Francis Liardet: Professional Recollections on Points of Seamanship, Discipline, &c., 1849.

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Fore top-gallant and royal stays.

The fore top-gallant and royal stays are generally brought in along the flying and jib-booms, and then set up at the knight-heads; this appears to bring an unnecessary strain on the booms, standing and flying martingales, and heel-lashings. Many good seamen give the preference to having the foe top-gallant and royal stays rove through the dolphin-striker, and with good reason, as by this means you keep your fore top-gallant and royal masts in a better position; but if you have the stays along the booms, as the boom-ends raise, the top-gallant and royal masts go aft. I have seen both ways tried, and always found the masts and booms stand better when the top-gallant and royal stays were rove through the dolphin-striker, and if you wish to fid, or strike your top-gallant mast, you may then be certain that the fore top-gallant and royal stays are not stowed in with the jib, or flying jib-gaskets: as nothing is a greater eye-sore than ropes crossing each other, care should be taken to avoid it, and the royal and top-gallant stays must therefore be rove through the dolphin-striker, below the jib-martingale. When you wish to set the flying-jib flying, if you reeve the tack through the dolphin-striker, or through a small-tailed block made fast to it, you will be able to carry the sail much longer, than if brought along the booms.

Francis Liardet: Professional Recollections on Points of Seamanship, Discipline, &c.
William Woodward, Portsea, 1849. 8vo, frontisp., (6), x, 319 pp, 1 col. plate of signals.

Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius

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