sible, just heavy enough to keep the boat steady. However,
this is just the condition of sailing when a boat can dispense with a
rudder. It depends entirely upon the characteristics of the particular
yacht being sailed, and for this the yachtsman must depend upon his own
experience. The jib-topsail should not be used in a case like this, and
if the wind is fairly strong a smaller jib should be set than that used
for reaching. It is advisable to slacken the jib and foresail out and
pull the aft-sails in somewhat tightly. Fig. 152 shows a cutter beating
to windward on a port tack. In this case she will have to pay out to
starboard a bit before her sails fill.

In sailing the weather must be watched very closely, and the amount of
sail carried will depend entirely upon the weather conditions. A yacht
should never be overloaded with sail. If she has more than she can
comfortably carry she will heel over and drag her sails in the water.
Not only this, but she will also drift to leeward when beating to
windward. When sailing a new boat, her best trim for various points of
sailing and force of wind must be found by painstaking experiments. The
boat should always be sailed with her sails as slack as she will take
them and keep in her course. In this way she will move faster than when
the sails are pulled in close.

The model yachtsman should always watch the wind and note whether it
shifts its direction or alters its force. The boat is trimmed
accordingly when the boat is put about. Easing or tightening the jib or
main-sheet slightly will make a very noticeable difference.

By taking down the top-sail or setting a jib-head top-sail in place of a
jack yard top-sail, the yacht will be caused to ride easier in puffs of
wind. In case she does not point well to windward when beating, the
yachtsman should try a smaller jib, or he can slacken the
foresail-sheet. If she runs off regularly to leeward on one tack only,
while keeping well to windward on the other, she has some defect in
construction or a bent keel.

CHAPTER XIV

TWO-FOOT SAILING YACHT

THE model yacht described in this Chapter is the design of Mr. W. J.
Daniels, of England, and was described by him in "Junior Mechanics." Mr.
Daniels is one of the best known and most successful English designers
of model yachts, and the one here described can easily be constructed by
the average boy:

In order that the reader may realize the obstacles
t