A rope called the throat halyard
was strung from the throat or forward end of the gaff through a pulley
block near the top of the mast, and led down to the backbone, where it was
"belayed," or wrapped around a cleat. The cleat, which was whittled out of
a stick of wood, was made in the form indicated in Fig. 171. A short
length of rope was strung through a pulley block and tied with some slack
to the upper end and to the center of the gaff. This rope is called a
"bridle," and to the pulley block on this "bridle" a rope was attached
called the "peak halyard." The peak halyard was passed through a pulley
block at the top of the mast, and belayed on a cleat at the side of the
backbone. For the main sheet (that is, the rope used for guiding the
mainsail) two pulley blocks were fastened to the backbone, one just in
front of the seat and the other a few feet further forward, and two more
were lashed to the boom, midway between these blocks. The sheet was
fastened near the aft end of the backbone and then strung through the
blocks in the order illustrated, the free end of the sheet being brought
back to the seat, where a cleat was provided, to which it could be secured
when desired.
[Illustration: Fig.
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