Originally Posted by
Dobbs
From "William Falconer's Dictionary of the MarineReference Works"
"BOX-HAULING
BOX-HAULING, in navigation, a particular method of veering a ship, when the swell of the sea renders tacking impracticable. It is performed by putting the helm a-lee, to throw the head tip to windward, where meeting with great resistance from the repeated shocks of the waves on the weather bow, it falls off, or turns to leeward, with a quicker effort, and without advancing. The aftermost sails are at this time diminished, or perhaps altogether deprived of their force of action, for a short time, because they would otherwise counteract the sails forward, and prevent the ship from turning. They are, however, extended as soon as the ship, in veering, brings the wind on the opposite quarter, as their effort then contributes to assist her motion of wheeling.
BOX-HAULING is generally performed when the ship is too near the shore to have room for veering in the usual way."
In other words, square-riggers preferred to jibe rather than tack if possible, because you were guaranteed to get from one side of the wind to the other faster. If you had a big clumsy ship (like a 74) and it would take more than one turn to get out of the "no-sail-zone", on the second turn, the captain would "boxhaul the yards" to have the wind blow the front of the ship over the rest of the way as it drifted backwards. It was more complicated than turning away from the wind, but it was standard practice, and (I think) represented very well by the second hourglass on the cards (where the ship almost invariably falls below close-hauled at the end of the maneuver). You could have a senario with a poorly designed ship that was dis-inclined to turn to weather. Any captain would be aware of his ship's deficiency before engaging the enemy, as he would have practiced and would know avoid putting his vessel in the red zone in a pressure situation.