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19th
Century Hudson River Sloop built by J. F. Welsie in 1848 at Piermont.
The Hudson River sloops could carry a large sail area because of the
relatively smooth water on which they sailed; they needed it for the relatively
light winds. The early sloops carried a square-rigged topsail, but since this
required at least three extra crewmen to handle, and since wages were a
strong factor even in those days, it was dispensed with in favor of a
triangular topsail which only required one additional crew member. In fact,
it was this same cost-of-labor consideration which caused the sloops
gradually to give way to the schooners in the late 1800’s. Many sloops were
re-rigged as schooners between 1870 and 1890. The schooners were, perhaps, an
edge faster when reaching or running than were the sloops; but hard on the
wind, there were no sailing boats built during the period which could hold a
candle to these great white-winged beauties.
The Hudson River sloop rigging was fairly simple, consisting of three heavy
shrouds athwartship to the mast hounds, with no spreaders, and tightened by
rigging through dead eyes on the lower shroud ends, and an extended frame
timber. The sloops carried a forestay to the masthead and a second forestay
from the same point on the bowsprit to the head of the top mast. There were
no backstays or runners; the weight of the boom, sail, and gaff surely must
have been more than sufficient, considering also that the shrouds were run
nearly plumb from a slightly raked mast, giving considerable backstaying
effect.
The main sheet was a multiple-part block-and-tackle, rigged from the traveler
at the taffrail to one point above on the boom. Consider having 3,000 or so
feet of one-inch main sheet and perhaps six-part tackle, and you can realize
what a tremendous mass of gear came sweeping across during a jibe. It is no
wonder that a “North River Jibe” was a fearful maneuver!
The early sloops used two double-part jib sheets, belayed to pins on the rail
near the shrouds. Later sloops used a jib club or boom and had a heavy timber
traveler athwartship just ahead of the mast to which the jib was sheeted. The
gaff was hoisted and peaked up by two halyards through anywhere from six- to
twelve-part tackle and, with so much line and the weight of the heavy canvas,
a deck hand must have needed tremendous brute strength! The topsail was
hoisted by a single halyard, tacked down to the mast near the jaws of the
gaff and sheeted to the peak of the gaff. It was hoisted and dropped many
times during a voyage as the wind direction changed. All of the mainsails had
at least three reefing points, and when the mariners reefed down, they would
fasten down the tack and clew, sway out on the clew, and leave the rest of
the sail loose to lie gathered by the lazy jacks, of which there were usually
two sets.
The sloops were nearly always steered by a long heavy tiller set on the
rudder head. They must have had a heavy weather helm, as did most of the old
gaff riggers, so a helmsman had considerable work to do when hard on the
wind.
The old sloops were built in many yards in many towns along the Hudson. Nyack, Piermont, Mount Pleasant, Peekskill, Hudson, and Cold Spring are only a few
of the towns mentioned in books of the period. The sloops were built of local
wood of almost every kind known to the Valley. It is said that the old
carpenters went into the woods and picked out the trees which already had the
bends and shapes they needed for stems, knees, and frames. This eliminated
much of the need for bending and shaping that would have been necessary if
all straight timber had been used. The interior cabins of the packet or
passenger sloops were luxuriously paneled in fine woods, and the floors of
white pine were meticulously holystoned clean and white. Most of the sloops
were gaily painted, and the sloops of Nyack were particularly noted for their
many-colored hulls.
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1/64
SCALE
2-SHEETS
PTR-033
PRICE:
$ 36.25
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