avast ye mast

[Luke]

Rick, I am assuming that the boat pictured on your replies is your vessel. I have little knowledge about boats. I remember a movie called "the Wackiest Ship in the Army." I wonder if your boat has electric wenches to raise the mainsail? Also are sails today made of canvas? Does somebody have to climb the mast to raise the sail? Doesn't sound like much fun in rough seas.

[American Patriot]

Rick, I am assuming that the boat pictured on your replies is your vessel. I have little knowledge about boats. I remember a movie called "the Wackiest Ship in the Army." I wonder if your boat has electric wenches to raise the mainsail? Also are sails today made of canvas? Does somebody have to climb the mast to raise the sail? Doesn't sound like much fun in rough seas.

That boat is the "Womat" and "belonged" to me for 10 days.

I skippered that boat through the British Virgin Islands for that period of time. I basically "rented" the boat. We did what is known as a bareboat cruise, where you lease the vessel, provide your own crew, provisioning and so forth.

To answer your questions...

That boat did not have electric winches for sails. The anchor winch was electric, the anchor was about 45 lbs so we needed one.

All of the halyards for both sails, the flag and several other things were led back to the cockpit. The sheets were also led back there. Sheets are the lines that control the ends of the sail that swings back and forth over the bow of the boat.

Raising the sail required you loosen the lines going to the boom vang (the thing pulling DOWN on the boom) and releasing something clutches and start pulling on a halyard.

To "hoist" the jib (front sail) you pulled on either the port or starboard sheet (depending on the direction of the wind) and it would unfurl from the furling system.

If you look at the bow where I am standing you can see the jib wrapped around the big wire going up to hold up the mast (this is called the forestay or headstay).

At the mast, the boom is the horizontal part and there is a large blue cloth thing there - it's called a "stakpak" and is basically the cover for the sail when it's down.

http://www.andrews.com/kysc/terms.html

[American Patriot]

Just click on the bar above the picture or go to that link to see the picture better.