[ 95 i 



CHAPTER XIL— Continued, 



THE HOUSEBOAT. 



IV 

 By W. M. Law. 



npHE new arrival from home on reaching Shanghai is usually fortunate enough to receive 

 * an early invitation to spend a week-end up-country in a houseboat, and so pleasant are 

 its memories that it is not at all surprising that he is very probably soon possessed by the 

 desire to own a craft of his own. And this ambition may be further stimulated by the idea 

 that he will not have to save so much of his salary as he once imagined because houseboats 

 at auction often change hands at very low prices, and that if he keep his eyes open he may 

 perchance pick up a bargain. Time passes and he sees the advertisement of a houseboat 

 for sale at public auction with the rider that she " has just been thoroughly overhauled and 

 is in good condition and well-fitted for immediate use." He goes to the auction, becomes 

 the purchaser, and with his bargain will probably take over the old lowdah. Before that 

 functionary gets into harness he will probably point out to his new master that the boat was 

 not quite " so good as she was painted." The fender is rotten, the bottom planks are of no 

 use, the boat leaks, and the suggestion is made to get a good carpenter — the lowdah's 

 friend is of course a number one carpenter — and fix things up a bit. Well, having paid 

 Tls. 400 or Tls. 500 for his bargain the purchaser thinks that it would be real economy to 

 get the boat fixed up for the season, and so she is put on the blocks for a " look-see." And 

 now fresh defects are revealed, the stem has been badly scarphed, the keelson, frames and 

 stringers are rotten, the leeboard is badly twisted, and several planks which could not be 

 seen while the boat was afloat must be renewed. The estimate, which is invariably 

 exceeded, comes to say, Tls. 375. Thus the patched-up boat will stand in at Tls. 850 or near 

 thereto to start with. 



If, then, one has the idea of purchasing a second-hand boat it would be well before 

 consummating the bargain to insist that the boat be placed upon blocks or a slipway and 

 opened up for examination, free of charge, and there probably will be less of regret if 

 attention be paid to the following points : — 



See that stem has no cross grain and that the chafing iron on stem is not spiked on, 

 but bolted right through. See that centre keelsons, side stringers and sister keelsons are 

 of Singapore hardwood and not scarphed at all. i.e., one piece right fore and aft. See that 

 all frames are well fastened together at butts with heavy bosom pieces carrying through 

 bolts of at least % in. diameter. 



