22 



THE SWAN AND HER CREW. 



first thing to be done was to make two long pontoons or floats, 

 on which to erect the superstructure of the yacht. This was 

 a comparatively easy matter. They made two long wooden 

 boxes of the following sizes and dimensions. Each box was 

 twenty-four feet long, four feet wide in the middle portion and 

 tapering off at each end to a fine point, and two feet six inches 

 deep. It was made of one-inch deal, and strongly supported 

 and fastened together by ribs and cross-pieces of wood in the 



BUILDING THE BOAT. 



interior. The seams were caulked with tow and a mixture of 

 red and white lead, and then covered or protected by slips of 

 wood nailed along them. These two pontoons were then laid 

 on the ground side by side with a space of three feet six 

 inches between their centres. They were then joined to- 

 gether by strong pieces of wood fastened the whole way across, 

 every two feet, On the top of these again, a flooring of planks 



