The sail was raised by a halyard passing over a block at the
top of the mast. The sheet was fastened near the end of the boom, passed
through a block on the backbone, back of the tiller, and through another
block on the boom, and was led to a cleat within easy reach of the chair
seat.
[Illustration: Fig. 223. The Sailor's Stitch.]
[Illustration: Fig. 224. Laying Out the Sail.]
A Sail through the Country.
[Illustration: Fig. 225. A Sail on the Land Yacht.]
Our land yacht proved to be quite a successful craft in the flat country
around the school. Of course, we could not sail everywhere; a country road
is too narrow for any tacking when it comes to sailing against the wind.
We hadn't thought of that when we made our trial trip. A strong east wind
was blowing and so we ventured forth on a road that led due west from our
school. Off we sped before the wind for two miles, until we came to a
sharp turn in the road. Then we began to think of turning homeward. But
this was a very different proposition. The wind was dead against us and to
try to tack from side to side of the road was useless, because we would
hardly get under way on one tack before we had to swing around on the
other tack, losing all our momentum.
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