DESCRIPTION OF THE HARPOON. 22S(. 



are now commonly built of fir-boards, one-half or 

 three-fourths of an inch thick, with timbers, keel, 

 gunwales, stem, and stern-post of oak. An im- 

 provement in tlie timbering of wliale-boats has late- 

 ly been made, by sawing the timber out of very 

 straight grained oak, and bending them to the re- 

 quired form, after being made supple, by the appli- 

 cation of steam, or immersion in boiling water. 

 This improvement, whicli renders the timbers more 

 elastic, than when they are sav.n out of crooked 

 oak, and at the same time makes the boat strong- 

 er and lighter, was suggested by Thomas Brodrick, 

 Esq. of Whitby, ship-builder. Though the prin- 

 ciple has long been acted upon in clincher-built 

 boats, with ash timbers, the application to carver- 

 built whale-boats, is, I believe, new. The bow and 

 stem of Greenland boats, are both sharp, and, in 

 appearance, very similar ; but the stern fomas a 

 more acute angle than the bow. The keel has 

 some inches depression in the middle, from which 

 the facility of turning is acquired. 



The instruments of general use in the capture of 

 the whale, are the harpoon and lance. 



The harpoon (plate 18. fig. 2.) is an instrument 

 ©f iron, of about three feet in length. It consists 

 of three conjoined parts, called the "socket," "shank," 

 and " mouth ;" the latter of which includes the 

 barbs or " withers." This instrument, if we except 

 a small addition to the barbs, and some enlargement 

 of dimensions, maintains the same form in v/hich it 



