We need scarcely say that it is not expedient for a boy to attempt to
build a model boat in the same manner as a regular boat-builder
constructs one for actual service. It would be undertaking an
unnecessary amount of labour to lay a keel and form ribs and nail on
planks in the orthodox fashion, because, for all practical purposes, a
boat cut out of a solid block of wood is quite as useful, and much more
easily made.
The first thing you have to do, my young boat-builder, then, is to go
and visit a harbour or beach where varieties of boats are to be found,
and, having settled in your mind which of them you intend to copy, make
a careful drawing, in outline, of its form in four different positions.
First, a side view, as in Figure 1. Then the stern, with the swelling
sides of the boat visible, as in Figure 2. The bow, as in Figure 3; and
a bird's-eye view, as in Figure 4. The last drawing can be made by
mounting on some neighbouring eminence, such as a bank or a larger boat,
or, if that is impossible, by getting upon the stern of the boat itself,
and thus looking down on it. These four drawings will be of great
service in enabling you to shape your model correctly; for as you
proceed with the carving you can, by holding the model up in the same
position with any of the drawings, ascertain whether you are progressing
properly; and if you get the correct form of your boat in these four
positions, you will be almost certain to make a good boat. If, on the
other hand, you go to work without drawings, the probability is that
your boat will be lopsided, which will prevent it from floating evenly;
or crooked, which will tend to check its speed in sailing, besides being
clumsy and not "ship-shape," as the sailors have it.
Figure 1 will keep you right in regard to relative length and depth;
Figure 2 in regard to shape of stern and bulge of the sides; Figure 3
secures correct form of the bow; and Figure 4 enables you to proportion
the breadth to the length.
The next thing to be done is to procure a block of fir-wood, with as few
knots in it as possible, and straight in the grain. The size is a
matter of choice--any size from a foot to eighteen inches will do very
well for a model boat. Before beginning to carve this, it should be
planed quite smooth and even on all sides, and the ends cut perfectly
square, to permit of the requisite pencil-drawings being made on it.
The tools required are a small tenon-saw, a chisel, two or three gouges
of different sizes, a spoke-shave, and a file with one side flat and the
other round. A rough rasp-file and a pair of compasses will also be
found useful. All of these ought to be exceedingly sharp. The gouges
and the spoke-shave will be found the most useful of these implements.
Begin by drawing a straight line with pencil down the exact centre of
what will be the deck; continue it down the part that will be the stern;
then carry it along the bottom of the block, where the keel will be, and
up the front part, or bow. If this line has been correctly drawn, the
end of it will exactly meet the place where you began to draw it. On
the correctness of this line much will depend; therefore it is necessary
to be careful and precise in finding out the centre of each surface of
the block with the compasses. Next, draw a line on each side of this
centre line (as in the accompanying diagram), which will give the
thickness of the keel and stern-post. Then on the upper surface of the
block draw the form of the boat to correspond with the bird's-eye view
(Figure 4, on page 82) already referred to. Then draw _one-half_ of the
stern on a piece of thin card-board, and when satisfied that it is
correct cut it out with scissors; apply it to the model, first on one
side, and then on the other side of the stern-post. By thus using a
pattern of only one-half of the stern, exact uniformity of the two sides
is secured. Treat the bow in the same way. Of course the pattern of
the bow will at first be drawn on the _flat_ surface of the block, and
it will represent not the actual bow, but the thickest part of the hull,
as seen in the position of Figure 3, on page 82. After this, turn the
side of the block, and draw the form represented in Figure 1, page 82,
thereon, and mark _on the keel_ the point where the stem and keel join,
and also where the stern and keel join. This is necessary, because in
carving the sides of the boat these lines will be among the first to be
cut away. The next proceeding is to cut away at the sides and bottom of
the block until, looking at it in the proper positions, the bow
resembles Figure 3, and the stern Figure 2, above referred to. This
will be done chiefly with the gouge, the chisel and spoke-shave being
reserved for finishing. Then saw off the parts of the bow and stern
that will give the requisite slope to these parts, being guided by the
marks made on the keel. In cutting away the upper parts of the bow and
stern, be guided by the curved lines on the deck; and in forming the
lower parts of the same portions, keep your eye on your drawing, which
is represented by Figure 1.
It is advisable to finish one side of the boat first, so that, by
measurement and comparison, the other side may be made exactly similar.
Those who wish to be very particular on this point may secure almost
exact uniformity of the two sides by cutting out several moulds (three
will be sufficient) in card-board. These moulds must be cut so as to
fit three marked points on the _finished_ side, as represented by three
dotted lines on Figure 1; and then the unfinished side must be cut so as
to fit the moulds at the corresponding points. If the two sides are
quite equal at these three points, it is almost impossible to go far
wrong in cutting away the wood between them--the eye will be a
sufficient guide for the rest.
The accompanying diagram shows the three moulds referred to, one of them
being _nearly_ applied to the finished part of the hull to which it
belongs. Thus--(a) represents the unfinished side of the boat; (b) the
finished side; (c) is the mould or card cut to correspond with the
widest part of the finished side, near the centre of the boat; (d) is
the mould for the part near the bow; (e) for that near the stern. These
drawings are roughly given, to indicate the plan on which you should
proceed. The exact forms will depend on your own taste or fancy, as
formed by the variously-shaped boats you have studied. And it may be
remarked here, that all we have said in regard to the cutting out of
model boats applies equally to model ships.
The outside of your boat having been finished, the bow having been
fashioned somewhat like that represented in the accompanying cut, and
the stern having been shaped like that shown in the illustration given
below, the next thing to be done is to hollow out the hull. Care must
be taken in doing this not to cut away too much wood from one part, or
to leave too much at another; a little more than half an inch of
thickness may be left everywhere. Next, fix in the thwarts, or seats,
as in the foregoing cut, attach a leaden keel, and the boat is
completed.
The keel may be formed by running melted lead into a groove cut in a
piece of wood, or, better still, into a groove made in nearly dry clay.
By driving four or five nails (well greased) into the groove before
pouring in the melted lead, holes may be formed in the keel by simply
withdrawing the nails after it is cold.
A mast and sail, however, are still wanted. The best kind of sail is
the lug, which is an elongated square sail--shown in the accompanying
illustration.
Most of our fishing-boats are provided with lug-sails, and on this
account are styled luggers. These boats are of all sizes, some of them
being fifty tons burden, and carrying crews of seven or ten men each. A
picture of a lugger is given on the next page.
Great numbers of fishing-boats may be seen at Great Yarmouth, and all
along the coasts of Norfolk and Suffolk. They are employed in the
herring-fishery, and use nets, which are let down in deep water, corks
floating the upper edges of the nets, and the lower edges being sunk by
leads, so that they remain in the water perpendicularly like walls, and
intercept the shoals of herring when they chance to pass. Thousands of
these glittering silvery fish get entangled in the meshes during night.
Then the nets are drawn up, and the fish taken out and thrown into a
"well," whence they are removed as quickly as possible, and salted and
packed in lockers; while the nets are let down again into the sea.
These boats remain out usually a week at a time. Most of them return to
port on Saturday, in order to spend Sunday as a day of rest. Some,
however--regardless of the fact that He who gives them the fish with
such liberal hand, also gave them the command, "Remember the sabbath
day"--continue to prosecute the fishing on that day. But many a good
man among the fishermen has borne testimony to the fact that these do
not gain additional wealth by their act of disobedience; while they lose
in the matter of nets (which suffer from want of frequent drying) and in
the matter of health (which cannot be maintained so well without a
weekly day of rest), while there can be no doubt that they lose the
inestimable blessing of a good conscience. So true is it that godliness
is profitable for the life which now is as well as for that which is to
come.
A model boat should be rigged with only one mast and lug-sail, or with
two masts and sails at the most. Three are unnecessary and cumbrous.
Each sail should be fixed to a yard, which should be hoisted or hauled
down by means of a block or pulley fastened near the top of the mast.
The positions of these yards and the form of the sails may be more
easily understood by a glance at our woodcut than by reading many pages
of description.
Sprit-sails are sometimes used in boats. These are fore-and-aft sails,
which are kept distended by a sprit instead of a yard. The sprit is a
long pole, one end of which is fixed to the lowest _innermost_ corner,
near the mast, and the other end extending to the highest _outermost_
corner; thus it lies diagonally across the sail. It is convenient when
a boat "tacks," or "goes about"--in other words, when it goes round
frequently, and sails, now leaning on one side, and, at the next tack,
on the other side. In this case the sprit requires little shifting or
attention. But it is dangerous in squally weather, because, although
the sheet or line which holds the lower and _outer_ end of a sail may be
let go for the sake of safety, the upper part remains spread to the wind
because of the sprit.
The best rig of all for a model boat, and indeed for a pleasure-boat, is
that which comprises a main-sail, in form like that of a sloop or a
cutter, omitting the boom, or lower yard, and a triangular fore-sail
extending from near the mast to the bow of the boat or to the end of the
bowsprit--somewhat like a sloop's jib. Both of the sails referred to
may be seen at the part of this book which treats of sloops and cutters;
and they are the same in form, with but slight modification, when
applied to boats.
Racing-boats are long, low, narrow, and light. Some are so narrow as to
require iron rowlocks extending a considerable distance beyond the sides
of the boat for the oars to rest in. Many of these light craft may be
seen on the Thames and Clyde, and other rivers throughout the kingdom.
The larger sort do not require what we may call the outrigger rowlocks.
The "Rob Roy" canoe has, of late years, come much into fashion as a
racing and pleasure boat. Whatever the advantages of this craft may be,
it has this disadvantage, that it can hold only one person; so that it
may be styled an unsocial craft, the company of one or more friends
being impossible, unless, indeed, one or more canoes travel in company.
This species of canoe became celebrated some years ago, in consequence
of an interesting and adventurous voyage of a thousand miles through
Germany, Switzerland, and France, and, subsequently, through part of
Norway and Sweden, made by Mr Macgregor in a craft of this kind, to
which he gave the name of "Rob Roy." Since the craft became popular,
numerous and important improvements have been made in the construction
of its hull and several parts, but its distinctive features remain
unaltered. The "Rob Roy" canoe is, in fact, almost identical with the
Eskimo kayak, except in regard to the material of which it is made--the
former being composed wholly of wood, the latter of a framework of wood
covered with skin. There is the same long, low, fish-like form, the
same deck, almost on a level with the water, the same hole in the centre
for the admission of the man, the same apron to keep out water, and the
same long, double-bladed paddle, which is dipped on each side
alternately. The "Rob Roy" has, however, the addition of a small mast,
a lug-sail, and a jib. It has also a back-board, to support the back of
the canoeman; the paddle, too, is somewhat shorter than that of the
Eskimo canoe; and the whole affair is smarter, and more in accordance
with the tastes and habits of the civilised men who use it.
In his various voyages, which we might almost style journeys, the
originator of the "Rob Roy" canoe proved conclusively that there were
few earthly objects which could form a barrier to his progress. When
his canoe could not carry him, he carried it! Waterfalls could not stop
him, because he landed below them, and carried his canoe and small
amount of baggage to the smooth water above the falls. In this he
followed the example of the fur-traders and Indians of North America,
who travel over any number of miles of wilderness in this manner.
Shallows could not stop him, because his little bark drew only a few
inches of water. Turbulent water could not swamp him, because the waves
washed harmlessly over his smooth deck, and circled innocently round his
protective apron. Even long stretches of dry land could not stop him,
because barrows, or carts, or railways could transport his canoe hither
and thither with perfect ease to any distance; so that when the waters
of one river failed him, those of the next nearest were easily made
available. In conclusion, it may be said that the "Rob Roy" canoe is a
most useful and pleasant craft for boys and young men, especially at
those watering-places which have no harbour or pier, and where, in
consequence of the flatness of the beach, boats cannot easily be used.
It would be an almost endless as well as unprofitable task to go over
the names and characteristics of all our various kinds of boats in
detail.
Of heavy-sterned and clumsy river craft, we have an innumerable fleet.
There are also _Torbay Trawlers_, which are cutters of from twenty to
fifty tons; and the herring-boats of Scotland; and cobbles, which are
broad, bluff, little boats; and barges, which are broad, bluff, large
ones; and skiffs, and scows, and many others.
In foreign lands many curious boats are to be met with. The most
graceful of them, perhaps, are those which carry lateen sails--enormous
triangular sails, of which kind each boat usually carries only one.
_India-rubber boats_ there are, which can be inflated with a pair of
bellows, and, when full, can support half-a-dozen men or more, while,
when empty, they can be rolled up and carried on the back of one man, or
in a barrow. One boat of this kind we once saw and paddled in. It was
made in the form of a cloak, and could be carried quite easily on one's
shoulders. When inflated, it formed a sort of oval canoe, which was
quite capable of supporting one person. We speak from experience,
having tried it some years ago on the Serpentine, and found it to be
extremely buoyant, but a little given to spin round at each stroke of
the paddle, owing to its circular shape and want of cut-water or keel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of all the boats that swim, the lifeboat is certainly one of the most
interesting; perhaps it is not too much to add that it is also one of
the most useful. But this boat deserves a chapter to itself.