SECURE SAILING OR LIFE BOAT. 127 



other caulking), between the slips and planks, which will 

 always keep them tight, as long as the boat remains un- 

 stayed, or the planks not worn through. These slips, each 

 being rivetted to the two adjoining edges of the planks, as 

 shown in Fig. 4, will make the joint as strong as the joint 

 of a common clincher-built boat, and as tight, without the 

 risk of any external damage. These joints have also this 

 advantage, that the planks will not have their sides bevelled 

 oft', but be of an equal thickness from edge to edge, which Is 

 not the case in clincher-built vessels, for at the ends they 

 are half bevelled away, so as not to bear clenching. By 

 the neutral system two inches in the breadth of each plank 

 will be saved in the laps, which may be considerable in the 

 conversion of plank. I set little value on the slips, as therft 

 is always a sufficiency of waste in cutting the planks to a 

 proper form. 



A boat of this construction has all the strength of one 

 clincher-built, and can be made as light or lighter. It is 

 free from the disadvantages of irregular outsides, and from 

 the difficulty of repairing, which in this can be performed 

 by any common workman in wood, as I have found by ex- 

 perience. A boat built this way has a fair and smooth out- 

 side, it has all the advantages of a carvel-built one, at the 

 same time it is clear of the disadvantages of being loaded 

 with unnecessary wood, which makes the carvel-work very 

 heavy, the liability of leaks, and frequent want of caulking. 

 There is one evil, which both carvel and clincher built Common de- 

 boats have in common, that of having keel seams, and a [ect above the 

 ' , 1 , -,1 *^^^ remedied, 



vacancy between the sand or garboard streak, and the upper 



part of the keel, which soon gets filled with dirt, and re- 

 mains so, which naturally retains moisture, and speedily 

 rots the wood. In this mode that evil is removed, by hav- 

 ing the midship plank bolted on to the keel, wide enough 

 to come over each side of the keel to clinch the slips on, 

 this not only removes the evil, but saves a great deal of 

 trouble in making the rabbets in the keel, and various be- 

 vellings in the sand streaks, which must be done by a good 

 workman. 



These boats require no larger timbers than common 

 clincher built boats, as the timbers need no greater notches, 



but 



