HOW TO BUILD A CHEAP BOAT
The Yankee Pine
FROM the saw-mills away up among the tributaries of the Ohio River
come floating down to the towns along the shore great rafts of pine
lumber. These rafts are always objects of interest to the boys, for
the youngsters know that when moored to the shore the solidly packed
planks make a splendid platform to swim from. Fine springing-boards
can be made of the projecting blades of the gigantic sweeps which are
used to guide the mammoth rafts, and, somewhere aboard, there is always
to be found a "Yankee pine." Just when or why this style of skiff was
dubbed with such a peculiar name I am unable to state; but this I know,
that when a raft is to be broken up and carted away to the lumber yards
there is, or always used to be, a good, light skiff to be had cheap.
However, all boys do not live on the bank of the river, and if they did
there would hardly be "Yankee pines" enough to go round; so we will at
once proceed to see how to build one for ourselves. Although my readers
may find the "Yankee pine" a little more difficult to build than the
blunt-ended, flat-bottomed scow, it really is a comparatively simple
piece of work for boys familiar with the use of carpenters' tools.
For the side-pieces select two straight-grained pine boards free from
knots. These boards should be about 13 or 14 feet long, a couple
of inches over a foot in width, and as nearly alike as possible in
texture. Besides these there should be in the neighborhood of a dozen
other ¾-inch planks, an inch or two over a half foot in width. A small
piece of 2-inch plank for the stern-piece is also necessary. Upon the
bottom edge of the side-board measure off from each end toward the
centre 4 inches, mark the points, and saw off the corners shown by the
dotted line in Fig. 188. Next take a piece of board 4 feet long and a
foot wide, saw off the corners as you did on the side-board, making it
4 feet on the top and 3 feet 4 inches on the bottom. This board is to
be used only as a centre brace while modelling the boat.
[Illustration: Fig. 188.--Side-board.]
[Illustration: Fig. 189.--Frame.]
Out of the 2-inch plank make a stern-piece of the same shape as the
centre brace; let it be 1 foot wide, 14 inches long on the bottom,
and 20 inches long on top. Set the side-boards on their shorter or
bottom edges and place the centre brace in the middle, as shown by
Fig. 189; nail the side-boards to it, using only enough nails to hold
temporarily. Draw the side-boards together at the bow and against the
stern-board at the stern (Fig. 189). Hold the side-pieces in position
by the means of ropes. A stem should be ready to fix in the bow (Fig.
190). This had better be a few inches longer than the sides are broad,
as it is a simple matter to saw off the top after it is fitted. Make
the stem of a triangular piece of timber, by planing off the front
edge until a flat surface about ½ inch broad is obtained; 2 inches
from the front, upon each side, cut a groove just the thickness of the
side-boards (¾ inch). Trim the stem so that the side-pieces at the bow
fit the grooves snugly, and nail the side-boards to the stem and to the
stern-piece (Fig. 189).
[Illustration: Fig. 190.--Stem-piece.]
[Illustration: Fig. 191.--Finished skiff.]
Turn the boat upside down, and it will be discovered that the outlines
of the bottom form an arch from stem to stern. If left in this shape
the boat will sink too deep amidship. Remedy the defect by planing the
bottom edge of both side pieces, reducing the convex form to straight
lines in the middle. This will allow the bow and stern to sheer, but
at the same time will make the central part of the bottom flat, and,
by having less to drag through the water, make it easier to row. Nail
the bottom-boards on crosswise, and as, on account of the form of the
boat, no two boards will be of the same size, they must be first nailed
on and the projecting ends sawed off afterward. The centre brace may
now be taken out and a long bottom-board nailed to the centre of the
bottom upon the inside of the boat (Fig. 191). Cut a small cross-piece
(B, Fig. 191) so that it will fit across the bow 3 inches below the
top of the side-boards. Nail it in place, driving the nails from the
outside of the side-board through and into the end of the stick B. Saw
out a bow seat, and, allowing the broad end to rest on the cross-stick
B, fit the seat in and secure it with nails (Fig. 191); 3 inches below
the top of the stern-piece nail a cleat across. At the same distance
below the side-board put a cross-stick similar to the one in the bow.
This and the cleat on the stern-piece form rests for the stern seat.
Five feet from the stern saw a notch 2 inches deep and 1½ inch long in
each side-board (A, A^{1}, Fig. 191). Saw two more notches of the same
size 3 inches from the first; these will make the rowlock when the side
strips have been fastened on.
[Illustration: Fig. 192.--Keel board or skeg.]
These strips should each be made of 1-inch plank, 2 inches wide and
an inch or two longer than the side-boards. Nail the strips on the
outside of the boat flush with the top of the side-boards, making a
neat joint at the stern-piece, as shown in the illustration (Fig. 191).
Cut two short strips to fit upon the inside at the rowlocks and fasten
them firmly on with screws (Fig. 191, A). Next cut two cleats for the
oarsman's seat to rest upon. Nail them to the side-boards amidship a
little nearer the bottom than the top, so that the seat, when resting
upon the cleats, will be about half the distance from the top edge to
the bottom of the side-boards. Let the aft end of the cleats be about 6
feet 2 inches from the stern. Make thole-pins of some hard wood to fit
in the rowlocks, like those described and illustrated by Figs. 203 and
204.
[Illustration: Top view of "Man Friday."]
The Yankee pine now only needs a skeg to complete it. This must be
placed exactly in the centre, and is fastened on by a couple of screws
at the thin end and nails from the inside of the boat. It is also
fastened to the upright stick at the stern by screws (Fig. 192).
If the joints have been carefully made, your Yankee pine is now ready
for launching. Being made of rough lumber it needs no paint or
varnish, but is a sort of rough-and-ready affair, light to row; and it
ought to float four people with ease. By using planed pine or cedar
lumber, and with hard-wood stem and stern, a very pretty row-boat
can be made upon the same plan as a Yankee pine, or by putting in a
centreboard and "stepping" a mast in the bow, the Yankee pine can be
transformed into a sail-boat. But before experimenting in this line of
boat-building, the beginner had better read carefully the chapter on
how to rig and sail small boats.
[Illustration: Fig. 193.--The side-boards.]
How to Build a Better Finished Boat
The old-time raftsmen formerly built their "Yankee pines" of the rough,
unplaned boards fresh from the saw-mills on the river banks, and these
raw, wooden skiffs were stanch, light, and tight boats, but to-day
smooth lumber is as cheap as the rough boards, so select enough planed
pine lumber for a 12½-foot boat, and you may calculate the exact amount
by reference to the accompanying diagrams, which are all drawn as near
as may be to a regular scale.
By reference to Fig. 193 you will see that A, A represent the two
Side-Boards
These should be of sufficient dimensions to produce two side-pieces
each 13 feet long, 17 inches wide, and 7/8 inch thick (A, Fig. 194).
You will also need a piece for a
Spreader
[Illustration: Fig. 194.--A, the side. B, the spreader. C, the
stern-piece.]
54 inches long, 18 inches wide, and about 1½ inch thick, but as this
is a temporary affair almost any old piece of proper dimensions will
answer (B, Fig. 194), and another piece of good 1½-inch plank (C, Fig.
194) 36 inches long by 15 inches wide, for a stern-piece. Besides the
above there must be enough 1-inch lumber to make seats and to cover the
bottom. At a point on one end, 6½ inches from the edge of the A plank,
mark the point _c_ (Fig. 194), then measure 37 inches back along the
edge of the plank and mark the point _b_ (Fig. 194). Rule a pencil line
(_b_, _c_) between these two points and starting at _c_ saw off the
triangle _b_, _c_, _d_. Make the second side-board an exact duplicate
of the one just described and prepare the spreader by sawing off the
triangle with 9-inch bases at each end of B (Fig. 194). This will leave
you a board (_h_, _k_, _o_, _n_) that will be 36 inches long on its
lower edge and 54 inches long on its top edge.
Next saw off the corners of the stern-piece C (Fig. 194) along the
lines _f_, _g_, the _g_ points being each 6½ inches from the corners;
and a board (_ff_, _gg_) 18 inches wide and 30 inches top measurement,
with 23 inches at the bottom. Now fit the edge of the stern-piece
along the line _e_, _d_ (Fig. 194), or at a slant to please your
fancy. In Fig. 195, upper C, the slant makes the base of the triangle
about 4½ inches, which is sufficient. Be careful that both side-boards
are fitted exactly alike, and to do this nail the port side with
nails driven only partly in, as shown at D (Fig. 195); then nail the
starboard side and, if they are both seen to be even and of the right
slant, drive the nails home; if not correct, the nails may be pulled
out by using a small block under the hammer (D, Fig. 195), without
bending the nails or injuring the wood. Leave the stern-ends of the
side-boards protruding, as in the upper C, until you have the spreader
and stem in place.
[Illustration: Fig. 195.--Details of the boat.]
We are now ready for the spreader (_h_, _k_, _o_, _n_) (B, Fig. 194)
amidship, or, more accurately speaking, 6 feet 9 inches from the bow
(B, Fig. 195). Nail this as shown by D (Fig. 195), so that the nails
may be removed at pleasure. Bring the bow ends of the A boards together
and secure them by a strip nailed temporarily across, as shown in the
diagram E (Fig. 195).
The Stem-piece
may be made of two pieces, as is shown at G and F (Fig. 195) or if you
are more skilful than the ordinary non-professional, the stem may be
made of one piece, as shown by the lower diagram at F (Fig. 195). It
is desirable to have oak for the stem, but any hard wood will answer
the purpose, and even pine may be used when no better is to be had.
Take a piece of cardboard or an old shingle on which to draw a pattern
for the end of the stem and make the outline with a lead-pencil by
placing the shingle over the apex _c_ of diagram E (Fig. 195); from the
inside trace the line of the sides thus, =V=. Trim your stem down to
correspond to these lines and let the stick be somewhat longer than the
width of the sides A, A.
[Illustration: Fig. 196.--Put on a bottom of 1-inch boards.]
When this is done to your satisfaction, fit the stem in place and nail
the side boards to the stem.
Turn the boat over and nail on a bottom of 1-inch boards as shown by
Fig. 196.
Don't
use tongue and grooved or any sort of fancy cabinet or floor joining
when wet--such matched lumber warps up in waves--but use boards with
smooth, flat edges; if these are true and fitted snugly together in
workmanlike manner the first wetting will swell them in a very short
time, until not a drop of water will leak through the cracks, for the
reason that there will be none. Fit the bottom-boards on regardless of
their protruding ends, as these may be sawed off after the boards are
nailed in place.
[Illustration: Fig. 197.--Details of bow, stern, seats, and finished
boat.]
The Seats
consist of a triangular one at the bow (J), the oarsman's seat (L), and
the stern seat (K, Fig. 197). The bow seat is made of 1-inch boards
nailed to two cleats shown at M (Fig. 197). N shows the bench for the
stern seat and O explains the arrangement of the oarsman's seat a
little forward amidship. As may be seen, it rests upon the cleats _x_
(diagram O, Fig. 197), which are fitted between two upright cleats on
each side of the boat; this makes a seat which will not slip out of
place, and the cleats serve to strengthen the sides of the otherwise
ribless boat. Make the cleats of 1 by 2 inch lumber and let the seat
be about 12 inches wide. The stern seat may be wider, 1½ feet at K and
4 or 5 inches more at the long sides of the two boards each side of K
(Fig. 197). Of course, it is not necessary to fit a board in against
the stern-piece, for a cleat will answer the purpose, but a good, heavy
stern-piece is often desirable and the board shown in diagram N (Fig.
197) will serve to add strength to the stern as well as to furnish a
firm rest for the stern seat, but it will also add weight.
[Illustration: Fig. 198.
Fig. 199.--Fitting the skeg.]
The Keel-Board
is an advisable addition to the boat, but may also be omitted without
serious results (H, Fig. 197).
The keel-board should be 4½ inches wide, 1 inch thick, and should be
cut pointed, to fit snugly in the bow, and nailed in place along the
centre of the floor, before the seats are put in the boat. A similar
board along the bottom, joining the two cleats each side of the skeg
at _y_ (Fig. 199) and extending to the bow will prevent the danger of
loosening the bottom-planks when bumping over rifts, shallow places, or
when the boat needs to be hauled on a stony shore; this bottom-board
may also be omitted to save time and lumber and is not shown in the
diagram.
The Skeg
is a triangular board (Figs. 198 and 199), roughly speaking, of the
same dimensions as the pieces sawed from the side-board _b_, _c_, _d_
(Fig. 196). The stern-end will be about 7 inches wide and it will taper
off to nothing at _y_ (Fig. 198). The skeg is held in place by cleats
of 1-inch lumber, 2 inches wide, nailed to the bottom on each side
of the skeg. To get the proper dimensions experiment with the pieces
sawed from the A boards and cut your skeg board so that its bottom edge
will be level with the bottom at _y_ (Fig. 198); the diagonal line, to
correspond with the slant of the stern, can be accurately drawn if the
skeg is left untrimmed until it is fastened in place.
[Illustration: Fig. 200.
Fig. 201
Fig. 202
Rowlocks.]
To Fasten on the Skeg
rule a line from the centre of the stern to the centre of the bow and
toe-nail the skeg on along this line. This must be accurately done
or you will make a boat which will have an uncomfortable tendency to
move in circles. After toe-nailing the skeg to the bottom, nail the
two cleats, one on each side of the skeg, and let them fit as closely
as may be to the keel. Now saw off the stern-ends of the cleats and
lay a rule along the stern, as the stick is placed in Fig. 198, where
the boy has his finger; rule a pencil line across the protruding end
of the keel and saw off the end along the diagonal line, so that the
stern-cleat _z_ (Fig. 198) may be nailed in place to finish the work.
You can buy rowlocks of galvanized iron for about a quarter of a dollar
a pair; the brass ones are not expensive, but even when the store
furnishes the hardware there must be a firm support of some sort to
hold the rowlock.
If you use the manufactured article, to be found at any hardware store,
the merchant will supply you with the screws, plates, and rowlocks,
but he will not furnish you with the blocks for the holes in which the
spindles of the rowlocks fit. Fig. 202 shows a rude, but serviceable,
support for the lock made of short oaken posts much in vogue in
Pennsylvania, but Fig. 201 is much better, and if it is made of oak and
bolted to the sides of the boat it will last as long as the boat. Fig.
201 may be put upon either the outside or inside of the boat, according
to the width amidship.
A Guard Rail
or fender, of 1 by 2 inch lumber, alongside of and even with the top of
the side-boards, from bow to stern, gives finish and strength to the
craft; but in a cheap boat, or a hastily constructed one, this may be
omitted, as it is in these diagrams.
If you are building your boat out of the convenient reach of the
hardware shop, you must make your own rowlocks. Fig. 200 shows the
crude ones formerly used by the raftsmen for the Yankee pines, and
Figs. 203 and 204 show rowlocks made with the oaken or hard-wood
thole-pins fitting in holes cut for that purpose in the form of notches
(U, Fig. 204) in the side of the boat, or as spaces left between the
blocks, as shown by R (Fig. 203). When the side-boards A, A of the boat
are notched a cleat of hard wood 5 or 6 inches wide, and extending some
distance each side of the side-boards, must be used, as is shown by
diagram V (Fig. 204) and Fig. 203. The diagram R (Fig. 203) explains
itself; there is a centre block nailed to the side-board and two more
each side, leaving spaces for the thole-pins T (Fig. 203) to fit and
guarded by another piece (R) bolted through to the sides.
If bolts are out of your reach, nails and screws may act as
substitutes, and Fig. 204 will then be the best form of rowlock to
adopt.
To fix the place for rowlocks, seat yourself in the oarsman's seat,
grasp the oars as in rowing, and mark the place which best fits the
reach of your arms and oars as in rowing. It will probably be about 13
inches aft from the centre of the seat.
To Transform an Ordinary Skiff or Scow Into a Sailing-Boat
[Illustration: Fig. 203. Thole-pins.]
[Illustration: Fig. 204. Thole-pins.]
[Illustration: Fig. 205.]
It is necessary to build the centreboard box and cut a hole through the
bottom of the boat. For the average row-boat or skiff, you can make
the centreboard box about 48 inches long and not higher, of course,
than the gunwales of the boat. Make the box of 2-inch plank, and before
nailing the sides together coat the seams thoroughly with white lead so
as to prevent it from leaking. The centreboard should be made of 2-inch
plank, which when planed down and smoothed will be about 1-7/8 of an
inch thick, and the space in the box should be wide enough to allow
it to move freely up and down, with no danger of its jamming. A hole
should be cut in the bottom of the boat to correspond with the opening
in the centreboard box, which, with a 48-inch box, will probably be an
opening of 40 inches long and 1 inch wide. The centreboard is hinged
to the box by a bolt run through at the point marked A on Fig. 205.
The centreboard should move freely on the bolt, but the bolt itself
should fit tightly in the sides of the box, otherwise the water will
leak through. There will be no danger of the bolt's turning in its
socket if the hole through the centreboard through which the bolt is
thrust is made large enough. The centreboard box should be generously
painted with white lead on the bottom edges where it fits on the floor
of the boat around the centreboard hole. The bottom of the boat floor
should also be coated with white lead and over this a strip of muslin
spread before the box is securely nailed to the floor of the boat from
the bottom or under side of the boat. When this is done the muslin
covering the hole can be cut away with a sharp knife. A rope may then
be fastened to the loose end of the centreboard with a cross-stick
attached to the end of the rope to prevent it from slipping down the
hole in the box. With this rope the centreboard may be raised or
lowered to suit the pleasure of the sailor. (Fig. 205.)