HOW TO BUILD A PADDLING DORY
A Simple Boat Which Any One Can Build--The Cheapest Sort of a Boat
TO construct this craft it is, of course, necessary that we shall have
some lumber, but we will use the smallest amount and the expense will
come within the limits of a small purse.
First we must have two boards, their lengths depending upon
circumstances and the lumber available. The ones in the diagram are
supposed to be of pine to measure (after being trimmed) 18 feet long
by 18 inches wide and about 1 inch thick. When the boards are trimmed
down so as to be exact duplicates of each other, place one board over
the other so that their edges all fit exactly and then nail each end of
the two boards together for the distance of about six inches. Turn the
boards over and nail them upon the opposite side in the same manner,
clamping the nail ends if they protrude. Do this by holding the head
of a hammer or a stone against the heads of the nails while you hold a
wire nail against the protruding end, and with a hammer bend it over
the nail until it can be mashed flat against the board so that it will
not project beyond its surface.
After you have proceeded thus far, take some pieces of tin (Fig. 112)
and bend the ragged edges over, so as to make a clean, straight fold,
and hammer it down flat until there are no rough or raw edges exposed.
Now tack a piece of this tin over the end of the boards which composed
the sides of the boat, as in Fig. 114. Make the holes for the tacks
first by driving the pointed end of a wire nail through the tin where
you wish the tacks to go and then tack the tin snugly and neatly on,
after which tack on another piece of tin on both bow and stern, as in
Fig. 116. This will hold the two ends of the boards securely together
so that they may be carefully sprung apart in the middle to receive
the middle mould which is to hold them in shape until the bottom of
the boat is nailed on, and the permanent thwarts, or seats, fastened
inside. When the latter are permanently fixed they will keep the boat
in shape.
[Illustration: Fig. 111.--Parts of dory.]
To make the mould, which is only a temporary thing, you may use any
rough board, or boards nailed together with cleats to hold them. The
mould should be 2 feet 6 inches long and 1 foot 4 inches high. Fig. 111
will show you how to cut off the ends to give the proper slant. The
dotted lines show the board before it is trimmed in shape. By measuring
along the edge of the board from each end 10.8 inches and marking the
points, and then, with a carpenter's pencil ruling the diagonal lines
to the other edge and ends of the board, the triangles may be sawed off
with a hand saw.
[Illustration: Fig. 113. Fig. 114. Fig. 112. Fig. 115. Fig. 116.
The simple details of the dory.]
Fig. 111 shows where the mould is to be placed in the center of the
two side boards. As the boards in this diagram are supposed to be on
the slant, and consequently in the perspective, they do not appear as
wide as they really are. The diagram is made also with the ends of the
side boards free so as to better show the position of the mould. But
when the side boards are sprung apart and the mould placed in position
(Fig. 113), it will appear as in Fig. 116 or Fig. 117. Fig. 115 shows
the shape of the stem-posts to be set in both bow and stern and nailed
securely in place.
[Illustration: Fig. 118.
Top views of dory and parts of dory.]
When you have gone thus far fit in two temporary braces near the bow
and stern, as shown in Fig. 117. These braces are simply narrow pieces
of boards held in position by nails driven through the outside of the
boat, the latter left with their heads protruding, so that they may be
easily drawn when necessary.
Now turn the boat over bottom up and you will find that the angle at
which the sides are bent will cause the bottom boards to rest upon a
thin edge of the side boards, as shown in Fig. 119. With an ordinary
jack-plane trim this down so that the bottom boards will rest flush and
snug, as in Fig. 120.
[Illustration: Fig. 118½.]
How to Calk a Boat so That It Won't Leak
If you wish to make a bottom that will never leak, not even when it is
placed in the water for the first time, plane off the boards on their
sides, so that when fitted together they will leave a triangular groove
between each board, as shown in Fig. 118½. These grooves will show upon
the inside of the boat, and not upon the outside, and in this case
the calking is done from the inside and not from the outside. They are
first calked with candlewick, over which putty is used, but for a rough
boat it is not even necessary to use any calking. When the planks swell
they will be forced together, so as to exclude all water.
To fasten the bottom on the boat put a board lengthwise at the end,
as shown in Fig. 121. One end shows the end board as it is first
nailed on, and the other end shows it after it has been trimmed off
to correspond with the sides of the boat. Now put your short pieces
of boards for the bottom on one at a time, driving each one snug up
against its neighbor before nailing it in place and leaving the rough
or irregular ends of each board protrude on each side, as shown at the
right-hand end of Fig. 121.
[Illustration: Fig. 117.]
[Illustration: Fig. 119.]
[Illustration: Fig. 120.]
[Illustration: Fig. 121. Top view with sides in place, also reversed
view showing how bottom boards are laid.]
When all the boards are nailed in place (by beginning at one end and
fitting them against each other until the other end is reached) they
may be trimmed off with a saw (Fig. 121) and your boat is finished with
the exception of the thwarts, or seats.
If you intend to propel this with paddles like a canoe, you will need
a seat in the centre for your passenger, and this may be placed in the
position occupied by the form (Figs. 111 and 117) after the latter is
removed. To fit a seat in it is only necessary to cut two cleats and
nail them to the sides of the boat for the seat to rest upon and saw
off a board the proper length to fit upon the cleats. It would be well
now to fasten the braces in the bow and stern permanently, adjusting
them to suit your convenience. The seat should be as low as possible
for safety. With this your paddling dory is finished, and may be used
even without being painted. A coat of paint, however, improves not only
the looks but the tightness and durability of any boat.
We have now advanced so far in our boat-building that it becomes
necessary that the beginner should learn more about boats and boating,
and since this book is written for beginners, we will take it for
granted that they know absolutely nothing about the subject and will
give all the rudimentary knowledge for landlubbers in the next chapter.