[Illustration: Newport (centreboard) cat-boat.]
The respect of all dwellers on the shore is due to the cat-boat. She is distinctly American, and whilst her use may be more and more circumscribed, still the old cat will live and continue to fill a place that no other rig could do. But the cat-boat in the usual acceptation means something more than its simple rig; it stands for a shallow, wide boat, with one mast crowded into the extreme bow, and a boom reaching far over the stern, as in the cut on p. 271. The 'cat' is seen on our seaboard from Maine to Florida, but 95 per cent. of all yachting and boating is done north of the capes of the Delaware. In this connection it is not out of place to speak of our very large fleet of small yachts and of boats for sailing and cruising which from their size may not properly be called yachts.
The number of these craft is legion, they swarm in every northern port, and in a few places in the south are frequently met; their rig is always of the sloop for the larger, and for the smaller--say below 25-ft. water-line--the cat-rig is in preponderance. The value of this 'Mosquito fleet' as a school for yachting cannot be over-estimated.
The fancy for cruising in small sloops or cat-boats has increased greatly of late, and as the type of craft for this work improves it will become a very general pastime.
It is not here intended to cast too deep a slur on the cat-boats; seeing that the wind and weather are so generally moderate and dependable on our coast, cruising can safely be done in a cat of moderate rig. Even in heavy weather, if properly handled, a cat is sure to come in to port with flying colours, as the writer can attest by his own experience.
There are several other types of boats seen on the Atlantic coast of the United States and British Provinces; they vary in design of hull as well as in the rig, and are adapted to the work required and the surrounding condition of weather and water. They are mostly modifications of the old pirogue, and as a rule are more used in trade or some occupation than for pleasure.
Since yacht and boat racing began, there have been many different plans suggested for measurement, and for allowance between contending craft of different length.