THE DOUBLE TOPSAIL
TEM —To the topmast is set the topsail yard. In the
early 1850's the growth of this sail plus new economies in crew size
made it imperative to reduce the sail in area to manageable
proportions. (It was also a sail that had to be reefed quickly in
emergency.) This was done by dividing it into two —the upper and lower
topsails with their respective yards. The lower topsail now was fixed
on a swivel fitting to the lower mast cap while the upper topsail yard
rode on the topmast as did the original single topsail yard. This was a
development of Howe's system ot double topsail rig. See Fig. 58.
