PRACTICAL
BOAT-SAILING:
A Concise and Simple Treatise
ON
THE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL BOATS AND YACHTS UNDER
ALL CONDITIONS, WITH EXPLANATORY CHAPTERS ON
ORDINARY SEA-MANŒUVRES, AND THE USE OF
SAILS, HELM, AND ANCHOR, AND ADVICE
AS TO WHAT IS PROPER TO BE DONE
IN DIFFERENT EMERGENCIES;
SUPPLEMENTED BY A SHORT
VOCABULARY OF NAUTICAL TERMS.
BY
DOUGLAS FRAZAR,
FORMERLY FOURTH OFFICER OF THE STEAMSHIP "ATLANTIC,"
MASTER OF THE BARK "MARYLAND," AND COMMANDER
OF THE YACHT "FENIMORE COOPER" IN THE
NORTHERN SEAS OF CHINA AND JAPAN.
BOSTON:
LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS.
NEW YORK:
CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM.
Copyright, 1879,
By LEE AND SHEPARD.
All rights reserved.
PREFACE.
This little work is not written to teach any thingnew to those who know how to sail boats well andsafely, but only for the purpose of enabling any person,after a perusal of its pages, to feel confident ofhandling a boat so as to be perfectly safe, and to havesome knowledge of the rules which should govern itsmovements under all conditions that might naturallyarise. This sport is far less dangerous than is supposed;and it may even be asserted that no kind ofamusement is safer during the summer months inthese latitudes,—many not as safe. Some one hastruly said "that the boat is always under the perfectcontrol, and subject to the will, of its master; whilstin driving, for instance, one is dependent for life andlimb upon the forbearance, good-temper, and trainingof a brute whose strength is greater than one's own,and whose over-vaunted intelligence is often exceededby his obstinacy."
It is simply wonderful what stress of wind and seaa small boat will sustain with perfect safety whenproperly managed.
[4]It is hoped that the following pages will be sufficientto post all tyros in the technique of the science,and enable them to execute all the manœuvres thatare needful, and to know the names and uses of allthe important ropes, sails, &c.; so that they will nothave to ask anybody any questions, and be able to"paddle their own canoe."
If the author has succeeded in making himselfunderstood, so that the student will feel competentto take charge of his own boat or yacht with confidence,he will be amply repaid.
There is no doubt but what there may be a differenceof opinion amongst yachtsmen and boatmen asto the best manner of executing many sea-evolutions.The author has chosen those which have stood thetest of time, and are comparatively simple, and easyof execution, fitted for small craft, and perfectly safe.
Several useful hints have been gathered by aninspection of Bowditch's "Epitome" and Brady's"Kedge-Anchor."
MOTHER GOOSE (slightly altered).
"Three wise men of Gotham
Went to sea in a bowl:
If their wits had been stronger,