Page:Small-boat sailing; an explanation of the management of small yachts, half-decked and open sailing-boats of various rigs; sailing on sea and on river; cruising, etc (IA smallboatsailing01knig).pdf/112

 which are securely fastened to the deck, and then through the gammon iron, b, an iron ring covered with leather which is bolted on the stem head. When the bowsprit is run out, it is kept in its place by an iron fid, c, which passes through the bowsprit heel, and rests against the foreside of the bitts. It is usual to have two or three fid holes in the bowsprit, so that the spar can be run in and reefed to the required length according to the jib that is to be set. To shorten the bowsprit in bad weather relieves the vessel quite as much as does the housing of the topmast; for the great leverage exercised by this long overhanging spar tends to drive the vessel's bows into the seas. It is therefore important that the bowsprit should come in readily. The gammon iron should be large; and the fid should be stout, else the strain on it may cause it to bend, and so to jam.

d Bowsprit Shroud Tackle.

e Whiskers.

The is usually fitted to the mast with a galvanised-iron gooseneck, giving it free play in every direction. When a yacht is sailing, the mainsail exerts a great strain upon the boom, so that