In the competition with the rapidly growing steam navigation, the sailing companies were continuously looking for ways to reduce the operating costs of the sailing vessels. In comparison with steamvessels, the large windjammers were relatively cheap. To keep these ships sailing they needed yearly a partly or complete new sail dress, plus the worn running rigging. Those costs were low compared to the fuel costs of the steam vessel.
The costs of newly built sailing vessels were much lower, because they lacked the expensive steam installation. For the companies with sailing ships these were all costs on which they could not cut down any further. On the ships company’s costs, however, there was room to retrench expenses. Carried a British clipper around 1850 a crew of 35 hands, at the turn of the century this was already reduced to 20 hands, on ships three to four times the size (in tonnage) of the clipper !

       This reduction of crew was accomplished in two ways. In the first place there was a tendency to simplify the rigging. More and more barks came into trade. In the second half of the 19^th century, a lot of ships were re-rigged into barks. The next step was the introduction of the barkentines, the Jackass-barks and the large fore-and-aft schooners, up to seven masts. In the same time the different sails became smaller in size. The topsail became so big at last, that the crew stood shoulder to shoulder on the yard to furl or reeve it. By splitting the topsail into an upper- and a lower topsail, the separate parts became easier to handle. Captains, who liked to make fast passages, were not happy with these kind of innovations; it created only gaps between the sails where the wind blew straight through. 
At the end of the 19^th century the topgallants were also divided into two separate sails. At last the total sail wardrobe was deminished. Were the clipperships still rigged with studdingsails, skysails, skyscrapers, sometimes even moonrakers and 'handkerchiefs', on the windjammers these were all to fall into disuse. The rigging became wider and less high. When vessels also took off their royals, the Baldheaded, Stump-Topgallant or Jubilee-rig was born.

        A second way to cut down on crew expenses, was the introduction of winches. It is here that captain J.C.B. Jarvis steps into the spotlight. Winches could be developed thanks to the invention of iron- and steel wire. The hoisting of yards, as well as bracing around a complete mast, was heavy labour and demanded at lot hands. There one could cut down on the labour expenses. 
Capt. Jarvis has several innovations on his record, like sheet- and haliard winches, but the development of the brace winch in the last decade of the 19^th century, is without doubt the most important. Besides the fact that a mast could be braced with less hands, the winch had an attendant advantage that it was mounted amidships. In foul weather when the lee rail was pressed under water, the risk of being swept overboard when manning the lee braces, was considerably reduced.

Yet the brace winch was never generally accepted in the United Kingdom; conservative as they were, captains in the sailing trade were not interested in this kind of innovative ideas.
On the latest large square riggers a steam-engine was introduced: the donkey. This engine drove the winches and the capstan, but only in port. Of course these were not the only ways to economise on the running costs of the deep-sea sailing fleet.

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