Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 21, ROT-Siam

590
SEAMANSHIP
at high speed in thick weather being thereby much in¬
creased. Through the want of masts and sails there is a
probability of total loss by drifting helplessly on a lee
shore during a gale, or by foundering “ in the trough of
the sea.” In spite of her monstrous size (22,000 tons),
the “Great Eastern,” in 1863 or 1864, with her six com¬
paratively small masts and weak sails was, after the loss
of her rudder, very roughly used by the waves striking
her full on the side. She was in the position which is
expressed by the common sea-phrase “wallowing in the
trough of the sea,” from which her crew had no power to
extricate her. A smaller vessel deeply laden in such a
position would most probably have foundered, leaving no
one to tell the tale. Too much stress is laid upon the re¬
tardation caused by masts and rigging when steaming
head to wind; it is the pitching and plunging motion of
the ship into a succession of waves that principally retards
her speed. If the waves are approaching at the rate of 10
miles an hour and the ship is steaming against them at a
similar rate, they will strike the bows with a force equal
to 20 miles an hour. When a ship is steaming through
comparatively smooth water (sheltered by land) against a
gale of wind, her speed is but little reduced by the force
of the wind alone, when other circumstances admit of her
working full power. Storm-sails only require short masts,
but these and the canvas they support should be strong,
which is not the case in the merchant service generally.
Duties of Every seaman is expected to be thoroughly acquainted
a sea- with the rigging of the vessel in which he serves, and
man. when in charge he should frequently examine every part,
to see that it is efficiently performing the duty assigned to
it, being neither too taut nor too slack, nor suffering from
chafing, wet, or other injury. He should be capable of
repairing or replacing any part with his own hand if
necessary and of teaching others how to do so. He need
not necessarily be a navigator, though a good navigator
must be a seaman; nor is it necessary that a seaman
should be a shipbuilder, a mast-maker, a rope-maker, or a
sail-maker, but he should possess a general knowledge of
each art, especially the last; every able seaman should be
able to sew a seam and assist the ship’s sail-maker in
repairing sails. It is greatly to be regretted that various
circumstances have brought about such a change in the
system of rigging ships, in both the British navy and the
mercantile marine, that those who sail in them seldom see
it done. Young officers were in former times frequently
entrusted with the charge of day watches, during which
they would give the necessary orders for making, shorten¬
ing, or trimming sails, perhaps even tacking and wearing.
That practice gave confidence and quickened the desire to
learn more; it was more frequently done in small than in
large ships. The general adoption of the steam-engine in
ships has not only diminished the value of sail-power but
of seamanship also, and has produced such a change in
the rig that instead of masts and yards we find only two
or three poles. In the British navy so many new sciences
have been introduced that seamanship takes but a low
place among them at the examination of a midshipman,
who has had but little boat duty and probably found the
discussion of seamanship in his mess-place contrary to
rule. The rapidity with which all sail and mast drill is
executed, combined with the perfection of the “ station
bill,” renders it worse than useless as a means of teaching,
as it gives a false confidence which fails in the hour of
necessity, when the accustomed routine is thrown out by a
sail actually splitting to pieces or a spar snapping. The
fact that the same men perpetually do the same thing must
tend greatly to render each evolution quick so long as
every one is in his accustomed place, but sickness or the
absence of a party from duty will disorganize the ship for
some time, as the general usefulness of the men has been
cramped. Sail drill in harbour is open to grave objec¬
tions : unless in a tide-way, the ship must be invariably
head to wind; for reefing and furling the yards are laid
square, consequently flat aback ; both earings are hauled
out at once, and as it is only for exercise they are only
half secured. Even when reefing top-sails at sea either for
exercise or of necessity in company with other ships, the
yards are laid square to enable the men to get readily on
the weather-side; therefore, if on a wind, the sail must re¬
main aback or the ship must be kept away till the wind is
on the beam in order to shake the sail.
The foundation of all teaching of seamanship must be a Knots,
knowledge of the knots, bends, and splices, and their use hitches,
in the various parts of the rigging and equipment of a!?ends>
ship.1 Some knots, bends, and hitches are intended to afford C’
security as long as desired, and then to be easily disengaged.
Other knots, splices, and seizings are of a more permanent
character, generally continuing as long as the rope will last.
Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4.
Fig. 1.—Overhand Knot. Fig. 3 ) t, ..
Fig. 2.—Figure-of-Eight Knot. Fig. 4. ) Bowlllle on a Bight.
Overhand Knot. Used at the end of ropes to prevent their unreeving and as
the commencement of other knots. Fig. 1 represents an overhand knot hauled
128 fi 7 an lllustration of tlle same not hauled tight see Knot, vol. xiv. p.
Figure-of-Eight Knot (flg. 2).—Used only to prevent ropes from unreevins : it
forms a large knob.
Reef Knot (see Ks or, loc. cit., figs. 8 and 9).—First form an overhand knot; then
take the end a over the end 6 and through the bight.a This knot is so named
from being used in tying the reef points of a sail, since it will not jam. If the
end a were taken under the end b, a granny’s knot would be formed.
Bowline Knot.—Lay the end of a rope a over the standing part 6 ; form with
6 a bight c over a; take a round behind 6 and down through the bight c.
This is a very useful knot, forming a loop which will not slip. Running bow¬
lines are formed by making a bowline round its own standing part above b.
It is the most common and convenient temporary running noose. See Knot,
/. /» fi era 11 a n H 1 9
Fig. 5.—Two Half-Hitches. Fig. 7.—Cat’s-paw.
Fig. 6.—Double Blackwall Hitch. Fig. 8.—Marling-Spike Hitch.
Bowline on a Bight (figs. 3, 4).—The first part is made similar to the above
with the double part of the rope ; then the bight a is pulled through sufficiently
to allow it to be bent over past d and come up in the position shown in fig. 4.
It makes a more comfortable sling for a man than a single bight.
Half-Hitch.—Pass the end a round the standing part b and through the bight.
1 A person wishing to make sailor’s knots need not be deterred by
the want of material, as nearly all that are here represented were made,
for the purpose of sketching them, with the lashing of a packing case.
2 For an explanation of this and other technical terms, see the
glossary on p. 603 below.