Description of a secure Boat, or Life Boat. 261 



flocks, such as is in common use in the North of England, 

 (or any other caulking,) between the slips and planks, 



-which will always keep them tight, as long as the boat re- 

 mains unstayed, or the planks worn through. These slips, 



-«ach being riveted to the two adjoining edges of the planks, 

 as shown in Fig. 4, will make the joint as strong as the 



joint of a common clincher-built boat, and as tight, with- 

 out the risk of any external damage. Those joints have 

 ■ also this advantage, that the planks will not have their sides 

 bevelled off, but be of an equal thickness from edge to 

 edge, which is not the case in clincher-built vessels j for at 

 the ends they are half bevelled away, so as not to bear 

 clinching. By the neutral system two inches in the breadth 

 of each plank will be saved in the laps, which may be con- 

 siderable in the conversion of plank. I set little value on 

 the slips, as there is always a sufficiency of waste in cutting 

 the planks to a proper form. 



A boat of this construction has all the strength of one 

 elincher-built, and can be made as light or lighter. It is 

 free from the disadvantages of irregular outsides, and from 

 the difficulty of repairing, which in this can be performed 

 by any common workman in wood, as I have found by 

 experience. A boat built this way has a fair and smooth 

 outBidc, it has all the advantages of a carver-built one, at the 

 same time it is clear of the disadvantages of being loaded 

 with unnecessary wood, which makes the carver-work very 

 heavy, the liability of leaks, and frequent want of caulking. 

 There is one evil which both carver- and clincher-built boats 

 have in common, that of having keel seams, and a vacancy 

 between the sand or garboard streak, and the upper part of 

 the keel, which soon gels filled with dirt, and remains so, 

 which naturally retains moisture, and speedily rots the wood. 

 In this mode that evil is removed, by having the midship 

 plank bolted on to the keel, wide enough to come over each 

 side of the keel to clinch the slips on : this not only removes 

 the evil, but saves a great deal of trouble in making the 

 jabbets in the keel, and various bevellings in the sand streaks, 

 which must be done by a good workman. 



These boats require no larger timbers than common 

 |i 3 clincher- 



