disarm the force of the wind; at one-third from each clue, eyelet-holes
are worked in the canvas, and by grummets passed through, a toggle is
secured on both bights: to this buntline-toggle the buntline attaches by
an eye or loop. When the sails are loosed to dry, the bowlines, unbent
from the bridles, are attached to these toggles, and haul out the sails
by the foot-ropes like table-cloths. The buntline is rove through a
block at the mast-head, passes through the buntline span attached to the
tye-blocks on the yard to retain them in the bunt, or amidships, down
before all, and looped to the toggles aforesaid. By aid of the
clue-lines, reef-tackles, and buntlines, a top-sail is taken in or
quieted if the sheets carry away, but more especially by the buntlines,
as the wind has no hold then to belly the canvas.

BUNTLINE-SPANS. Short pieces of rope with a thimble in one end, the
other whipped; the buntlines are rove through these thimbles: they are
attached to the tie-blocks to keep the sail in the bunt when hauled up.

BUNTLINE-TOGGLES. _See_ BUNTLINES and TOGGLE.

BUNT SLAB-LINES. Reeve through a block on the slings of the yard or
under the top, and pass abaft the sail, making fast to its foot. Their
object is to lift the foot of a course so as to see underneath it, or to
prevent it from chafing. Something of the same kind is used for
top-sails, to keep them from rubbing on the stays when flapping in a
calm.

BUOY. A sort of close cask, or block of wood, fastened by a rope to the
anchor, to show its situation after being cast, that the ship may not
come so near it as to entangle her cable about its stock or flukes.--_To
buoy a cable_ is to make fast a spar, cask, or the like, to the bight of
the cable, in order to prevent its galling or rubbing on the bottom.
When a buoy floats on the water it is said to watch. When a vessel slips
her cable she attaches a buoy to it in order afterwards to recover it.
Thus the blockading squadrons off Brest and in Basque Roads frequently
slipped, by signal, and each in beautiful order returned and picked up
their cables.--_To stream the buoy_ is to let it fall from the ship's
side into the water, which is always done before the anchor is let go,
that it may not be fouled by the buoy-rope as it sinks to the
bottom.--_Buoys_ of various kinds are also placed upon rocks or
sand-banks to direct mariners where to avoid danger.

BUOYANCY. Capacity for floating lightly.--_Centre of buoyancy_