Sailing ships; the story of their development from the earliest times to the present day by Chatterton E. Keble (Edward Keble) 1878-1944

Author:Chatterton, E. Keble (Edward Keble), 1878-1944
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Ships, Shipbuilding
Publisher: London : Sidgwick & Jackson, ltd.
Published: 1909-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

HENRY VII. TO THE DEATH OF ELIZABETH

mizzen.* Both mizzen-masts, having lateen sails, were without topmasts. From the bowsprit, as already described, there was a spritsail. This, as we saw in Chapter III., had its origin in the Roman ships. I think there can be little doubt but that the spritsail was the lineal descendant of the artemon. It was scarcely very wonderful that it survived so long, seeing that the galleys had remained but little altered since classical times. We must not forget that the rig of the squaresail ship originated in the Mediterranean, so that the spritsail would come most naturally to the aid of the ship for her head canvas. Similarly the lateen, being everywhere seen on the Mediterranean and Nile—on feluccas and dhows alike—would be found at hand for the after canvas. The preference for a lateen sail for the mizzen was based on the reason that such a sail will hold a better wind—will sail at least a point closer to the breeze. Its position in the stern was to facilitate the steering. The Regent's topmasts and topgallant mast were separate spars fixed to the lower mast but could not be lowered or raised. The topgallant mast had a sail but no yard. It was not till many years after that the topgallant sails had yards. Mr. Masefield states that the topgallant sail began like a modern moonraker, i.e. a triangular piece of canvas, setting from truck to the yard-arm of the topsail yard immediately below, f

The Sovereign was of a similar type, though smaller. She had two decks in the forecastle, two in the summer-castle, and in the topgallant poop. What the summer-castle exactly was cannot be discovered, but Mr. Oppen-heim suggests the very probable theory that it was the poop royal. At any rate it commanded an all-round fire

* In the Middle Ages it was the custom to refer to the masts of a ship possessing four in the manner as above. The after-most was the bonaventure.

t "On the Spanish Main/' by John Masefield, London, 1906. See chap. xvi v on " Ships and Rigs."

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