620 



Popular Science Monthly 



single and doublebladed. Better choose 

 the double blades, square ended, well cop- 

 pered and 9^2 ft. long. They are joined 

 at the center with a heavy ferrule and 

 any time that you want to try single- 

 bladed stunts, separate them and you 

 have two single blades, which will be 

 more comfortable if you have provided 

 yourself with a pair of the short separable 

 handles which the paddle-makers turn 

 out to keep your hands from getting cut 

 and cramped on the ferrule edges. 



With the double blade there is no 



Dimensions for cutting a board and mak- 

 ing a back rest for the seat of a canoe 



waste motion, the finish of one stroke 

 places the other blade in position for the 

 next, while with the single blade a recov- 

 ery stroke must be made. With two 

 singles, unless the paddlers are well 

 matched and practiced in keeping each 

 other's stroke, the rear paddler wastes 

 much energy in keeping a straight course, 

 while with two double blades each paddler 

 equalizes his own strokes automatically. 

 But the great advantage of the double 

 blade lies in the ability of one man, when 

 paddling against or across a breeze, to 

 head the canoe direct for her destination, 

 without loss of time in recovery or loss of 



energy in the back sweep required to off- 

 set the tendency of the craft to turn in 

 the direction opposite that f-rom which 

 the paddle is operated. In running into 

 a wind, against which one paddler with a 

 single blade would be almost helpless, the 

 setting of the blades at right angles to 

 each other reduces the windage of the 

 idle blade to almost nothing, and a little 

 practice will allow its being turned to 

 take the water without conscious effort. 

 The double blade may be used from the 

 seat or from the floor position, while to 

 get any action from the single blade, the 

 seat position must be kept. 



For each cushion purchase one yard of 

 light weight brown waterproof canvas, 

 40 in. wide. Fold this over on itself with 

 the fold running the long way. Sew the 

 two ends together by machine, if possible, 

 then parallel with the ends and 2 in. 

 apart, stitch across the short way, 

 stitching the two thicknesses of canvas 

 together, being careful to leave the ends 

 of the compartments open so that they 

 may be stuffed with ground cork. When 

 full, baste the open ends together and 

 finish the job on the machine. 



You now have a cork-filled waterproof 

 cushion, a trifle less than 20 in. wide and 

 somewhat less than 3 ft. long. Fold this 

 over on itself lengthwise and the result is 

 a canoe cushion about 4 in. thick, which 

 keeps you high enough to be comfortable, 

 does not get wet through readily and, 

 when moist, dries quickly in the sun. 



The thwarts are rather low and some- 

 what too thin to furnish a comfort-sup- 

 port, so you need a couple of back rests. 

 The simplest ones are those cut from 3^- 

 in. cherry or chestnut, 22 in. long by 

 13;?4 wide, as shown in the illustration. 

 Be sure that the grain of the wood runs 

 from top to bottom instead of across the 

 back rest, and that the space between the 

 feet is sufl[icient to clear the flooring 

 strips. Two strips of the same material, 

 each 1 1^ in. wide, fastened across the 

 back with brass screws will prevent 

 warping if a couple of coats of varnish are 

 applied. 



A painter or bow-line with which to tie 

 the canoe is a necessary part of the equip- 

 ment. An anchor which will allow you to 

 fish or to lie to in some quiet cove without 

 going ashore is also a great convenience. 

 A four-pound folding anchor of the 



