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Man on the Ocean: A Book about Boats and Ships, a non-fiction book by R. M. Ballantyne |
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Chapter 11. Vessels Of Large Size |
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_ CHAPTER ELEVEN. VESSELS OF LARGE SIZE We now come to speak of ships of large size, which spread an imposing cloud of canvas to the breeze, and set sail on voyages which sometimes involve the circumnavigation of the globe.
This vessel is next in size larger than the brig. It does not follow, however, that its being larger constitutes it a barque. Some brigs are larger than barques, but _generally_ the barque is the larger vessel. The difference between a barque and a brig is that the former has _three_ masts, the two front ones being square-rigged, and the mizzen being fore-and-aft rigged. The centre mast is the main one. The rigging of a barque's two front masts is almost exactly similar to the rigging of a brig, that of the mizzen is similar to a sloop. If you were to put a fore-and-aft rigged _mizzen-mast_ into the after part of a brig, that would convert it into a barque. The term _clipper_ simply denotes that peculiar sharpness of build and trimness of rig which insure the greatest amount of speed, and does not specify any particular class. There are clipper sloops, clipper yachts, clipper ships, etcetera. A clipper barque, therefore, is merely a fast-sailing barque. The peculiar characteristics of the clipper build are, knife-like sharpness of the cut-water and bow, and exceeding correctness of cut in the sails, so that these may be drawn as tight and _flat_ as possible. Too much bulge in a sail is a disadvantage in the way of sailing. Indeed, flatness is so important a desideratum, that experimentalists have more than once applied sails made of _thin planks of wood_ to their clippers; but we do not know that this has turned out to be much of an improvement. The masts of all clippers, except those of the sloop or cutter rig, generally rake aft a good deal--that is, they lean backwards; a position which is supposed to tend to increase speed. Merchant vessels are seldom of the clipper build, because the sharpness of this peculiar formation diminishes the available space for cargo very much.
THE SHIP. The largest class of vessel that floats upon the sea is the _full-rigged ship_, the distinctive peculiarity of which is, that its three masts are _all_ square-rigged together, with the addition of one or two fore-and-aft sails. As the fore and main masts of a "ship" are exactly similar to those of a barque, which have been already described, we shall content ourself with remarking that the _mizzen-mast_ is similar in nearly all respects to the other two, except that it is smaller. The sails upon it are--the _spanker_ (a fore-and-aft sail projecting over the quarter-deck), the _mizzen-top-sail_ and _mizzen-top-gallant-sail_, both of which are square sails. Above all these a "ship" sometimes puts up small square-sails called the _royals_; and, above these, _sky-sails_. _ |
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