What does "turned the schooner end-for-end" mean?

Question

'Who do these things?' Dan asked, and straightened his back at the bench as he turned the schooner end-for-end in the vice to get at her counter.

'Them which don't wish other men to work no better nor quicker than they do,' growled Mr Springett. 'Don't pinch her so hard in the vice, Mus' Dan. Put a piece o' rag in the jaws, or you'll bruise her.

This from "Rewards and Fairies" by Kipling.

I do not understand what the line below means.

and straightened his back at the bench as he turned the schooner end-for-end in the vice to get at her counter.

1. What does "turned the schooner end-for-end" mean?

2. What does "to get at her counter" mean? Is there any counter on the schooner?

Answer 1

Your passage is taken from Kipling's short story The Wrong Thing in a collection of stories entitled Rewards and Faries.

The first line of the story states

Dan had gone in for building model boats

Your passage describes Dan working on one of his models, where the boat is held in a vice

The counter of the boat is

The part of the stern above the waterline that extends beyond the rudder stock culminating in a small transom. A long counter increases the waterline length when the boat is heeled, so increasing hull speed.

So what Dan is doing is repositioning his model boat to be able to work on the back portion.