three-fifths of the lower rigging. For the topmast back stays, measure the distance from the hounds of the mast down to the centre of the deck, abreast of their dead-eyes in the channels, and add to this length one half the circumference of the mast-head. Add to the length of the larboard pair, which goes on last, twice the diameter of the rope. The size of the fore and main topmast backstays is generally one quarter less than that of the lower rigging; and that of the mizen topmast backstays the same as that of the main topmast rigging.

The size of the topmast stays should be once and a quarter that of the rigging. The topmast rigging is fitted in the same manner as the lower. The backstays should be leathered in the wake of the tops and lower yards. The breast-backstays are turned in upon blocks instead of deadeyes, and set up with a luff purchase. The fore topmast stay sets up on the starboard, and the spring stay on the larboard side of the bowsprit.

All the fore-and-aft stays are now set up on their ends, and should be leathered in their nips, as well as in their eyes.

The main topmast stay goes through a heart or thimble at the foremast-head, or through a hole in the cap, and sets up on deck or in the top; and the mizen topmast stay sets up at the mainmast-head, above the rigging.

JIB, TOPGALLANT, AND ROYAL RIGGING.-The jib stay sets up on its end on the larboard side of the head, and is served ten feet from the boom, and its collar is leathered like that of the topmast stay. The gaub lines or back ropes go from the martingale in-board. The guys are fitted in pairs, rove through straps or snatches on the spritsail yard, and set up to eye-bolts inside of or abaft the cat-heads. The footropes are three quarters the length of the whole boom, and go over the boom-end with a cut splice. Overhand knots or Turks'-heads should be taken in them at equal distances, to prevent the men from slipping, when laying out upon them.

The most usual method of fitting topgallant rigging in merchantmen, is to reeve it through holes in the horns of the cross-trees, then pass it between the topmast shrouds over the futtock-staff, and set it up at an iron band round

on each side, through the two other sheaves of which the peak brails lead. Each brail is a single rope, middled at the leach of the sail.

TACKS, SHEETS, CLEWLINES, &c.-It is much more convenient to have the tack and sheet blocks of the courses fastened to the clews of the courses by hooks. Then they can be unhooked when the sail is furled, and, in light weather, a single rope with a hook, called a lazy sheet, can be used, instead of the heavy tacks and sheets with their blocks. This is also much more convenient in clewing up. The main tack is rove aft through the block in the waterways, forward through the block on the sail, and the standing part hooks to the block on deck. The fore tack goes through a block on the bumpkin. The sheets of the courses have the after block hooked to an eye-bolt in the side, abaft the channels, and the forward one hooked to the clew of the sail, the running part reeving through a sheave-hole in the rail. The sheets of all the square sails but the courses run from the clew of the sail, through sheave-holes in the yard-arms, through the quarter blocks, down on deck. The topsail sheets are chain, are clasped to the clews of the sail, and are fitted with a gun-tackle purchase at the foot of the mast. The topgallant and royal sheets are single. The topsail and topgailant clewlines reeve through the quarterblocks. The royal clewlines are single, and the topsail and topgallant are a gun-tackle purchase.

The reef-tackles of the topsails reeve up through blocks on the lower rigging, or futtock shrouds, down through the block on the yard, down the leech of the sail and through the block on the leech, and are made fast to the yard on their own parts, with a clinch, outside of everything.

The clew-garnets reeve out through blocks, under the quarters of the yard, then up through blocks at the clew, and the standing part is made fast to the yard, to the block, or to a strap. The buntlines of the courses reeve through double or triple blocks under the forward part of the top, down forward of the sail, sometimes through thimbles in the first reef-band, and are clinched to the foot of the sail. The leechlines reeve through single blocks, on the yard and are clinched to the leech of the sail. The slabline is a

to go upon the lower yard-arm, next the shoulder, is the head-earing strap; the next, the foot-ropes; next, the braceblock; and lastly, the lift. The foot-ropes go with an eye over the yard-arm, are rove through thimbles in the end of the stirrups, (sometimes with Turks'-heads, to prevent their slipping,) and are lashed to bolts or thimbles, but now usually to the iron trusses. The stirrups fit to staples in the yard with an eye-splice. The lifts should be single, and fitted with an eye over the yard-arm, and lead through a single block at the mast-head, and set up by a gun or luff tackle purchase, with the double block hooked to a thimble or turned in at the end, and the lower block to an eye-bolt in the deck. Instead of brace-blocks on the fore and main yards, brace pennants fitted over the yard-arm with an eye are neater. The latest and neatest style of rigging lower yards is to have a strong iron band with eyes and thimbles round each yard-arm, close to the shoulder; and then fit the lift, foot-rope, and brace-pennant, each to one of these eyes, with an eye-splice round the thimble or with a hook. The lower lifts now, for the most part, cross each other over a saddle upon the cap, instead of going through blocks.

The inner ends of the foot-ropes to the topsail, topgallant, and royal yards, cross each other at the slings; and on the topsail yard there are Flemish horses, spliced round thimbles on the boom-iron, and the other end seized to the yard, crossing the foot-rope. A neater mode is to hook the outer end of the Flemish-horse, so that it may be unhooked and furled in with the sails when in port. Next to the footropes go on the brace-blocks, and lastly, the lifts. The rigging to the topgallant and royal yards is fitted similarly to that upon the topsail, except that there is nothing over the yard-arms but foot-rope, brace, and lift. The brace to the royal yard fits with an eye. The reef-tackle, studding-sail halyard, and other temporary blocks, are seized to the lower and topsail yard-arms, by open straps, so that they may be removed without taking off the lift. The topgallant studding-sail halyard block is often hooked to the boom-iron, under the yard.

The foot-ropes to the spanker-boom should be half the length of the boom, going over the end with a splice,

covered with canvas, and coming in one-third of the way to the jaws, and seized to the boom by a rose-seizing through an eye-splice. The next to go over the boom-end are the guys, which are fitted with a cut-splice covered with canvas, and have a single block turned in at their other ends. To these single blocks are luff or gun-tackle purchases, going to the mainbrace-bumpkin. Their length should be twofifths that of the boom. The topping-lifts are usually hooked into a band, or spliced into bolts about one-quarter the distance from the outer end of the boom, and reeved through single blocks under the top, with a double or single block at their lower ends.

All the splices and seizings of the standing rigging should be covered with canvas, if possible, except in the channels and about the head, where they are too much exposed to the washing of water. A vessel looks much neater for having the ends of the rigging, where eyes are spliced, or where they are set up on their ends aloft or on deck, covered with canvas, and painted white or black, according to the place where they are. The lanyards and dead-eyes of the smaller rigging which sets up in the top, may also be covered with canvas. The lanyards, dead-eyes, and turnings-in of the rigging in the channels, should always be protected by Scotchmen when at sea, and the forward shroud should be matted or battened all the way up to the futtock

staves.

In some smaller merchantmen the lower rigging is not unfrequently set up upon its end to bolts in the rail. This is very inconvenient on many accounts, especially as all the seizings have to be come up with, and the nip of the shroud altered, whenever it is at all necessary to set them taut. This soon defaces and wears out the ends; while with deadeyes, only the lanyards have to be come up with. Some vessels set up their lower rigging with dead-eyes upon the rail. This is convenient in setting them up in bad weather, but does not give so much spread as when set up in the channels, and presents a more complicated surface to the eye. If the rigging is fitted in this way, you must deduct the height of the rail above the deck from the measure before given for cutting it.

BREAST-BACKSTAYS.-It is not usual, now, for merchant vessels to carry topmast breast-backstays. If they are carried, they are spread by out-riggers from the top. Topgallant and royal breast-backstays are used, and are of great assistance, in sailing on the wind. There are various ways of rigging them out, of which the following is suggested as a neat and convenient one :-Have a spar fitted for an out-rigger, about the size of one of the horns of the crosstrees, with three holes bored in it, two near to one end, and the third a little the other side of the middle. Place it upon the after-horn of the cross-tree with the last-mentioned hole over the hole in the end of the horn of the cross-tree, and let the after topgallant shroud reeve through it. Reeve the topgallant and royal breast-backstays through the outer holes, and set them up by a gun-tackle purchase in the channels. The inner end of the out-rigger should fit to a cleat, and be lashed to the cross-tree by a lanyard. When the breast-backstays are to be rigged in, cast off the lanyard, and let the out-rigger slue round the topgallant shroud for a pivot, the inner end going aft, and the outer end, with the backstays, resting against the forward shroud. One of these out-riggers should be fitted on each side, and all trouble of shifting over, and rigging out by purchase, will be avoided.

CHAPTER III.

FITTING AND REEVING RUNNING RIGGING.

Fore-braces. Mainbraces. Cross-jack braces. Fore, main, and mizen topsail braces. Fore, main, and mizen topgallant and royal braces. Trusses. Topsail tyes and halyards. Topgallant and royal halyards. Peak and throat halyards. Spanker brails. Fore and main tacks and sheets. Topsail, topgallant, and royal sheets and clewlines. Reef tackles. Clew-garnets. Fore and main buntlines, leechlines, and slablines. Topsail clewlines and buntlines. Bowlines.

TO REEVE A BRACE, begin on deck, and reeve to where the standing part is made fast. The fore braces reeve up through a block on the mainmast just below the rigging, down or in through the brace-block on the yard or at the

* The royal breast-backstays may be used as the fall of the purchase.