Bosun's Bag- Practical Tips For The Tradition Boater

Son of a marine engineer and grandson of a trawlerman, MARTYN MACKRILL is Honorary Painter to the Royal Thames Yacht Club and was o†cial painter for the Royal Yacht Squadron’s bicentenary. His depictions of classic boats, from clinker rowing boats to Edwardian schooners, have made him one of the most sought-after marine artists and his work is part of major collections worldwide. He and wife Bryony sail the restored 1910 ga” cutter Nightfall (CB328).

- Tom Cunliffe

MAST RAKE

Mast rake is a critical area where aesthetics balance pragmatism. It can vary between such extremes as the mid-19th-century American pilot schooner with very little back staying but enormous rake to make up for it, and an Essex smack’s topmast bowsed forward in anticipation of lots of topsail sheet to pull it back into column. Too much tip aft can generate weather helm. In practice, however, a boat is tossed around so much at sea that, so long as rake is kept within reason, other considerations may prove equally important.

How much rake any original boat needs is best discovered by examining old photographs. A useful example is the pole masted Bristol Channel pilot cutter. She carries no backstays. Instead, she has ‘swifters’ that run from abaft the lower shrouds up to the jib halyard blocks. These give the stick all the support it needs and allow the jib luff to be set up drum-tight against them. For the arrangement to work, the mast must have some rake so as to open up the angles aloft. Without it, support disappears, the setup doesn’t function and dismasting can be the result. If the rake is right, the rig is rock-solid and you get a great-looking boat as a spin-off.

BOOM ANGLE