boom and leads aft. It enables the boom to be trimmed to the required angle. It is also advisable to have a fore-guy, leading from the boom to the bows to prevent the spinnaker from jibing accidentally, or from swinging aft when the yacht is rolling about on a swell in a very light breeze. e is the spinnaker-halyard passing through a block fastened on the mast; f is the out-haul by which the sail is hauled out on the boom; g is the sheet which is made fast on deck.
Every cruising yacht should carry a trysail for use in heavy weather. This is a small sail with a short head and gaff (some trysails are jib-headed and have no gaff). The trysail is set in the place of the mainsail; it has no boom, and has two sheets, which are generally luff-tackles, one leading to each quarter. The luff of the sail is laced to the mast.
We now come to the cutter's Standing and Running Rigging. Whereas the running rigging, consisting of the halyards, sheets, etc., which are employed for the hoisting and trimming of the sails, have constantly to be handled during the manœuvring of a vessel, the standing rigging, consisting of the shrouds, stays, and so forth, is permanently fixed, or, at any rate, has to be shifted but occasionally, its object being to support the mast and bowsprit, and to prevent them from yielding to the pressure of the wind.
Wire standing rigging is employed even on the
