Dr PR Posted September 18, 2020 #1 Posted September 18, 2020 (edited) 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. Edited March 3 by Dr PR DARIVS ARCHITECTVS, bolin, catopower and 14 others 13 2 2 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
Gregory Posted September 19, 2020 #2 Posted September 19, 2020 Now, if you would kindly show all the lines and their belaying points...😁 mtaylor, JRB9019, EricWilliamMarshall and 3 others 3 3 Quote “Indecision may or may not be my problem.” ― Jimmy Buffett Current builds: Rattlesnake On Hold: HMS Resolution ( AKA Ferrett ) In the Gallery: Yacht Mary, Gretel, French Cannon
Dr PR Posted September 19, 2020 Author #3 Posted September 19, 2020 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. Gregory, mtaylor, EricWilliamMarshall and 2 others 5 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
Seahawk1313 Posted September 19, 2020 #4 Posted September 19, 2020 Very nice. Just a note: Some topsail schooners used a horse (?) in front of the fore mast that the fore course yard rode up and down on so it didn't get in the way of the fore gaff. It was a rope set up in the top and a deadeye on the deck, this allowed the gaff to be lowered easily. found this in Chappelle's book on Baltimore Schooners. Almost ready to rig U.S. Schooners Enterprise and Experiment. I'm still not sure how I'm rigging the Main Stay, a double stay rigged to the deck with block and tackle. Interesting subject - Hal uss frolick, BobG, catopower and 2 others 5 Quote
Dr PR Posted September 19, 2020 Author #5 Posted September 19, 2020 (edited) Seahawk, I remember reading about that method of controlling the fore course yard, presumably in Chapelle's The Baltimore Clipper. It would help control the yard as it was being raised or lowered while the ship was rolling. There has been a fair amount of discussion and speculation about the double main stays on schooners on the forum. The best came from someone experienced in sailing one of the existing ships. Right now I don't remember who or where this post is. The problem is that a stay that runs from the main top to the deck forward near the base of the fore mast, as is common on square riggers, will interfere with the swing of the fore sail (and fore sail boom if there is one) when the ship changes course. It is desirable to swing the sail out over the side to catch the wind, either running with the wind or when tacking into the wind. With a fixed main stay when the ship changed course it would be necessary to lift the fore sail and boom over the stay and that would be a slow process. It wouldn't be as much of a problem on ships that did not have a fore sail boom. The clew of the sail would have double sheets, one port and one starboard, and the sail could be pulled over the main stay with the appropriate sheet. I have also seen photos of ships with brails near the foot of the sail that could be hauled in to loosely furl the sail (no fore boom) close to the mast. These could be used to haul up the sail for lifting over a fixed main stay. One solution was to have two main stays, port and starboard. Each stay had a tackle (gun tackle or luff tackle) with the lower block hooked to a point on deck. The stay on the windward side was drawn taught to take the forces of the wind and ship's motion, while the lee side was slacked to allow freedom of motion of the fore sail (and boom). When the wind changed to the opposite side the stay on that side was drawn taught and the new leeward side stay was loosened. This was a much faster process that working around a fixed stay. Many of the drawings and plates in The Baltimore Clipper show this rig, dating back to 1800 or earlier. Several modern topsail schooners also have this rig. However, Lennarth Petersson's Rigging Period Fore-and-Aft Craft (page 80) shows a double fixed main stay anchored to bitts aft of the fore mast on the Experiment. His drawings were made (mostly) from a model of the Experiment in a Swedish museum. Another solution was to rig the main stay from the main top to the fore top. Then the fore stay took the load for both masts. In this case the fore gaff swung below the main stay. I have seen a few drawings showing this configuration. But the gaff peak halliard rigging would also have to be below the main stay and this would require the gaff to be some distance below the stay, resulting in smaller sail area. Edited February 18, 2023 by Dr PR catopower, Gregory, mtaylor and 3 others 6 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
BobG Posted September 19, 2020 #6 Posted September 19, 2020 This is a very interesting and useful topic. Thanks for getting it started, Phil. I'm working on the original, Pen Duick racing yacht, which is a gaff rigged cutter, and the Artesania Latina plans and instructions are minimal when it comes to the rigging and sails. In addition to Lennarth Petersson's book, Rigging Period Fore-and-Aft Craft, I have found the following two books very helpful also: The Gaff Rig Handbook by John Leather Hand, Reef and Sail 2nd Edition, Traditional Sailing skills for Classic Boats by Tom Cunliffe mtaylor and EricWilliamMarshall 2 Quote Bob Garcia "Measure once, cuss twice!" Current Builds: Hms Brig-Sloop Flirt 1782 - Vanguard Models Pen Duick - Artesania Latina 1:28 Completed: Medway Longboat 1742 - Syren Ship Model Co. Member of the Nautical Research Guild
Dr PR Posted September 19, 2020 Author #7 Posted September 19, 2020 Thanks for the references. I have followed your build. Your name caught my eye. I had a friend many years ago in grad school named Bob Garcia. Dr. Bob now. BobG, EricWilliamMarshall and mtaylor 3 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
georgeband Posted January 17, 2021 #8 Posted January 17, 2021 Phil, Thank you so much for providing all this detail. I am building HMS Whiting (based on Caldercraft Ballahoo) and have found extensive information from Admiralty drawings about the hull. However, the masts, yards and sails are a different matter. For these I have Petersson's book and four treatises on masting schooners. I have also copied the log book kept by her first sub-lieutenant. The mast and yard books present different rules so the sizes on my model will probably be set by eye and informed judgment. Fortunately I am not at that stage of building yet and can research a while longer. For the sail plan I will read your notes carefully then compare them with an Admiralty drawing for Adonis (similar but bigger...) and notes from the log book. That has its own problems with legibility but I have already seen orders about raising and lowering a ring tail sail. Once all that is sorted I can look at preparing a belaying plan. Lots to do. In your extensive research have you found anything which will transfer to a Bermuda built Ballahoo from 1805? I would be delighted to hear if you can add to the pictures I am trying to create. Best regards, George allanyed, mtaylor, EricWilliamMarshall and 1 other 4 Quote George Bandurek Near the coast in Sussex, England Current build: HMS Whiting (Caldercraft Ballahoo with enhancements) Previous builds: Cutter Sherbourne (Caldercraft) and many non-ship models
dak4482 Posted January 17, 2021 #9 Posted January 17, 2021 (edited) Hi all just to add another source, Tryckare's "Lore of Ships" has pages and pages of drawings of these types of sail layouts along with many other examples from Chinese junks all the way to six-masted barkentines. Dr PR, Your explanations give a much greater understanding of many of those those variations and is very much appreciated. Dan Edited January 17, 2021 by dak4482 RobMann79, flying_dutchman2, BobG and 2 others 4 1 Quote
BANYAN Posted January 17, 2021 #10 Posted January 17, 2021 Great overview of these rigs Dr.PR, you have put a significant amount of research into it. I can appreciate that effort as I am doing the same for a Steam-Screw Barque rigged ship - so many options to choose from and try to nail down the probable rigging and belaying plans. cheers Pat mtaylor 1 Quote If at first you do not suceed, try, and then try again!Current build: HMCSS Victoria (Scratch) Next build: HMAS Vampire (3D printed resin, scratch 1:350) Built: Battle Station (Scratch) and HM Bark Endeavour 1768 (kit 1:64)
Dr PR Posted January 19, 2021 Author #11 Posted January 19, 2021 (edited) 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. Edited February 28 by Dr PR tkay11, BobG, GrandpaPhil and 10 others 13 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
Jaager Posted January 19, 2021 #12 Posted January 19, 2021 This may be something that I have assembled in my own imagination when mentally organizing all this. I am wondering about something in post #1. The square sails: I have been thinking that if the yard at the foot of sail #10 only supported the lower corners of the topsail it would be a topsail schooner. If there was a sail hanging from it and it was on the foremast, then it was a brigantine. If both masts had a sail #9 then it would be a brig. If either mast had a main course, then there would either need to be a Spencer mast for the gaff boom or there would be no upper boom or it would float and in either of the latter cases no mast rings? If the main yards had a sail, it could not be lowered to the deck with boom parrels and rings in the way. Or the booms lowered first? But then, I am trying to remember if I have ever seen a main yard lowered to the deck? Or maybe, if a lower boom is present on all fore and aft sails, it is a schooner? If the fore mast had no lower boom, it is not a schooner? And a non sequitur = it seems to me that the Antebellum USN took any and every opportunity to re-rig a schooner over to being a brig. I wonder why? And merchantmen seemed to do the exact opposite? EricWilliamMarshall and mtaylor 2 Quote NRG member 50 years Current: NMS HMS Ajax 1767 - 74-gun 3rd rate - 1:192 POF exploration - works but too intense -no margin for error HMS Centurion 1732 - 60-gun 4th rate - POF Navall Timber framing HMS Beagle 1831 refiit 10-gun brig with a small mizzen - POF Navall (ish) Timber framing The U.S. Ex. Ex. 1838-1842 Flying Fish 1838 pilot schooner - POF framed - ready for stern timbers Porpose II 1836 brigantine/brig - POF framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers Vincennes 1825 Sloop-of-War - POF timbers assembled, need shaping Peacock 1828 Sloop-of -War - POF timbers ready for assembly Sea Gull 1838 pilot schooner - POF timbers ready for assembly Relief 1835 packet hull USN ship - POF timbers ready for assembly Other Portsmouth 1843 Sloop-of-War - POF timbers ready for assembly Le Commerce de Marseilles 1788 118 cannons - POF framed La Renommee 1744 Frigate - POF framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers
Dr PR Posted January 19, 2021 Author #13 Posted January 19, 2021 (edited) Jaeger, Your questions are right to the point - at least they show the difficulty in putting a label on any sail/rigging configuration. That is why I have repeatedly said there is no "right" way to rig a ship, or at least there are as many right ways as there were ships. As an aside, in biological taxonomy there are "lumpers" and "splitters" when it comes to putting names on living creatures. Splitters tend to create new names for every possible variation and lumpers usually overlook minor variations when naming species. Personally, I am a lumper. What I find is weird is that some taxonomists split hairs in naming new species, varieties, etc., using trivial differences in color, size, shape and so on, while they overlook similar differences of no greater significance within our own species! And in the end nature doesn't give a damn about our nomenclature. A critter is whatever it is, and it may change to be different tomorrow. I see the same sort of irrational hair splitting in trying to place names on ship's rigs, and schooners are a good example. The more or less agreed upon definition of a schooner is a vessel rigged fore-and-aft with the main mast equal to or higher than the fore mast. There actually are ships rigged this way! But some schooners have three, four, five, six and even seven masts, all rigged fore-and-aft. But the common acceptance of this definition holds that the fore-and-aft schooner rig has a gaff sail on all masts. The after most gaff sail has a lower boom (a spanker), but the other gaff sails may be "loose-footed" with no boom, or they may have booms. And then what do you have if you add a square topsail to the fore mast, as was very popular in the US in the late 1700s and early 1800s? Now it is a "topsail schooner." And some added topgallants and royals, or double topsails as in square rigged ships. Then some added a topsail to the main mast! But they retained the fore-and-aft fore gaff sail. Now what is it? Some call it a two topsail schooner. I have seen illustrations of a five masted topsail schooners rigged with topsails on the first and third masts, but not on the second, fourth and fifth masts. But each mast also carried a gaff sail. So what happens if you make a change to an accepted nautical definition, such as rigging a fore course to a topsail schooner? Is it a topsail schooner when the fore course is not used and then magically becomes a brigantine when the fore course is rigged? Or when both fore and main courses are raised on a two topsail schooner, is it suddenly a brig? It is still the same ship so it makes no sense to rename it every time the fore course is hoisted or lowered. And the fore topsail yard often is not attached to the mast so the yard can be lowered to the deck to"reef" the sail. When this happens is it no longer a topsail schooner, even if the fore course yard is still there? And what is it if the after gaff sail is loose-footed with no boom? It seems to me that the basic schooner definition, where the vessel has a primary rig of fore-and-aft sails, is the key factor. At least if every mast has a gaff sail. But even the "schooner" definition has it's ambiguities. The staysail schooner doesn't have a fore gaff sail, but has staysails rigged between the masts. So it is still a "schooner" because there are no square sails on either mast and you have to call it something. Schooner is the closest fit because it is a pure fore-and-aft rig with the main mast taller than the fore mast, and it has at least one gaff sail. But if you add one square sail to the foremast of a staysail schooner it suddenly becomes a brigantine. Or should the staysail schooner have been called a "neutered brigantine" in the first place? At one time it was called a hermaphrodite brig, but is now called a brigantine. And what happens when you add a topsail to the foremast of a ketch? Is it then a dwarf topsail schooner or a topsail ketch? Or what if the aft mast (mizzen) on a three or more masted fore-and-aft rigged vessel is shorter than the other masts? Is it a ketch instead of a schooner? The variations are practically endless! And the discussions are practically endless!! Being the lumper than I am, if a vessel has gaff sails on every mast, even if some masts have square sails, it is a schooner, and if the after mast is shorter than the rest it is a bastard schooner. But I expect ketch lovers will take exception to that! Edited January 20, 2021 by Dr PR mtaylor, Archi, bruce d and 1 other 3 1 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
Jaager Posted January 19, 2021 #14 Posted January 19, 2021 I suspect that that at the time there was money, rank, and prestige involved with the classifications. Time makes that irrelevant. For our purposes, I think "lumper" is by far the more useful course. My focus is on hulls. One particular vessel that I have spent time on is Porpoise II 1836. It was one of two vessels that completed the U.S. Ex. Ex. It was originally rigged as a brigantine, and converted to brig while on the mission. But regardless of the rig, when I look at the lines, it positively screams that it was designed to be a schooner. There are many hulls that say "I am a schooner" no matter how the sticks are arranged. EricWilliamMarshall and mtaylor 2 Quote NRG member 50 years Current: NMS HMS Ajax 1767 - 74-gun 3rd rate - 1:192 POF exploration - works but too intense -no margin for error HMS Centurion 1732 - 60-gun 4th rate - POF Navall Timber framing HMS Beagle 1831 refiit 10-gun brig with a small mizzen - POF Navall (ish) Timber framing The U.S. Ex. Ex. 1838-1842 Flying Fish 1838 pilot schooner - POF framed - ready for stern timbers Porpose II 1836 brigantine/brig - POF framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers Vincennes 1825 Sloop-of-War - POF timbers assembled, need shaping Peacock 1828 Sloop-of -War - POF timbers ready for assembly Sea Gull 1838 pilot schooner - POF timbers ready for assembly Relief 1835 packet hull USN ship - POF timbers ready for assembly Other Portsmouth 1843 Sloop-of-War - POF timbers ready for assembly Le Commerce de Marseilles 1788 118 cannons - POF framed La Renommee 1744 Frigate - POF framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers
Dr PR Posted January 20, 2021 Author #15 Posted January 20, 2021 (edited) 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. Edited February 28 by Dr PR GrandpaPhil, nehemiah, Archi and 5 others 7 1 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
Dr PR Posted January 21, 2021 Author #16 Posted January 21, 2021 (edited) 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. Edited April 27 by Dr PR paul ron, catopower, el cid and 16 others 12 6 1 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
georgeband Posted January 21, 2021 #17 Posted January 21, 2021 Phil, This is an excellent summary of the rigging on a schooner and complements your earlier posts about masts and yards. I will certainly refer to it when I get to that stage on HMS Whiting. I guess that because it is a summative work it would disrupt the flow somewhat if you tried to put in all the references that you have used. I have faced that issue with a history of the last moments of Whiting and a piece of prose can become bogged down with footnotes. My background is in physics and performing verifications and validations where the need is to find evidence to back up an assertion. I have learned to be wary of secondary sources, even those from peer reviewed journals. Please could you tell us the references which you have found most valuable for your research? I often find that researching a topic is just as enjoyable as making a model and I would like to discover more sources where I can search for hidden gems. I look forward to your next installment. George bruce d and mtaylor 2 Quote George Bandurek Near the coast in Sussex, England Current build: HMS Whiting (Caldercraft Ballahoo with enhancements) Previous builds: Cutter Sherbourne (Caldercraft) and many non-ship models
bruce d Posted January 21, 2021 #18 Posted January 21, 2021 Phil: what George said. Oh wow, thanks for that, I am printing it off and nailing it to the wall. Bruce mtaylor 1 Quote 🌻 STAY SAFE A model shipwright and an amateur historian are heads & tails of the same coin current builds: HMS Berwick 1775, 1/192 scratchbuild; a Slade 74 in the Navy Board style Mediator sloop, 1/48 - an 18th century transport scratchbuild French longboat - CAF - 1/48, on hold
Dr PR Posted January 21, 2021 Author #19 Posted January 21, 2021 (edited) Bruce and George, You beat me to it! Here are the most useful references I have found so far for topsail schooners. 1. To me the most important reference is Howard Chapelle's The Baltimore Clipper (Edward M. Sweetman Co., New York, USA, 1968). It has a lot of information about the development of topsail schooners and lots of drawings and illustrations. More importantly, it lists the dimensions of actual vessels in the early 1800s. It has many sail plan drawings, but says little about the rigging. 2. The Global Schooner by Karl Heinz Marquardt, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, USA, published by Conway Maritime Press, London, 2003. This book is devoted to the history and construction of schooners. It has an exhaustive history of the schooner rig - the best I have seen. The book has very detailed chapters on masts and rigging with detailed drawings. Numerous tables in the appendices give rules and dimensions for mast, spars and rigging. It is the most complete text on schooner rigging that I have found. It is a large book (11.6 x 10 inches, 294 x 254 mm) with 239 pages containing many detailed drawings, full page ship plans and illustrations. 3. Lennarth Petterson's Rigging Fore-and-Aft Craft (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, USA, 2015) has a section on topsail schooners, and most of this also applies to straight fore-and-aft schooners. He has drawings showing just about every possible line you could have on a schooner, but it is doubtful if any one ship carried all of the rigging he shows. 4. Howard Chapelle's The American Fishing Schooners 1825-1935 (W. W. Norton & Company, New York and London, 1973, 690 pages) is a must if you are interested in these schooners. It gives the history of these ships. However, it has a 371 page "Notebook" with very detailed drawings and descriptions of just about every part of schooner structure and rigging, and much of it applies to all schooners. 5. John Leather's The Gaff Rig Handbook (Wooden Boat Books, Brooklyn, Maine, USA, 2001) gives a lot of detail for rigging modern fore-and-aft yachts and racing boats, but much of this isn't very useful for 19th century and earlier vessels. However, he does give the history of the development of different types of rigs, mainly focusing on British vessels. But the book doesn't have a useful index and finding information about a particular rigging detail is like looking for a needle in a haystack. 6. Harold Underhill's Sailing Ship Rigs and Rigging (Brown, Son & Ferguson, Glasgow, Scotland, 1969) has general sail plans for many types of ships and boats but not much about the actual rigging. But it does have a useful glossary. 7. An excellent reference for the development of fast sailing ships is Howard Chapelle's The Search for Speed Under Sail (W. W. Norton & Company, New York, USA, and London, Great Britain, 1967). It has some sail plans for schooners and a few rigging diagrams. 8. I also have Underhill's Masting and Rigging the Clipper Ship and Oceanic Carrier (Brown, Son & Ferguson, Glasgow, Scotland, 1972). It is an excellent book with a tremendous amount of detail about sails and rigging. It is mostly for British clipper ships, but it has a section on schooners. Unfortunately the drawings seem to be scattered randomly through the book and are rarely anywhere near the text that refers to them. But it does have a list of drawings after the table of contents. Most of what he writes about are rigs of the last half of the 19th century and early 20th century. If you are interested in clipper ships this is a must have! It has perhaps the best and most inclusive index of any book I have seen, with links to descriptions of every part of the ship. 9. James Lees' The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War 1625 - 1860 (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, USA, 1990) is almost entirely about larger square riggers. However it does give a lot of detail about parts of rigging that does apply to schooners. More importantly, it tells how to determine the dimensions of spars, rigging, blocks and such based upon the mast diameter, and has lots of tables. But some caution is necessary because fore-and-aft rigs are much lighter than square rigs, and mast diameters are usually smaller for schooners. And the text can be confusing because he often fails to explain exactly what dimensions he is referring to. Mast and spar dimensions are usually diameters but rope dimensions are circumferences. Divide by PI (3.14159) to get the rope diameter. The biggest problem I have had is all the nautical jargon these authors use, usually without any glossary. And different authors use different arcane terms for the same things. Some authors think a work cannot be scholarly unless it is written so an ordinary person cannot understand it, and use "five dollar words" where a "nickle" word would do just as well. I have found three books indispensable for translating the nautical jargon into meaningful explanations: 10. The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor by Darcy Lever in 1808 (reprinted by Algrove Publishing Ltd., Ottowa, Ontario, Canada, 2000) tells the novice officer or seaman how to rig a ship - every detail of how to put all the pieces of the masts and rigging together. It is essentially an illustrated glossary of nautical terms and a how-to book. But there isn't a lot about fore-and-aft rigs. 11. The Art of Rigging by George Biddlecombe in 1925 (reprinted by Echo Point Books & Media, LLC., Brattleboro, Vermont, USA, 2016) is based upon David Steel's 1794 The Elements and Practice of Rigging and Seamanship. It has an excellent glossary and many illustrations. Again, not much about schooners. I think you can find Steel's original book on line as a PDF file. 12. A good general reference is Wolfram zu Mondfeld's Historic Ship Models (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., New York, USA, 1989) although it is oriented to square rigged ships and doesn't have much to say about schooners. But it has a tremendous amount of detail about all parts of wooden ships and a lot of the history of different configurations. It has lots of diagrams and text describing the parts of ships' hulls, rigging, sails and such. The book has tables for figuring the dimensions of mast and spars. It is one of the best references for sailing ship modelers. 13. William Falconer's Universal Dictionary of the Marine, 1769, is very useful for understanding the arcane and obsolete terminology used in many texts, especially the older works. You can find this book in PDF format on line. Edited July 22, 2023 by Dr PR Added another reference book. mtaylor, bruce d, BobG and 3 others 4 2 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
Dr PR Posted January 21, 2021 Author #20 Posted January 21, 2021 (edited) Spyglass, The large triangular main sail is sometimes called a "Bermuda rig." Without the high gaff boom the weight topside is lighter, but the sail area is smaller than a gaff sail and a topsail. Did the fore mast have a gaff sail? Or did it have staysails between the masts? If it had a gaff sail it would be a topsail schooner. If it has staysails it might be called a hermaphrodite brig, or brigantine as they are usually called these days. Or maybe a Bermuda brigantine? Chapelle's The Baltimore Clipper shows a picture of a three mast schooner with these peaked sails on all masts. The mizzen or driver sail has a lower boom, but the other two sails are loose-footed. He calls it a "leg of mutton schooner" but modern small boats have a "leg-o-mutton" triangular sail with a clew high above the tack and a boom rigged high on the mast to the clew. Your photos are a good example of the wide variations in sail rigs that have been floated. And you are fortunate to have sailed on her in those waters! Edited January 21, 2021 by Dr PR mtaylor, EricWilliamMarshall and BobG 3 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
SardonicMeow Posted January 22, 2021 #21 Posted January 22, 2021 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? el cid, bruce d and mtaylor 3 Quote Peter Completed build: Virginia 1819 from Artesania Latina In progress: Sultana
jdowney Posted January 22, 2021 #22 Posted January 22, 2021 Wow! Just what I needed to better understand how to rig my long deferred Opium Smuggler. Many thanks for an excellent article. EricWilliamMarshall and mtaylor 2 Quote
Dr PR Posted January 23, 2021 Author #23 Posted January 23, 2021 (edited) 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! Edited January 23, 2021 by Dr PR BobG, EricWilliamMarshall, bruce d and 2 others 4 1 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
georgeband Posted January 24, 2021 #24 Posted January 24, 2021 Phil, Thank you for the list of references. I have ordered myself a copy of Chappelle's 'Baltimore Clipper' from Abebooks which should arrive within the week. A couple that I would suggest: Steel as you say is available as a pdf. In the section on sails he describes some for 'sloops' (pages 122-131) which could be appropriate for a schooner. The definition of a sloop is notoriously unclear and has changed over the years, and Steel probably refers to a single masted vessel. Marquardt's 'Global Schooner' is well detailed and he does indicate the original sources for his information. It is my go-to book at the moment. Regards, George mtaylor 1 Quote George Bandurek Near the coast in Sussex, England Current build: HMS Whiting (Caldercraft Ballahoo with enhancements) Previous builds: Cutter Sherbourne (Caldercraft) and many non-ship models
Dr PR Posted February 3, 2021 Author #25 Posted February 3, 2021 (edited) 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. Edited February 7, 2021 by Dr PR el cid, EricWilliamMarshall, GrandpaPhil and 2 others 5 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
allanyed Posted February 3, 2021 #26 Posted February 3, 2021 Phil, Kudos for doing so much homework to get things right. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mfJn604GT4 Allan BobG 1 Quote PLEASE take 30 SECONDS and sign up for the epic Nelson/Trafalgar project if you would like to see it made into a TV series. Click on http://trafalgar.tv There is no cost other than the 30 seconds of your time. THANK YOU
georgeband Posted February 4, 2021 #27 Posted February 4, 2021 Phil, This is an excellent piece of work which saves me a lot of thinking time. Thank you so much for sharing with us. Would it be possible for you to provide the spreadsheet so that I can apply it to Whiting? I have looked up 'hounds' in some contemporary references and found the following definitions. W Falconer dictionary, 1784. 'HOUNDS, a name given to those parts of a mast-head, which gradually project on the right and left side, beyond the cylindrical or conical surface, which it preserves from the partners upwards. The hounds, whose upper parts are also called cheeks, are used as shoulders to support the frame of the top, together with the top-mast and the rigging of the lower-mast.' D Steel, Elements and Practice of Rigging, 1794. 'HOUNDS, the place next under the head of a mast, where it is made more substantial for supporting the trestle-trees and top.' D Steel, Elements and Practice of Rigging, 1794. 'CHEEKS are projecting parts on each side of the mast, to sustain the frame of the top and topmast.' JJ Moore dictionary, 1801. 'HOUNDS, a name given to those parts of a mast-head which gradually project on the right and left side, whose upper parts are also called cheeks: their use is to support the frame of the top together with the top-mast and the rigging of the lower-mast.' The confusion we feel about this was there at the time the ships were built. The difference is that the shipwrights went through an apprenticeship and by the end of that it was probably so obvious to them that they did not need to define the length of a mast. George BobG 1 Quote George Bandurek Near the coast in Sussex, England Current build: HMS Whiting (Caldercraft Ballahoo with enhancements) Previous builds: Cutter Sherbourne (Caldercraft) and many non-ship models
allanyed Posted February 4, 2021 #28 Posted February 4, 2021 George, Regarding the hound and cheeks, the configuration depends on the year and probably the nationality. For British war ships the cheeks extend to the top of the lower mast and the hounds and bibs to the underside of the trestle tree. There are excellent drawings of this area for 1640/60, 1660 up to 1773, 1773 to 1800, and for after 1800 on pages 3 and 4 in Lees' Masting and Rigging English Ships of War. The drawings on these pages also show the rubbing paunch, front fish, mast head battens iron rings and wooldings. Another thing in these drawings is that they show the mast itself is not round in the upper portion, both below and above the trestle trees. Allan Quote PLEASE take 30 SECONDS and sign up for the epic Nelson/Trafalgar project if you would like to see it made into a TV series. Click on http://trafalgar.tv There is no cost other than the 30 seconds of your time. THANK YOU
BANYAN Posted February 4, 2021 #29 Posted February 4, 2021 George, further to Allan's excellent overview, for mid-19th century Kipping and Fincham (both 1855) also offer advice, plus variations for those fitted in steam vessels. Further reference can be made to Underhill for later types fitted in clippers and steel masted ships. As Allan says, depends on the period, type of vessel and even whether a Service or Mercantile vessel. cheers Pat Quote If at first you do not suceed, try, and then try again!Current build: HMCSS Victoria (Scratch) Next build: HMAS Vampire (3D printed resin, scratch 1:350) Built: Battle Station (Scratch) and HM Bark Endeavour 1768 (kit 1:64)
Dr PR Posted February 5, 2021 Author #30 Posted February 5, 2021 I have seen most, or possibly all, of those definitions. As you see the length of the hounds varied from author to author. The problem I had was with the term "hounded length." Most of the authors do not say what part of the hounds are the end of the hounded length. The bottom of the hounds, which could be 1/3 the length of the mast above the partners, the bottom or top of the cheeks, where? Given the plethora of definitions for hounds it seems to me to be anyone's guess. Of course this is obvious to all of the authors, but unfortunately I cannot read their minds. And, being a scientist who knows what it means to know something, I am reluctant to guess. Underhill is the only author I have seen who specifically defines hounded length in unambiguous terms. And as far as I have been able to find Lees doesn't ever say what he means by "mast length" (hounded, measured, what?). Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.