Question on Sails

[acaron41120]

On a sail, one side has some strips/ropes hanging downward on the forward side of the sail. It was supposedly used to tell the helmsman which direction the wind was blowing so they could adjust the sails to the optimum angle. I think they are called tells nowadays. So what were they called back in the age of sail and how many of you add these strips/ropes to the sails on your ships?

 

Thanks for teaching me!

 

[popeye2sea]

I do not think square riggers had or even needed tell tails on their sails.  Fore and aft rigs are, naturally, different, and I have no knowledge one way or the other of tell tails on their sails.

 

Regards,

Henry

[paul ron]

i searched the net n cant find any reference to tells on square riggers. i think i saw something in one of my books about the anatomy of a sail on square riggers.

 

tell tale

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell-tale_(sailing)

 

 

are you thinking of reefers?

 

reef lines... H

the rows of short ropes are used to reef the sail... shorten the sail. 

 

 

 

perhaps on square riggers, they may have used the pendants or flags as tells?

 

 

Edited December 8 by paul ron

[Dr PR]

Ships flew pennants or flags from the mast tops and these told the direction of the wind.

[CPDDET]

On my sloop there were several different places for tell tails. Some were placed on the standing rigging to observe the apparent wind direction. There were tell tales on the face of the jib to monitor the shape the jib. Then there were tell tails on the leech of the main sail, one at each batten, to monitor the shape of the main. None of these should be confused with the reef ties.

[acaron41120]

Paul Ron. Yes. It's the reefers you show on your square rigged illustration (Item H). I thought they were tell-tales. Thank you. Again I'm learning which isn't bad for an old guy like me!

 

Now the second half of the question is do any of you include these "reefs" on your sails? On many of my ship models, the plans show where these reefs would be attached but the instructions show how to sew these reefs onto the sail but never actually say to install them. It was these instructions that lead me to the question. Thank you all.

[paul ron]

ya know, in my 50 some years of doing this, i really never paid much attention to learning the jargon till i joined here. there are very knowledgeable folks in here willing to help in any way they can.. ive learned so much in my time on the forums. the main thing is dont be shy asking, many of the experts are more than happy to help. before you know it, you'll be up to your eyeballs deep building ships and learning the history n technology involved.

 

answer question number two... its the little details that enhance your build the most.

 

keep an eye on these guys! 

 

happy building, hope to see your progress

paul

Edited December 8 by paul ron

[popeye2sea]

Those are called reef points, and many modelers include them on their builds. The hardest part of including them is getting them to lay down in a natural fashion.

 

Regards,

 

Henry

[Dr PR]

I am putting reef points on the sails of my schooner build.

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19611-albatros-by-dr-pr-mantua-scale-148-revenue-cutter-kitbash-about-1815/?do=findComment&comment=1073721

 

The ends are just wherever they fell when I was adding the points. They are held down with dilute (50:50 with water) white glue. After the sails are installed I will use a paint brush with water to reposition the ends so they hang down "naturally."

 

I have posted quite a bit of information about how sails are made starting at this link:

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19611-albatros-by-dr-pr-mantua-scale-148-revenue-cutter-kitbash-about-1815/?do=findComment&comment=1035898

 

[rwiederrich]

I added them to My Great Republic sails......

Edited December 10 by rwiederrich