end of each truss rope was tied around the spar a bit outboard of the center of the spar, with a thimble spliced into the loop around the spar. The free end of each truss rope was then passed across through the thimble in the opposite truss rope and then lead down to the double block of a luff tackle. The single block of the tackle is hooked to a ring bolt on deck near the mast partners. The fall from the double block is secured to a pin, cleat or bitt near the mast. When the truss tackles were pulled tight the fore course yard was held tight to the mast and the yard was pulled down to tighten the sling. When the tackles were loosened the yard was free to move around the mast.
 
In some cases a single truss rope was used and in later ships the truss ropes were lead up to tackle fastened to the mast top. Larger ships had chains or iron truss assemblies to support the spar after the mid 1800s.
 
The port and starboard fore course yard lifts were attached to the yard near the outboard end. From there they lead through a single block fastened to the fore top cap and then down to the double block of a luff tackle. The single block of the tackle is hooked to a ring bolt on deck near the mast partners. The fall from the double block is secured to a pin, cleat or bitt near the mast. Lifts prevented the spar and sail from swinging as the ship rolled.
 

 
The port and starboard fore course yard braces controlled the angle of the spar (rotating around the mast). They were rigged in several different ways. The simplest rig (1) had a single block of a whip tackle attached by a long line (brace pendant) to the outboard end of the yard. The standing line was attached to a ring bolt on the outboard side of the bulwarks somewhere aft of the main mast. The free end of this line ran through the whip block and then back down to pass through a sheave set into the bulwark and then inboard where it was fastened to a cleat or pin. This method created no interference with the swing of the fore gaff.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
A different fore course yard brace rig (2) had one end of the running line of the whip tackle attached to the main mast top, then leading through the whip tackle block attached to the end of the fore course yard and back to another single block fastened to the main mast top. From there the brace ran down and was secured to a pin, cleat or bitt at the deck. This method could limit the swing of the fore gaff by interfering with the fore peak halliard so it would be more common on staysail schooners that did not have a fore gaff sail.
 

 
 
 
A third method (3) had the standing end of the whip line and a second single block attached to the foremost main mast shrouds. The free end of the whip line passed through the second single block and ran down to the deck or bulwark where it was fastened to a bitt, cleat or pin. This spread the braces a bit wider and allowed a greater swing of the fore gaff. This rig is common on some modern topsail schooners but was also used on 18th and 19th century ships.
 
 
Topsail Yard
 
The topsail yard was fitted with foot ropes to support the crew. It may or may not have had a jackstay along the top of the spar.
 
The topsail yard halliard was attached to the center of the topsail yard. It passed around a sheave set into the fore topmast and then down to attach to the double block of a luff tackle. The single block of the tackle is hooked to a ring bolt on deck near the mast partners. The fall from the double block is secured to a pin, cleat or bitt near the mast. The halliard was used to raise and lower the topsail yard.
 
The port and starboard topsail yard lifts were attached to the outboard ends of the topsail yard. They lead through single blocks attached to the fore topmast. From these blocks they run down to single block whips. The standing ends of the lines through the blocks are secured to ring bolts on deck and the falls are secured to pins, cleats or bitts near the mast. The lifts were used to adjust the angle of the yard and compensate for effects of the braces.
 
It appears that some vessels had only the topsail yard halliard, others had only the topsail yard lifts, and some schooners had both. The yard could be hoisted using only the lifts. The lifts and halliard sometimes ran through fairleads on the  fore top crosstrees.
 
One end of the port and starboard topsail yard braces attach to the outboard ends of the topsail yard and the other ends are fastened to the single block of whip tackles. The standing lines were attached to ring bolts on the main mast top. After passing through the whip blocks the lines run back to single blocks attached to the main mast top and then down to points (pin, cleat or bitt) on deck near the main mast. A double block could replace the two single blocks at the main mast top.

Gaff and Boom Rigging
 
The fore and main gaffs were rigged the same way. The peak halliards raised the gaff boom and set the angle for the top of the gaff sail. There are many ways to rig the peak halliards; one common method is shown. The halliard used a single block fastened to the middle of the gaff booms and a double block attached to the mast tops. The halliard was fastened to the end of the gaff boom and the standing part ran to the double block. From there the running part leads around the sheave of the single block and back to the double block. The free end or fall leads down to the starboard pin rail.
 
This is just one of many ways to rig peak halliards. With larger ships and heavier gaffs had more blocks and ropes (up to five blocks and eleven falls, standing and running parts. With heavy gaffs the falls had some type of tackle on deck.
 
The throat halliards had a luff tackle with the single block attached to the boom jaws and the double block attached to the mast top below the crosstrees. The fall leads down to the port pin rail. With heavier gaff booms the fall would attach to some type of tackle on deck. An alternate method used a runner tackle with the upper single block attached to the top. The standing end attached to the boom jaws and the luff tackle was on deck. The throat halliard is used to help hoist the sail and gaff boom.
 
Some ships (not all) had port and starboard boom vangs attached to the ends of the gaff booms. The vangs are used to control the swing of the booms. They had a whip tackle with the standing end attached to a ring bolt on deck near the bulwarks and the fall tied to a cleat on the bulwark.
 
The main boom had a flag halliard that ran through a small single block attached to the aft end of the boom. The ends of the halliard were attached to cleats on the starboard side of the main boom. The boom often had foot ropes on the aft end to support crew working aft of the transom.
 
The main boom jaws rested on a mast cheeks (boom rest). The main boom topping lifts (port and starboard) were fastened to the end of the boom. The standing part lead through the upper single block of a whip-on-whip tackle that was attached to the main top with a long line (pendant). The running part of the upper whip was attached to the single block of the lower whip. The standing part was attached to a ring bolt in the deck close to the bulwark and the fall was tied to a cleat on the bulwark or a pin in the pin rail. With heavier booms a runner tackle could be used instead of the whip-on-whip. The topping lifts supported the end of the boom.
 
On some ships a single main boom topping lift standing part attached to the mast top and lead through a sheave set into the end of the boom. From there it lead back along the boom to a luff tackle attached to a ring bolt in the boom jaws, with the fall tied to a cleat on the boom.
 
The port and starboard boom sheets controlled the outboard swing of the boom and the main sail. This usually consisted of two double block gun tackles attached to the deck port and starboard and to the boom with the falls leading to cleats on the bulwarks. The falls could attach to runner blocks and lead forward to cleats.
 
Some schooners had a boom for the fore sail. These booms were rigged like the main boom, but the booms were shorter so they could swing free without hitting the main mast.
 
On some vessels a single double block gun tackle served as the boom sheet with the lower block attached to a ring that rode on a horizontal bar (horse) just above the deck. This lower block could slide from side to side along the horse to the lee side as the ship tacked.

I have been studying the rigging of schooners, especially topsail schooners, for several years as part of a project to build a topsail schooner model. Determining the “right” way to rig these ships has turned out to be difficult and confusing, because there are many “right” ways, possibly as many as there were ships! There are many texts describing the rigs of the larger square rigged men of war, but there is not as much about fore-and-aft rigs. I have compiled these notes to help me sort things out and thought they might be useful to others studying these ships.
 
In the following diagrams the hull, bowsprit, masts and spars are black. Standing rigging is green, running rigging is red, and sails and sail rigging are blue. Loose ends (falls) of running rigging are marked with black circles. These ends are attached somewhere on or near the deck. Where they attach depends upon the particular ship, but a general rule applies. Lines that are attached to points on masts or run through blocks on spars near masts usually run down to the deck near the bottom of the mast. Lines leading from the ends of spars typically lead outboard to cleats or pin rails on the bulwarks or ring bolts on the deck. Lines coming from low points on masts or spars lead to forward attachments, and lines from higher points attach to pins or cleats farther aft. However halliards and other lines running from the forward sides of masts often lead down to fife rails forward of the mast.
 
First I want to describe some of the hardware used for setting up and controlling the rigging. There are some terms that will be repeated many times.
 
Deadeyes and Lashings
 
Deadeyes and lashings were ways to pull the standing rigging tight and tie it off. They were normally left tied until it was necessary to set the strains on the lines again.


 
 
Deadeyes were more or less circular wooden blocks with three holes. The lines to be kept taut were tied around a deadeye. Another deadeye was anchored to a secure position. Lanyards looped through the two deadeyes and were pulled tight to pull the deadeyes together. The correct method of rigging deadeyes is described in many sources.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lashings were another method of pulling lines taut. The ends of the lines to be pulled together were attached to hearts or thimbles spliced into the line. A lanyard was secured to one of the hearts/thimbles and the line was looped through the two hearts/thimbles several times. Then the lanyard was pulled tight and the free end was wrapped around the standing parts and tied around them.
 
You could accomplish the same tasks with multiple sheave blocks (pulleys) but these are designed to reduce friction so the rope will pull easily through the block. This would allow the fastenings to come loose easily. Deadeyes, hearts, and thimbles do not have sheaves and the ropes generate a lot of friction as they rub on the fittings. This helps these assemblies remain tight, and hearts and thimbles are cheaper than blocks.
 
Types of Tackle
 
A tackle is a combination of ropes and blocks that is used to exert force on a desired position. They are often called “purchases.” A block may have one or more sheaves (pulleys) that ropes run through. In the drawing single blocks (one sheave) are marked "S" and double blocks (two sheaves) are marked "D". Larger blocks often have three or four sheaves. The more sheaves a line runs through the greater the mechanical advantage (force) that can be exerted by the tackle. But more rope must be pulled through with each additional sheave, requiring a longer rope and taking longer to pull on whatever the tackle is attached to.
 
The simplest is called a whip. It is a single block that is attached to a line (runner) or object to be pulled on. A rope passes through the block with a standing end anchored to a secure position (ring bolt, chock, pin, etc.). The other loose end is the fall that is pulled on. Whips can be compounded to create a whip-upon-whip tackle.
 
A gun tackle has two single blocks. One block is anchored to a secure position, either with a hook or just with a line attached to the block. The standing end of a line is attached to the second block and passed through the first block. The running part of this line then passes through the second block and the remainder loose end is the fall. Gun tackles are used on smaller cannon, but they were also be used for many other jobs. The same principle can be extended by replacing the single blocks with double blocks, and so on.
 
The luff tackle is similar to the gun tackle with a single block anchored to a secure position. The second block is a double block (two sheaves). The standing end of a line is attached to the single block and leads through the double block. The running part of the line passes through the single block and back through the double block and the end is the fall. Luff tackles were used where more force or pull was needed to move heavier objects. They were also used in place of the gun tackle on the larger cannons. The same principle can be extended by replacing the single block with a double block, and the double block with a triple (treble) block, and so on.
 
A runner tackle is a luff tackle with the double block attached to a line called a runner that then passes through a second single block (like a whip). The second single block (runner block) is itself attached to another line or pendant. An advantage of this configuration is that the fall of the runner block can be pulled through quickly to take up slack on the pendant and then tied off to a secure position. Then the fall of the luff tackle can be used to apply more force on the pendant.
 
The runner block may also be used to redirect the direction of the force from the luff tackle by attaching the block to a secure position and then attaching the fall to an object to be moved.
 
Standing Rigging
 
Standing rigging serves to support masts and bowsprits. It is made of rope (fiber on older vessels, wire on newer ships). This rigging normally stays fixed in place after it is set up. However, it can stretch with time so it occasionally needs tightening.

Shrouds

 
 
 
The masts bear the weight of the masts, spars, sails and rigging, resisting the pull of gravity. Wood is a good material for this service – after all trees have evolved so the trunk carries the entire load. But tree trunks are flexible and sway in the wind, and that is not desirable on a ship. And sudden gusts can bend tree trunks to the breaking point – again not desirable for ships’ masts.
 
Shrouds are heavy lines that support the masts and take the strain from the force of the wind. Shrouds transfer the force of the wind to the hull, where the strains are borne by the hull structure. Together the mast, shrouds and hull form a very sturdy triangle, one of the strongest basic engineering structures. This prevents the mast from bending.
 
Shrouds loop around the mast at the cross trees in the mast top. There are several ways to accomplish this so a description of the method used on a particular ship should be consulted.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
The shrouds run down to channels outboard the bulwarks (older vessels), to chain plates attached to the bulwarks, or to ringbolts in the deck inside the bulwarks (more modern schooners).
 
Shrouds usually attach to deadeyes. A matching deadeye on the channel is attached to a chain plate that passes through the channel and fastens to the side of the hull. The two deadeyes on a shroud are spaced 3-5 deadeye diameters apart and are laced together with lanyards. There are several methods of implementing deadeyes, channels and chain plates, and a description for the method for a particular ship should be consulted.
 
The deadeyes on the shrouds are laced to matching deadeyes on the channel or bulwark. Consult a book about rigging for a detailed description of how this is done. The lanyards allow the tension of the shrouds to be adjusted, and they also stretch a bit and act as a shock absorber.
 
Some ships have a Sheer Pole attached to the shrouds above the deadeyes. It served to prevent the deadeyes from twisting. The Sheer Pole was introduced in the early 1800s and was not found on earlier ships. Near the top a futtock stave was sometimes laced to the shrouds. From this point some ships had futtock shrouds that lead up to the mast top crosstrees. The futtock shrouds might be attached to the mast below the top instead of attached to the shrouds.
 
Ratlines are smaller diameter ropes attached to the shrouds to form ladders to the tops. They had eyes spliced to each end and were laced to the forward and aft shrouds. The ratlines were attached to the inner shrouds with clove hitch knots. Ratlines were spaced about 13-16 inches (33-40 cm). However, not all schooners had ratlines.
 
The number of shrouds varied according to the size of the schooner and the nationality. American topsail schooners had lighter rigs with fewer shrouds than their English counterparts, and very small schooners may not have had any shrouds. Smaller schooners often had no ratlines. The rigging was designed to be controlled from the deck. When the crew needed to get to the tops they were hauled up in a bosun’s chair, or climbed the mast hoops on the gaff sails. Consult the plans for a particular ship to learn the shroud and ratline configuration.
 
Larger schooners usually had topmast shrouds but sometimes only on the fore mast. The largest vessels had topgallant masts above the topmast, and topgallant shrouds. Sometimes these upper shrouds had deadeyes like the lower shrouds, but some vessels used lashings of hearts and lanyards to adjust the tension of the shrouds. These upper shrouds may or may not have ratlines.

Stays
 
Stays serve the same purpose as the shrouds, to support the masts against the forces of wind on the sails. Some stays also serve as supports for sails.
 
 

 
The mainstay is typically two lines, although smaller vessels may have only one. These heavy ropes are secured around the main mast top and lead forward and down to the deck in the vicinity of the fore mast. These lines take the force on the main mast from wind coming from ahead.
 
Some ships (especially square riggers) have mainstays that pass close to either side of the fore mast and anchor to bitts at the bow (cable or riding bitts). On staysail schooners that do not have a gaff foresail on the fore mast a mainstay can serve to support a staysail. However, these lines running along the centerline of the ship interfere with the swing of the gaff foresail on a fore-and–aft rigged vessel like a schooner, especially if it has a lower boom. Loose-footed (boom less) foresails can be used with fixed mainstays by having port and starboard sheets that can be slacked and draped over the mainstay on the windward side with the leeward side taut to control the sail. Loose-footed foresails also have brails that allow the sail to be reefed prior to changing course, and then the sail is extended with the leeward sheet.
 
It is common on schooners for the mainstays to lead down to a luff tackle hooked or attached to ring bolts in the deck near the bulwarks. To allow the fore sail to swing outboard, the windward side mainstay is tightened and the leeward side mainstay is slacked or unhooked.
 
The forestay functions the same on the fore mast as the mainstay. It is a heavy rope (often doubled) anchored to a strong part of the ship’s structure. The forestay typically loops around the mast in the fore top and leads forward and down to a heart. It is lashed with lanyards to a second heart that is attached to the ship. The lanyards can be tightened to keep the forestay taut. In the diagram the forestay is shown leading to a point in the bow of the ship, attached to either the bowsprit or to knightheads or bollards. However on some ships the forestay leads to bee blocks on the bowsprit just behind the bowsprit cap (shown as the jib stay in the diagram). A second stay, called a preventer, was often rigged as insurance in case the stay broke. The fore staysail rides on the forestay.
 
The jib stay supports the jib sail. It is looped around the fore mast at the top and may be rigged as shown in the diagram, or the forward lower end may be attached to the jib boom near the forward end, especially if the ship has a flying jib boom rigged. The jib stay and preventer lead back to the bow where they attach to ring bolts on the hull. The stays attach to hearts that are lashed with lanyards to another heart that is fastened to the ring bolt. This allows the stay to be tightened. On larger ships with a fore topgallant mast the jib stay may be rigged higher to the foretopmast top, above the topsail yard.
 
In some cases the jib stay fastens to or passes through a traveler, a ring that loops around the jib boom loosely and can slide along the boom. Outhauls and inhauls allow the traveler to be moved along the boom to reposition the jib sail. It was hauled in (aft) to reef the sail, and hauled out (forward) to fly the sail. There are several ways to rig the traveler. Consult references on rigging for the details.
 
The flying jib stay is attached to the fore topmast above the topsail yard. It passes through a sheave at the forward end of the jib boom, down to a sheave in the dolphin spanker or a finger on the side of the dolphin spanker, and then aft to a cleat or pin in the bow. On larger ships with a fore topgallant mast this stay may be called the fore topgallant stay or the fore royal stay. The forestay, jib stay and flying jib stays are attached to the fore mast at places that do not interfere with the raising or furling of the square sails.
 
Each mast has port and starboard backstays. It is common for these to be attached near the tops of the top masts and to lead down to deadeyes at the channels, rigged the same as for the shrouds. These are far enough forward that they do not interfere with the swing of the foresail or mainsail. However, some schooners have backstays that lead farther aft to ringbolts in the deck. These backstays have luff tackles with the falls tied to cleats on the bulwarks or ring bolts in the deck. Like the mainstays the leeward backstays can be loosened or unhooked to allow the main boom to swing to leeward. The windward backstay is tightened to take the force of the wind on the sail.

Bowsprit Rigging
 
The bowsprit extended forward of the bow to provide support for the stays and rigging for the fore mast and head sails at the bow. On small vessels the bowsprit may be a single pole, and often it could be pulled back aboard to allow the ship to occupy a shorter berth at a pier. Larger schooners built in the late 1800s and after often had single piece fixed bowsprits.
 
Medium sized schooners usually had a fixed bowsprit terminated in a cap, with a smaller jib boom attached to it and extending through the cap forward. Larger schooners often had a flying jib boom fastened to the top of the jib boom to extend the assembly ever farther forward to accommodate more sails at the bow.
 
The bowsprit usually was anchored at the aft end by bitts on either side. On schooners with bulwarks it usually passed through a hole in the bulwarks at the bow, although on smaller vessels with bulwarks the bowsprit sometimes rested on the cap rail. The bowsprit was lashed to the gammoning knee at the bow with heavy rope or gammoning.
 
The aft end of the jib boom rested on a cradle on the bowsprit. It was lashed to the bowsprit with gammoning called a crupper. The forward end fit snugly through a hole in the bowsprit cap. The jib boom crupper could be loosened to allow the boom to be hauled in so the ship would fit into a shorter berth.
 
A short pole (sometimes two) called a dolphin striker (also called a martingale) attached to the bowsprit cap and extended downward close to the normal load waterline. The position and method of attachment of the dolphin striker to the bowsprit cap varied from ship to ship.
 
The bobstay (sometimes two) supported the bowsprit and took the load from the sails attached to the bowsprit. It sometimes looped through a hole in the stem above the waterline, and sometimes fastened to a metal bracket on the stem. The forward end attached to a heart or deadeye. A second heart or deadeye was lashed to a collar around the bowsprit aft of the bowsprit cap. Lanyards between the hearts or deadeyes pulled the bobstay tight and allowed tension to be adjusted. Bobstays were heavy ropes on earlier ships, but the ropes were replaced with chains in the later 1800s.
 
The bowsprit shrouds (port and starboard) often attached to the same collar near the bowsprit cap that the bobstay fastened to. The bowsprit shrouds lead back to a heart or deadeye. A second heart or deadeye was lashed to a ring bolt in the hull. Lanyards between the hearts or deadeyes allowed the shrouds to be tightened and allowed tension to be adjusted. The shrouds transferred lateral forces on the bowsprit to the hull.
 
The martingale stay had an eye on the forward end that looped around the end of the jib boom and another eye that looped around the lower end of the dolphin striker. Two martingale back stays (port and starboard) attached to the bottom of the dolphin striker and lead back to hearts or deadeyes on the aft ends. Another heart or deadeye was attached to a ring bolt in the hull. Lanyards between the hearts or deadeyes pulled the back stays tight and allowed the tension to be adjusted. The martingale stay and back stays transferred the forces from the sails attached to the jib boom to the ship’s hull.
 
The jib boom guys (port and starboard) attached to the forward end of the jib boom. They lead back to attachment points either on the hull or on the catheads. These also had the hearts or deadeyes with lanyards to adjust tension. They transferred lateral forces on the jib boom to the hull.
 
The hull attachment points for the martingale back stays, bowsprit shrouds and jib boom guys should be forward or above the hawse opening for the anchor cable to avoid fouling the anchor while raising it and working with the anchor tackle on the cathead.

Gregory,
 
I'm working on it. But if you can't wait - and it may be some time before this is continued - I recommend Lennarth Petersson's Rigging Period Fore-and-Aft Craft.
 
He includes very good drawings and deck plans showing the rigging of an American topsail schooner, including belaying points. Just about all of the sail variations I have shown have rigging similar to his example.

I have been researching topsail schooner rigging and sail plans. I found many questions, answers and comments on the Forum, but no one place that discussed the many variations. I decided to post information that I have found to help others who are interested in these ships.
 

This is a sail plan for a "typical" two mast topsail schooner with one topsail on the fore mast and no topsails on the main mast. Schooners with three or more masts normally repeated the sails and rigging shown here on the main mast.
 
The sails are:
 
1. Flying jib
2. Jib
3. Fore staysail
4. Fore gaff sail or fore sail
5. Main gaff sail or main sail
7. Main gaff topsail
9. Fore course
10. Fore topsail
11. Fore topsail studding sails
 
There were many different rigs for the fore sheets. Here are a few examples. Keep in mind that the sizes of the sails and the attachment points for the stays varied quite a bit from ship to ship. These are just general guides. The position of the fore mast and distance to the bow influenced how the fore stay was rigged, and therefore the fore staysail. Some vessels had the foremast far forward, just aft of the foot of the bowsprit and knights heads. Rigging the forestay to the forward end of the bowsprit (A) was more effective (stronger) and allowed a larger fore staysail than rigging it to the deck at the bow (B). But if the fore mast was positioned farther aft from the bow, as was common, configurations B and C provided adequate strength for the forestay and allowed a suitable sized staysail. Another variation seen on some schooners is a boom for the fore staysail that is anchored to a post on the deck at the bow or on the bowsprit and controlled with sheets similar to the main sail boom.
 

A. This arrangement was common on smaller ships, but some fairly large topsail schooners also used it. The fore staysail (3) is large and rides on the forestay attached at or near the bowsprit cap and to the lower fore top.
 
The jib (2) is also fairly large and rides on the jib stay attached near the end of the bowsprit and to the lower fore top. These sails and stays do not interfere with the fore topsail.
 
The flying jib (1) is shown dotted because not all ships carried one. It rode on a stay attached at the end of the bowsprit and above the working position of the fore topsail yard. If it was present it could be larger than shown here and rigged lower on the stay. There was a lot of variation in the flying jibs.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
B. Here the fore staysail (3) is smaller, and rides on the forestay attached to the hull near the bow of the ship and to the lower fore top.
 
The jib (2) is smaller than in the first example and rides on the jib stay attached to the bowsprit cap and to the lower fore top.
 
The flying jib (1) is fairly large. It may ride on a separate flying jib stay attached to the end of the bowsprit and above the normal working position of the fore topsail yard, or it may ride on the fore topmast stay that attaches at the end of the bowsprit and near the top of the fore topmast.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
C. This rig was found on larger schooners that often had a topsail and topgallant.  The fore staysail (3) rode on the fore stay attached to the hull at the bow and the bottom of the fore top.
 
The jib (2) rode on the jib stay that was attached near the bowsprit cap and to the upper foretop. However, this arrangement would not have been used on a topsail schooner - the stay would interfere with the topsail. The stay would have been rigged to the lower top.
 
The outer jib or fore topmast staysail (1a) rode on the fore topmast stay that attached near the end of the bowsprit and near the top of the fore topmast above the working position of the topsail yard or topgallant yard.
 
The flying jib (1) rode on a stay attached at the end of the bowsprit and near the top of the fore topmast.
 
Larger ships also carried a flying jib boom (not shown) attached to the jib boom that extended farther forward, and the flying jib stay was rigged to the end of the flying jib boom. Up to five jibs (main jib, second jib, third jib, storm jib and spitfire jib) could be rigged forward of the fore staysail (but not all at once) , even on small ships like a single mast cutter!
 
 
These ships were called topsail schooners because unlike pure fore-and-aft schooners they carried spars and square sails on their topmasts. The arrangement of square sails on the foremast were also found on the main mast of some topsail schooners, raising the question of whether they were actually brigs or brigantines.
 

 
Smaller ships carried just the fore topsail (10) on the fore mast. They may also have used studding sails (11) to increase sail area for speed. Larger ships may have carried a fore topgallant (12) above the topsail. Up through the early 1800s the topsail was typically taller than the topgallant. In the mid to late 1800s some ships carried lower (10) and upper (12) topsails that were about the same height. Both arrangements can still be found on modern topsail schooners. Studding sails may also have been carried for the topgallants.
 
A variation of the topsail was the raffee topsail (13) that was used on some vessels. Still another variation on this sail did away with the top spar and just flew a triangular sail.
 
The topsail and topgallant yards were not attached to the masts with trusses, slings or parrals, but were supported entirely by halliards and in some cases by lifts. The course yards often were also not attached to the mast. This allowed the yards and attached sails and rigging to be lowered to the deck and raised again without requiring crew to go aloft. While this may sound strange this practice was also used on large square rigged ships for topgallants and royals. The sails could be rigged to the yards on deck, complete with halliards, lifts and braces, and then hauled aloft. It was a quick way to set sail or reduce canvas as needed. A consequence of this is that some schooners did not have rat lines on the shrouds. When necessary to go aloft the crew climbed the hoops for the gaff sails or were hoisted aloft in a sling or bosuns chair.
 
 
The courses (9) were not always flown. They were effective when sailing with a following breeze (wind from astern). It seems to me that if a ship was flying both fore course and main course it would be a brig. The course could be rigged to the yard and used like the fore sail on square riggers. In this case the yard was called the "fore course yard." However, some vessels did not carry a course and the yard was called a "spreader." On some schooners the course was not laced to the yard, but was hauled up by lines attached to the head of the sail. In some cases there was a short spar or club yard about one third the width of the head of the sail attached to the center of the sail, and this spar was raised with a halliard.
 
In some cases a "bonnet" was attached to the lower edge of the sail. This was a rectangular sheet that increased the sail area of the course. On very large ships an additional rectangular sheet called a "drabbler" was attached to the lower edge of the bonnet to increase sail area further. However, I have seen no reference of a drabbler being used on schooners, and I'm not sure bonnets were often used on schooners.
 
There was a consequence to adding square sails to the schooners. Pure fore-and-aft schooners have rather slender light-weight masts because there isn't much weight high on the masts and the force of the wind was distributed on the lower masts. When the topsails were added the masts had to be more robust to carry the added weight of the sails, spars and rigging. The standing rigging had to be heavier to take the added force from the square sails.
 
Ships with square sails on the fore mast only often had fore masts of significantly larger diameter than the main masts. Another consequence, quite pronounced in the Baltimore clippers, is that the beam was widest forward at the foremast instead of midships as in other vessels. The amount of load a hull can carry is related to the amount of water displaced, so the wider beam forward produced more lift for the heavier mast. On ships with topsails on both masts the masts were the same diameter and the beam was widest midships between the masts.
 

 
The largest sails were the fore and main gaff sails, also known as the fore sail (4) and main sail (5). These were suspended from gaffs or booms that attached with jaws to the lower masts just below the tops. The gaffs typically were angled upward to increase the sail area. The gaffs could be lowered to reef the sails. The sails were laced (bent) to the gaffs and attached to the lower masts with rope loops or wooden hoops.
 
The main sail (5) was always bent to the main boom, a horizontal spar that attached with jaws to the lower mast at the lowest position that allowed the boom to swing free from side to side without striking objects on deck, railings or bulwarks. Some schooners had a triangular main sail with the peak hauled up with a halliard. This was called a "Bermuda rig."
 
The fore sail (4) sometimes was attached to a boom - this was common on fore-and-aft rigged schooners. But many topsail schooners had "loose footed" fore sails that did not carry a boom (as shown above), and the clew (lower aft corner) was rigged with port and starboard sheets to positions on the deck or bulwark aft of the main mast. This allowed the sail area to be larger than if a boom was used. When the sail was shifted from side to side the windward sheet was loosened and the lee sheet was tightened to draw the sail around the main mast to the leeward side.
 
A "ringtail" (8) was sometimes hoisted to the aft edge of the mainsail to increase sail area in the same way studding sails were attached to the spars. The ringtail boom attached to the main boom with hardware that allowed it to be pulled in when not in use or run out to carry the ringtail. The ringtail yard was hoisted to the end of the main gaff, raising the ringtail sail with it.
 
It was possible to attach a bonnet (rectangular sail to the bottom edge of the sail or boom to increase sail area. The lower corners were controlled with sheets. I do not know if bonnets were actually used on the gaff sails. Another method was to attach a triangular "watersail" to the lower edge of the sail or boom, with a single sheet controlling the loose corner. Yet another version of the watersail was rigged like a horizontal studding sail, with the yard attached to the aft end of the boom and hanging vertically. The sail was bent to the yard and the loose corners were controlled with sheets. I have seen pictures of watersails used on schooners but I do not know when these came into use, or if it was very common.
 

 
 
Some schooners carried a fore gaff topsail (6a), also called a jib-headed topsail,  behind the fore topmast (this sail was also rigged as in 7c below). The top corner attached to a halyard near the top of the mast. The clew (lower aft corner) attached to a sheet at the end of the fore gaff. The throat (fore lower corner) was pulled down with a tack line. It has the advantage that it swings outboard with the fore gaff sail when the ship is running with the wind and increases sail area. The main top stay interferes with it, so it would be raised after the ship set a course. I have seen a few sail plans showing the fore gaff topsail on 19th century vessels, but it is not common on modern ships.
 
Other ships carried a main top staysail (6b) that rode on the main top stay. A halliard raised the upper aft corner, a tack pulled the lower fore corner to the fore mast, and a sheet pulled the lower aft corner to the main top. This is a much simpler rig and is the most common configuration on topsail schooners from the 18th century to modern times. However American New England fishing schooners often carried a larger version of the main top staysail, often called a fisherman's staysail. These were four-sided sails with the peak pulled to the top of the main mast by a halliard, the throat was fastened to the fore top, the tack was pulled down to deck near the fore mast, and the clew was pulled down and often secured to the main boom. The most common form was as shown in 6c with the sail extending about half way down the fore mast. A more extreme version (6d) found on some racing vessels had the tack and clew extending almost to the deck. These sails had to be hauled down when tacking or jibing and raised again after the new heading was set.
 

 
 
The main mast also carried a gaff topsail (7), but there were many different types of gaff topsails.
 
 

 
The simplest version (7a), a jib-headed topsail, was the same as the fore gaff topsail (6a) described above. It was a "flying" sail with no attachments directly to the gaff or main topmast. It could be raised and lowered from the deck. The second type (7b) was the standing gaff topsail, also called a "shoulder-of-mutton" type. It attached to the topmast with lacing or hoops. It used the same halliards, sheets and tack as the flying sail to control it, but it had to be reefed by crewmen in the top. But on some vessels a brail was rigged to the corners of the sail allowing the sail to be pulled together into a "wad" to reef it by pulling on the brail from the deck.
 
 


 
The yard topsail (7c) had the sail laced (bent) to a yard or spar that was hoisted to the top of the topmast with a halliard. The lower corners were controlled with sheet and tack like the flying gaff topsail. The American version (left above) had the halliard attached below the midpoint of the yard. This raised the upper part of the sail above the top of the topmast to catch higher breezes. The lower fore corner had to be pulled down hard with the tack to keep the spar upright. The sail was approximately triangular. This rig was very common on Baltimore clippers. The European version (7d), called a "lugsail" type, allowed the spar to hang more or less horizontally, like a studding sail or ringtail spar. The sail was trapezoidal or rectangular. Both versions 7c and 7d could be raised and lowered from the deck.
 

 
 
A fifth version (7e) is similar to the shoulder-of-mutton (7b) except the top of the sail is bent to a small gaff that rides on the mast with jaws. The forward edge of the sail is attached to the mast with hoops. The lower corners are rigged like the shoulder-of-mutton sail. The final version (7f) is similar to the American version (7c), but the lower end of the spar was attached directly to the fore top cap. The sail was laced to the spar. A halliard was attached above the center of the spar to raise it erect. With arrangements 7e and 7f  the sail could not be lowered to the deck so crewmen had to go into the top to furl the sail. Version 7f was uncommon, and may have been used only in 20th century racing boats. I have seen no evidence it was used on 18th or 19th century topsail schooners. I included it just to emphasize the variety in the configuration of gaff topsails.
 

 
 
 
The Cornish yard topsail type 7g was similar to 7f except the spar was attached to the gaff boom. In some cases the bottom of the spar was attached with a metal fitting on the boom, and in other cases the bottom of the spar was tied to the boom.
 
The jackyard topsail (7h) was introduced in the late 1800s to cheat on racing rules that limited gaff topsail sizes in some classes of racing boats. The rules were vague as to where the sheet attached, and adding the jackyard (which wasn't mentioned in the rules) allowed the sail size to be enlarged. In some cases the jackyard topsail was about equal in area to the main sail!
 
****
 
Remember that these examples do not cover all possible variations in the rigging of topsail schooners, but they do show the more common rigs. If you are building a model of one of these ships, and you are having trouble interpreting the plans (or if you don't have plans), maybe these drawings will help.

Peter,
 
Good question!!
 
You are absolutely right. Duh! When I consulted Lever's  reference both the jib and fore staysail downhauls were rigged through a single block at the tack and through a few of the "hanks" at the head rope to the peak.
 
This is shown for the fore staysail in Petersson's book but it is not apparent for the jib and flying jib.
 
Biddlecombe also shows the downhauls attached to the peaks of all the fore sails.
 
The tack of each sail is made fast (hooked) to the bottom of the stay, or to the traveler if it is used for the jib.
 
Thanks for pointing out this mistake.
 
Corrected!

Thank you for this, Phil.  It's by far the best explanation of schooner rigging I've seen in one place.
 
I do have a question about the jib / fore staysail inhaul.  Wouldn't the more common arrangement be a downhaul that starts at the peak, runs down the stay (either through the hanks or free) to a block at the bowsprit, then to the bow?  That would allow the sail to be entirely hauled down to the bowsprit, which isn't possible with a line attached at the tack.  In this arrangement, the tack would simply be attached by a hook at a fixed point at the bowsprit cap or traveler.  Maybe there would be an inhaul for a flying jib, but a downhaul + hooked tack for a jib or fore staysail?
 

The story of the Constitution's most famous action has been written about exhaustively. But here are the words of British eyewitnesses, to the best of my knowledge, have not been published elsewhere. The officiel letter of Captain James Dacres will be omitted, because it has  been printed many times elsewhere. Here are the recollections of those under his command.
 
The court martial was held on board HMS Africa, 64, in Halifax, on October 2, 1812.
 
Lieutenant bartholomew Kent was sworn in and testified as followed:
 
"August 19th, 1812, at 2 P.M., being on the wind on the starboard tack, we saw a sail on our weather beam, coming down before the wind. Made sail in chase. At  3 made her out to be a man of war. Went to quarters and prepared the ship for action. At 4 made her out to be the Constitution, which we had formerly chased off New York, but escaped by her superior sailing. Hauled up our courses, took in our top gallant sails, and backed the main topsail to wait for her coming down. The enemy at the same time hauled o a wind, took in his top gallant sails, courses, and reefed his topsails. At 4.5 filled, wore ship and hoisted our colours at each mast head. At 4.10 the enemy bore up - fired several shot at him. At 4..15 she hoisted her colours and returned our fire.. Wore several times to avoid being raked exchanging broadsides. At 5 she closed within half pistol shot, on our larboard beam, both keeping up a heavy fire and  steering free, his intention, evidently, being to cross our bows. At 5.20 the mizenmast fell and exposed the ship to a heavy raking fire from the enemy, who placed himself on our larboard bow, a few only of our bow guns being able to bear on him . At 5.40 the ship not answering her helm, he attempted to lay us on board, At 6, the ship coming to we  brought some of our bow guns to bear on the enemy and got clear of him. At 6.20 the fore and main masts went over the side, leaving the ship a perfect unmanageable wreck. The frigate immediately made sail ahead, and we began to clear away the wreck, in hopes of being able to get the ship before the wind to recommence the action, but just as we had cleared the wreck, the spritsail yard went, leaving the ship in the trough of the sea, rolling her guns under. The enemy by this time refitted wore round to rake us, and all attempts to get her before the wind proving in vain, the ship being much shattered in her hull, in a sinking condition, and 1/3 of her crew killed or wounded, Captain Dacres called the remaining officers together, when all were of the opinion that further resistance would be a useless expense of lives.  
 
Bart. Kent 1st Lieut.
 
Q: After the Guerriere had laid to, for the enemy to come down was she put under command in time?
 
A:  Yes. She filled previous to the enemy's coming within gunshot, and was kept under three topsails and jib and mizen staysail occasionally.
 
Q:  At what distance was the enemy when the Guerriere opened her fire?
 
A:   We fired a single shot first which went, I think, a half a mile beyond her, to try our distance. We then have her our starboard broadside shortly afterwards, and wore so as to fire our larboard broadside. The Constitution returned our broadside before the 2nd or 3rd. One shot went through our quarterdeck and another went though her gangway hammocks from her first broadside.
 
Q:  Were the best  positions preserved, thtat the superior sialing of the enemy and other circumstances would permit before the fall of the mizen mast?
 
A:  They were the best!
 
 
Q:  In what manner did the fall of the mizen  mast operate so as to prevent the ship from manuevering?
 
A:  The mizen fell on our starboard quarter. The enemy shot ahead and attempted to haul across our bows,  The ship came to at the same time and we were exposed to a raking fire from the enemy. I cannot say whether the ship came to against her helm. I can not speak as to the manner of the mizen mast operation.
 
Q:  How long were you clearing the wreck of the mizen mast?
 
A: We did not get clear of the mizen mast until the other masts fell.
 
Q:  How long were you first lieutenant of the Guerrieire?
 
A:  Nearly three years and a half.
 
 
Q:  Did you consider her a handy ship, or otherwise?
 
A:  Much the reverse, she seldom stayed, if there was any sea on. 
 
Q:  Relate to the court, the cause that appears to you to have preceded the fall of the fore and the main masts.
 
A:  Our fore mast was struck by a double headed shot, which was afterwards found laying on the fore castle. Several of the shrouds were cut away, and when we were aboard of the enemy our bow sprit was over his quarter, the pitching of slackened the fore stay and the masts fell about the same time. The main mast did not appear to me to be wounded by shot. Previous to our going into action our fore tressel trees were gone most of the fore rigging knotted, our bowsprit was defective. We were obliged to get down our long fore topgallant mast and get a short one up. The fore topmast was hanging by the top tackle pendants, the tressel trees not being able to support the weight of the topmast. The heel of the fore mast in falling fell over the main stay and the main stay being slackened by the weight and the jerk of the fore mast, carried the main mast with it. Most of the main shrouds were shot away.
 
 
Q:  Inform the court the state of the wind and sea at the time.
 
A:  There was a fresh breeze and a great deal of sea on.
 
Q:  What means were taken to get the ship before the wind after the fall of the masts, and how long were you clearing the wreck?
 
A:  The spritsail was loosed. We began immediately to clear away the wreck and got up a small spar on the stump of the foremast. I think we might have been three quarters of an hour before the whole wreck was cleared.
 
Q:  Did you succeed in getting before the wind?
 
A:  No. The sprit sail yard went and the ship having got into a trough of the sea, she lay there. She rolled so much I dod not think it would have been possible to work the guns. The shot and shot boxes on the quarterdeck were flying from side to side.
 
Q:  It appears from Captain Dacres letter that the fire from the enemy's small arms did great execution on the Guerriere's upper deck. Did you later ascertain the number of the enemy had at small arms at the time the ships came to close action, and how they were disposed of?
 
A:  When on board the Constitution I understand they had 12 men in each top with rifles and also between 50 to 60 marines with small arms on the gangways.
 
 
Q:  How many men with small arms did the Guerriere oppose at the time the ships first came to close action, to divert the enemy's fire from the men at your guns?
 
A:  In consequence of the main deck guns being shortly manned, from the number of men who were away, the marines were ordered down to man them, until Captain Dacres gave orders for the  whole of the marines to be sent up. I do not think we could have had more then ten men at small arms altogether. The whole of the marines were up when the ships closed, about thirty five in number.
 
Q:   How many men had you at each main deck gun?
 
A:  Seven including marines and a powder man - some calling themselves Americans were allowed to go below.
 
Q:  Do you know how many broadsides the ship fired?
 
A:  I cannot say. The fire from the ship was very brisk.
 
 
Q:  Relate to the court the position of the two ships when the enemy attempted to board?
 
A:   When the enemy came close to us, Captain Dacres gave me orders to go down on the main deck and snd every body up from below. I sent up part of them, but being found impracticable to board her, they were immediately sent down, previous to the others getting up The only position I observed the ships in was when I came up our bowsprit was over her larboard quarter.
 
Q:  Why was it impracticable to board?
 
A:  There was so much sea and the Guerriere coming to, it was impossible to get on board.
 
Q:  What proportion of the crew of the Guerriere was boarders and how were they armed?
 
A:   There were four men to every gun who were boarders, making 96 together, when the whole of the ships company were on board. All the men on the upper deck were boarders, armed with cutlasses - were lying on the main and upper deck  for them The boarding pikes were on the booms, some on the main deck, some on the fore castle.
 
 
Q:  Did the enemy make any attempt to board the Guerriere?
 
A:  The first lieutenant of the Constitution informed me that at the time he was wounded, he was on the tafferail to see if it was feasible to board the Guerriere. He heard us call our boarders and from the number of men that appeared on our deck, he expected we were going to board them and waited to receive us.
 
Q:  Did you exchange vollies of small arms at the time the people were up?
 
A:  Yes, we were defending ourselves with musketry and bow guns - at that time most of the marines were killed or wounded.
 
Q:  How often did the Guerriere wear during the action?
 
A:  We wore several times, but I cannot say how often.
 
 
Q:  Did the enemy wear as often?
 
A:  The enemy did not wear, she was coming down on our weather beam and yawed to give us her broadside.
 
Q:   Had you your broadsides to the enemy, when you wore?
 
A:  Part of our broadside wore on the enemy
 
Q:  What was the state of the Guerriere when the colours were ordered to be hauled down and what was the position and state of the enemy?
 
A:  All the masts  of the Guerriere were gone, several shot between wind and water, her hull much shattered and rolling so that it was impossible to use her guns The enemy wore round on the starboard bow, his masts and yards all standing, except the cross jack yard, and was approaching apparently with an intention of raking us, when we struck.
 
 
Q:  At what distance was the Constitution from the Guerriere when she struck?
 
A:  At long gun shot, about a mile.
 
Q:   How long had she retired from you to refit?
 
A:   I think about three quarters of an hour.
 
Q:   During the action, did any of the masts hamper your guns?
 
A:  Not until the fore and main masts fell - they rendered the starboard guns in part ineffectual.
 
 
Q:   Previously and during the action, was everything done that could be done to prevent the ship from falling into the hands of the enemy?
 
A:  Every thing was done."
 
 
         
 

It seems indeed that the lifebuoy as we know it came around in the 1840s or so. In the 1980s it seems that more or less horseshoe shaped designs have replaced the 'classical' one.
 
Before the time of steamships it is sad to say, there was not much real use for lifebuoys and the attitude to human life was also more fatalistic. Men typically went over board in rough seas and strong winds and at night, when it would have been very difficult to heave to, to lower a boat and start searching. Such manoeuvre would have put the whole ship and certainly the boat-crew into serious danger. Before smoke flares and battery-operated lights attached to lifebuoys, it would have been very difficult to find a man in anything else but a dead-flat sea. Therefore, I am not sure that these French lifebuoys that were suspended over the stern were really useful and not just prolonged the suffering
 
My father was telling me, that his father (who was in the German Imperial Navy from around 1910 until 1919) told him that many sailors could not swim and would not want to learn it, because it would just make dying a much more prolonged process. Not sure that is true. He himself could swim, but many navy sailors, who came from inland areas may have not been able to.

Watched the Netflix movie last night and liked it. Interesting story, really good cinematography and lighting, and Fienes’ depiction of Brown was excellent. The romantic side stories felt contrived and unnecessary. Wife, a true Anglophile, really enjoyed it.
 
Cheers,
 
Keith

Watched the Netflix movie last night and liked it. Interesting story, really good cinematography and lighting, and Fienes’ depiction of Brown was excellent. The romantic side stories felt contrived and unnecessary. Wife, a true Anglophile, really enjoyed it.
 
Cheers,
 
Keith

Hi, I am 34 years old and live in Vietnam. This is my first post on this forum, hoping to get acquainted with everyone. My English is not good, so most of the time I use google tools to assist with translation, hoping for your understanding.
When I received this kit I realized the detail part was too small for me so I zoomed in to 1:64 to make it easier to do. However, when I launched the Kit I realized that the thickness of the parts had changed a lot and I had difficulty checking their size. But I don't think this is important so here are my first results:
 

Yep, it’s the SQA-10 VDS (variable depth sonar).  (Sumrall 1995.  Sumner-Gearing Class Destroyers. pp. 212-215)

Yep, it’s the SQA-10 VDS (variable depth sonar).  (Sumrall 1995.  Sumner-Gearing Class Destroyers. pp. 212-215)

Yep, it’s the SQA-10 VDS (variable depth sonar).  (Sumrall 1995.  Sumner-Gearing Class Destroyers. pp. 212-215)