IT might be objected that remarks in the nature of hints or suggestions on boat sailing are " coals to Newcastle" to those who manage the Life-boats of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTI- TUTION, and to a considerable extent such is the case. A large number of Life-boat stations are worked by men to whom the subject of this article is one in which they are better qualified to give advice than to receive it, and con- sequently it is not to them that these hints are directed. There are, however, a considerable number of Life-boat sta- tions where the art of boat sailing has not been much practised, and others where, although the men are excellent in their own fishing-boats, the sailing of which has become second nature, they do not shine when they have to manage a Life-boat under sail. The rig is new to them, and they are often careless in such important details as having their sails properly set and their boats correctly trimmed.

Since the introduction of the beauti- ful Watson type of Life-boat, the spread of the sturdy broad-beamed Liverpool type, and the vast improvement in the Self-righting type, especially the smaller boats, and the almost universal adoption of centre-boards, or drop keels, the custom of sailing instead of tugging at the oars on occasions when sails might be used, has steadily increased. The coxswains and crews will find that their Life-boats, when under sail, will respond more readily to what is required of them if only some of the most important and well-known details were better attended to, and it is for this end that the following suggestions are made:— RIGS.

There are practically only three rigs used in the Life-boats of the Institu- tion. There is a fourth rig, but it differs so very slightly from that shown in Fig. 2, that it is hardly necessary to refer to it. Fig. 1 shows the rig used in the Norfolk and Suffolk type Life-boats, viz., dipping fore-lug and standing mizen with an outrigger. Some of the large Self-righting boats are also rigged with a dipping fore-lug, but in their case the rnizen mast is stepped at the second thwart from aft, and there is no out- rigger for mizen sheet or bumpkin for fore-tack.Fig. 2. Standing fore-lug, jib, and standing mizen lug. A veiy popular rig used in the Watson, Liverpool, and Self-righting Life-boats. The larger Watson boats carry a mizen-boom with this rig (as is shown), but the boom is not fitted in the other boats.

Fig. 3. Standing fore-lug, jib, and jib-headed mizen, popular with some of the coxswains of the smaller Self- amount of canvas shown, but it must be remembered that Life-boats are not intended for fine weather, and their sails are practically storm sails.

SAILS.

A properly cut sail is a thing of beauty, and a badly cut sail is the reverse—at any rate to the seaman's eye. In times gone by it used to be righting Life-boats. It will be observed that the position of the mizen mast prevents the use of a tiller.

In all the above figures the balance of sail is very carefully adjusted, so that the centre of effort shall be slightly ahead of the centre of lateral resistance, experience having shown that these relative positions are the best, allowing the boat when in normal trim to carry just sufficient weather helm.

The first thing that would strike a fisherman or a yachtsman on looking at these sail-plans is the very small Fig.!.

considered that it was better to have some "belly" in the sail than to have it flat. This is an exploded idea, proved wrong over and over again by modern practice. The flatter the sail is the better the boat will go to windward.

It is not of so much importance when running with the wind free and of course in sails not fitted with booms it is impossible to preserve the flatness in this condition. Yachts by having the head of their sails " brought to" a gaff, and the foot laced to a boom, are able to have a flat sail at every point ofsailing, and it is pretty certain this custom would not prevail unless it was the right one. It is not intended by these remarks to convey the idea that in sailing to windward the sheets should be got as near amidships as possible and roused aft. Far from it. The exact angle with the keel to which the sail has to be trimmed can only be found out by experience, and it will be generally found that in light winds and smooth water the boat will stand having her sheets flattened aft better than she will in a seaway and strong wind.

The sailmaker's art is a difficult one, and is one in which this country has of late made very great progress. Mr.

Ratsey's sails are admired all the world over, and there are now few sea-ports, especially fishing ports, where a sailmaker cannot be found capable of turning out excellent work. But the sailmaker's art is thrown away if the proper manner of treating a new sail is neglected, and many a new sail is utterly ruined by rough and improper treatment. If the sailmaker's work is not to be spoiled when the sail is first bent— Don't haul the head taut out on the yard. Haul it out hand taut, and in " bringing the sail to" be very careful that the head rope is exactly under the centre of the yard.

Don't sweat the halyards up to the last inch.

Don't rouse the sheet aft with all handa on it; and above all, don't get a new sail wet unless it is unavoidable, and if so, be careful to ease in the head of the sail and check the halyards and sheets.

Should the above points be neglected the sail will be spoilt, because it will be unfairly stretched; it will probably be baggy, and neither the foot nor the afterleach will ever look a credit to the unfortunate sailmaker. It is a very good practice to hoist new sails on a fine day with a light breeze, and le .hem blow about, taking care that the sails are neither hoisted too taut up nor the sheets flattened aft. This gives ;he canvas and roping an opportunity of stretching gently and equally.

Of all faults in a fore and aft sail a baggy afterleach is the worst and ,he commonest. This may be the fault of the sailmaker, or of the first treat- ment of the sail, or possibly the sling is .n the wrong position on the yard ; but whatever the cause, it should be got rid of at all hazards, for such a fault makes the afterpart of the sail a " back " sail, and consequently impedes the boat. A shaking afterleach is not pretty, but far preferable to a baggy one.

One more remark with regard to sails. All lug sails should be marked on the head by the sailmaker, to show the position of the sling, and it will be generally found that the sailmaker's position will only vary by a few inches from the actual position of the sling on the yard found by subsequent experi- ment.

SETTING SAILS.

All Life-boats' sails are " blown out" first, and then carefully set (the sail- maker being present at the time) before the boats are sent to the coast. In the smaller Life-boats the slings are iron bands screwed into position on the yards. It was found absolutely neces- sary to adopt this plan, for the old- fashioned rope slings were continually being moved about by careless men on the coast and the set of the sails ruined.

The larger Life-boats have " fish-plate " slings seized on to the yards.

Setting sail in a Life-boat is an opera- tion which never should be done in a hurry, for if ever the saying " more haste less speed" is appropriate, it is here.

Whether the boat is starting under sail from a slipway, or has hauled out on a warp, or has pulled clear of the broken water, the more care that is taken in setting sail the quicker willthe boat get to her destination. In the case of a Life-boat having pulled out through broken water and got clear of the smaller ones must use their jib for staying the mast, consequently the jib has to be set to attain this object, and it, generally it is better to anchor and get the masts up and sails set than to do this whilst the boat is being drifted to leeward all the time.

It is quite unnecessary to address any remarks to those who man the Life- boats fitted with dipping lugs (Fig. 1), as to setting sails, for they are fully competent in the matter, and are accus- tomed to work their own boats, which are rigged in a similar manner. Suffice it to say that no boat should have a dipping lug rig unless those who man her are intimately acquainted with it; in the hands of skilled men it is a rig difficult to beat, but a great danger to men ignorant as to how to properly handle it.

In the standing-lug rigs (Figs. 2 and 3), the matter of first importance is to stay the fore-mast properly before hoisting the fore-lug. The larger Life-boats are fitted with a fore-stay and purchase, but must be hoisted taut up, the tack being hauled out as close as possible to the fairlead on the fore-end box. Unless the fore-mast is well stayed the fore-lug will never set satisfactorily, the mast will sag aft, the clew will drop, and the lead of the sheet be thrown out altogether.

The mizen lug has a great disadvantage to contend with in not being able to have a stay to the mast, as such a fitting would be in the way of the fore-lug and its sheets when tacking, but to get as good a support as possible the halyards and shrouds are each taken as far ahead of the mast as circumstances will admit.

In Fig. 3 the jib-headed mizen is fitted with a boom, and as it is laced both to the mast and boom great care must be taken to see that it is properly " brought to " before the mast is stepped. This is always a difficult sail to get to stand really well, but many coxswains like iton account of the ease with which it can be got up and down, and the small space it occupies when stowed in the boat.

The degree of flatness of the sheets will depend on several circumstances, but if the masts are properly stayed, and the sails properly hoisted, the chief step to having well-set sails will be attained.

It is of the greatest importance in getting the masts up and setting the sails that perfect order should be preserved in the boat. A Life-boat, like a man-of- war's cutter, has such a large crew that unless this evolution be made a regular drill and the men accustomed to carry out the whole operation without standing up and moving about the boat, they will only get in each other's way and cause confusion. The coxswain, assistant cox- swain, and bowman, are the only men that need stand up at all (this of course does not apply to the largest sailing Life-boats), all the crew should remain seated on their thwarts, and the coxswain should station them to attend to what- also), there is no need to lift the mast in order to point the heel for the step, consequently it can be pushed up into position, using the jib halyards as a stay if necessary, without the need for anyone to stand up or move out of his place.

This is a drill which should never be neglected, more especially in places where there are large numbers of men to draw from, resulting in frequent changes in the boat's crew.

TBIHMING AND STEERING.

It is difficult to overrate the impor- tance of paying the strictest attention to the trim of the boat. The sailmaker's art in cutting good sails and the crew's trouble in carefully setting them is thrown away if proper steps are not taken to ascertain the best trim and to exercise proper skill in steering.

The normal trim of Life-boats in the condition of having all their gear on board and the crew in their places is about 3 inches by the stern, for, generally speaking, such a trim is found to be the ever rope is nearest to them. The fore- mast being usually pivoted in a steel tabernacle (very often the mizen mast Fif.3.

best, but the exact trim for each boat can only be found by experiment. No two boats behave exactly the same. Itis a well-known fact that two boats may be built alongside each other from the same lines, and come out the same weight when finished, and be to all intents and purposes exactly the same until they come to be tried under canvas, when the "personal equation" soon makes itself apparent. Such being the case it will readily be seen how necessary it is for coxswains to learn their boats.

They should find out their best trim by experiment on every point of sailing and in different conditions of sea, for the trim which is found best in smooth water is not necessarily so good for rough.

Life-boats have an advantage over other boats in regard to trim, because on account of the air cases at the bow and stern in all types except the Norfolk and Suffolk (where the men like free access to the extreme ends), the weights cannot be put into the ends.

To ascertain the best trim it is as well after the sails are properly set to beat the boat to windward, care being taken not to have the sheets too flat, and not to "pin" the boat by sailing her too close. Then by moving the men about, the trim can be found which enables the coxswain to steer his boat with ease, but at the same time carrying sufficient weather helm to admit of the boat coming gradually up in the wind if the tiller is let go. In moving the crew about it is best to move the whole of them a little further aft or a little further forward according as to whether the boat is carrying too much or too little weather helm, of course moving them aft if the boat " gripes " or carries too much weather helm, and forward if the helm is too slack. If in boats fitted with water-ballast the requisite trim cannot conveniently be found by moving the crew, the trim can be assisted by pumping out or filling the tanks as necessary, but this should not be resorted to, especially in beating to windward, until all attempts to obtain a perfect trim by moving the men have failed, the water-ballast, being low down and amidships, is in the best position, and consequently should, if possible, be left alone. In running the men should be kept well aft so as to immerse the stern deeply, otherwise the boat will yaw about and have a tendency to broach to.

When the Life-boat is fitted with two dvop-keels the coxswain will find that she will stesr steadier in running if the aft-keel is lowered and the fore-keel triced up. He also will find that his boat will stay easier if, before putting his helm down, the after drop-keel be triced up. He will then be able to sail his boat round on to the other tack, using comparatively little helm.

Whilst on the subject of drop-keels it is as well to refer to the popular fallacy, which dies very hard, that drop- keels make a boat stiffer under sail.

The reverse is the fact (unless, of course, the drop-keel is a very heavy metal one for the object of ballast), the boat is cranker when the drop-keels are down.

She is more weatherly because the area of the drop-keel prevents her from being pressed to leeward, but the pressure is being exerted on the lee side, and being below the centre of gravity it is obvious j that it must tend to make the boat heel over.

In conclusion, a few words on steering may not be amiss. The sails are well set and the boat properly trimmed, but she will not do her best unless her coxswain's hand is in sympathy with her. Sailing a boat has often been compared with the management of a horse's mouth, the man who is continually jamming his helm up and down will soon find that he will get his boat steering wild just like a heavy-handed man will spoil his horse's mouth and temper. The wind never being quite steady, and the water not perfectly smooth, it is evident that two forces are always acting to prevent the boat from remaining in the same con- dition, consequently too much attentioncannot be exerted on observing and watching, so as to humour the boat by the slightest, sometimes almost imper- ceptible, movement of the tiller. To men whose lives are spent in sailing boats, this sympathy with the boat is second nature, and is exerted quite un- consciously ; but to those who have not got it, and there are many such in Life- boats, they should strive to cultivate it.

The worst mistake in sailing a boat is to try and sail too close to the wind with the sheets dragged aft as flat as possible; this is especially the case in Life-boats which are heavy boats and under-canvassed, and consequently re- quire all that can be given them to help them through the water. There is a happy medium between too close and too far off the wind, but in a Life-boat if an error has to be made, let it be by having her too far off the wind. A more pitiful sight than a boat " pinned" and sagging to leeward is not to be seen.

Another frequent mistake is that of not reefing soon enough. In the smaller classes of Self-righting Life-boats it is not to be expected that they will stand up to their canvas like the more beamy Watson and Liverpool boats, and the nearer a boat is kept to an upright position, the better will she sail; conse- quently as soon as these boats begin to put their gunwales down, the sails should be reefed. In the Watson and Liverpool boats it is equally necessary to reef in time, otherwise the masts will be blown out of them.

Much more of course could be said on the subject of boat sailing and sails, but in a short article like this, it is only necessary to call attention to the salient points..