See also:

• RIGGING (A.S. wrigan or wrihan, to clothe)

RIGGING (A.S. wrigan or wrihan, to clothe)  , the See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general See also:

• TERM

term, in connexion with See also:

• SHIPS

ships, for the whole apparatus of spars (including both masts and yards), sails and cordage, by which the force of the See also:

• WIND
• WIND (a common Teut. word, cognate with Skt. vats, Lat. ventus, cf. " weather," to be of course distinguished from to " wind," to coil or twist, O.Eng. windan, cf. "wander," "wend," &c.)

wind is utilized to move the See also:

• HULL
• HULL (in O.Eng. hulu, from helan, to cover, cf. Ger. Hiille, covering)
• HULL (officially KINGSTON-UPON-HULL)
• HULL, ISAAC (1775-1843)

hull against the resistance, and with the support, of the See also:

• WATER

water . (See also See also:

• SHIP

SHIP and See also:

• SHIPBUILDING

SHIPBUILDING) . The word is often used as meaning the cordage only, but this is a too limited, and even an irrational, use of the term . A ship is not rigged until she is provided with all the spars, sails and cordage required to move and See also:

• CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control the hull . The straight or curved pieces of See also:

• WOOD, ANTHONY A2 (1632-1695)
• WOOD, JOHN GEORGE (1827—1889)
• WOOD, MRS HENRY [ELLEN] (1814—1887)
• WOOD, SEARLES VALENTINE (1798—188o)

wood or See also:

• METAL
• METAL (through Fr. from Lat. metallum, mine, quarry, adapted from Gr. µATaXAov, in the same sense, probably connected with ,ueraAAdv, to search after, explore, µeTa, after, aAAos, other)

metal, called davits, from which the boats carried along the bulwarks are hung, belong to the See also:

• RIGGING (A.S. wrigan or wrihan, to clothe)

rigging . All are fastened directly or indirectly to the hull, and all are required to See also:

• COMPLETE

complete her " clothing." Vessels of all classes, from the smallest sailing-See also:

• BOAT (0. Eng. bdt; the true etymological connexion with Dutch and Ger. boot, Fr. bateau, Ital. battello presents great difficulties; Celtic forms are from O. Eng.)

boat up to the largest ship, are classed according to the particular See also:

• COMBINATION (Lat. combinare, to combine)

combination of their spars, sails and cordage . " Cutter," " brig," or " ship," are only convenient abbreviations for " cutter-rigged," " brig-rigged," or " ship-rigged." They are of such or such a " rig." It is strictly correct to speak of the rigging of a See also:

• MAST (2) (Anglo-Saxon maest, food, common to some Teutonic languages, and ultimately connected with " meat")
• MAST (I) (O. Eng. maest; a common Teutonic word, cognate with Lat. malus; from the medieval latinized form mast us comes Fr. malt)

mast or a yard, or of a See also:

• BOOM

boom, when all that is meant is the See also:

• SPECIAL

special set of See also:

• ROPES, JOHN CODMAN (1836–1899)

ropes, of whatever See also:

• SIZE

size or material, required to keep them in their See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place, or withdraw them from it, when they have to be moved in the ship . In such cases the See also:

• PART

part is looked upon as a whole, and is mentally abstracted from the See also:

• TOTAL

total of the See also:

• VESSEL (O. Fr. vaissel, from a rare Lat. vascellum, dim. of vas, vase, urn)

vessel's rigging . The basis of all rigging is the mast (q.v.), whether it be composed of one or of many pieces of wood or metal . The mast is held up and controlled by ropes, which are classed together as the " See also:

• STANDING

standing rigging," because they are " that part (of the whole rigging) which is made fast, and not hauled upon" (See also:

• ADMIRAL

Admiral See also:

• SMYTH (or SMITH), JOHN (c. 1570-1612)
• SMYTH (or SMITH), WILLIAM (c. 1460-1514)
• SMYTH, CHARLES
• SMYTH, SIR WARINGTON WILKINSON (1817-1890)

Smyth, Sailor's Word-See also:

• BOOK

Book) . This must be under-stood subject to the restriction that in the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case of a mast composed of several parts, including topmast and topgallant mast, these subdivisions may be, and often are, lowered . The back-stays, and other ropes which keep the See also:

• TOP (cf. Dan. top, Ger. Topf, also meaning pot)

top and topgallant masts in place, are therefore only " See also:

• COMPARATIVE

comparative See also:

• FIXTURES (Lat. figere, to fix)

fixtures .

" The bowsprit, though it does not rise from the See also:

• DECK

deck but projects from the See also:

• BOW (pronounced " bo ")

bow, is in fact a mast . The masts, including the bowsprit, support all the sails, whether they hang from the " yards," which are spars slung to the mast, or from " gaffs," which are spars projecting from the mast, or, as in the case of the " jibs," are triangular sails, travelling on ropes called " stays," which go from the foremast to the bowsprit. and suspended by halliards . The bowsprit is subdivided like other masts . The bowsprit proper corresponds to the See also:

• LOWER

lower fore-, See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main- or mizzen-mast . The jib-boom, which is movable and projects beyond the bowsprit, corresponds to a topmast; the flying jib-boom, which also is movable and projects beyond the jib-boom, answers to a topgallant mast . The whole See also:

• BODY

body of ropes by which the yards, booms and sails are manipulated constitute the " See also:

• RUNNING

running rigging," since they are " in See also:

• CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant use, to See also:

• TRIM

trim yards, and make or shorten See also:

• SAIL

sail " (Admiral Smyth, op. cit.) . The rigging must also provide the See also:

• CREW (sometimes explained as a sea term of Scandinavian origin, cf. O. Icel. kris, a swarm or crowd, but now regarded as a shortened form of accrue, accrewe, used in the 16th century in the sense of a reinforcement, O. Fr. acreue, from accrofire, to grow,
• CREW, NATHANIEL CREW, 3RD BARON (1633–1721)

crew with the means of going aloft, and with standing ground to do their See also:

• WORK

work when aloft . Therefore the shrouds (see below) are utilized to See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form ladders of rope, of which the steps are called ratlines, by which the crew can See also:

• MOUNT, WILLIAM SIDNEY (1807-1868)

mount . Near the heads of the lower masts are the tops—platforms on which men can stand—and in the same place on the topmasts are the " See also:

• CROSS

cross-trees," of which the main See also:

• FUNCTION

function is to extend the topgallant shrouds . The yards are provided with ropes, extending from the See also:

• MIDDLE

middle to the extremities or arms, called horses, or See also:

• FOOT

foot-ropes, which hang about 2 or 3 ft. down, and on which men can stand . The material of which the cordage is made has differed, and still differs greatly . See also:

• LEATHER (a word which appears in all Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Leder, Dutch leer or leder, Swed. leder, and in such Celtic forms as Welsh llader)
• LEATHER, ARTIFICIAL

Leather has been used .

must be adapted to resist two kinds of pressure, the See also:

• LONGITUDINAL

longitudinal, whether applied by the wind or by the See also:

• MOTION (Lat. motio, from movere, to move)
• MOTION, LAWS OF

motion of the vessel when pitching (i.e. plunging See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head and stern alternately into the hollow of the See also:

• SEA (in O. Eng. sae, a common Teutonic word; cf. Ger. See, Dutch Zee, &c.; the ultimate source is uncertain)
• SEA, COMMAND OF THE

sea), and the lateral, when the wind is blowing on the See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side and she is See also:

• ROLLING

rolling . The longitudinal pressure is counteracted by the bobstays, stays and backstays . A reference to fig. r will show that the bobstays hold down the bowsprit, which is liable to be lifted by the tug of the jibs, and, of the stays connecting it with the fore-topmast . If the bowsprit is lifted the fore-topmast loses part of its support . In the case of a small vessel, the lifting of a bowsprit would See also:

• WRECK

wreck her whole See also:

• SYSTEM

system of rigging in an instant . If fig. r is followed from the bow to the mizzenmast, it will be seen that a See also:

• SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession of stays connect the masts with the hull of the ship or with one another . All pull together to resist pressure from During historic times, however, the prevailing materials have been See also:

• HEMP (in O. Eng. henep, cf. Dutch hennep, Ger. Hanf , cognate with Gr. Kavval3er, Lat. cannabis)

hemp or See also:

• ESPARTO, or SPANISH GRASS

esparto grass (Machrocloa, or Stipa tenacissima), and in See also:

• RECENT

recent days See also:

• CHAIN (through the O. Fr. citable, chcene, &c., from Lat. catena)

chain and See also:

• WIRE (A.S. wir, a wire; cf. Swed. vire, to twist, M.H.G. wiere, a gold ornament, Lat. viriae, armlets, ultimately from the root wi, to twist, bind)

wire . As the whole of the rigging is divided into standing and running, so a rope forming part of the rigging is divided into the " standing part " and the " fall." The standing part is that which is made fast to the mast, deck or See also:

• BLOCK
• BLOCK (from the Fr. bloc, and possibly connected with an Old Ger. Block, obstruction, cf. " baulk ")
• BLOCK, MAURICE (1816–19or)

block . The fall is the loose end or part on which the crew haul . The block is the See also:

• PULLEY

pulley through which the rope runs . " Standing " in sea See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language means " fixed "—thus the standing part of a See also:

• HOOK, JAMES CLARKE (1819-1907)
• HOOK, THEODORE EDWARD (1788-1841)
• HOOK, WALTER FARQUHAR (1798-1875)

hook is that which " is attached to block, chain or anything which is to heave the hook up, with a See also:

• WEIGHT

weight See also:

• HANGING

hanging to it; the part opposite the point " (Smyth, sub voce) . " Tackle " is the combination of ropes and blocks; the combination of cables and anchors constitutes the " ground tackle." The function of all cordage may be said to be to pull, for the purpose either of keeping the masts in their places, or of moving spars and sails .

The standing rigging which supports the mastsin front . Pressure from behind is met by the backstays, which connect the topmasts and topgallant masts with the sides of the vessel . Lateral pressure is met by the shrouds and breastbackstays . A temporary or " preventer " backstay is used when See also:

• GREAT

great pressure is to be met . See also:

• SEAMEN, LAWS RELATING TO

Seamen have at all times had recourse to special devices to meet particular dangers . When See also:

• DUNDONALD, THOMAS COCHRANE, 10TH EARL OF (1775-186o)

Dundonald, then See also:

• CAPTAIN (derived from Lat. ca put, head, through the Low Lat. capitanus)

captain of the " See also:

• PALLAS, PETER SIMON (1741–1811)

Pallas " See also:

• FRIGATE

frigate, was chased by a See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French See also:

• SQUADRON

squadron in stormy See also:

• WEATHER (O. Eng. weder; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Du. weder, Dan. veir, Icel. ve8r, and Ger. Wetter and Gewitter, storm; the root is wa- to blow, from which is derived " wind ")

weather, he fortified his masts by ordering " all the hawsers " (large ropes a little less strong than the cables which hold the See also:

• ANCHOR (from the Greek ayrcvpa, which Vossius considers is from 6yi17 , a crook or hook)

anchor) " in the ship to be got up to the mast heads, and See also:

• HOVE

hove taut," i.e. made fast to the side . Thus she was able to carry more sail than would have been possible with her normal rigging . The running rigging by which all spars and sails are hoisted, or lowered and spread or taken in, may be divided into those which lift and lower—the lifts, jeers, halliards (haulyards)—and those which hold down the lower corners of the sails—the tacks and sheets . A See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long technical See also:

• TREATISE

treatise would be required to name the many combinations of cordage and spars which make up the total rigging . All that is attempted here is to give the main lines and general principles or divisions . The vessel dealt with here is the fully rigged ship of three or more masts . But she includes all the others and the principles are the same .

The simplest of all forms of rigging is the dipping See also:

• LUG

lug, a quadrangular sail hanging from a yard, and always hoisted on the side of the mast opposite to that on which the wind is blowing (the See also:

• LEE
• LEE (or LEGIT) ROWLAND (d. 1543)
• LEE, ANN (1736–1784)
• LEE, ARTHUR (1740–1792)
• LEE, FITZHUGH (1835–1905)
• LEE, GEORGE ALEXANDER (1802-1851)
• LEE, HENRY (1756-1818)
• LEE, JAMES PRINCE (1804-1869)
• LEE, NATHANIEL (c. 1653-16g2)
• LEE, RICHARD HENRY (1732-1794)
• LEE, ROBERT EDWARD (1807–1870)
• LEE, SIDNEY (1859– )
• LEE, SOPHIA (1950-1824)
• LEE, STEPHEN DILL (1833-1908)

lee side) . When the boat is to be tacked so as to bring the wind on the other side, the `sail is lowered and rehoisted . One rope can serve as halliard to hoist the sail and as a stay when it is made fast on the weather side on which the wind is blowing . The difference between such a See also:

• CRAFT (a word common to Teutonic languages for strength, or power; cf. Ger. Kraft)

craft and the fully rigged ship is that between a See also:

• SIMPLE

simple organism and a very complex one; but it is one of degree, not of See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind . The steps in the See also:

• SCALE
• SCALE (1) A

scale are innumerable . Every sea has its own type . Some in eastern See also:

• WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters are of extreme antiquity, and even in See also:

• EUROPE

Europe vessels are still to be met with which differ very little if at all from the ships of the Norsemen of the 9th and loth centuries . For a full See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

account of these varieties of rigging the reader may be referred to Mast and Sail in Europe and See also:

• ASIA

Asia (See also:

• LONDON

London, 1906), by H . Warington Smyth . When the finer degrees of variation are neglected the types of rigging may be reduced to comparatively few, "which can be classed by the shape of their sail and the number of their masts . At the bottom of the scale is such a craft as the Norse See also:

• HERRING (Clupea harengus, Haring in German, le hareng in French, sill in Swedish)

herring boat (fig . 2) .

She has one quadrangular sail suspended from a yard which is hung (or slung) by the middle to a single mast which is placed (or stepped) in the middle of the boat . She is the See also:

• DIRECT

direct representative of the ships of the Norsemen . Her one sail is a " course " such as is still used on the fore and mainmasts of a fully See also:

• DEVELOPED

developed ship; a topsail may be added (as in fig . 3) and then we have the beginning of a fully clothed mast . A very similar craft called a See also:

• HUMBER

Humber See also:

• KEEL

keel is used in the See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

north of See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England . The lug sail is an advance on the course, since it is better adapted for sailing on the wind, with the wind on the side . When the lug is not meant to be lowered, and rehoisted on the lee side, as in the dipping lug mentioned above, it is slung at a third from the end of the yard, and is called a standing lug . A See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good example of the lug is the See also:

• CHINESE, JAPANESE AND

Chinese See also:

• JUNK

junk (fig . 4) . The Fin . 4.—Four-masted Junk . lug is a " lifting sail," and does not tend to See also:

• PRESS (through Fr. presse from Lat. pressare, frequentative of premere, to crush, squeeze, press)

press the vessel down athe fore 'and aft sail does .

Therefore it is much used by fishing vessels in the North Sea . The type of the fore and aft rig is the See also:

• SCHOONER

schooner (fig . 5) . The sails on the masts have a gaff above and a boom below . These spars have a prong called " the jaws," which See also:

• FIT

fit to the mast, and are held in place by a " See also:

• JAW (Mid. Eng. jawe, jowe and geowe, O. Eng. cheowan, connected with " chaw " and " chew," and in form with " jowl ")

jaw rope on which are threaded beads called trucks . Sails of this shape are carried by fully rigged ships on the mizzen-mast, and can be spread on the fore and main . -;— ' They are then called try- FIG . 5.—Schooner. i, bowsprit, with sails and are used only In martingale to the See also:

• STEM (O. Eng. staefn, stemn, cf. Du. stain, Ger. Stamm, &c., probably related to " staff ")

stem; 2, fore-See also:

• BAD, BCD

bad weather when tittle topmast-stay, jib and stay-foresail; sail can be carried, and 3, fore-gaff-topsail; 4, foresail and are hoisted on the trysail mainstays; 5, main-gaff-topsail; 6, mast, a small mast attached mainsail ; 7, end of boom . to the great one . Tl.e See also:

• LATEEN (the Anglicized form of Fr. latine, i.e. voile latine, Latin sail, so-called as the chief form of rig in the Mediterranean)

Lateen (Latin) sail (fig . 6) is a triangular sail akin to the lug, and is the prevailing type of the Mediterranean . These See also:

• ORIGINAL

original types, even when unmodified by mixture with any other, permit of large See also:

• VARIATIONS
• VARIATIONS, CALCULUS
• VARIATIONS, CALCULUS OF

variations .

The number of masts of a lugger may vary from one to five, and of a schooner from two to five or even seven . A small lug may be carried above the large one, and a gaff topsail added to the sails of a schooner . A small-masted fore-and-aft-rigged vessel may be a cutter (fig . 7) or See also:

• SLOOP

sloop . But the pure types may be combined, in topsail schooner, brigantines, barquentines and barques, when the topsail, a quadrangular sail hanging from and fastened to a yard, slung by the middle, is combined with fore and aft sails . The lateen rig has been combined with the square rig to make such a rigging as the xebec—a three-masted vessel square rigged on the main, and lateen on the fore and mizzen . Triangular sails of the 34x RIGGING' From See also:

• SIR

Sir See also:

• GEORGE
• GEORGE, 8TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (1787-1876)
• GEORGE, HENRY (1839—1897)
• GEORGE, LAKE
• GEORGE, SAINT (d. 303)

George V . C . See also:

• HOLMES, OLIVER WENDELL (18o9-1894)

Holmes's See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

Ancient and See also:

• MODERN

Modern Ships, Part I., by permission of the Controller of H.M . See also:

• STATIONERY

Stationery See also:

• OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

Office . same type as the jibs can be set on the stays between the masts of a fully rigged ship, and are then known as staysails . But it can only be repeated that the variations are innumerable .

Studding-sails are pieces added to increase the breadth (spread) of sails, and require the support of special yards, booms and tackle . The development of the rigging of ships is a very obscure subject . It was the work of centuries, and of See also:

• PRACTICAL

practical men who wrote no See also:

• TREATISES

treatises . It has never been universal. comparison of the four - masted junk given above with the figures of ships on See also:

• MEDIEVAL

medieval See also:

• SEALS

seals shows at least much similarity . Yet by selecting a few leading types of successive periods it is possible to follow the growth of the fully rigged ship, at least in its main lines, in modern times . Fig . 8 gives the sail See also:

• PLAN
• PLAN (from Lat. planes, flat)

plan of the " See also:

• SANTA

Santa Maria," the See also:

• FLAGSHIP

flagship of See also:

• COLUMBUS
• COLUMBUS, CHRISTOPHER [in Spanish CRISTOBAL COLON] (c. 1446, or perhaps rather 1451, -15o6)

Columbus . It is a modern reconstruction, made in 1893 in See also:

• SPAIN
• SPAIN (Espana)

Spain at the Carraca See also:

• ARSENAL

arsenal, but is based on good authority . She has only the fixed bowsprit, with a yard and a sail hanging from it, the spritsail yard and spritsail . The foremast has one course, the mainmast a course and topsail, the mizzen a lateen sail . Fig . 9 is the " See also:

• SOVEREIGN

Sovereign of the Seas," a See also:

• BRITISH

British warship of 1637 .

She still has only the fixed bowsprit, but a small upright mast has been erected at the end, which serves to spread a sprit topsail . In some cases at least a sprit topgallant sail was used . The mizzenmast still carries a lateen sail, but topsails have been added, and the whole rigging has multiplied and developed . Between the " Sovereign of the Seas " and the fully developed ship, given in fig . 1 the most apparent See also:

• DIFFERENCES, CALCULUS OF (Theory of Finite Differences)

differences are in the rigging of the bowsprit and the mizzenmast . The sprit topmast has disappeared, and is replaced A From Sir George V . C . Holmes's Ancient and Modern Ships, Part I., by permission of the Controller of H.M . Stationery Office . by the jib-boom . The square spritsail, which could not be trained fore and aft, and was of feeble effect in keeping the ship's head from turning to windward, has been replaced by the jib . The spritsail yard (which continued in use till after 185o) has disappeared and has been replaced by the spritsail gaffs, two fixed spars which slope downwards and help to support the " jib-guys," the lateral supports of the booms .

For a See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time, and after the use of spritsails had been given up, the spritsail yard continued to be used to See also:

• DISCHARGE (adapted from the O. Fr. discharge, modern decharge, from a med. Lat. discargare, to unload, dis- and earn care, to load, cf. " charge ")

discharge the function now given to the gaffs (see Smyth, Sailor's Word-Book, sub voce) . The changes in the mizzen have an obscure See also:

• HISTORY

history . About the middle of the 18th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century it ceased to be a pure lateen . The yard was retained, but no sail was set on the forearm . Then the yard was given up and replaced by a gaff and a boom . The new sail was called the spanker . It was, however, comparatively narrow, and when a greater spread of sail was required, a studding-sail (at first called a " See also:

• DRIVER, SAMUEL ROLLES (1846– )

driver ") was added . At a later date " spanker " and " driver " were used as synonymous terms, and the studding-sail was called a " ringtail." The studding-sails are the representatives of a class of sail once more generally used . In modern times a sail is cut of the extreme size which is capable of being carried in See also:

• FINE

fine weather, and when the wind increases in strength it is reefed—i.e. part is gathered up and fastened by See also:

• REEF (1)

reef points, small cords attached to the sail . Till the 17th century at least the method was often to cut the courses small, so that they could be carried in rough weather . When a greater spread of sail was required, a piece called a See also:

• BONNET
• BONNET, CHARLES (172o–1793)

bonnet was added to the foot of the sail, and a further piece called a drabbler could be added to that . It is an example of the tenacious conservatism of the sea that this practice is still retained by the See also:

• SWEDISH

Swedish small craft called " lodjor in the Baltic and See also:

• WHITE
• WHITE, ANDREW DICKSON (1832– )
• WHITE, GILBERT (1720–1793)
• WHITE, HENRY KIRKE (1785-1806)
• WHITE, HUGH LAWSON (1773-1840)
• WHITE, JOSEPH BLANCO (1775-1841)
• WHITE, RICHARD GRANT (1822-1885)
• WHITE, ROBERT (1645-1704)
• WHITE, SIR GEORGE STUART (1835– )
• WHITE, SIR THOMAS (1492-1567)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM ARTHUR (1824--1891)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM HENRY (1845– )
• WHITE, THOMAS (1628-1698)
• WHITE, THOMAS (c. 1550-1624)

White Sea .

It will be easily understood that no innovation was universally accepted at once . Jib and sprit topsail, lateen, mizzen and spanker, and so forth, would be found for long on the sea together . The history of the development of rigging is one of See also:

• ADJUSTMENT (from late Lat. ad juxtare, derived from juxta, near, but early confounded with a supposed derivation from justus, right)

adjustment . The size of the masts had to be adapted to the ship, and it was necessary to find the due proportion between yards and masts . As the size of the medieval ship increased, the natural course was to increase the height of the mast and of the sail it carried . Even when the mast was subdivided into lower, top and topgallant, the lower mast was too long, and the See also:

• STRAIN (through O. Fr. straindre, estraindre, mod. i treindre, from Lat. stringere, to draw tight, related to stress, stretch, string, &c.)

strain of the sail racked the hull . Hence the constant tendency of the ships to leak . Sir See also:

• HENRY
• HENRY (1129-1195)
• HENRY (c. 1108-1139)
• HENRY (c. 1174–1216)
• HENRY (Fr. Henri; Span. Enrique; Ger. Heinrich; Mid. H. Ger. Heinrich and Heimrich; O.H.G. Haimi- or Heimirih, i.e. " prince, or chief of the house," from O.H.G. heim, the Eng. home, and rih, Goth. reiks; compare Lat. rex " king "—" rich," therefore " mig
• HENRY, EDWARD LAMSON (1841– )
• HENRY, JAMES (1798-1876)
• HENRY, JOSEPH (1797-1878)
• HENRY, MATTHEW (1662-1714)
• HENRY, PATRICK (1736–1799)
• HENRY, PRINCE OF BATTENBERG (1858-1896)
• HENRY, ROBERT (1718-1790)
• HENRY, VICTOR (1850– )
• HENRY, WILLIAM (1795-1836)

Henry Manwayring, when giving the proper proportions of the masts, says that the Flemings (i.e. the Dutch) made them taller (" taller " and " taunt " were for long used to mean the same thing) than the See also:

• ENGLISH

English, which again forced them to make the sails less wide . A tall sail could not be cut so wide as a lower one without putting an excessive strain on the mast . He says that the Flemings found an See also:

• ADVANTAGE

advantage in working to windward, but that they " wronged " (i.e. racked) their ships . The English preferred a less lofty mast and a wider spread of sail . It is very difficult to say what changes in the proportions of masts and yards took place in English ships between the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early 17th and the 19th centuries .

The difficulty arises largely not only from insufficient knowledge of the earlier See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period, but from the fact that a scale was fixed only after trials, and by degrees . Manwayring, for instance, when giving the proportion of the topmasts to lower masts, says: " The topmasts are ever See also:

• HALF

half so long as the masts into which they belong; but there is no See also:

• ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free)

absolute proportion in these, and the like things, for if a See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man will have his mast See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short, he may the bolder make his topmast long." In some respects the See also:

• CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change was certainly slight . In the early 17th century, in England at least, the length of the mainmast was fixed by taking four-fifths of the breadth of the ship and multiplying by three . Two centuries later the method was to take the length of the lower deck and the extreme breadth, add them together, and See also:

• DIVIDE

divide by two . If we take a 74-See also:

• GUN

gun ship of about the See also:

• YEAR

year 1820, which was 176 ft. long on the lower deck and 48 ft . 8 in. wide, she would have, by the system then used, a mainmast of 112 ft . Manwayring's system would have given her one of 117 ft . But in the proportions of the masts to one another there was a change . In the 17th century the foremast was four-fifths of the main, and the bowsprit was of the same length as the foremast . In the 19th the foremast was eight-ninths of the mainmast, while the bowsprit was seven-elevenths of the mainmast in the largest ships, and three-fifths in the others . When we come to the relative proportions of masts and yards the difficulty increases, for the See also:

• STANDARD
• STANDARD, BATTLE OF THE

standard was not the same . The seamen of the 17th century calculated the length of the mainyard not by the size of the mast but by the length of the keel .

The mainyard, which was the standard for the others, ought according to " the best and most absolute " estimate to be five-sixths of the length of the keel . But Manwayring again explains that " the proportion is not absolute." If it was followed, the yards of a 17th-century ship must have been rather longer than in a vessel of a hundredand fifty and two See also:

• HUNDRED

hundred years later, when the mainyard was eight-ninths of the mainmast, and.a See also:

• REGULAR

regular scale was fixed through-out . Even so Manwayring's warning that " the proportion was not absolute " must be See also:

• BORNE, KARL LUDWIG (1786–1837)

borne in mind . Changes were constant . The development of the famous See also:

• AMERICAN

American clippers made a considerable one . So has the growth of the vast four- and five-masted See also:

• IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron sailing ships of recent days . Individual captains have fitted ships according to ideas of their own . It has always happened that extra sails have been invented and set by ingenious devices for particular purposes . One large sail requires more men to handle it than several small ones . For this See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason it is that in recent times the topsails of See also:

• MERCHANT (O. Fr. marcheant, modern marchand; from Lat. mercari, to trade, merx, goods, merchandise)

merchant ships have been divided into upper and lower, with a great loss of beauty, but an increase of convenience . To the same cause, the wish to economize in the size of the crew, is to be attributed the introduction of machinery for reefing sail from the deck, which is also an easier.and a safer See also:

• PROCESS

process than going aloft to reef them by See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand . In a general way it may be said that the development of the rigging has been towards establishing a See also:

• FAIR

fair See also:

• BALANCE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. bilantia, an apparatus for weighing, from bi, two, and lanx, a dish or scale)

balance between the fore and after spread of See also:

• CANVAS

canvas .

Until the jib was invented in the 18th century, a ship which was sailing on the wind was subject to a disproportionate pressure aft . If she was at all given to " griping "—that is to say, inclined to turn head to wind (and all ships are liable to have ways and See also:

• MANNERS, CHARLES (1857– )

manners which are mysterious in origin and not seldom incurable), the mizzen-sail could not be used, for if it had been she would never have been " out of the wind." Therefore when See also:

• CLOSE
• CLOSE (from Lat. clausum, shut)
• CLOSE, MAXWELL HENRY (1822-1903)

close-hauled (sailing with the wind on the side and somewhat from before her centre) she lost the use of part of her sail . The spritsail which could not be trained fore and aft was no use " on the wind." A few words may be added concerning the tops . In the earlier form of ships the top was a See also:

• SPECIES

species of See also:

• CROW (Dutch, kraal, Ger. Krdhe, Fr. corbeau, Lat. corvus)

crow's See also:

• NEST

nest placed at the head of the mast to hold a look-out, or in military operations to give a place of advantage to archers and slingers . They appear occasionally as See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere bags attached to one side of the mast . As a general See also:

• RULE

rule they are See also:

• ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round . In the 16th century there were frequently two tops on the fore- and main-masts, one at the head of the lower, another at the head of the topmast, where in later times there have only been the two See also:

• TRAVERSE

traverse beams which make the crosstrees . The upper top dropped out by the 17th century . The form was round, and so continued to be till the 18th century when the quadrangular form was introduced . In quite recent times the military tops of warships have resumed the circular form .