esy Wirth Munroe.)]

The two working masts of a 35-to 36-foot sharpie were made of spruce or
white pine and had a diameter of 4-1/2 to 5 inches at deck and 1-1/2
inches at head. Their sail hoists were 28 to 30 feet, and the sail
spread was about 65 yards. Instead of booms, sprits were used; these
were set up at the heels with tackles to the masts. In most sharpies the
sails were hoisted to a single-sheave block at the mast heads and were
fitted with wood or metal mast hoops. Because of the use of the sprit
and heel tackle, the conventional method of reefing was not possible.
The reef bands of the sails were parallel to the masts, and reefing was
accomplished by lowering a sail and tying the reef points while
rehoisting. The mast revolved in tacking in order to prevent binding of
the sprit under the tension of the heel tackle. The tenon at the foot of
the mast was round, and to the shoulder of the tenon a brass ring was
nailed or screwed. Another brass ring was fastened around the mast step.
These rings acted as bearings on which the mast could revolve.

Because there was no standing rigging and the masts revolved, the sheets
could be let go when the boat was running downwind, so that the sails
would swing forward. In this way the power of the rig could be reduced
without the bother of reefing or furling. Sometimes, when the wind was
light, tonging was performed while the boat drifted slowly downwind with
sails fluttering. The tonger, standing on the side deck or on the stern,
could tong or "nip" oysters from a thin bed without having to pole or
row the sharpie.

The unstayed masts of the sharpie were flexible and in heavy weather
spilled some wind, relieving the heeling moment of the sails to some
degree. In summer the 35-to 36-foot boats carried both masts, but in
winter, or in squally weather, it was usual to leave the mainmast ashore
and step the foremast in the hole just forward of the bulkhead at the
centerboard case, thereby balancing the rig in relation to the
centerboard. New Haven sharpies usually had excellent balance, and
tongers could sail them into a slip, drop the board so that it touched
bottom, and, using the large rudders, bring the boats into the wind by
spinning them almost within their length. This could be done because
there was no skeg. When sharpies had skegs, as they did in some
localities, they were not so sensitive as the New Haven boats. If a
sharpie had a skeg, it was possible to use one sa