Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 September 1894 — Safe Sailing in Deep Waters. [ARTICLE]

Safe Sailing in Deep Waters.

Harper’s Young People. For waters of considerable depth and breadth, where the wind often raises a “nasty sea,” it is better tc have boats of considerable powei and sea-going qualities. It is by n< means necessary to procure an expensive cutter, with lead keel and elaborate rigging. A boy w’ho ha s not a great deal of money to spare can get a good boat. For instance, there is the famous Barnegat sneakbox. This boat is suitable for either shallow or deep water. She has nc depth to speak of, but she is broad of beam, and has, therefore, a large amount of “initial stability,” as it is called. Initial stability means simply, the natural tendency of a boat tc stay right side up without the aid of ballast, and this tendency is always larger in wide boats than in narrow ones. The racing shell of the oarsmen, for instance, has hardly any initial stability at all, The sneakbox has a spoon-shaped bow, and f this causes her to skim over the tops of the waves instead of cutting through them. She'makes a great * splashing when she has the sea against her, but she sails like a ghost. It was from this peculiar type of craft that the celebrated designer, Mr. Nat Hereshoff, got tht idea of the remarkable bow which hr put on the Gloriana. That form ol bow became highly popular, and most of the racing yachts built sincr the appearance of the Gloriana havr it, or a modification of it. The extremely shallow fin-keel yachts likr the Puritan are simply enlarged sneak-boxes, with a fixed center board of much depth and weight, •