SAILING CRAFT 79 



people know how long a well-built and well- 

 cared-for ship can live. Lloyd's register for 

 19 13 contains vessels launched before Queen 

 Victoria began to reign. Merchantmen have 

 often outlived their century. Nelson's Victory 

 still flies the flag at Portsmouth, though she 

 was laid down the year before Wolfe took 

 Quebec. And the Konstanz, a thirty-five-ton 

 sloop, still plies along the Danish coast, 

 although her launch took place in 1723 — a 

 hundred and ninety years ago. 



A third drawback for Canadian builders was 

 the lack of capital. Shipbuilding fluctuates 

 more than most kinds of business, and requires 

 great initial outlay as well ; so failures were 

 naturally frequent. The firm of Ross at 

 Quebec did much to steady the business by 

 sound finance. But the smaller yards were 

 always in difficulties, and no shipbuilder ever 

 made a fortune. 



Excellent craft, however, came out of 

 Canadian yards : notable craft wherever they 

 sailed. One of the best builders at Quebec was 

 a French Canadian, whose beautiful clipper 

 ship Brunelle, named after himself, logged 

 over fourteen knots an hour and left many 

 a smart sailer, and steamer too, hull down 

 astern. Mackenzie of Pictou was builder and 



