How to Build an Ice-Boat 



THE ice-boat described is fast for its 

 size, and can be built at a small cost. 

 It has a sail area of about 70 sq. ft. — 

 enough to carry two people. Good lum- 

 ber should be used, such as bass wood 

 or white pine, and the weight should be 

 kept as low as possible. 



The sail is of the "balanced" type. 

 The dimensions are : Boom, or bottom, 

 10'; gaff, or top, 6'; leach, or back, 12'; 

 and luff, or front, 7'. This sail can be 



Fig. I. The completed ice-boat, 

 showing details of the sail 



drawn tight by means of the rope and 

 pulley on the boom as shown is Fig. 3. 

 The flatter a sail hangs, the closer the 

 boat will sail into the wind, for which 

 reason two bamboo poles are put across 

 the sail as shown in Fig. 1. A set of 



Fig. 



2. Showing construction of the 

 runner plank 



reef points should be fastened to the 

 lower bamboo pole so the sail area can be 

 decreased in case of a strong wind. 



In making the sail, first chalk its out- 

 line on the floor, cut and sew the strips 

 as shown in Fig. 1. The outer edge 

 should be turned over and a cord sewn 

 in. The top of the sail is not straight 

 but is cut with a slight curve. Lace the 

 sail to the poles with a strong cord. 



The mast is 14' high. Care should be 

 taken to select straight-grained wood for 

 the mast. At one-fourth of the distance 

 from the top, the mast should be 3" in 

 diameter and taper to 23/2" at top and 

 bottom. The bottom should rest on a 

 hardwood block with a 2^" hole drilled 

 into it. Drill this hole lyi" deep and 

 fasten the block securely to the bowsprit 

 I3/2' in front of the center of the runner 

 plank. 



The mast is held in 

 place by three wire 

 stays. On the 

 two side 

 stays, turn- 

 buckles should 

 he used to 

 tighten the 

 wires. Fasten 

 a 3V2" ring 

 to the boom 

 with rawhide 

 to hold the 

 boom in place 

 on the mast. 



Tie the top ring to the end of the rope, 

 with which the sail is hoisted and thread 

 the rope through the pulley on the center 

 of the gaff. Fig. 3. A strong rope 

 should be fastened as shown in Fig. 3. 

 Do not make the sail poles until the sail 

 is completed, and then make them 6" or 

 8'' longer than the sail so stretching can 

 be taken up. For drawing the sail in 

 and out, fasten the rope and pulleys as 

 shown in Fig. 1. 



The runners and runner guides are 

 made of oak. Cut runners as shown in 

 Fig. 4, and fit iron shoes to them. For 

 runner shoes use ^4" square iron rod and 

 flatten both ends so that holes can be 

 drilled for bolts, to fasten to runners. 



Mast Rigging 



141 



