452 



THE FOWLER IN IRELAND. 



STEM OF FOWLING-PUNT 



With drop-pin so as to remove rope-breeching easily. Head of pin 

 to be secured to staple by piece of light brass chain. 



A duck-punt with well slanted-out sides, though 

 they do at times cast a dark shadow, especially 

 when viewed sideways, will meet a wave far lighter, 

 and will drown in a sea a wall-sided craft, though 

 the former may have but a couple of inches more 

 flare in its sides than the latter. The stern of a 

 well-proportioned duck-punt must always be high, 

 compared to the stem. In a punt, it is under the 

 after-deck that the sculler or paddler puts his feet 

 and legs. If built too low here the water is very apt 

 to sit on the after-deck more than it ought. Besides 

 this, a low after-deck and stern reduces considerably 

 the buoyancy space and carrying power of your little 

 vessel, to no good end. A punt can be covered with 

 some kind of material to deaden her colour, pre- 

 serve the wood, and stop out soakage and leakage 

 through the thin decks, which would make them 

 heavy. Now, canvas is, over a punt, much too 

 weighty, not only in itself, but in the pounds of 

 paint it will suck up ere properly coated. Linen 

 can be got so wide that it will cover the entire 

 decks, fore and aft, in one piece, and will, therefore, 

 fit close, without a wrinkle, needing no tacking save 



