poet is to be excused for straining after rhyme, it must be passed over as such. Three sheets in the wind.-A grade in drunkenness, verging on the incapable. Sheet anchor.-The most powerful anchor carried by a ship, and popularly supposed to be used only as a last resource, in which sense the term is frequently used in general conversation. Sheet clip (or sheet slip).-An instrument, the principal agent in which is a sort of drop pawl, by which sheets may be held, while necessary, and instantly released. They are of great use in single-handed sailing, and in small boats may often be used to hold the main sheet. (Illustrated under CLIP.) Head-sheets, sternsheets (in open boats).The floor-boards covering Sternsheets HEAD AND STERN-SHEETS. the space either at the head or the stern of the boat. (See fig.) Shelf (in shipbuilding).-A longitudinal timber within the ribs of a vessel. (See diagram under FRAME.) Shell.-1. A popular term for the remnant of a vessel after she has been completely stripped. 2. Of a block.-The outer casing of a block is its shell. 3. Among rowing men, and especially among journalistic litterateurs, a wager boat, or best racing boat, is sometimes called a shell. Shelve. To slope down rapidly, as a shelving beach, which is a very steep beach. Shifting. Shifting backstays. Those of the backstays of a vessel which may be shifted over from side to side when she goes about on another tack, and from which, therefore, may be derived the origin of the terms in stays, missing stays, slack in stays, etc. (See under BACKSTAYS and TACK.) Shifting sands.-Such banks of sand as are soft and liable to alter their form. Also quick-sands. Ship.-A term applied indiscriminately to any large vessel, but among seamen restricted to one which is full rigged. (See FULLRIGGED SHIP.) 66 To ship. To put a thing into its proper position for working, as to ship oars, " to put them into the rowlocks preparatory to rowing. "To ship the rudder," to hang it ready for use, etc. And if to ship is to put a thing in working position, then to unship is to take it off. Thus to unship oars is to take them out of the rowlocks, and to "unship the rudder to unhinge it. From this it will be seen that to ship is not necessarily to bring within the ship, but in most cases it is so, as to ship a cargo; to ship hands (men); to ship stores, etc., which is to take them on board. To ship a sea.-To be overtaken by a wave, or to plunge into it so that it comes into or over the ship. Shoal.-1. Shallow. 2. A shoal is a shallow place. 66 Shore. The margin of the sea, or of a river. (See FORESHORE.) Those living close to the shore are called shoresmen, to distinguish them from those living inland. So also a shore raker is a man who hangs about by the waterside. (See LOAFER.) Shores.-Props placed under a vessel while building or in a dry dock, or it may be to keep a vessel upright when she is aground. She is then said to be shored up. Shot.-An additional cable's length. (See CABLE.) Shot in the locker.-An old expression signifying money in one's pocket. The old motto is "Never say die whilst there's a shot in the locker. Show a leg.-An exclamation meaning "Show that you are in earnest," or otherwise "Look sharp!" The term is derived from the old saying that if a man showed a leg out of his bunk it might reasonably be considered that he was about to rise. Shrouds. Strong ropes supporting a mast laterally; they are now almost always of wire rope. They take their names from the spars they support, as the main or mizzen shrouds, the topmast shrouds, the bowsprit shrouds, etc. In large vessels they are connected by small ropes to form ladders; these ropes being called ratlines or rattlings (which see). The shrouds of fore-and-aft rigged masts are fitted in the following manner :-One piece of wire rope is doubled so as to form two legs. A little below the bend these parts are seized together, forming what is called a collar, i.e., a loop; and this collar being passed over the head of the mast, both legs come down on the same side of the vessel. Or if there be only one shroud, an eye splice is made at the upper end, which is passed over the mast in the same way. But the shrouds of large square rigged masts are not fitted in this manner. These communicate singly with a strong spider hoop beneath the mast-head, and thence extend downwards to the sides of the vessel. And for small boats, or in case of having to rig up shrouds temporarily, a very simple method is employed by the fishermen. It consists in taking two ropes of sufficient length to span the boat from the masthead; making a simple overhand knot in the middle of one; passing the other through it, thereby making a sort of slip knot of the two; and passing the loop thus made over the mast head (or if that cannot be done the loop is made round the mast head) in the manner illustrated under KNOT. At the end of each leg of the shrouds a dead-eye is turned in; and a lanyard (a small rope) passing through this dead-eye and COLLAR EYE TURNED IN SHROUDS. another fellow to it on the channel plate allows the shrouds to be tightened (or set up, as it is technically termed) on each side. The dead-eyes are blind blocks-i.e., they have no sheaves, and for this reason the lanyards are less liable to slip through them. In rigging them it is customary to pass the lanyard through one of the eyes and, by making a stopper knot at the end of the rope, thus prevent it from slipping through. The other end of the lanyard may then be reeved through the holes in both dead-eyes and the shroud "set up." (See DEAD-EYES.) The length of shroud from the dead-eyes on one side, over the mast and to the dead-eyes on the other side, is called the span of the rigging. The Such are the shrouds of a lower mast; others are fitted somewhat differently, as will be seen :-Topmast shrouds.-1. On a fore-andaft rigged mast, or one carrying only one topmast, such as the main mast of a cutter or the mizzen of a schooner, etc., the shroud is passed over the head of the topmast and extended by means of a cross-tree, shortly below which it terminates; being then taken up by another length, or by a tackle with ropes called the legs. reason for this is that when the topmast is lowered its shrouds may only just reach to the deck. For were they so long as to do this when the mast was up, they would be greatly in the way when it came down ; whereas, the shrouds being short and the legs movable, these latter can be disconnected and stowed away when the mast is lowered. 2. On masts which carry more than one topmast, as the fore and main masts of a bark or a brig-in other words, on a brig mast-the method above described is impossible, for even if practicable, the cross-trees and side gear would prevent the yards of the square sails from traversing about the mast. Another system is, therefore, necessary, and it is carried out as follows:Each mast head is furnished with a large plate of iron called the futtock-plate, to which, by smaller plates, dead-eyes are attached; and the shrouds which come down from the top-mast head also have dead-eyes, so that they may be set up in the same way as those of the lower mast. - Bowsprit shrouds are the ropes (usually of wire) which give lateral support to the bowsprit just as mast shrouds do to a mast. They are attached to a ring called the cranse-iron at the end of the bowsprit, and being taken up by tackles (like the legs of topmast shrouds) may be set up from the bow of the vessel. In small craft they are often attached to the bow by a set-screw or screwtightener (which see) which, by being turned one way or the other, either tightens or slackens them. Shroud plates, or shroud irons.-Irons fitted to the sides of small boats to take the shroud tackles. They take the place of the channel plates of larger craft. (See CHANNELS.) Side.-Side fishes.—In a made mast, the convex pieces which form the rounded sides of the mast; to fish being to secure one piece of wood over another, usually for strengthening it. Side kelsons, or sister kelsons (in ship-building).-Side timbers forming kelsons beside the actual kelson, for extra strength. (See under FRAME.) 66 وو Signals." A system of symbols addressed to the eye-as flags, boards, lights, etc., for establishing communications at distances too great for the voice." It is impossible in this place to enter into the history and development of signals, or to mention one half the number of varying codes which have been brought forward. A few of those, however, most useful to the amateur sailor may be explained. The International Steering and Sailing Rules should be studied; they may be obtained at any marine publisher's, or found in Lloyd's Seaman's Almanac ; most books on amateur sailing also give them. (See Mr. Christopher Davies' "Boat Sailing for Amateurs, and other works.) These contain the regulations as to fog and distress signals, lights, and all other points necessary for sea cruising. With a knowledge of them and of the International Code of Flag Signals, to which should be added an acquaintance with the storm signals of the Meteorological Office, the yachtsman may feel tolerably confident of himself. The Pilot Jack. P.T. Hoisted at the fore. WANT A PILOT. International Code. - The flag signals are 18 in number, and a pennant or code signal, and it is by a combination of any number up to four that symbols representing words or sentences are made. list of the code with instructions as to signalling, together with various official notices and regulations issued by the Admiralty and Board of Trade, edited by the Registrar-General of Seamen, and published by the Committee of Lloyd's, price 12s., should be obtained by those who wish to use them. The flags themselves, in colour, are given in "Lloyd's Almanac " and other works. In consequence of the fact that colours are not distinguishable at a great distance, and further, that while on a still day they may not extend at all, and on a windy day they may be blown in a direction end on to the observer and still be unintelligible, a second system, known as distance signalling, has been N.S. WANT I HAVE SPRUNG SIGNALS. introduced into the International Code, its main characteristic being the ball, which is used in conjunction with plain pennants and square flags, of any colour, one or more balls appearing in every hoist. And beyond this there is the semaphore, which resembles the signal-post of a railway line, but has three arms, employed to represent either the ball, pennant, or flag of the distance signal, the same code being followed: an arm horizontal represents the ball, an arm pointing downwards a pennant, an arm pointing upwards a flag. A disc is exposed at the head of the post during the time the signalling is going on, and when no longer in use it comes down, and the arms fall and become invisible. To render the various symbols possible from small craft which carry neither balls nor signal flags, the following substitutes may be adopted and used as distance signals: In place of the pennant Any long strip of cloth, or, in lieu, any piece of board longer than it is wide; in place of the flag-any square flag, a handkerchief, or a square piece of cloth; in place of the ball-any object approaching the spherical in shape, as a hat or anything rolled up like a ball. And to effect a signal there must be two of each, because two balls, two pennants, or two flags have often to be hoisted together to form a symbol. The following signals come under the "Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. Fog signals, Art. 12.-Both steam and sailing vessels must be provided with fog horn and bell (except Turkish vessels, which employ a drum instead of a bell); and they are used in the following manner ::-(A) A steamship under way shall make with her steam whistle, or other steam sound signal, at intervals of not more than two minutes, a prolonged blast. (B) A sailing ship under way shall make with her fog horn, at intervals of not more than two minutes, when on the starboard tack one blast, when on the port tack two blasts in succession, and when with the wind abaft the beam three blasts in succession. (C) A steam ship and a |