WATER-WHEELS
All boys like to play about the water, and dams and water machinery
afford an endless amount of amusement. Moreover, the pastime has its
useful side. Once you get a wheel in operation with a shaft and pulley
attached, it is then a simple matter to harness your power and make it
do all sorts of things, such as sawing wood, churning milk, operating a
fan on hot days, and even turning a grindstone or light wood-working
machinery.
There are three kinds of wheels, the overshot, breast, and undershot.
The overshot is the most powerful, for it is not only moved by the
weight of water that it holds but also by the force of the onrushing
water from the sluice arranged to feed it. The breast-wheel is the next
in power and is used where the fall of water is not so great. The
undershot wheel is employed in a rapidly running brook or stream where
there is no dam or body of headwater. This form of wheel is the least
powerful and the most unreliable, for the height of the watercourse is
liable to change according to seasons and storms. While at one time it
may be flushed up to the hub, at another the water may hardly touch the
blades of the wheel.
These forms of old-style wheels have become almost obsolete now as the
modern turbine has superseded it as a means of employing water as a
motive power. Less than one-quarter of the surface of the old-time
wheels would be actively engaged at any one time, and the waste of power
was appalling as compared with the sluice-box and pen-stock of the
modern turbine where every drop of water is lending its influence to the
blades. A turbine, however, is rather beyond the ability of the average
boy to properly construct, and so we do the best we can with the
old-style wheels. For a boy’s purpose they will answer quite well
enough.
In the accompanying drawings several ideas for water-wheels are shown,
and among them a boy should be able to find one that he can make from
boards and sticks, at a slight cost, and which if properly rigged and
adjusted will develop a considerable amount of power.
A Simple Paddle-wheel
The simple paddle-wheel, as shown at Fig. 1, is made from an axle three
inches square, four spokes, and four boards. For a wheel of medium size
that will develop about one-eighth of a horse-power the axle should be
four feet long. One end is rounded for a distance of four inches as
shown at A, and with bit and chisel two mortises are cut in opposite
directions as shown at A. These holes are one inch and a quarter wide
and three inches long. Into them the spokes are driven and held with
screws or iron pins. Another pair of holes are cut thirty inches from
the first and two more spokes driven in them. The spokes are thirty
inches long, thus leaving thirteen and a half inches of each one
projecting beyond the axle or hub.
The paddle blades are boards thirty inches long, ten inches wide, and
seven-eighths of an inch thick. They are attached to the spokes with
carriage-bolts and washers.
A rounded bearing two inches wide is cut in the axle beyond the spokes
so as to correspond with the other end, and beyond this the axle is left
square. Bearings for this wheel are made in the edge of a stout plank
notched as shown at B, and held in place by iron straps as also depicted
at B. Long screws or screw-bolts, commonly known as lag-screws, will
hold the strap in place, and from the square end of the shaft the
connection is made for power. In place of the iron strap another piece
of wood may be cut and clamped down over the axle end as shown at C.
A Wagon Wheel
Another variety of water-wheel may be made from the hubs and spokes of
two old wheels, preferably those from a buggy or light wagon. Fig. 2.
Remove the iron boxes from the hubs by driving them out, then cut a hole
in each hub with a chisel and mallet, as shown at A, so they will be at
least an inch and a half square. From hickory or other hard-wood make an
axle the size of the holes and arrange the hubs on it so they will be
thirty inches apart. One side of each spoke should be cut as shown at B
in order that the blades may rest against a flat place instead of a
rounded surface. The blades should be from thirty to thirty-six inches
long and ten or twelve inches wide, and held to the spokes with carriage
or tire bolts. This wheel may be swung in bearings as described in Fig.
1, and from the square end of the axle the power can be taken.
Both of these wheels may be used as over or undershot but not as
breast-wheels, for a breast-wheel must have pockets to hold the water,
and the overshot-wheel should have them too if all the available force
and weight of water is to be employed.
A Barrel-wheel
A very simple and efficient device is shown in the drawing of a
barrel-wheel (Fig. 3). This consists of an oil or pork barrel having
tight ends and staves, a number of blades, and some siding-boards.
The blades are of hard-wood ten inches wide and the length of the
barrel. One edge of each blade is cut to conform with the bilge of the
barrel as shown at A, and with three or four long screws each blade is
made fast to the barrel at the middle. The ends of the barrel are
replanked so as to build their surface even with the projecting edges of
the staves, then some matched boards are nailed or screwed to the heads
to bind together the ends of the blades. Screws are passed through the
boards and into the ends of the blades to make them secure, and in this
manner a hollow wheel is made with pockets around the outside.
A square hole should be cut in each end of the barrel and into them an
axle is driven. It is provided with rounded bearings and square end.
When swung in a carriage and connected a powerful wheel will be the
result if the force of water is sufficient to drive it.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
WATER-WHEELS
]
An Undershot-wheel
For a brook an undershot-wheel can be made with two round ends and ten
or twelve blades according to the size of the wheel. For an efficient
one the wheel should be thirty-six or forty-eight inches in diameter and
thirty inches wide. Two ends are made from matched boards held together
with battens as shown in Fig. 4 A. These are arranged on a square axle
and the blades are made fast between them with long screws or steel
nails. Fig. 4 B.
A Power-wheel
To utilize the power from a rapidly running brook place two tree-trunks
across the brook about six feet apart as shown in Fig. 5. On top of
these timbers attach two spruce beams eight or ten inches wide and two
inches thick, and anchor them well with spikes and check-blocks. At the
middle and on top of both timbers cut notches for the axle to fit in and
provide them with metal straps to hold the axle in place. A long axle
leading to the land can be supported on a short timber attached to stout
stakes driven in the ground, and another bearing and strap will hold
this from jumping with the rapid revolutions of the wheel. A wooden
pulley may be arranged at the end of this axle, and from it the power
can be taken off by means of belting or rope.
[Illustration:
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
POWER-WHEEL AND WHEEL-RACE
]
Another arrangement for this wheel will be to swing it in a cradle or
frame so that one end of it may be lifted to reduce the speed or power
of the wheel, the other end being securely attached to a tree-trunk with
hinges.
A Wheel-race
The water from a wide, shallow brook may be directed so as to throw its
full force against the blades of a wheel by digging it out at the middle
and damming it at the sides as shown by the diagram of a modified brook
(Fig. 6). The dams should be solidly built and if possible cribbed to
prevent their washing away.
Part III
AFLOAT
Chapter XIII
BOATS
Of all the things that a boy is interested in there is nothing more
fascinating than boats, whether they are to row, paddle, or sail in,
and, as many of the simple kinds are quite within the ability of a boy
to make, he can take a great deal of pleasure in their construction.
For the sea-shore and salt waterways the boats should be heavily
constructed, and as this is usually beyond the average boy’s ability,
the sea-going dorys, surf-boats, and heavy sail-boats will be omitted,
and those described and illustrated will be for use in fresh water, or
on small enclosed salt waterways where the wind and tide are moderate.
In making a boat it is not only necessary to have it float, but to
construct it in such a manner that the joints will keep closed and the
boards will not rip off if run on a snag or against a rocky shore.
These are essential points in the proper construction of boats, and they
might as well be learned by the amateur boat-builder when he is young,
instead of constructing something for fun and having to learn the right
way all over again when he is older and more serious work begins.
In this chapter a few of the simpler forms of boats are shown, and the
warning must be given at the start that the young shipwright should use
the greatest care in constructing a boat, not only for the natural pride
they will take in making a good one, but for the still more important
reason that the safety of all on board is dependent upon his skill and
conscientious work.
Punt and Scow
A punt with a flat bottom is about the easiest and safest boat for a boy
to make and own, for it is straight in construction and difficult to
upset if not overloaded. As both ends are the same it can be rowed or
poled forward or backward, and the overhanging ends allow plenty of
seating room.
The punt shown in Fig. 4 is fifteen feet long, nineteen inches deep, and
four feet wide. The ends cut under twenty inches, and at one end a skag
and rudder can be arranged as shown in Fig. 2.
The sides are made of two boards, one of six and the other of a
twelve-inch width, and the added thickness of the bottom boards make the
total depth of the sides nineteen inches. The wider boards are the lower
ones, and they are fastened together near both ends and at the middle
with battens as shown in Fig. 4. The middle battens are six inches wide,
and into the upper ends of them the row-lock pins are driven. The bottom
planking should not be more than four or five inches wide, and it is
securely nailed to the edges of the sides and to an inner keel-strip
running the entire length of the bottom as shown in Fig. 3.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
PUNT AND SCOW
]
The wood should be very dry so that it will not shrink afterwards and
open the seams. Along the edges, and before the planking is laid or
nailed on, smear white-lead, and lay one or two thicknesses of
lamp-wicking on the lead, so that when the ends of the planking are
driven down it makes a water-tight joint. Where the planks butt up
against the other planking, the joints are to be generously smeared with
white-lead and laid with a string of the lamp-wicking. Begin at one end
and work towards the other, having first attached the end planks. Fig.
3 A.
The method of attaching the skag is also shown in Fig. 3, and if the
punt shows a tendency to swing around in the water and not mind the oars
or rudder, a keel three inches wide may be attached on the bottom of the
punt to run from the forward end of the straight bottom back to the end
of the skag.
The bottom planking is to be attached at both sides and to the inner
keel-strip with galvanized nails. Do not use ordinary nails as they will
rust in a short time, and the only ones that are of use are the regular
galvanized boat nails that can be had at most hardware stores, and
always at a ship-chandler’s or from a boat-builder.
A rudder can be made and hung at one end of the boat as shown in Fig. 2.
A scow (Fig. 1) will be found the easiest of all boats to construct, but
at the same time the hardest to row, since both the ends are blunt and
vertical. A scow is for use in shallow water and is poled generally
instead of being rowed. It is built in a similar manner to the punt, but
the ends are not cut under. A good size to make the scow for general use
will be fourteen feet long, eighteen inches deep, and four feet wide. It
may be provided with two or three seats, and when complete both the punt
and scow should receive two or three good coats of paint.
A Sharpy
It is not a difficult matter to make a sharpy like the one shown in Fig.
5, but care must be taken in its construction to insure good unions and
tight joints.
Cedar, white-wood, pine, or cypress are the best woods of which to build
small boats, and wide boards can be had at almost any lumber-yard. White
cedar is somewhat more difficult to get than the other woods, but if
possible it should be used.
To make this sharpy the proper size for a boy’s use, obtain two boards
fifteen or sixteen inches wide, fourteen feet long, and seven-eighths of
an inch thick, planed on both sides and as free from knots as possible.
If the boards cannot be had fifteen inches wide, then batten two boards
together with strips just as plain board doors are made. Before they are
fastened, however, smear the joint edges with white-lead and embed a
string of lamp-wicking through the middle. Use plenty of white-lead, and
after the boards are pressed together and fastened the surplus lead can
be scraped from both sides of the joint and saved for other joints.
From a piece of hard-wood cut a stem eighteen inches long and four
inches wide, with bevelled planes, as shown in Fig. 6. A section or end
view of this post will appear like Fig. 6 A. Against the cut-in sides of
this post the bow ends of the side boards are to be attached with screws
or galvanized boat nails.
The long side boards are to be cut at bow and stern as shown at Fig. 7 A
and B. The bow recedes three inches and the stern is cut under
thirty-four inches. Attach the bow ends of the boards to the stem-piece
or post so that the top of the sides will be seven-eighths of an inch
below the flat top of the post. If properly done you will then have a
V-shaped affair resembling a snow-plough, which must be bent and formed
in the shape of a boat.
From a board seven-eighths of an inch thick cut a spreader ten inches
wide, forty-eight inches long at one side, and forty-two inches at the
other, as shown in Fig. 8. Arrange this between the boards about midway
from bow to stern, so that the bottom of the spreader is flush with the
bottom of the sides; then draw in the rear ends of the boards and tie
them temporarily with a piece of rope.
Drive a nail into the edge of each board near the end, to prevent the
rope slipping off, for if it should do so the boards would fly apart and
might break away from the stem-piece.
In order to draw in the ends to the proper position, insert a short
stick between the ropes and twist it around until the rope is wound up;
then if the end is not in far enough, slip another rope around the ends
of the boards, and after releasing the first rope insert the stick and
continue the twisting until the ends of the side boards are twenty-one
inches apart. Before this bending process is begun, it would be well to
pour a kettleful of boiling water over each side board to limber them,
for dry boards are stiff and will not bend easily without checking or
cracking. If it is possible to steam the boards they will yield still
better to the bending process.
[Illustration:
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
A SHARPY
]
The stern-plank is cut in the same shape as the spreader, but it is
curved or crowned at the top, where it is twenty-three inches long,
while at the bottom it measures twenty inches. It is six inches wide at
the ends and nine inches at the middle, and is attached to the ends of
the sides with boat nails while the tension-rope is still in place.
An inner keel is then cut six inches wide and pointed at the bow end,
where it is attached to the lower edges of the sides at the bow and
flush with them. The planking or bottom boards should fit snugly to it
and to the edges of the sides.
A lap six inches long and seven-eighths of an inch deep is cut in the
bottom of the spreader at the middle. In this the inner keel will fit,
and after the first two or three bottom boards are nailed on at the bow
end the frame of the sharpy will appear as shown in Fig. 9. The spreader
and stern-plank will give the sides a flare which will have a tendency
also to curve the bottom of the boat slightly from bow to stern. The
bottom planks are four inches wide, of clear wood, and must not have
tongue and grooved edges, but should be plain so that the white-lead and
lamp-wicking will make a tight joint when the planks are driven up snug
to each other.
Drive all nails carefully so as not to split the planking or sides, and
as a precaution a small bit or gimlet should be used to make the start
for the nail-hole.
A seat ten inches wide is fastened at the middle of the boat, over the
spreader, and seats may also be arranged at the bow and stern, where
they rest on cleats that are screwed fast to the sides.
A short keel or skag is fastened to the under side of the sharpy and
extends from about under the middle seat aft to the stern-post. A
V-shaped piece is let in where the stern is cut under as shown in Fig.
10. This keel prevents the sharpy from turning about quickly and serves
to steady her when rowing, as well as making a deeper stern-post to
which a rudder may be hung as shown in Fig. 2. Six inches to the rear of
the middle seat plates of wood six inches wide are attached to the sides
of the sharpy, as shown in the illustration (Fig. 5), and on the tops of
these oar-locks or pins are inserted after the usual fashion.
At the outside of the sides and an inch below the top edge a
gunwale-strip is made fast, and with a ring in the bow for a painter and
a pair of oars the sharpy is ready for use.
Of course it should be thoroughly painted. Three or four successive
coats of paint should be applied to a boat the first time it is painted,
and before using, it should be launched, half filled with water, and
allowed to stand for a few days so that the joints will swell and close
properly. A mast six or eight feet high and a leg-of-mutton sail will
enable a boy to sail before the wind in a quiet breeze, but
rough-weather sailing should not be attempted in this style of open
boat.
A Dory
A dory (Fig. 11), is somewhat similar to a sharpy but has higher sides
and a narrower bottom, therefore it draws more water than a wide,
flat-bottomed sharpy.
A boy can make a dory from twelve to sixteen feet long, but a
fourteen-foot dory will be quite large enough to hold from four to six
boys comfortably and safely. The sides should be twenty-four inches high
and the bottom twenty-four inches across amidships.
The bottom is made from four six-inch planks battened across as shown in
Fig. 12. The joints are leaded before the boards are brought together,
and the fastenings are of galvanized nails clinched at the inside. The
battens, of course, are on the inside, but the nail-heads are on the
outside or bottom of the boat.
[Illustration:
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
]
A stem and stern-piece (Fig. 13 A and B) are cut from hard-wood, and to
these the wooden sides are made fast at both ends. The bow and stern of
a dory have more of a rake than those of a sharpy as may be seen in Fig.
11. The top of the bow extends out beyond the bottom at least from
fifteen to twenty inches, while the stern overhangs the keel about
twelve inches. The sides flare out nine inches at both sides amidships,
so that the total width of beam is forty-two inches for a dory fourteen
feet long.
Planks sixteen feet long are necessary with which to make this dory, for
when they are sprung out at the sides they take up on the length. They
can be six inches wide, and are made fast to ribs along the inside of
the boat and attached with galvanized boat nails.
In Fig. 14 an amidships section of the dory is shown and the position of
the seat is located. Along the top of the sides, to cap them and the
upper ends of the ribs, rails two inches wide and three-quarters of an
inch thick are made fast with boat nails. These rails should be of
hard-wood, and they should be sprung into place and securely fastened.
A dory of this description makes an ideal fishing-boat where the water
is rough, since it can be rowed either forward or backward.
A Sailing Sharpy
A rowing sharpy can be converted into a sail-boat by partially decking
it over, making a mast-step, and providing it with a lee-board if a
centre-board cannot be arranged in the middle of the hull. Fig. 18.
The half-deck will keep out the water that might splash over the sides
or come over the bow and stern, and the row-boat features need not be
altered nor the seats removed, as the rib and brace work for the deck
can easily be fitted and fastened over the seats, and so give additional
strength to the deck.
[Illustration:
Fig. 15
Fig. 18
A SAILING SHARPY
]
Just behind the front seat and at the forward edge of the back seat
cross-ribs are made fast to the sides of the sharpy. Between these, and
eight inches from the sides of the boat, additional braces are sprung
into place and securely attached at the ends, and provided with short
cross-braces as shown in Fig. 15. The deck planking is nailed to these
ribs and the seats under them give a substantial support to both the
ribs and deck. The opening or cockpit will be six feet long and varying
in width, as the side decks are eight inches wide and follow the line of
the boat’s sides. Amidships it should measure about twenty-eight inches.
The braces and ribs are made of three-quarter-inch spruce boards five or
six inches wide, and to bend them in the segment of a circle (as they
will have to be for the side-ribs) pour hot water over two of them and
place the ends on boxes with heavy stones at the middle to bend them
down to the required curve. Allow them to remain in this position for
several hours to dry in the sun; they may then be cut and fitted to the
boat. The decking is done with narrow strips of pine, cypress, or cedar
one inch and a half wide and three-quarters of an inch in thickness.
They are bent to conform to the side lines of the boat, and if they are
fitted nicely and leaded the deck should be water-tight after it
receives varnish or paint.
If straight boards are employed in place of the narrow planking the deck
can be covered with canvas and first given a coat of oil, then several
successive thin coats of paint. The canvas should be tacked down over
the outer edge of the boat and to the inner edge of the cockpit. A
gunwale-strip an inch square is to be nailed along the top edge on both
sides of the boat, and one inch below the top of the deck nail a guard
rail along each side.
To finish the cockpit arrange a combing in place to project four inches
above the deck, and make the boards fast to the inner side of the ribs
with screws as shown in the illustration of the hull of sailing sharpy.
Fig. 15.
Ten inches back from the bow-post bore a hole two inches and a half in
diameter so that a mast will fit securely in place. The hole should
extend through the deck and front seat, and a step-block with a hole in
it to receive the foot of the mast must be nailed fast to the bottom of
the boat. The hole in this block is oblong, and the foot of the mast
should be cut on two sides so as to fit in the block as shown in Fig.
16.
Spruce or clear pine sticks are to be dressed and planed for the mast
and boom, the mast measuring fourteen feet high by two inches and a half
at the base, and the boom thirteen feet long by two inches in diameter,
both tapering near the end.
The rudder is eighteen inches long, including the post, and ten inches
high. It is fastened to a post of hard-wood three inches wide and
seven-eighths of an inch thick. At the top of this an iron strap is
fastened to hold the tiller as shown in Fig. 17 A. The rudder is hung to
the stern of the boat with pins and sockets, as shown in Fig. 17 B, so
that if it becomes necessary the rudder may be unshipped by lifting it
out of the sockets or eyes. The rudder is fastened to the post with
galvanized-iron pins ten inches long and three-eighths of an inch in
diameter driven through snug holes bored in the wood as shown by the
dotted lines in Fig. 17 B.
It is impossible to hold a boat on the wind without a centre-board, but
as this sharpy has none a lee-board will be required to keep her from
drifting leeward. Fig. 18.
This board can be made five feet long, thirty inches wide, and hung over
the lee side when running on the wind, where ropes and cleats will hold
it in place. The board may be made of three planks banded together at
the rear end with a batten, and at the forward end it is strapped across
with bands of iron as shown in Fig. 18.
With a sail of twilled or heavy unbleached muslin this boat may be
driven through the water at five or six miles an hour, and two boys can
have a great deal of fun out of her. Care should be exercised in
handling the boat; and be sure to reef the sail in case of a strong
breeze.
A Centre-board Sharpy
When making a sharpy to sail in, a trunk and centre-board should be
built when the keel is laid so that the cumbersome and unhandy lee-board
may be done away with. The centre-board is housed in the trunk, through
which it can be raised or lowered as occasion requires.
The arrangement of the trunk in the boat is shown in Fig. 19, and it is
located so that the front of the trunk is three feet from the bow. For a
centre-board one inch and a quarter in thickness the trunk should be one
inch and three-quarters wide between sides, five feet long, and eighteen
inches high. It is made of tongue-and-grooved boards one inch and
one-eighth in thickness, and these are attached by stout screws to posts
one inch and three-quarters square at bow and stern. The trunk is
mounted on the keel, set in white-lead, and securely fastened with
screws. A slot is cut in the keel the same size as the inside opening of
the trunk—that is, two inches wide and about five feet long. The bottom
planking is butted against the sides of the trunk at the middle of the
boat as shown in Fig. 20.
An inner keel is laid over the bottom planking through the centre of the
boat from stem to stern, and where it fits around the trunk it is cut
out. Both the inner and outer keels are six inches wide and the exposed
edges are bevelled with a plane. A sectional or end view of the trunk
and its location in the keels is shown in Fig. 20, where the shading and
lettering will designate each part.
The centre-board is four feet and nine inches long, thirty inches wide
at the back, and twenty-four inches at the front. It is attached to the
trunk with a hard-wood pin located near the forward lower end, and when
it is drawn up it will appear as shown in Fig. 21 A, but when lowered it
will look like Fig. 21 B.
The centre-board is made of hard-wood, several boards of which are
pinned together with galvanized-iron rods three-eighths of an inch in
diameter and driven through from edge to edge of the boards in snug
holes made with a long bit or auger. The rods are riveted at both ends
over washers to prevent the boards from working apart.
[Illustration:
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 19
Fig. 20
Fig. 21
A CENTRE-BOARD SHARPY
]
It would be better to let a boat-builder or carpenter make this board
the proper size and shape to fit the trunk, for it is the most difficult
thing to construct about a boat and somewhat beyond the ability of many
boys. A large galvanized eye and a rope made fast below the middle of
the board at the rear edge will provide the means for raising and
lowering the centre-board.
The deck ribs and the planking are put in the same as described for the
sailing sharpy.
A Proa
In the South Sea Islands the natives dig out the trunk of a tree, rig a
lateen sail on a single stick, and arrange a counter-balance on the end
of two poles in the form of a catamaran. With this rude contrivance they
can outsail anything in the shape of a small boat such as our types of
cat-boats and sharpies.
These queer craft are called proas, and a modified type that a boy can
make is shown in the illustration Fig. 22.
This is a perfectly safe boat, and as it lies close on the water a great
deal of fun can be had with one in comparatively smooth waterways.
To make the hull get two ten-inch planks sixteen feet long and spring
them five feet from either end so that they come together at both ends
and are separated fifteen inches along the middle for five or six feet
as shown in Fig. 23. Between the sides place four or five spreaders, two
of which should be stout enough to receive the bolts that will hold the
two cross-braces or outriggers. Set a step-block for the mast, then
plank the deck and bottom, using plenty of white-lead and lamp-wicking
between the joints.
[Illustration:
Fig. 22
Fig. 23
A PROA
]
The cross-braces or outriggers are of two-by-four-inch clear spruce six
feet long, and their outer ends are bolted to a solid spruce timber
twelve feet long, four inches wide, and ten inches deep. They should be
sharpened at both ends with an adze, draw-knife, or a chisel and plane.
A mast twelve feet long and three inches in diameter is stepped seven
feet from the bow, and to it a lateen rig is lashed fast having the gaff
eighteen feet long and the boom fifteen feet in length.
A block and tackle at the bow will pay off the angle and another at the
stern will regulate the position of the sail.
Cross-wires for braces may extend under the short decking to steady the
outrigger and keep it from racking the braces, and three or four narrow
planks can be laid across the braces close to the large boat on which
the boy and a friend or two may sit when sailing.
A rudder may be attached to the stern of the large boat, as shown in
Fig. 17, or an oar can be used to steer with.
Paint the boats any desired color, and for the first time give them at
least three or four thin coats not less than two days apart, so that one
will dry thoroughly before the next one is laid on. Never put thick or
gummy paint on a boat; thin it down and apply two coats rather than one
thick one.
A Lark
Perhaps the safest kind of a sailing-craft next to a catamaran is a lark
with a broad beam and flat at both bow and stern. There are various
forms of the half-rater, but the one shown in Fig. 24 is easy to
construct and requires less careful fitting and joining than the hulls
with pointed bows and long, overhanging sterns.
In general construction this hull is similar to the punt, and when
putting it together the description for the building of the punt must be
borne in mind.
[Illustration: Fig. 24]
Obtain two clear cedar planks sixteen feet long and from fourteen to
sixteen inches wide. Four feet from either end begin to round the lower
edges of these side boards. Cut two spreaders five feet and six inches
long and make them fast four feet from the ends of the sides as shown at
Fig. 25. Between these spreaders attach an inner keel in the forward end
of which an opening has been made. The keel is of hard-wood eight inches
wide and the opening is three inches and a half in width and four feet
and eight inches long.
A centre-board trunk is made and fitted into this opening as described
for the sailing sharpy. Then braces are fastened between the sides and
trunk as shown at Fig. 26.
Two bevelled hard-wood bow and stern pieces are cut as shown at Fig. 27.
The ends of the boards are sprung in and attached to the ends of these
pieces, and between them and the spreaders two more boards are fastened
as indicated by the lines of nail-heads in Fig. 26. At the bow just
ahead of the forward long cross-piece or spreader step the mast, and at
the stern make the rudder-post trunk, taking care to use plenty of
white-lead and lamp-wick so as to render the joints water-tight. Put a
line of braces through the middle of the frame, then begin at the bow
and plank the bottom with boards not more than three or four inches
wide.
With the planking on and the braces, spreaders, and trunk in position
the frame will appear as shown in Fig. 28. The deck planking is of
strips seven-eighths of an inch thick and three inches wide. Begin at
the middle of the boat by laying down a strip six inches wide by one
inch and a quarter in thickness. Drive the deck planking close to this
and smear the points with white-lead in which the lamp-wicking is
embedded. Make all the fastenings with galvanized boat nails and drive
the heads well into the wood with a nail-punch so they can be puttied
and covered from the action of the water. An outer flat keel is laid
along the bottom of the hull from the forward part of the cockpit or
about under the mast. This leads aft to where the stern begins to round
up and there it is stopped.
[Illustration:
Fig. 25
Fig. 26
Fig. 27
Fig. 28
Fig. 29
A LARK
]
This keel is attached with galvanized or brass screws, and a generous
number are driven through the keel into the bottom edges of the
centre-board trunk.
The rudder is made from galvanized sheet-iron as shown at Fig. 29, and
is let into a one-and-a-quarter-inch round iron rudder-post and riveted
fast. Just above the rudder-blade a collar of iron is welded to the post
and this bears against the bottom of the boat. To prevent the rudder
from dropping down a pin is passed through a hole in the post close to
the deck and a large washer made fast to the deck will prevent the pin
from chafing the wood.
Have the top of the post made with a square shank so that a tiller may
fit over it and be held in position by a nut.
The rudder-blade should be twenty-six inches long and twelve inches
wide.
The mast is fifteen feet long, cut from a four-inch spruce stick with
draw-knife and plane. The boom is fifteen feet long, cut from a
two-and-one-half-inch spruce stick, and the gaff is eleven feet long.
Extending out from the mast and attached to the deck is a short bowsprit
five feet and six inches long. This is of two-by-three-inch spruce with
the sharp corners rounded off beyond the end of the boat.
A wire forestay and two shrouds lead from mast-head to bowsprit and to
both sides of the boat as shown in Fig. 24.
The main-sheet is seven feet on the mast, ten feet on the gaff, fourteen
feet at the foot or on the boom, and eighteen feet on the leach. The jib
is eleven feet on the forestay, five feet at the foot, and ten feet on
the leach. The blocks are all of galvanized iron or wood, and
three-eighth-inch Manila-rope should be used for the halyards and
sheets.
This lark will ride well on the water, and if properly rigged it should
be a very speedy boat.
A Power-boat
A novel feature for the propulsion of a flat-bottom boat or punt is
shown in Fig. 30. Two small paddle-wheels attached to one shaft are hung
out over the stern, and by means of a sprocket on the shaft connected to
another and larger one on the seat frame the wheels are turned by the
boys who mount the seats and work the pedals.
The punt is fifteen feet long on the deck line and six feet wide. The
side boards are twelve inches wide, and with the thickness of the deck
and bottom planking it will make the total depth about fourteen inches.
Through the middle a strengthening rib is run the same size and
thickness as the outer sides as shown in Fig. 31. This gives an
additional rib to nail the sheathing boards to and also an anchorage to
which the uprights forming the seat frame can be made fast with bolts.
The outriggers that suspend the wheels are of spruce two inches thick
and three inches wide. They are bolted to the deck and at the outer end
U-notches are cut for the axle of the wheels to fit into and capped with
iron straps such as shown in Fig. 32. A blacksmith will make these for
you from strap-iron an eighth of an inch thick and two inches wide. They
should be bolted on when the wheels are in position, for they not only
have to support the weight of the wheels but also stand the action of
the water against them.
[Illustration:
Fig. 30
Fig. 31
Fig. 32
Fig. 33
]
The wheels are each twenty-four inches in diameter and two feet long,
and are made from wood seven-eighths of an inch in thickness. Seven
blades eight inches wide are screwed fast to the sides or held in place
with long, galvanized boat nails.
The axle is of spruce two inches square, and the wheel sides are
provided with square holes through which the axle is driven as shown in
Fig. 33. The ends of the axle are banded with iron, or copper wire may
be wound round them to prevent their splitting. Into the ends half-inch
round iron pins are driven which revolve in the bearings.
The seat-frame is thirty inches high and made from spruce rails three
inches wide and one inch and a half in thickness. On the middle upright
a large and small gear wheel are arranged on an axle with the cranks and
pedals, and on the front post a small wheel is attached so that tandem
power may be used on the paddle-wheels or one boy alone can work the
boat. A rod and handle-bars may be arranged for the rear boy to grasp,
and with a socket and set-screw it can be raised or lowered at will.
The forward bars have a cross-piece of iron at the foot of the vertical
rod. This is two feet long, and from the ends of it running aft wires
connect with the ends of a tiller for operating the rudder.
The rudder is hung between the wheels on a skag which is the rear
extension of a short keel that should be nailed fast to hold the punt
steady on the water.
Four canopy poles may be arranged to fit into sockets at the sides, and
an awning six by ten feet can be supported over the machinery of the
boat to keep off sun and rain.
This is a genuine boy-power boat, and as the wheels are substantially
large and strong it can be driven over the water at quite a good speed.
While it takes two boys to properly run it, that is not the boat’s
capacity, for she will easily carry from four to six boys, their
lunch-baskets, or a one-day camping outfit for a visit up the river or
lake.
Chapter XIV
CATAMARANS
A Rowing Catamaran
For safety on the water, as nearly as safety can be assured, there is
nothing to compare with a catamaran, for they are practically
“non-capsizable,” and if not damaged to the leaking-point one or the
other of the two boats will float and hold up several persons. Fig. 1
gives a good idea for a rowing catamaran that any boy can make from some
boards and light timbers. It is provided with a seat and oar-locks so
that the occupant may be seated above the water far enough to row
easily.
The boats are fourteen feet long, eighteen inches wide, and fourteen
inches deep, including the bottom and deck.
Pine, white-wood, cedar, or cypress, three-quarters of an inch thick and
planed on both sides, will be necessary from which to construct the
boats. At the bow the ends of the sides are attached to a stern-piece of
hard-wood as shown in Fig. 2. Having poured boiling water on the forward
ends, they may be drawn around a spreader sixteen inches long and twelve
inches wide provided with two U-cuts as shown in Fig. 3. These are
placed at the bottom, so that any water may be run to one end of a boat
where it can be pumped out.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
]
The first spreader is placed three feet from the bow, and three or four
more of them should be fastened between the sides as shown in Fig. 4,
the last one being three feet from the stern where the sides begin to
curve up to the upper edge of the stern and to the deck.
The bottom is of three-inch pine or white-wood boards seven-eighths of
an inch thick and well leaded in the joints and along the edges where
the bottom and top boards join the sides. Before the top or deck is
placed on, the interior of the boats should have two or three good coats
of paint.
Three cross-stringers of spruce two and one-half by four inches and six
feet long are securely attached to the boats, and on these the deck of
four-inch boards is made fast as the illustration will show. Between the
middle and forward stringer, at the ends, two boards are attached on
which the row-locks may be fastened. These boards are eight or nine
inches wide and cut away at the front so that they are not more than two
or three inches wide.
The high ends are braced with round iron braces as shown in the
illustration, and where the oar-locks are mounted a short plate of wood
is screwed fast to the inside of each piece.
Near the front cross-piece a seat is built and braced with a board. With
another boy at the stern sitting on the deck this catamaran will be well
balanced and will prove very seaworthy, as well as a light boat to row.
A Sailing Catamaran
It is almost impossible to upset a sailing catamaran even in a gale, and
for boys a boat of this kind affords a great deal of comparatively safe
pleasure.
A catamaran is about the easiest sort of a boat to make, and no matter
in what locality one lives there is always material at hand from which
to make one as the wood is similar to that used for house construction.
Fig. 5 shows a side elevation of a safe catamaran, and in Fig. 6 the
deck plan is shown. In Fig. 7 an elevation view of the stern shows the
arrangement of the boats, deck timbers, and rudders.
The boats are fifteen feet long, eighteen inches wide at the middle, and
two feet deep uniformly from bow to stern except for a short distance at
the bow where the keel rounds up.
They are in the form of a V, and at the ends the angle becomes more
acute, so that at the stem and stern the lines are vertical.
Four feet from both ends the deck line begins to curve as shown in Fig.
6, and in Fig. 8 the cross-braces are shown. They are cut in at the
bottom to slip over the keel and to them the sheathing planks are made
fast.
[Illustration: Fig. 5]
In Fig. 8 the curved stem-piece and one side of planking is shown, and
it indicates also where the curved stem-piece is joined to the keel,
which extends in a straight line to the stern of the boats.
The keel is of hard-wood one inch and a quarter thick and six inches
wide. The cross-braces or spreaders are of pine or other soft wood
seven-eighths of an inch thick and made up of three pieces of wood with
the grain running vertically.
The sheathing is of pine, cedar, or cypress three-quarters of an inch
thick, planed on both sides, and three or four inches wide. Each board
should be given a priming coat of paint before it is nailed to the
braces, and where the planks are edged together white-lead and lamp-wick
should be employed for calking. Galvanized boat nails are to be used for
all the fastenings, but screws may be employed where it is necessary to
have a very secure joint.
The cross-pieces that fasten the boats together are bolted fast by means
of long bolts that pass through the timbers and deck and into stout
pieces of wood that are nailed fast to the upper part of the spreaders
as shown at A in Fig. 8. The boats are decked over with the
three-quarter-inch planking, and to insure an absolutely tight deck the
wood may be treated to a thick coat of paint and covered with canvas
which is pressed down well into the paint and the edges tacked down over
the sides of the boats. The canvas is then given a coat or two of paint
and allowed to dry thoroughly, after which it can be sand-papered and
finished with the desired shade of paint.
Three spruce timbers eight feet long, three inches thick, and six inches
wide are bored with holes at the ends where the bolts pass through them
and into the boats. Running parallel to the boats three timbers are laid
across the brace-timbers and on top of these the deck planking is
nailed. These pieces are two and one-half by four inches, and ten feet
long, and are bolted down with long slim bolts.
The decking is formed of slats three-quarters of an inch thick and four
inches wide nailed down to these stringers. Spaces half an inch wide are
left between each one.
The bowsprit is of three-by-four-inch spruce left with its square
corners for half its length but dressed round at the outer end. It is
caught under the middle cross-brace where the end is bolted, and
extending over the front piece it projects four or five feet beyond the
bow ends of the boats. With wire-cable the bowsprit end is stayed to the
bow of each boat, where turn-buckles can be caught into eyes in the
stem-posts.
The mast is of spruce dressed from a four-inch spruce stick and slightly
tapered at the top. It is fifteen feet long and stepped at the middle of
the front cross-piece and on top of the bowsprit where it is held in
place with a collar and iron braces as shown in the illustration. Fig.
5.
Standing rigging of wire-cable stays the mast from the top to both ends
of the front cross-piece as indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 7.
Three short posts are made fast to the cross-pieces close to the
decking, and holes bored in the tops of them will hold a safety-rope
around the deck.
[Illustration:
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
A SAILING CATAMARAN
]
The rudder-posts are of hard-wood one inch and a quarter thick and two
inches and a half in width. They are three feet long and to the upper
end of each a strap of metal is arranged to receive the tiller as shown
in Fig. 9.
The tillers are of hard-wood three feet long and their inner ends are
connected with a hard-wood stick by means of which the steering is done
and both rudders operated at the same time.
The rudders, made from two sheets of galvanized iron, are riveted fast
to the rudder-posts and are twelve inches high and fifteen inches long.
Pins on the posts fit into eyes attached to the stern-post of the boats,
and in Fig. 10 the arrangement of rudders, tillers, and connecting-rod
is shown.
The main-sail is of twilled cotton that can be had at a dry-goods store
for about ten cents a yard, and a rib should be sewed through the middle
of each breadth to strengthen the cloth. The sail is nine feet and six
inches on the mast, six feet on the gaff, thirteen feet on the boom, and
fifteen feet on the leach. The jib, also of twilled cotton, is eleven
feet and six inches on the forestay, eight feet across the foot, and
eight feet and six inches on the leach. The blocks can be of galvanized
iron but patent sheave-wood blocks are preferable.
For the halyards Manila-rope three-eighths of an inch in diameter will
be the right size, and a half-inch anchor-rope will be stout enough,
since a catamaran does not tug as heavily on an anchor as does a boat.
The wood-work of the boat and deck should be painted and the spars
varnished. A pretty effect will be to paint the boat a rich olive green,
with buff decks, and all the cross-pieces and deck planking in ivory
white.
The ordinary sailing rules will apply to the handling of a catamaran.
With these wedge-shaped boats you can sail quite close to the wind, but
if round-bottomed and shallower boats are used they will have to be
provided with centre-boards.
A Side-wheel Catamaran
The rowing catamaran can easily be converted into a side-wheel boat by
removing the middle slat of the deck and making an opening through which
a chain will lead to a cog or sprocket wheel on an axle.
At the outer side of each boat, between the middle and rear
cross-braces, fasten two pieces of wood two inches wide and three inches
high. Six or eight inches from the rear end make two U-cuts for a
five-eighth-inch axle to fit into. At a blacksmith’s obtain two old
carriage or buggy wheels, and cut the spokes so that they will be
fourteen inches long from the hub. Dress one side of each spoke flat, so
that a paddle may be attached to it with screws. The paddles are of
hard-wood, eight inches wide at the outer end, six at the inner end, and
six inches deep.
Have a blacksmith heat the ends of an axle and pound them square, then
slip one hub over the iron, and with hard-wood wedges make it fast. The
other wheel can be slipped on when the axle is in place and attached in
a similar manner. It would be best to remove the old iron boxes from the
hubs, so that a few screws can be driven through the hub and into the
wedges to help in holding them securely in place.
In Fig. 11, which is a stern view of the rowing catamaran, one of the
paddle-wheels is shown in place, and it also shows the location of the
axle, the sprocket-wheel, and the chain that leads to the large
sprocket-wheel by means of which the axle is turned.
[Illustration: Fig. 11]
An old bicycle chain and sprockets, together with the axle, cranks, and
pedals, can be arranged on a frame, so that a saddle may be mounted the
proper distance above the pedals. This arrangement is clearly shown in
the illustration, which shows also the outrigger timbers at the stern,
to which a sheet-iron rudder may be made fast. It is operated by a
handle and bar, which turns the rudder by means of flexible wire-rope
run through two deck-pulleys at the outer rear ends of the deck
planking. The iron rod is held in place to the forward upright of the
seat-frame with metal straps. At its lower end a wooden wheel having a
groove is made fast, around which a wrap or two of the wire-cable is
taken to hold the rudder steady.
Chapter XV
ICE-BOATS
A Sloop-rigged Ice-yacht
For travelling over the ice there is nothing to beat an ice-yacht, and
some that have been constructed on the Hudson River are of gigantic size
and power. Boats of this kind, and having the speed of an express-train,
are dangerous for boys to play with, but the ordinary ice-boat that will
go from ten to twenty miles an hour is within the ability of any
well-grown boy to make and safely handle.
It is quite a simple matter to make a good ice-boat, for it is but a
framework properly put together and bolted, on top of which a deck is
nailed, with a mast-step arranged at the front.
Fig. 1 shows the elevation view of a moderately sized sloop-yacht; and
in Fig. 2 the deck plan is shown, the joints and deck boards being
clearly indicated. The triangular body of the boat is ten feet long and
eight feet wide, and the bowsprit projects out six feet beyond the
timber A in Fig. 2.
The frame is made of clear spruce timbers six inches wide and two inches
thick. The timber A is eight feet long, B B are eleven feet long, C is
five feet long, and D D are each three feet long.
At the front corners and at the back the timbers are bevelled, as shown
in the plan drawing, and they are joined with long bolts as indicated by
the dotted lines. Timbers C and D D are set in place and securely
fastened with long, steel-wire spikes. The bowsprit E is mounted against
timber C and laid over timber A, to which it is bolted fast. A half-inch
iron pin is driven in the butt end of the bowsprit, and it fits into a
hole made in timber C.
[Illustration: Fig. 1]
The bowsprit is cut from spruce two inches and a half by four inches,
and tapered at the outer end, where a withe having three eyes is driven
on. The top eye receives the forestay and the side ones the bobstay
cables that run to the corners of the boat, where they are drawn taut
with turn-buckles. The shoe-blocks F F are twenty-four inches long and
three inches square, and are bolted to the timbers A and B as shown.
At the stern a triangular block is mounted between the ends of the
timbers B B, through which the rudder-post will pass. The decking planks
G are then attached to the frame with screws or steel nails.
The mast-step is made by attaching two twelve-inch pieces of plank
eighteen inches long and an inch and a quarter thick to the inside sides
of timbers D D. Across the top of them attach another plank, and in the
middle of it cut a hole three inches and a half in diameter, or large
enough to receive the mast. In the bowsprit, directly under the large
hole, make a small one to receive a three-quarter-inch pin. This iron
pin is to be driven in the bottom of the mast so that six inches of it
projects beyond the bottom of the stick. These will form the mast-step,
and when the mast is in place and held by the forestay and shrouds it
cannot jump out. Iron stanchion-rods are attached to the top of the
mast-plate and to the inside of timber A as shown in the illustration.
The shoes are of tire, steel and will have to be made by a blacksmith.
The front ones are thirty inches long, curved up at the front, as shown
in Fig. 3 A, and bevelled at the bottom so as to form a gripping or
cutting edge. When mounted the lower edge is at the outside of the boat.
Shanks with bolt-tops and collars pass through the holes made in the
shoe-blocks F F, and are securely held with nuts screwed down on washers
so as not to cut the wood.
The rudder (Fig. 3 B) is a chisel-edged piece of steel twelve inches
long turned up at both ends and mounted at the foot of a shank C, which
is provided with a collar, a square shoulder for the tiller D to fit on,
and a threaded top so that a nut will hold the tiller in place. The
shoes can only be made of steel or iron, as wooden ones are useless.
[Illustration:
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
]
The mast is twelve feet high and three inches and a half or four inches
in diameter, slightly tapered near the top. The gaff is six feet long
and the boom twelve feet in length. The main-sail measures eight feet on
the mast, five feet on the gaff, eleven on the boom, and the leach is
thirteen feet long. The jib is ten feet on the forestay, six feet at the
foot, and eight feet on the leach. This sail area will present a good
surface to the wind, and with an ordinary breeze the boat should make
from eight to twelve miles an hour with two or three boys on the deck.
The rigging is done in the same manner in which boats are fitted out.
The spars should be varnished and the boat can be painted or varnished,
as a matter of choice. All white wood-work with black metal parts, or a
red frame with cream-colored deck and black metal parts, are pleasing
combinations, but a boy’s own ideas can be carried out with the
paint-pot and brush.
A Twin-mast Ice-boat
The twin-mast ice-boat shown in Fig. 4 is the same size as the other
one, and built in the same manner except that timbers D D in Fig. 2 are
omitted and a smaller deck is laid at the stern.
One foot back from the corners three-inch masts are stepped in holes
made in timbers B B to receive half-inch iron pins driven in the foot of
the masts. The sticks are eleven feet long and lashed together at the
top or bolted with several long, thin bolts as shown in the
illustration. They pitch forward at a slight angle, or so that the
forestay is eleven feet long.
The gaff is sixteen feet long and the boom eighteen feet in length, and
the leach of the sail is fourteen feet.
The gaff is hauled up into the crotch formed by the masts, and a set of
blocks and tackle at the bottom of the sail on the boom and the deck
will haul the sail into the proper position. It then swings free between
the masts, and the jib and main-sail form one large sheet, so that when
the main-sheet goes to one side or the other the jib always takes the
opposite position and the wind is playing on the entire sail at all
times.
[Illustration: Fig. 4]
This is a very easy rig to handle as it relieves the steersman from the
bother of the jib-sheets which are annoying in a stiff breeze.
Scoots and Scooters
Scoots and scooters are the latest wrinkle in ice-boats. Down on the
Great South Bay, on the southern side of Long Island, they speak of them
in fun as “ice-water boats.” The advantage in a boat of this kind lies
in their ability to sail on poor ice or to go across water that is
partly open and frozen as many of the bays along the coast are at times.
The scoot shown in Fig. 5 is in the form of a sharpy, but the bottom
curves up at the bow so that if it is sailing on the water and comes to
the edge of an ice-floe that is not too high out of the water the wind
will blow the boat up on the ice and it will sail along on its runners
at double its previous speed. In the same manner when it comes to open
water it will slip off the ice quite comfortably and become again a
marine craft.
The model and descriptions of a centre-board sharpy may be taken for the
construction of the boat, except that there is no stem or bow-post and
the bottom rounds up the same as the side boards curve in. The bow is
therefore nearly a point. This construction is shown in Fig. 6 (page
252), which is a view of the sides and bottom only, the deck planking
being fastened down afterwards.
The boat should be calked with white-lead and lamp-wicking and as
carefully made as a water-boat, for it must be absolutely tight and
water-proof. The deck may be covered with canvas and painted, or it may
be of varnished or painted wood.
The hull should be from twelve to fifteen feet long and from four to
five feet wide across the widest part. It is fifteen inches deep, and is
provided with a centre-board and trunk the same as described for the
sailing sharpy on page 221.
[Illustration: Fig. 5]
The mast is twelve feet long or about ten feet above the deck; the gaff
is seven feet and the boom eleven feet long. The bowsprit is four feet
long and is bolted to the forward deck, and from the end of it to the
top of the mast a light, wire-cable forestay is made fast for the jib to
run on.
The sails are made of twilled drill or very heavy unbleached muslin, and
in the main-sheet one or two sets of reef-points will be necessary. The
main-sail measures seven feet on the mast, six feet and six inches on
the gaff, ten feet and six inches on the boom, and thirteen feet on the
leach. The jib measures seven feet on the forestay, four feet across the
foot, and six feet on the leach. The sail-cloth should be ribbed to
strengthen it and a light rope run around all the edges of both sails.
The shoes are made of light, broad tire iron or steel twenty-four inches
long and shaped so that the front part will bolt fast to the outside of
the scooter sides and the rear ends will lie against the bottom of the
boat where they can be bolted fast. The shape of these shoes is shown in
Fig. 7 A (page 252), and any blacksmith will make them for you at a
nominal cost. The rudder is of stout sheet-iron mounted in the end of a
shank as shown at Fig. 7 B (page 252). Its fan-tail permits it to swing
the boat in the water and its lower edge will guide it on the ice.
The rudder-post should be attached to the skag which is arranged at the
under side and rear of the boat, and with a short iron tiller fastened
as shown in Fig. 3 C and D the rudder may be swung.
When sailing on the ice the centre-board should be hauled up as high as
it will go, for it is of use only when the boat is in the water.
A scoot is a cranky boat on the ice as the runners or fore-shoes are
closer together than on an ice-boat with a triangular frame. Going
before the wind it is all right, but when sailing on or up into a stiff
wind it will keep a boy moving to hold his balance and steady the boat.
The shovel-nosed scooter shown in Fig. 8 is an easier boat to handle as
it is broader than the sharpy, but it is not quite so fast, being
slightly heavier.
[Illustration: Fig. 8]
It is twelve feet long over all with a five-foot beam and fourteen
inches high including deck and bottom. The side boards are twelve inches
wide, curved up at the bow, and bent in at the stern as shown in the
illustration.
Twin masts are stepped two feet from the bow and lashed together nine
feet above the deck. The rigging is the same as for the twin-mast
ice-boat, and the sail measures twelve feet on the gaff, fourteen feet
on the boom, with the leach eleven feet in length.
A small centre-board mounted in a trunk will be necessary for water
sailing, and with several coats of paint the scooter will be ready for
use.
A Wind-runner
An interesting boat for a boy to sail is a wind-runner like the one
shown in Fig. 9.
[Illustration:
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
]
Two spruce planks twelve feet long and ten inches wide are attached to
three battens and separated four inches. The stern batten is four inches
high and two inches wide, and through a hole made in the middle the
shank of the rudder-post extends, from the top of which the tiller
works.
The front ends of the planks are rounded and mounted on a triangular
framework six feet across at the front and extending back about five
feet from the ends of the planks.
A mast three inches in diameter and nine feet high is stepped through a
collar and into a block attached to the back of the front cross-piece as
shown in Fig. 10. An iron pin at the bottom of the mast drops into a
hole made in the block and the backstays hold the mast in place.
A yard-arm eight feet long supports a square sail six feet wide, which
is caught at the lower ends to the outer ends of the triangle frame.
The shoes attached to the triangle frame with bolts are fifteen inches
long and the rudder-blade is ten inches long.
This is a rapid sailer before the wind, and with a little manœuvring the
runner can be made to sail on the wind, though it will not run nearly as
close to the wind as the ice-boats or scoots. Paint or varnish will give
the wood-work a good finish, and under a stiff breeze this wind-runner
will carry four or five boys.
Chapter XVI
HOUSE-BOATS AND RAFTS
A House-punt
A house-punt of very simple construction is shown in Fig. 1. The punt is
from sixteen to twenty-four feet long according to the size desired, but
for a party of four boys it should be twenty-four feet long, eight feet
wide, and two feet deep with a cabin eight feet high.
The sides and middle rib should be of pine, spruce, or white-wood one
inch and a quarter thick, free from sappy places and knots. If the
boards cannot be had as long as twenty-four feet nor as wide as two
feet, use two boards twelve inches wide and make one joint at the middle
of the lower board and two in the upper board as shown in the drawing of
the side elevation (Fig. 2). Six inches down from the top at either end
and thirty inches in at the bottom cut the sides as shown so that the
punt will have a shovel-nose at both ends and can be poled or sailed in
either direction. Make a third or middle rib the same size as the side
board. This is to be placed at the middle of the punt so as to receive
the sheathing and deck planking. The arrangement of this middle rib and
the side boards is shown in Fig. 3 and at A in Fig. 3. A batten is shown
to which the upper and lower boards of a side are nailed fast. If the
two boards are used it will be necessary to arrange these battens along
the inside of each side about eighteen inches apart. They should be of
tough wood five or six inches wide, an inch and a quarter thick, and two
feet long.
Galvanized boat nails should be used, and when driven in from the
outside they should be clinched at the inside. Good boat nails are of
malleable iron stiff enough to go through hard-wood but ductile enough
to be turned over at the ends with a light hammer and quick, sharp
blows.
The sheathing and deck planking should be not less than four inches and
not more than six inches in width, and before it is put on it should be
well sun-dried to take out all moisture. It should then be given two
good coats of paint on both sides to make it water-proof.
Lay the sides and middle rib bottom up and begin to sheath from one end.
Lumber sixteen feet long should be used, and this, when cut in half,
will make two pieces from each length. If matched boards are used smear
the edges with white-lead before the boards are driven together, but if
straight-edge lumber is employed it will be necessary to lead and wick
the joints. This is done by taking a piece of round iron one-quarter of
an inch in diameter and eight inches long and bending it as shown at
Fig. 4 A. Lay this on the flat edge of each board at the middle and heat
the iron so as to form a groove as shown at Fig. 4 B. The wood, having
been beaten in, forms a gully in which a string of lamp-wick can be laid
as shown in Fig. 4 C. The groove must not be cut with a chisel for then
its effect would be lost. The object of this treatment is that when the
punt is in the water the joint swells forcing out the wood against the
lamp-wick and making a water-tight joint. The edges of the wood and the
wicking must be well smeared with white-lead in order to properly calk
the joint.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
A HOUSE-PUNT
]
Between the middle rib and each side an inner keel should be arranged so
that each plank can be nailed fast to it. This will act as an additional
brace to hold the sheathing planks in place and make the bottom more
rigid. This inner keel should extend from end to end of the punt, and
short pieces may be laid inside the bevelled ends to lend added
strength.
At each end a spruce plank eight inches wide is made fast with long boat
nails, first leading all the joints to make them water-tight. The deck
planks are laid on the same as the sheathing, and to brace them from
underneath, in the space between the middle rib and the sides,
two-by-three-inch spruce rails are propped on short sticks which are
nailed to the inner keel and to the rails as shown at Fig. 5. These
under props should be arranged about eighteen inches apart, the entire
length of the punt. Groove the upper edges of the end and side planks
with the iron, then lay the lamp-wicking in, lead, and nail down the
planking, taking care to put the nails in straight and true. When the
punt is finished give it several good coats of copper paint on the
bottom and sides and several coats of good marine paint on the deck.
To construct the cabin lay down the sill-joist of two-by-three-inch
spruce, making the plan fourteen feet long and seven feet and eight
inches wide (Fig. 6). To this nail the uprights and bracing timbers,
forming the sides and ends as shown in the drawings of the side and end
elevation (Fig. 7). The door spaces at the ends should be three feet
wide and seven feet high, so that when trimmed and the doors hung the
actual size will be two feet and eight inches wide by six feet and ten
inches high.
The window openings are two feet wide by two feet and six inches high,
and between all the uprights braces are nailed fast to prevent the
frame from racking. The arrangement of framing timbers is quite
clearly shown in the drawings, and in the deck plan (Fig. 6) the
arrangement of the bunks is indicated. Across the top of the framework
one-and-a-half-by-six-inch beams are laid having their upper edge
crowned as shown in the end elevation (Fig. 7). Over these the roofing
boards are laid lengthwise, and on top of them canvas is drawn and
tacked down all around the edges with copper tacks.
The roofing boards may be of three-quarter-inch stuff planed on both
sides and from two to four inches wide, whichever is the easiest to
obtain. The boards should extend over the ends and sides for two or
three inches so that a finishing moulding can be made fast under the
boards. Give the top of the boards two good coats of paint, then stretch
oiled canvas over the top and tack it fast. Several coats of paint will
finish the canvas and make it hard enough to walk on, for in pleasant
weather this upper deck will make a pleasant place to spend many hours
under the shade of a canopy. The cabin sheathing is of narrow matched
boards planed on both sides and as free from knots and sappy places as
it is possible to get them. The boards must be thoroughly sun-dried
before they are laid on and nailed fast, and it would be well also to
paint the matched edges so that moisture may not get in and swell them.
The inside and outside of the cabin is to be painted to protect the wood
from moisture, and if painted a light tint of any color, or white, it
will be cooler in summer when the sun is shining than if coated with a
dark color. Dark colors absorb light and heat while light ones reflect
or shed them.
The window-sashes should be arranged on hinges so that they may be swung
in and back against the inside of the cabin and hooked. Or, by cutting
away a part of the upright, the sash may be arranged to slide. Wire
screening may be tacked over the window-frame at the outer side to keep
out flies and mosquitoes, and screen doors can be made also for the
front and rear doorways—to swing in, as the wooden doors swing out.
Over the rear deck a canopy is arranged on poles. This is similar to a
tent fly for camping, and will shed the sun and rain from the deck when
the cook is preparing meals.
A small cook-stove may be arranged inside the cabin, but if it is not
convenient to carry coal in a box on the deck an oil-stove will answer
every purpose.
Two bunks may be built in on each side, one above the other, and four
wire springs may be arranged to rest on battens driven across the bunks
at the head and foot. A small hatch should be cut in the rear deck and
another one through the cabin floor so that a few things may be stored
in the hold. The aft hatch should be provided with a suction-pump so
that any water that leaks in can be readily pumped out.
Rings, cleats, and ropes should be provided for the punt, and two
anchors would be better than one, especially when near the shore or in
shallow water, to hold the punt from swinging, which it is sure to do if
there is any wind or waves. Always anchor it so that the wind is blowing
on one end and not broadside as it is a strain on the anchors and ropes
to hold a boat broadside on.
By erecting a spar fifteen or twenty feet high and four or five inches
in diameter, a square-sail can be rigged on yard-arms so that the
house-punt can be sailed before the wind. A long oar will be necessary
to steer with, or a portable rudder may be made and hung to the stern
with pins and ropes.
A house-punt of this description will be a very great source of
enjoyment to several boys in the summer-time, and in the winter when not
in use the punt can be hauled out on shore, the windows boarded up, and
old canvas drawn over the decks to protect them from the sun.
A House-raft
Almost any boy can build a fairly good boat, even if it is a
flat-bottomed sharpy. But to build a raft of the proper size, and on it
a house that may be comfortably occupied, will require the aid of a good
carpenter who understands construction, and under whose direction
several boys can work to good advantage.
For a party of four or five young fellows, a very convenient and
commodious house-raft at anchor is shown in Fig. 8. The raft is about
thirty-eight feet long and twelve feet wide, while the house is
twenty-three feet long and twelve feet wide by nine feet high from raft
deck to top of house.
These dimensions will, if necessary, permit the raft to be taken through
any canal, and without mast and deck-rails it will pass under the road
bridges that span the canals.
If the house-raft is to be used on canals only, it will be better not to
have the mast, and the deck-rail may be arranged so that it can be
removed quickly before passing under a low bridge.
The mast is for use on lakes, bays, or rivers only, where a large
square-sail can be hoisted on a yard-arm, and by means of which the raft
may be made to sail before the wind slowly, so that its position may be
changed from time to time.
The construction of a house-raft is quite simple, and will not require
the services of a boat-builder, as the carpenter can build both the raft
and the house on it. To begin with, it will be necessary to obtain four
straight logs thirty-eight feet long, as sound as possible, and not
wind-racked. Two of these logs are to be laid with the butt end at the
stern, and the other two with butts at the bow, thus giving equal spaces
between each along the entire length of the raft.
Across the ends of these logs nail a temporary strip to keep them the
proper distance apart; then at right angles lay four-by-twelve-inch
timbers on edge about two feet apart, and spike them securely to the
logs. This part of the work should be done in shallow water, where the
logs can be near enough to shore for the workers to stand on bottom.
When laying these cross-timbers it is always well to place the first
ones about five feet apart, and stand a straight timber across from one
to the other parallel to the logs, so that as each succeeding timber is
laid it can be levelled by either cutting slightly into the log or
building up the bearing, as it may require.
[Illustration:
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
A HOUSE-RAFT
]
Having timbered the logs the entire length, begin to plank or deck the
raft with one-inch-and-a-quarter spruce boards six inches wide, laying
the strips from bow to stern.
Fig. 9 will show the position of the logs with cross-timbers above, on
top of which the planking may be seen. To the under side of the
cross-beams and midway between the logs, planks should be fastened that
will run the entire length of the raft. These are to form a bearing
against which the upper bilge of the barrels will rest. Fig. 9 shows the
heads of three barrels, each the end one of a number that are chained
together and run all along under the raft to give it sufficient buoyancy
to counteract the displacement that would be caused by the weight of the
house and occupants.
Fig. 10 is a side view of those same barrels, showing the position they
occupy and the distance from one to the other. Oil-barrels are the best
for this purpose, and after being well bunged they should be treated to
several good coats of copper paint before being drawn under the raft. It
would be well to leave a gallon of oil in each barrel, as it keeps the
glue sizing in good condition, and prevents it from yielding to the
dampness caused by the water, the pressure of which might in time find
its way through small cracks or openings.
A few yards of wrought-iron chain sufficiently heavy for the purpose can
be obtained and cut into short lengths, and each end should be fitted
with an eye-plate with four holes in it, which plates are to be fastened
to the ends of the barrels with short, fat screws, having first
thoroughly smeared the back of each with white-lead. The barrels should
be arranged about one foot apart, and if the logs are from twenty-four
to thirty inches in diameter at the butt end there should be just enough
space to accommodate the three rows of barrels between the four logs as
shown in Fig. 9.
Across the logs at the bow and stern attach the planking, to extend down
a foot below the water-line, and with short uprights against which to
nail, fasten weather-boards along the sides of the raft to cover the
logs and come up flush with the deck line.
Seven feet in from the ends of the raft lay cross-stringers, three by
six inches, at distances of eighteen inches apart, on which to place the
floor of the house. This flooring may be of narrow spruce boards, planed
on one side and having matched edges.
The uprights for the house construction are placed on the flooring beams
and sills, and securely pinned to them, and the cross-beams at top of
house should be placed the same distance apart as the floor beams to
sustain the weight above, as the top of the house or upper deck will be
the open-air living-room. The side elevation (Fig. 11) shows the
position of windows that will be placed on both sides of the house, and
another illustration (Fig. 12 A and B) shows both front and rear
elevations of the house, as well as the location of companionway and
deck-rails.
The deck plan (Fig. 13) shows the arrangement of the house and how it is
divided into the several compartments.
[Illustration:
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
DETAILS OF A HOUSE-RAFT
]
In the front, the dining and living saloon is a room measuring about
eight feet in width and eleven feet in length. At one end a couch is
placed which, if necessary, can be used as a bed; and close to it are
two large windows—one overlooking the fore-deck, the other giving a view
from the side of the house. At the other end of the room a neat
china-cupboard is built into the corner, and in the opposite corner the
front door and a window are placed. One of the illustrations is an
interior view of this cabin, showing how comfortable and attractive it
can be made to appear. As it is a sort of general mess-room and
living-cabin, it can be decorated and kept as such in a ship-shape
manner.
Fishing-rods, guns, and nets against the wall will take up little space,
while in the locker under the cupboard a variety of sporting
paraphernalia can be stored.
Leading aft from this saloon, a passageway opens into the galley, a room
six feet and six inches wide by eleven feet long, where all the
cooking-utensils and stores are kept.
This galley should be painted a light gray or ivory white, with several
coats of paint mixed for outside use, so the wood-work can all be wiped
down with a damp cloth when necessary. White is always the best color
for a kitchen or galley, and it has the appearance of cleanliness that
no other color will give; it will be found to keep a room much cooler
also, and for that reason it is recommended. A rug or rag carpet will be
an acceptable covering for the floor, which should be treated to several
coats of yellow-ochre paint.
Between the dining-saloon and the galley two state-rooms are placed, so
the passageway runs between them, and from which the doors open that
lead into them. These rooms are each about eight feet and six inches
long by nearly five feet wide, and two berths, each three feet wide, are
built in the rooms. Both rooms have large windows, and spaces for corner
wash-stands; and as the doors open against the ends of the berths, there
is no lost space nor wasted room.
Rows of hooks will accommodate clothing, and the lower berth should be
at least twenty-two inches up from the floor to allow room to slide a
trunk or two under it. These rooms can be ceiled and papered, or
painted, as a matter of choice, but a few coats of varnish will render
the wood-work in good shape and proof against dampness.
All the windows and doors in this boat can be of stock sizes, so that
the cost of special sizes can be avoided. The sheathing may be of cedar
shingles or of clapboards, as the cost is about the same. The clapboards
should be painted, and will look better than shingles, although a very
artistic effect is had by staining the shingles and painting the door
and window casings in shades to match, preferably in the brown and
olive-green shades.
The flooring of the upper deck should be of regular flooring boards with
matched edges and planed on one side. Over this flooring canvas should
be stretched and tacked, and afterwards given two or three coats of oil
and varnish to make it water-proof, and finally treated to a coat or two
of lead-colored paint. The seams should all be well laid down, and
fastened with copper or tinned tacks, driven about two inches apart. It
would be well to give the boards two good thick coats of paint before
the canvas is applied, so that when the oil soaks through the canvas it
will soften the paint somewhat, and help to hold the canvas in its
proper place.
Leading from the fore-deck to the upper deck a stair or companionway is
built, and anchored securely in place to the front of the house. The
platform at the head of the staircase is braced over the front doorway
by means of two iron rods that act as brackets, and which are screwed
securely both to the under side of the platform and to the door-casing.
This can be an open stairway composed of two side ways and eleven
treads, the ends of the treads being anchored in grooves cut in the
ways, and securely fastened with screws.
The rail around the deck is of common iron gas-pipe held in place by
sockets and uprights. If the piping cannot be had, then hickory or
hard-wood poles one inch and a half in diameter may be employed and held
in place by uprights three inches wide and thirty inches high, through
which two holes have been bored to receive the poles.
Around the fore and after decks a stringer three by six inches can be
spiked down, and to the sides near the bow and stern large cleats should
be bolted fast, by which the raft can be moored. Amidships at the bow a
large post may be fastened, around which to attach a tow-line if
necessary, and at the stern a rudder is arranged, with the post
projecting up through the deck for a distance of a foot or eighteen
inches. A mortise should be cut in the top of this post, into which the
end of a tiller can be inserted when steering the craft, either when in
tow or under sail.
A mast twenty-five or thirty feet long can be stepped amidships against
the front of the house, and strapped fast to the upper deck with a
horseshoe band. A step-block can be fastened to the deck into which the
tenoned end of the mast will fit.
A yard-arm about twenty feet long, or longer if desired, can be arranged
to hoist nearly to the top of the mast, and from which a large
square-sail may be rigged so the lower corners will fasten to outriggers
four or five feet long that can be temporarily braced at the sides of
the boat when sail is set. This pole affords a good place from which to
fly club or college colors, and from which to suspend lines of colored
and Japanese lanterns to illuminate at night. This mast should be six
inches in diameter at the base, and gradually taper near the top, and if
a sail is to be used frequently, it would be a good plan to bobstay and
shroud the stick with some standing rigging, so as to relieve it from
the entire strain of a large sail.
The top of the house affords a living-room twenty-three feet long and
twelve feet wide, and in that space a number of chairs, a table,
hammocks, and benches can be accommodated.
For lake, river, and bay use this deck can be covered by a large awning,
supported at the centre by a ridge-pole, and at the sides by upright
posts that hold a stout wire in place, over which the striped awning
canvas is caught. Drop-curtains at the sides will be convenient to ward
off the bright sunlight, and this deck-room will be found the most
delightful place to spend the pleasant days and evenings.
Along the inland waterways a raft of this description is a most
desirable craft, as it can be towed from place to place, and for
pleasure purposes its value cannot be overestimated, as it is a base for
hunting and fishing as well as a retreat from village life; and the
pleasure and comfort that can be had from a raft like this can well be
appreciated when once tried.
To build a house-raft on these plans is not a difficult nor an expensive
piece of work, and outside of the cost of the lumber, timber, barrels,
and logs the amount is limited, unless finish is contemplated. With
materials at hand and the help of three or four good workers, it should
not require more than a week to construct this raft and house, and if
fitted and painted in the manner described the cost should not exceed
from two hundred to three hundred dollars, including all labor and
material, according to the locality in which it is constructed.
A Float
In the spring, when every one who owns a boat of any sort is painting
and repairing his craft, boat-houses, and floats, a few suggestions in
regard to the floats will be found of practical value.
My chum and I own two canoes and a row-boat. The first year we built a
boat-house, which exhausted our funds, and we were obliged to wait till
the next spring before we could consider the expense of making a float.
Most floats are constructed of spars on logs, with a mooring on top.
As we prepared to make the float ourselves, we wanted to find the
easiest and cheapest way of doing so. The spars were costly, and,
besides, are clumsy, and for a float of adequate size they would have to
be so large that we could not move them alone.
As we lived in the city we could not get logs, or, if we could, we
should have had a big bill for cartage. It was while we were painting
the boat-house one afternoon that we saw an empty barrel go floating by.
My chum said he had an idea that we could make a float after all. We
went to one of the grocery stores and got four new flour-barrels, with
the heads, at a cost of twenty-five cents apiece.
We took them, two by two, over to the boat-house, and then went to a
near-by lumber-yard and got three two-by-three sixteen-foot joists,
which cost us fifty-five cents, and one hundred square feet of boards
such as are sold at thirty dollars a thousand feet. Some nails and our
tools, and we were ready to begin work.
First we laid two barrels end to end about two feet apart; then about
twelve feet from them we laid the other two in the same way. Then we
took two of the joists and laid them on each side of the barrels on
edge. Taking the other, we cut it in two pieces six feet long, which
left a waste space of four feet in length. We then nailed the two
sixteen-foot pieces and the two six-foot pieces together in the form of
a rectangle as in Fig. 14.
[Illustration:
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
]
Then, having propped the barrels to keep them in place, we lifted this
hollow rectangle onto them so that it rested on their sides as in Fig.
15. Cutting the four-foot joists into four one-foot pieces, we utilized
them as corner braces.
Next we fastened the barrels to the frame, and, after painting them with
a coat of thick paint to fill the cracks, we launched the craft. Then we
covered the frame with the boards, laying them crosswise. A ring-bolt in
each corner and a roller in the middle, and an old hose-pipe tacked
around the edges, completed the float as shown in Fig. 16.
This we found was a most excellent float, and, above all, it was light,
could be hauled out on the bank easily, or stored during the winter.
As it rose and fell with the tide there was no trouble in launching the
boats at any time, whereas with a dock the pleasures of launching at
low-water are too well known to be described.
Below is a table of expenditures:
Barrels, at 25 cents each $1.00
Joists, at $20 per M .55
Boards, at 30 per M 3.00
Nails, at 4 cents a pound .20
Paint, at 20 cents a can .20
Rings, at 20 cents each .80
———
Total $5.75
While the prices of these articles, particularly the lumber, have risen
somewhat, the cost of this float will remain extremely small.
Chapter XVII
MARLINE-SPIKE SEAMANSHIP
Ropes may be joined to one another either by knotting or by splicing. If
the rope belongs to the running rigging (such as halyards, sheets, etc.)
of the vessel, it will be necessary to put a splice in it, as a knot
would refuse to render (pass) through the swallow (opening) in the
block. There are three kinds of splices in general use—namely, the long,
the short, and the eye-splice. When joining running rigging a long
splice is always employed, as it does not increase the diameter of the
rope, and when neatly made cannot easily be detected. The short splice
is very bulging, but it can be made quickly and is employed in all cases
where the rope does not pass through blocks. The eye-splice is used for
making a permanent loop in the end of a rope, such, for instance, as is
seen in the hawsers by which steamboats are temporarily made fast to a
dock, the loop or eye being thrown over the spile on the pier. Let us
first consider the making of the latter splice.
Splices
THE EYE-SPLICE (Fig. 1).—Open the end of the rope and lay the strands 1,
2, 3 upon the standing part as shown in A in Fig. 1; now push strand 4
through the rope as shown in B; next thrust strand 5 over the part
through which the former was passed, and last push the strand 6 through
on the opposite side. Repeat this once, then cut off the remaining ends,
and the splice will appear as in C.
[Illustration: FIG. 1. THE EYE-SPLICE FIG. 2. THE SHORT SPLICE FIG. 3.
THE LONG SPLICE]
THE SHORT SPLICE (Fig. 2).—Hold the rope B (Fig. 2 A) in the left hand;
pass the strand 4 over 1, and having thrust it through under 3, pull it
taut; take strand 5 and pass it over 2 and under 1; pass strand 6 over
the first strand next to it and under the second. Shift the rope around
and treat the other side in the same way, and the result will be as
shown in Fig. 2 B. This single tucking of the ends is not sufficient for
strength, so repeat the operation once, then cut off the ends of the
strands.
THE LONG SPLICE (Fig. 3).—Unlay (untwist) the two ends to be joined some
two or three feet, and place the ends together in the same manner as
explained for the short splice. Now take the strand 1 and unlay it as
far back as A, and in the groove left in the rope wind the strand 2;
unlay the strand 3 and in its place lay-up (wind) the strand 4. At this
stage the rope will represent the appearance of Fig. 3 B. The middle
strands, 5 and 6, will now be knotted with a simple overhand knot Fig.
3 C, care being observed that the knot is formed to follow the lay
(form) of the rope. Next divide these two strands equally as shown in
Fig. 3 D, and tuck them into the rope on the same principle as explained
for the short and eye splice. The remaining strands will be treated in
the same manner, after which stretch the rope well and cut off the ends.
Knots
REEF KNOT (Fig. 4).—This commonly used knot is also known as a flat knot
and square knot, and is one of the most valuable of the many employed.
As its name implies, it is used to tie the reef points of a sail, the
stops (short lengths of rope) used to secure the jib to the bowsprit
when the sail is lowered, etc. Should a person find it necessary in
order to affect an escape from a burning building to fashion a line by
tearing sheets into lengths and tying them together, this knot should be
employed, for it will not slip and the bulge where the strips are tied
will afford good hold for the hands. In order to make the knot, simply
tie an overhand knot, then pass the ends so that they shall take the
same lay (form) as the crossed parts beneath. Should the ends be passed
(crossed) wrong, an Old Granny knot (Fig. 5) will be the result, and
this knot will capsize (pull out of shape) and slip as soon as a strain
is put upon it.
BOWLINE KNOT (Fig. 6).—Take the end (1) of the rope in the right hand
and the standing part (2) in the left hand; lay the end over the
standing part and turn the left wrist so that the standing part forms a
loop (4) enclosing the end; now lead the end back of the standing part
and above the loop and bring the end down through the loop again as
shown. A bowline of this kind, sometimes called a single bowline, is
employed in a variety of ways. Seamen sit in the bight (3) of this shape
to be hoisted aloft under certain circumstances, and two towing hawsers
are often made fast to each other by two bowlines, the bight of one
being passed through the bight of the other.
BOWLINE ON A BIGHT (Fig. 7).—Double the rope, and take the double end
(1) in the right hand, the standing part (2) of the rope in left hand;
lay the end over the standing part, and by turning the left wrist form a
loop (3), having the end inside; now pull up enough of the end (1) to
dip under the bight (4), bringing the end towards the right and dipping
it under the bight, then passing it up to the left over the loop and
hauling taut. This knot is employed in the same way as explained for the
single bowline, and it may also be stated that it affords much amusement
as a puzzle, for if the standing part (2) is held and the knot presented
to be untied, only those familiar with the way in which it is made will
be apt to discover the secret of dipping the end (1) back and undoing
the knot by handling it in a reverse manner to that described for its
manufacture.
RUNNING BOWLINE (Fig. 8).—The only difference between this knot and the
one described under the head of “Bowline” is that the end (1) of the
rope is taken around the standing part (2), and then a single bowline
(3) is tied on its own part. As will be understood by reference to the
diagram, this forms a slipknot or lasso, and in fact it is employed for
the same purposes as the latter. When a shark is hooked by sailors the
great fish is hauled up until his head is out of water, then a running
bowline is made around the hook-line and allowed to fall down over the
fins, when it is hauled taut and the strain taken off the hook and line,
so that the danger of the fish escaping may be greatly lessened, for the
line is apt to break from the thrashing of the creature or the hook pull
out.
WALL KNOT (Fig. 9).—Unlay the end of the rope and whip (tie) it where
shown, and form a bight of strand 1, and hold it down at the side
represented by 2; pass the end of 3 around 1, and the end of 4 around 3
and through the bight of 1, then the knot will appear as shown in Fig.
10; now haul the parts taut and the knot will be formed.
[Illustration:
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 18
Fig. 19
Fig. 20
Fig. 21
Fig. 22
Fig. 23
Fig. 24
KNOTS
]
CROWNED WALL KNOT (Fig. 11).—Over the top of the knot lay the strand 1,
then lay strand 2 over 1, and strand 3 over 2, and pass it through the
bight of 1; now haul taut the parts and the knot will take the shape
shown in Fig. 12.
DOUBLE WALL AND DOUBLE CROWN KNOT (Fig. 13).—This is made by allowing
the strands to follow their respective parts round, first walling, then
crowning, as shown in the diagram. This formation is also used as a
Stopper Knot and a Man Rope Knot, although a proper Stopper Knot is
shown in Fig. 14. It is a very beautiful knot when nicely made, and as a
fancy knot is common on yachts and naval vessels.
MATTHEW WALKER KNOT (Fig. 15).—As its name implies, this knot is named
after the man who invented it. It is exceedingly simple and easy to
make, and is in common use on board of all vessels. Unlay the strands
for a short distance, and pass the end 1 around the rope and through its
own bight; next the strand 2 underneath and through the bight of 1, also
its own bight; last the strand 3 underneath and through the bights of 1
and 2. When hauled taut the knot will appear as in Fig. 16.
DIAMOND KNOT (Fig. 17).—Unlay the strands as for a Matthew Walker Knot,
and form three bights and then take strand 1 over 2 and through the
bight of 3; take strand 2 over 3 and through the bight of 1; take strand
3 over 1 and through the bight of 2, then haul the parts taut, and lay
up (arrange) the strands of the rope again, and the knot will then
appear as in Fig. 18. What is known as a Double Diamond Knot (Fig. 19)
may be made by leading the strands through two single bights, having the
ends come out at the top of the knot, then leading the last strand
through two double bights; last lay the strands up as previously
explained, and the knot will show as in Fig. 19.
TURK’S HEAD KNOT (Fig. 20).—This is purely an ornamental knot, and is
used to beautify yoke lines for a rowing boat, man ropes, ridge ropes,
gangway ropes, etc. The material used in the construction of this knot
is regulated according to the character of the article to be decorated,
ranging from twine to signal halyard stuff (line). To make this knot,
form a clove hitch, and bring the bight of 1 (Fig. 21) under the bight
of 2, then take the end up through it, make another cross with the
bights, and take the end down. Fig. 22 represents a Turk’s Head of two
lays, but it may have any number of lays, it being necessary only to
follow the lead around according to the formation desired.
ROPE YARN KNOT (Fig. 23).—It is to be explained that a rope yarn is
simply one of the several parts which make a strand of rope. When a
strand is untwisted, its parts become rope yarns. These yarns are used
for a number of purposes, such as for rough seizings, etc. When a
considerable length of rope yarn is required, it is necessary to knot it
smoothly, and this is effected in the following manner: Split in halves
the two ends of the rope yarns, and crotch and tie the two opposite
ends, then jam the tie and cut off the remaining ends.
LARK’S HEAD KNOT (Fig. 24).—This knot is used on the same principle as
explained for the Slippery Hitch; when it is desired to undo it quickly,
simply pull out the wooden toggle 1. The making of the knot will be
fully understood by consulting the diagram.
Ropes are temporarily fastened to one another, or to a spar, hook,
ring-bolt, etc., by bends and by hitches. These are all more or less
simple, and a little practice and patience is all that is necessary for
the young reader to become expert in their manufacture. Let us first
consider the bends in general use.
Bends
COMMON BEND (Fig. 25).—This is also known as a single bend, and is used
for making one rope fast to another in a hurry. Make a bight with one
rope, and hold it in the left hand; pass the end of the other rope 1
through the bight 2, then back round the two parts 3, over the rope 4,
under the rope 5, and over the short end of the loop. If the end 1 is
taken around once more and through the bight again, as shown in Fig. 26,
the bend will stand a greater strain and be less liable to jam. The bend
shown in Fig. 26 is known as a double bend.
CARRICK BEND (Fig. 27).—This, like the common bend, is used for bending
hawsers together, but is a trifle more difficult to make. Make a bight
with the end of one rope; pass the end of the other rope through the
bight and over the standing part of the first rope where marked 1, then
under the end 2, and again through the bight and over the standing part
3.
FISHERMAN’S BEND (Fig. 28).—First pass the rope twice round the spar or
ring, which act is understood by sailors as “taking two round turns,”
next take a half hitch round the standing part, then thrust the end
under the two turns, and last half hitch the end round the standing part
A. When hauled taut the bend will appear as shown in Fig. 29.
SHEET BEND (Fig. 30).—Pass the end 1 through the eye; take two turns
round, observing in each case that the end passes under the standing
part 2. The greater the strain, the more the standing part binds the two
turns, and insures them from slipping.
[Illustration:
Fig. 25
Fig. 26
Fig. 27
Fig. 28
Fig. 29
Fig. 30
Fig. 31
Fig. 32
Fig. 33
]
Hitches
TWO HALF HITCHES (Fig. 31).—This is an exceedingly simple way of
fastening a rope, and it has the double advantage of being proof against
jamming. Take a turn around the object to which it is desired to fasten;
bring the end 1 on top of the standing part 2, then pass it under and
bring it up through the bight; repeat this process, haul taut, and the
result will show as in Fig. 32. In case the hitch is to be subjected to
a great strain, lash the end of the rope to the standing part where
marked 3 in Fig. 32.
CLOVE HITCH (Fig. 33).—This is another very useful hitch, but is only
employed when the strain upon it is temporary. It is in general use for
bending a heaving-line (small rope) to a hawser so that a coil of the
former may be thrown from a vessel to the dock and, after it is caught,
the hawser pulled ashore.
SLIPPERY HITCH (Fig. 34).—This hitch is simply a turn around a spar or
other object or through an eye, the end carried across the standing
part, and a loop put through the bight, the end 1 being allowed to hang
out. When it is desired to separate the hitch, pull out the loop by
hauling on the end 1.
BLACKWALL HITCH (Fig. 35).—This is used in hoisting. Simply take a turn
around the back of the hook, crossing the parts of the rope in front as
shown. When a strain is put on the standing part of the rope, the
underneath part is jammed and slipping prevented.
TIMBER HITCH (Fig. 36).—A hitch employed in towing spars and logs, as it
will not slip. Pass the end 1 of the rope around the spar and lead it up
and around the standing part 2, then pass two or three turns with the
end around its own part as shown in the illustration.
ROLLING HITCH (Fig. 37).—A very good method of clapping (fastening) a
tail-block. Take a hitch with the tail 1; take another hitch over the
first; pass the end under the standing part 2, and twist the remainder
of the tail round the rope, following the lay. A tail-block, being
portable, is convenient to make fast anywhere about decks or the
rigging, and a rope being rove through this block, a purchase, called a
“whip,” is created.
MAGNUS HITCH (Fig. 38).—Some people confuse this hitch with the rolling
hitch just described, but a comparison of the two will explain the
difference between them. With the end of the rope 1 pass two turns over
the spar; carry the end in front of the standing part 2; pass it again
under the spar and bring it up through the bight. The value of this
hitch is its insurance against slipping in the direction represented by
the arrow.
[Illustration:
Fig. 34
Fig. 35
Fig. 36
Fig. 37
Fig. 38
Fig. 39
Fig. 40
Fig. 41
Fig. 42
Fig. 43
Fig. 44
]
CATSPAW HITCH (Fig. 39).—Like the Blackwall Hitch, this one is used for
making a rope fast to a hook for hoisting purposes. Seize the bight of
the rope in your two hands, and by turning the wrists form the two
loops, then hang these loops on the hook as in Fig. 40.
SHEEPSHANK HITCH (Fig. 41).—A quick way of shortening a rope without
cutting it is to convert a portion of it into a shape known as a
sheepshank. Gather up the spare rope and lay it in parallel lines as
shown. These parallel lines may be represented by any number, according
to the quantity of spare rope and the length of the sheepshank. In the
accompanying diagrams we show the smallest sheepshank that can be made,
consisting of three parallel lines. After forming the rope as shown in
Fig. 41, take a half hitch with the standing part 1 round the bight 4,
and repeat this at the other extremity with the standing part 2 and the
bight 3. The result will be as shown in Fig. 42. If it is desired to
make this hitch doubly secure, put a seizing (fastening) 7 on the loops
5 and standing parts 6 (Fig. 43).
MARLING HITCH (Fig. 44).—Employed to make a running binding which can be
put on and removed quickly.
Part IV
IN THE WOODS
Chapter XVIII
CAMPS AND CAMPING
Camping in the mountains, fields, and forests is one of the most
delightful features of life in the summer-time. But a good deal of the
fun depends upon doing things the right way.
To experienced campers many of the following ideas and descriptions may
be familiar, but among them there may be some suggestions that will be
found of value.
The tent is the all-important thing, and to make one large enough for
two or three boys is not a difficult matter. What the boy does not know
on his first camping expedition, necessity will teach him, and much
satisfaction may be had in constructing bunks and tables and the other
varied paraphernalia of camp life.
A Tent of Medium Size
Fig. 1 shows a serviceable and roomy tent and fly of medium size, which
measures eight feet wide, ten feet long, and seven feet high to the peak
or ridge. The side drops or aprons are thirty inches high, and against
them on both sides of the tent cots may rest on the ground as shown in
the illustration.
The fly is ten feet wide and fifteen feet long, and is an extra covering
for the tent in case of a hard rain-storm; while in clear weather and
with another ridge-pole and upright, it can be used to lengthen the tent
by extending it out beyond the front, where it is to be held fast with
stakes and stanchion-ropes.
The plan shown in Fig. 2 gives the dimensions of canvas, and when the
final sewing is done the edges C C at both ends of the tent are brought
together and securely overcast with stout waxed cord.
The only openings are at front and back, and they can be closed by means
of tabs and button-holes at one side, and large bone buttons made fast
to the other edge in a corresponding position to the tabs.
Where the iron pins of the uprights project through the canvas, make a
circular patch at least six inches in diameter with two or three
thicknesses of the canvas, and sew it fast both at the hole and around
the outer edge. This will strengthen the canvas at the most vital point,
and prevent it from tearing if a heavy wind should strain the tent.
Twilled cotton sail-cloth is the proper material of which to make the
tent, but if this cannot be had, then a stout quality of unbleached
muslin will answer very well for clear weather; but in wet weather it
will not shed the water so well as the twilled duck. The seams can be
sewed on a machine, but they will be much stronger if sewed by hand with
white cotton cord well waxed. All the edges of the cloth should be bound
with rope about the size and strength of clothes-line, so that any
attachments made to the edges will be borne by the rope instead of all
the strain coming on the canvas.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
A TENT OF MEDIUM SIZE
]
On the dotted lines D D in the plan, which indicates the inner edges of
the aprons, one-inch harness-rings are to be sewed on the straps,
through which to reave the guy and stanchion ropes. There should be four
straps to this tent, making five strips of canvas two feet wide; and
these strengthening straps are three-quarters of an inch in width, and
made by lapping the canvas over and sewing it along both edges as shown
in the little diagram marked E below the plan in Fig. 2.
If a closed end is preferred instead of the flaps at the rear of the
tent, a back, in one piece, as shown in Fig. 3, can be made and sewed
all around the edges, bringing the edges A A against the edge B, and
joining the vertical edges C C to the ends of the side aprons on the
main sheet.
For ventilation, a flap opening may be made at the top of this end as
you can see in Fig. 3; and with tabs and buttons this can be closed when
necessary, or tied back with strings, either to the inside or outside of
the tent, where they should be caught to small harness-rings sewed to
the canvas.
The fly is bound with rope all around the outer edge, from which ropes
extend out from each end, so that in hot weather, if the sun plays on
the tent, it may be kept cool by raising the outer ends of the fly and
propping them up with poles at the four corners, and perhaps one extra
one at the middle of each side. (See the illustration for the canopy
over the table and seats, Fig. 10).
The ridge-pole to hold up this tent is of pine or spruce, ten feet long,
one inch and a half thick, and four inches wide. The uprights are two
inches square, with the sharp corners planed off, making them octagonal
in shape, and they should be from seven to nine feet in length. The
upper ends of the uprights are bound with cord or an iron band to
prevent them from splitting when the iron pin is driven in place. They
are to be bored to receive a half-inch pin, so that eight inches of it
will project above the top of the upright as shown in Fig. 4.
Five-eighth-inch holes are bored in the ridge-pole one inch and a half
from each end, and through these the pins in the uprights will pass.
The stanchion-ropes are caught around the heads of long pegs or stakes,
twenty-four inches long, two inches wide, and one inch in thickness,
with a notch cut three inches from the top as shown in Fig. 5. Cleats
four inches long, two inches wide, and seven-eighths of an inch thick
are provided with two holes through which the stanchion-ropes pass, and
they are used to draw the ropes taut, as shown in Fig. 5, where the
strain on the long rope pulls the short end down and chocks the rope.
The stakes are to be driven into the ground so that but five or six
inches of them project. The lower they are the better purchase they get
in the ground and the more securely the tent is anchored.
The extra ridge-pole for the fly can be cut at one end so that it will
lap in a corresponding manner on the front end of the tent ridge-pole as
shown in Fig. 6. For long tents, where it is necessary to have the
sticks in short lengths, for convenience in carrying them, the
ridge-pole can be in two or three pieces, lapped together at the ends as
shown in the figure drawing, so that the pin in the upright will
complete the union.
When erecting the tent, dig two holes for the uprights to rest in, and
embed them so that seven feet of pole will be above the ground, on which
the ridge-pole will rest, and in turn the canvas covering. The stakes
are driven three feet out on either side of the aprons so that the
stanchion-ropes will line with the pitch of the tent.
A Large Camping-tent
For a company of boys numbering from four to eight a large camping-tent
is shown in Fig. 7.
If it is made twenty feet long, ten feet wide, and eight feet high to
the ridge-pole, it will accommodate six cots and two hammocks swung from
the ridge-pole.
A plan by which to cut the cloth and make the tent is shown in Fig. 8,
and in Fig. 9 the plan for the back is given. If an open back be
preferred, the flaps shown at the bottom of Fig. 8 may be duplicated at
the rear of the tent.
This tent, when erected, is twenty feet long and eight feet high from
the ground to the ridge-pole, with the aprons at the sides three feet
high instead of thirty inches as in the smaller tent. Three uprights two
inches and a half square support the ridge-pole, which for convenience
of transportation may be in two pieces and lapped at the middle as shown
in Fig. 6.
[Illustration:
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
TENTS AND CANOPIES
]
This tent is made in the same manner as described for the smaller one,
and a fly twenty-two feet long and eighteen feet wide is supported over
the tent where, in clear weather, it can be propped up at the outer
edges as shown at the left side of the illustration. The fly is drawn
back at the right side to show how the guy and stanchion ropes are
attached to the stakes, so as to prevent the wind from blowing the tent
backward and forward as well as from side to side.
A flag-pole four feet high may be erected on the middle upright by
leaving the pin at the top longer, so that it will extend up and into a
hole bored in the lower end of the flag-pole. The lower end of the pole
must be bound with cord or wire to prevent splitting. A small pulley at
the top, and a set of halyards, will make it possible to raise a club
flag or pennant.
All around the lower edge of the tent one-inch galvanized rings should
be sewed fast about twelve inches apart. Through these the apron and
ends may be tied fast to short stakes or wooden pins driven in the
ground. This will be quite necessary in the event of a storm or strong
wind, as otherwise the lower part of the tent will blow up and flap
around in a disagreeable manner.
When erecting a tent of this size, care should be taken to anchor it
securely and brace it well with the stanchion and guy ropes, for its
size offers considerable resistance to a strong wind. A little care and
forethought will sometimes avert a catastrophe with a tent, and when
erecting one do not trust anything to luck, but snug your tent and keep
ropes taut.
If it is possible to get some boards and a few joist, it would be well
to make a flooring, if you are to stay in one place for any length of
time.
Always select a level, dry place for the tent, and if possible erect it
on ground that is slightly higher than that around it so as to drain the
surface-water away.
Flies and Canopies
Every camping-tent should have a fly—that is, an extra canvas roof—for
no matter how good the canvas of which it is made, it will become
thoroughly soaked in a heavy rain; but if protected by a fly the latter
will lead the water off and receive the greater part of the wetting.
Such a fly is shown clearly in the illustration of the large
camping-tent. Fig. 7.
The fly should always be a trifle wider than the tent is long, and in
length it should be long enough to cover the roof of the tent and extend
a foot or eighteen inches beyond the sides, where it rests on the
stanchion-ropes and is lashed fast to pegs in the ground. The overhang,
or extension, leads the water out beyond the apron of the tent and
prevents the ground from becoming wet close to the tent.
Another use for this overhang is to prevent the rain driving against the
aprons of the tent and wetting them close to the cots. In fair weather,
when it is possible to dine outside the tent, the fly can be used as a
canopy, if drawn over a ridge-pole and held up at the ends by means of
poles and stanchion-ropes.
A canopy of this kind is shown in Fig. 10, where it is erected over a
table and seats. It is always well, indeed, to have two flies to a tent,
so that one can be used for a canopy or an auxiliary tent, under which a
fire can be built and meals cooked and eaten when it is raining.
For a small camp a fly or canopy, twelve feet wide and eighteen feet
long, will prove very useful in many ways; but for a larger camp it
should measure fifteen by twenty-five feet. Under one of this size a
party of ten or twelve people can be comfortably seated, with plenty of
room all around.
Flies or canopies should be bound with rope all around the edges, and at
distances from twelve to eighteen inches apart three-quarter-inch
galvanized rings should be made fast. Through these stanchion-ropes may
be reared wherever it is necessary to attach the sheet to branches or
poles set in the ground.
A House-tent
One of the latest features in the modern camp is the house-tent, in
which the lower part is floored and boarded half-way up, while the
balance of the sides and the roof are of canvas. This style of camp-tent
has become very popular in California and through the Southwest, where
at least six months of each year are spent out-of-doors. For the boys
who are about to build a permanent camp for several years’ use, a
house-tent such as shown in Figs. 11 and 12 will prove very
satisfactory, and more desirable than the plain pitched tent.
Fig. 11 shows the house-tent closed in stormy weather or at night, while
in Fig. 12 the house is open for fair-weather living. One wooden side is
let down to form a piazza, and the canvas side above it is propped out
with poles so as to act as a canopy or sunshade.
The frame is twelve feet long, eight feet wide, and nine feet high from
the roof to the peak. The wood sides are three feet and six inches above
the floor, and out beyond the sides of the house the joist may extend to
support one or both of the wooden sides, which can be let down by means
of hinges along the bottom. When the sides are lowered they act as
piazzas and nearly double the floor space of the house-tent; while the
canvas sides, when propped out with long, slim poles, add equally to the
roof area in the way of sunshades.
[Illustration:
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
]
In Fig. 13 a clear idea is given for the framing, which is of spruce
planed on the four sides. The uprights and rafters are of
two-by-three-inch stock, while for the under timbers two-by-four or
preferably two-by-six rough stock can be used. The joist or flooring
beams rest on the ends of posts embedded two feet in the ground, to
which they are spiked with long, steel-wire nails. The flooring, of
four-inch matched boards, is laid on the space within the four corner
uprights, and the same or wider boards may be employed for the
sheathing.
If both sides are to let down, a window can be set only at the back of
this house-tent; but if only one side lets down the window may be
arranged at the enclosed side between uprights the same as the rear
window is placed.