The Scientific American Boy; Or, The Camp at Willow Clump Island

cross the strips of shallow water between our quarters and the Jersey shore. We never attempted to row across, because progress would have been en

ssing the water for provisions and the like, yet the quiet stretch was admirably suited

d's Dep

nd supply of provisions, accompanied Uncle Ed as far as Millville, the next town below Lamington. Here Uncle Ed bought five yards of canvas, 42 inches wide, several cans of paint and a quantity of brass and copper nails and tacks.

rom Mr. S

f the vicinity. He was greatly pleased with our work, and it was then that he gave us an order for the bridge over the gorge. From that day on he became our staunchest ally, so that when my father and Mr. Van Syckel complained that we were loafing away a lot of time which could be more profitably s

iling

River in the

tern Post o

At the stern a post 1-1/2 inches thick, 3 inches wide and 13 inches high was secured to the keelson with brass screws. This was braced as indicated in Fig. 104.

hree forms, one of the shape shown in Fig. 106 and two like that shown in Fig. 107. The first form was set up on the keelson midway between

erefore, we fastened it to the keelson very lightly, so that it could be readily removed. The other two f

eatly fit the stem piece and the stern post, to which they were fastened by brass screws. Then we applied the longitudinal st

nailed securely to the bulkheads and the stem piece and stern post. The cross ribs were

09. To

plit to a width of 1/2 inch, and secured first to the keelson, then

10. Si

wn in Fig. 106. The semicircular pieces thus obtained were now strengthened with strips on their inner edges, and wedged in between the keelson and the gunwales, to which they were nailed, as shown in Fig. 108. A pair of cleats nailed to the cross ribs served as supports for the seat of the canoe. The frame of the boat was c

ing the Canva

ng on th

wine we sewed both edges of the cloth together with long stitches, lacing the canvas over the frame as a shoe is lac

lacing tightened, while we carefully worked out all wrinkles in the cloth. After tacking the canvas along the gunwales on the outside, it was trimmed off, leaving sufficient margin to be brought over the gunwales and tacked inside. Two triangular pieces were cut out for the decks, and these were lapped over the outer canvas and tacked to the gunwales.

Ru

3. The

es wide and 1/2 inch thick were nailed to each side of the blade, forming a post, to the top of which a crosspiece or tiller was fastened. A

g pair screwed into the stern. For convenience in steering we ran our tiller rope clear around the boat, through screw

Deep

m of Canoe, Sho

d View, Show

2 inch thick and 6 feet long, and was fastened at the center of the canoe. Screw eyes about twelve inches apart were threaded alternately into opposite

e Sa

. The Ma

, and each measured 1-1/2 inches in diameter at the base, tapering to about 1 inch diameter at the upper end. They were held in

s of the mizzen sail were: along the boom, 5 feet; along the yard, 5-1/2 feet; and at the leach, 6 feet. The boom was attached to a strap

ended to a cleat within easy reach of the occupant of the boat. A double paddle was fashioned from a board 1 inch

t. Uncle Ed has warned us not to, because iron rusts out so easily and i

in, as we soon learned, and it was lucky

time Bill and I tried the boat an unexpected gust of wind struck us and over we

Bo

rong, and every once and awhile it would be wrenched loose. The matter was made the subject of a special letter to Uncle Ed, and in due time his answer was received. As usual, he offered a first-class solution of the difficulty. "Don't use a keel," he wrote; "lee boards are much better." Then he went on to explain what was

1. A Le

pport to which the lee boards were secured. The lee boards were paddle-shaped affairs of the form and dimensions shown in Fig. 121. Each paddle near the top w

rosspiece of the canoe by means of a couple of bolts. The bolt heads were countersunk, so that the hinged boards could lie flat over them. To the

the water, while the latter rope was used to swing the board into working position. When tacking to port (left), the board on the left side of the canoe was lowere

tted with Lanteen S

an Paddl

4. Cent

This was to be much lighter, for paddling only, and of the true Indian sha

n in Figs. 124 and 125. These forms, it will be

orm shown in Fig. 126, and were firmly secured to the keelson. This made the boat 12 feet long. The forms were then set in place on the keelson, one at the center and the others three feet each side. T

assed under the keelson inside of the rib bands and outside of the gunwales, as shown in Fig. 128. After they were set in place and firmly secured with copper tacks, a band w

bands. The canvas was then applied in the manner described before, but was tacked to the upper edge of the gunwale instead of the outer side, and the tacks were covered by a half-round molding which extended around the entire boat. After the lacing was cut the ed

edge Pieces

oe with a sail and a pair of lee boards, though no reco

The Cros