Adittybagapprenticeship

1 A DittyBagApprenticeship EE HOW SHE SCHOONS! Cutting a feather in the various elements upon which its survival Sa four-lower breeze, sails filling in powerful depended was once an absolute necessity, and curves and pulling like the muscles ofa draft horse there were always men aboard capable of handl with a heavy load; sails straining under therelent ing the various materials, not the least ofwhom less force ofthe wind! was the sailmaker. He was not alonein working By moonrise, the wind's diminished to a with canvas; even the greenest hand had to take whisper-hardly a ripple on the water as she up needle and palm when there was extensive ghosts slowly along under light sails; great cloth work to be done. Seafaring people ashore, out of phantoms tranquillybillowing in the moonlight. geographical or economic necessity, had no less a Or in an oily calm, the limp cloth slats andslams need to be self-sufficient in the manufacture and from side to side, awaiting the day when it might repair of the sails for the boats with which they explode from its boltropes under the force of a earned their livelihood. Those Johnny New howling gale and be lashed and beaten to useless combes who'd assist the seagoing sailmaker were 'hreds. Harmony and discord in the marriage of often initiated into the sailor's arts by the making 'ud, wave, wood, and cloth. ofa ditty bag. Those small bags were sometimes Cloth is admirable for bothwhat itis andwhat it elaborately andintricatelyfinished, thus offering a s. First a fiber, spun into thread and woven into means of self-expression and furnishing some workable, versatile, yet vulnerable fabric, cloth is thing to occupy idle hands and to keep the mind ade into sails, the soul and salvation ofthe sailing alive. oat. Cloth is a remarkable material; it comes only To launch you in your apprenticeship, we are a long strip to begin with and is dynamic by going to teach you about the ditty bag, help you ature. Someone has to cut and assemble the gather together the tools you will need to make a ces, control or compensate for the cloth's insta ditty bag (and to use on your own for making and lUes, provide a means of attaching things to it, maintaining your sails), and then teach you to d, of course, maintain the finished article. No make the ditty bag itself, using techniques thatwill o ways about it, the ability to work with cloth, prepare you for many other tasks related to sail thetic or natural, is fundamental to sailing. making, repair, and maintenance. The sailing ship's onboard ability to deal with The proposed dittybagand its contents embody I THE SAILMAKER'S APPRENTICE IIlhorts of abstract things as well as being a handy materials used in its creation. All is then in readi~ t!lllllptacle. But the skilis! That's whatyou're really ness for sail- or canvaswork. You'll know every "tlllf, Remember, it's not the bag alone. This ditty stitch! The economy of doing your own work bilg is a cloth article requiring all the basic sail- and should be apparent, and so too will be the practi cnnvaswork skills, and inthis carefully handcrafted cality, because the tools are simple, portable, and container are stored the very implements and relatively in~xpensive. FIGURE 1-1. The skills ofthe ditty bag. (a) Flat-stitched side seam (h) Rope grommet (b) Fiat-stitched rolled tabling (i) Ropingstitch (c) Flat-stitched reinforcement patches (j) Cringle and round thimble (d) Sticking stitch (k) Sailmaker's eyesplice (e) Round stitch (/) Marline serving (f) Worked eyelets (m) Flat seizing (g) Byelet seizings (n) Turk's head slider A DITTY BAG APPRENTICESHIP 3 The faint of heart might be heard to exclaim, TOOLS /IWhat about the sewing machine?" The sewing machine, in relation to this ditty bag, is like the Plainly, it's time to introduce the tools, but only relationship a motor has to the sails ofa sailboat. those required to make the dittybag. Other tools of It can substantially augment the dittybag, but it is sailwork are introduced in Chapter 5. a poor substitute. There's no doubtaboutthe time saving capabilities of a sewing machine under Hands favorable working conditions, but the sewing First andforemost, meet your hands! Whether they machine doesn't have the versatility, all-around be more dexterous on the left or right doesn't mat capability, simplicity, and dependability ofyour ter, except that most sailmaking instructions pre hands, and the skills, techniques, and tools of this sume the worker to be right-handed. That's not an ditty bag apprenticeship. insurmountable obstacle. For a left-hander, there With the fade-out of the fossil fuel-eating are two options: perform everything from the engine, the return of cloth sail power isn't going opposite point ofview, or teach yourself to work to come for free. Sails are going to become even righty-whichever comes more easily. more expensive than they are now. Obviously, it behooves prudent seafarers to cast an anchor The Sailmaker's Palm to windward and not only concentrate on sails This is the indispensable tool with which the and sailing, but become capable ofmaking and needle is pushed through the cloth. Waste not maintaining those wings upon which their boats time nor money on the cheap models, or what will fly. is called a sailor's palm, as they are nearly use- J<1CPIN"" 1"N-M (R:I~l-\r-f{MJt:'£t:') FIGURE 1-2 (PAGES 3-4). Sailmaker's palms. THE SAILMAKER'S APPRENTICE sewing techniques. The "public palm," while better than nothing, is an abomination. Worse yet is the ham-handed nozzer's disrespectful attempt to cram his hand into someone's carefully fitted and broken-in palm. Make the palm fit your hand. Ifit's too small to beginwith, it's worthless to you anyway. Abig palm can be reduced to some extent and the fit can be adjusted with the addition ofleather padding. The palm and your hand become one. Fit it. Wet it. Work with it. Oil it. Then work more with it-and don't share! Needles Sail needies are ttiangular insectionwith the edges rounded so that the needle separates rather than severs the threads of the cloth as it enters and passes through. We thickness, or gauge, ofthe nee dle to be used deJends upon the size ofthe thread FIGURE 1-2. (cant.) less and will not encourage you to sew. Seek instead a high-quality sailmaker's palm of fin ished leather and rawhide, a stout article firmly .t.-. stitched. There are two priucipal types ofpalms, both of which are essential, depending upon the job to be undertaken. The seaming palm is for sewing seams, tablings, and patching, andhas an eye with small indentations to take the head of the smaller needles used in those and other finer operations. 0- - The roping palm is for the stouterwork ofsewing a boltrope to a sail, and has an eye with large ;'8 indentations for the needles required inroping and #11> other heavy work. In addition, the roping palm has 11+ a protective piece about the thumb hole so that a I stitch canbe have homewithout the thread cutting '11 the worker's hand. ::>*~f' .e!O<:r~ ~Mo::X1T"H .E.O(ia:.... ~~OOD Both palms are highly personal tools. Ideally, -eAO they are custom made for your hand only, or at • • FIGURE 1-3. Relative sizes and cross sections ofsail least have been altered from a production version needles. The No. 18 is 2% inches long; the No.9, 4 so that they are best suited to your hand and inches. A DITTY BAG APPRENTICESHIP 5 required in the sewing and the nature of the mate razor hone or sharpening steel. Sail needles are rial sewn. Usually, the two requirements coincide, wonderful little tools, but theywill rust at the mere but not always. Synthetic sail twine, because ofits mention ofthe word moisture, especially at sea. great strength, can be smaller than cotton thread Keep them oiled or greased and stored in an air for a given application, but your needle should tightcontainer! always be sized according to the cloth ithas to pen etrate. Matching the needle to the smaller thread Knife may result in breakage. The knife is probably the mostversatile tool in the Aboard ship there is use for allsizes. Therefore bag. Within the realms of sail- and marlinspike each size should be on hand, and it would be wise work, it has many uses and can satisfactorily stand to have a few extra of the smaller or more fre in for tools such as scissors and hole cutters. quently used needles. Sail needles in the smaller Whether clasp or sheath knife, a blade with a sizes break occasionally, and even the larger ones rounded back, sheep's-foot point, and V-ground can be bent under the strain ofheavywork. blade is best. Homemade or store-bought, the Nothing makes sewing more tedious than a dull knife must be ofgood steel, kept clean, oiled, and or dirty needle. Needles can be kept sharp with a sharp as a razor. This knife must never be asked to do anything but cut cloth, twine, or cordage. Sailhook The needle-sharp steel saUhook (also called a stretching hook or bench hook), with its swivel and 5- or 6-foot lanyard, facilitates various forms of sewing by holding the cloth in the desired manner so that tension canbe applied and cloth layers kept in line, flat and inunobilized.

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