A sea grammar vvith the plaine exposition of Smiths Accidence for young sea-men, enlarged. Diuided into fifteene chapters: what they are you may partly conceiue by the contents. Written by Captaine Iohn Smith, sometimes gouernour of Virginia, and admirall of Nevv-England.

CHAP. III. How to proportion the Masts and Yards for a Ship, by her Beame and Keele.

WHen a ship is built, she should be masted, wherein is a great deale of experience to be vsed so well as art; for if you ouer∣mast her, either in length or bignesse, she will lie too much downe by a wind, and labour too much a hull, and that is called a Taunt-mast, but if either too small or too short, she is vnder masted or low masted, and cannot beare so great a saile as should giue her her true way. For a man of warre, a well ordered Taunt-mast is best, but for a long voyage, a short Mast will beare more Canuasse, and is lesse subiect to beare by the boord: Their Rules are diuers, because no Artist can build a Ship so truly to proportion, neither set her Masts, but by the triall of her condition, they may bee impayred or amended: suppose a Ship of 300. Tunnes be 29. foot at the Beame, if her maine Mast be 24. inches dia∣meter, the length of it must be 24. yards, for euery inch in thicknesse is allowed a yard in length, and the fore Mast 22. inches in thicknesse, must bee 22. yards in length; your Bowle spret both in length and thicknesse must bee equall to the ••ore Mast, the Misen 17. yards in length, and 17. inches diameter.

But the Rule most vsed is to take the ⅘ parts of the bredth of the Ship, and multiply that by three, will giue you so many foot as your maine Mast should bee in length, the bignesse or thicknesse will beare it also, allowing an inch for a yard; but if it be a made Mast, that is greater than one Tree, it must be more: for example, suppose the Ships bredth 30. foot, foure fifts of 30. foot are 24. foot, so you

finde the maine Mast must be 24. yards long, for euery yard is 3. foot and 24. inches thorow, allowing an inch to euery yard. The fore Mast is to be in length ⅘ of the maine Mast, which will be 20. yards wanting one ⅘ part of a yard, and 20. inches thorow. The Boulspret must euer bee equall with the fore Mast. The misen Mast halfe the length of the maine Mast, which will be 12. yards long, and 12. inches diameter. Now as you take the proportion of the Masts from the Beame or bredth of the Ships, so doe you the length of the yards from the Keele.

These Masts haue each their steps in the Ship, and their partners at euery Decke where thorow they passe to the Keele, being strong timbers bolted to the Beams in circling the Masts, to keep them steady in their steps fast wedged for rowling; yet some ships will not saile so wel as when it doth play a little, but that is very dangerous in foule weather. Their Cotes are p••eces of torred Canuas, or a Tarpawling put about them and the Rudder to keepe the water out. At the top of the fore Mast and maine Mast are spliced cheeks, or thicke clamps of wood, thorow which are in each two holes called the Hounds, wherein the Tyes doe runne to hoise the yards, but the top Mast hath but one hole or hound, and one tye. Euery Mast also hath a Cap if a top; which is a peece of square timber with a round hole in it to receiue the top Masts or Flag-staffe, to keepe them steady and strong, left they be borne by the boord in a stiffe gale. The Crosse-trees are also at the head of the Masts, one let into another crosse, and strongly bolted with the Tressell trees, to keepe vp the top Masts which are fastened in them, and those are at the tops of each Mast; all the Masts stand vpright but the Boulspret which lyeth along ouer the Beak-head, and that timber it resteth on is called the Pillow.

Now for the yards, suppose the ship be 76. foot at the Keele, her maine yard must be 21. yards in length, and in thicknesse but 17. inches. The fore Yard 19. yards long, and 15. inches diameter or thick. The spret-saile Yard 16.

yards long, and but nine inches thicke, and your Misen-yard so long as the Mast, the top yards beares halfe pro∣portion to the maine, and fore yard, and the top gallants, the halfe to them, but this rule is not absolute; for if your Masts be taunt, your yards must be the shorter; if a low Mast, the longer, but this is supposed the best. To haue the maine Yard •• parts of her Keele in length: the top Yard ¾ of the maine Yard, and the maine Yard for bignesse ¾ parts of an inch, for a yard in length. The length of the fore Yard •• of the maine Yard; the Crosse••acke Yard and Spretsaile Yard to be of a length; but you must allow the Misen Yard and Spretsaile Yard ½ inch of thicknesse to a yard in length. But to giue a true Arithmeticall and Geometricall proportion for the building of all sorts of Ships, were they all built af∣ter one mould, as also of their Masts, Yards, Cables, Cor∣dage, and Sailes, were all the stuffe of like goodnesse, a me∣thodicall rule as you see might bee proiected: but their lengths, bredths, depths, rakes and burthens are so varia∣ble and different, that nothing but experience can possibly teach it.

Notes

• A Ship ouer∣masted.
• Taunt-masted.
• Vnder-masted.
• An example.
• The rule most vsed.
• A made Mast, or an arme Mast.
• The Steps.
• Partners.
• Cotes. Tarpawling.
• Cheeks.
• The Hounds.
• The Cap.
• Cross-trees.
• Tressel-trees.
• Pillow.
• An example of the Yards by the Keele.