4 30 



FOREST AND "STREAM. 



§;uhUng and § Pitting. 



HIGH WATER Foil TIIK WEEK. 



July 27.. 

 July as . 

 JiiiyM 



,Tu y 80 ... 



Ml.'. I.... 



Aug i - 



BOAT AND YACHTBUILDING-lstPaper. 



the s:iiw. 



THIS boat, in its primitive state, was nothing but an 

 Oblong bOlc, Witt) upright sides and ends, made water-tight. 

 "Experience soon gave the ends a slope, to prevent piling wate r 

 tip in front and dragging it behind. The sides were also 

 bevelled to prevent rough water so easily washing inboard, 

 and to give more room and spread for the oars. 



To make a good one. procure two hoards for the fides, 

 either pine or cedar, 14 t<> 10 feet long, Her 16 inches wide 

 and 1 inch thick. These boards should be as near alike in 

 quality as possible; for, if one bends more easily than the 

 oilier, the boat will be crooked, or lopsided— therefore be care- 

 ful that they both bend alike. The best way to tcstthe boards 

 is to lay Ihem alongside one another, resting their extreme 

 ends on sawborses or some equivalent. Then lay equal 

 Weights on the centres of I he boards, sufficient to deflect them 

 or 8 inches from the horizontal Hue. It' both boards arc 

 now found to be curved alike, all right : if not, try until you 

 rind two boards that will bend alike. This point is very im- 

 portant, and must be kept in mind when selecting side boards 

 for skill's or any boat similarly built. 



We now determine what width to make our boat, rout- 

 feet will be about right for the one under consideration. Take 

 a piece of board of that length 12 inches wide and 1 inch 

 thick, cut the ends to the level you require, the sides to be 

 say 4 inches to the foot, which will leave the board i feet 

 long on one edge and 3 feet 4 inches long on the ol her. Next 

 saw the side boards to the same length. Across the middle 

 of the length of each draw a pencil mark, with the aid of a 

 square held on the edge of I lie board. Now determine what 

 curve you would like for the ends : say one of (i feet radius. 

 Take a strip of board 5 or 6 feet long, and of sufficient width 

 "With » eord or piece of lath 6 feet long, describe on it B seg- 

 ment of a circle (1 should explain that the cord or lath is used 

 bss, by fastening one end to the floor with a small 

 nail or awl ; at its Other extremity a pencil is attached). On 

 ■ i ;ol the sideboards which will be placed in the inside 

 of the. boat, proceed to draw off the curves by the aid of the 

 pattern board, placing the pattern so that its one end will start 

 int 3 inches from the upper edge of the sideboard at 

 the ends; bring the other end of pattern down until it strikes 

 the bottom edge : with a pencil murk tug curve ; do the same 

 with the four ends of sideboards; set the sideboards up on 

 edge, parallel with each other, and fasten the 4 feet beveled 

 hoard between themhy two screws in each end of the " mould 

 board." The mould board is set on the line drawn across the 

 middle of the sideboards. Let the wid.i edge of the mould 

 board come flush with the edge of sideboard designed for the 

 i op of boat, or gunwale. Now, if not done previously, cut 

 the ends of sideboards down to the curve line, pass cords 

 jround the two ends of boot, and draw the ends together un- 

 til they are 3^ or 3 feet wide, according to fancy. Now level 

 the sau benders on which the ends of the boat arc resting, so 

 that the skeleton will be out of "wind;" then stay-lath the 

 mould board to the side pieces, so that I he angles between the 

 same will all be alike. 



The boat is now supposed to be resting squarely on the 

 benches, with the bottom edges of sideboards up. The bevel- 

 ing of the sides of boat gives a concavity to the upper edge or 

 gunwale of boat. This concavity is called the sheer, and is 

 desirable; but it also gives a convexity to the bottom that, is 

 um desirable. Therefore, from the poiuts where the end 

 curves of boat, end on the bottom, make the bottom straight or 

 nearly =o by shaving down the sides. With the aid of a straight- 

 edge "board laid across the boat from side to side, bevel the 

 sideboards so that the bottom boards will fit neatly on them: 

 's-iil on i he bottom boards, which should be placed crosswise 

 the boat Set and drive the nails carefully, so that they will 

 not come through the sideboards. Common cut nails ate the 

 , , purpose. Hoards for bottom may be of pine or 

 C (flat 9 or 1 inch thick. Close the ends of scow by nailing 

 ,,,,,-:!,., .r.ntsrl : f tie. si Jr. pc: w IkvlI (leir edges 

 so that the last bottom boards wi I hi over then, neatly ; plane 

 the ends of the bottom boards down smooth with the sides, 

 •md turn the boat over. Kemove the stay, laths, take the 

 screws out and remove mold board, plugging With pine plugs 

 anv screw or nail holes. Next determine how wide a platform 

 you want at ends of scow. This is a matter of fancy. They 

 cm be made from 1 to 3 feet wide. Use 1-inch boards 

 treenicdand grooved together. Cut a strip 1 inch deep, and 

 r.meientlv ion- to allow for the width of platform. Out, of 

 the top edse of sideboards of boat cut the end board to cor- 

 respond, and fit the platforms to place. Before nailing plat- 

 forms in place, nail lengthwise through the centre of bottom 

 of boat with clench nails aboard 8 to 10 inches wide, long 

 enouchto reach from one end to the other, allowing for the 

 curve Of ends, and \ inch thick. The ends of board may be 

 plane, I thinner, to allow it to bend more easily to the curve of 

 . , , Bevel the two upper edges of board, to give a neat 

 appearance ; afterward nad lie platforms in place. 



! Next come the side strios. or mouldings around the top 



P flte or uunwale Ol heal. Take two strips of inch boards, 2 to 



li inches wide, and the full length of boat, Nail With 



cli ich nails around the upper edge of side boards ; bevel oft 



tdB of strips to give a neat tirnsbto ends of boats, A 



rowing seat should be placed about the centre of the boat's 

 length. Make it of a piece of board one inch thick, !) or 111 inch- 

 es wide and of the proper length. This can only he fitted by 

 trial, sawing off a little af a time, until it fits in' place. Saw- 

 two pieces Of hoard of tKe same width as the seat, and of such 

 length that when placed one under each end of seat 



boards, it will leave I he upper side of seat, six and a 

 half or seven inches below the gunwale or upper edge of side 

 board. Pit another rowing seat in the same manner 1 1 ,. . i- I, 

 ahead of the first one, measuring from centre to centre of 

 seats. For the proper position of rowlocks I will give a rule 

 tli at I have deduced from my own experience, and which I be- 

 lieve is the only true one : "Bend the fore arm up toward the 

 shoulder, set a square in the angle between the arms at the el- 

 bow, dose trie fingers oil the palm of the hand and lake the 

 distance to the knuckle joint of first finger. This will give 

 the distance to set the centre of rowlock from the edge of seat, 

 In my own individual ca.se this distance is 10,- inches. Those 

 with longer or shorter fore arms will iroverh themselves ac- 

 cordingly. Rowlocks of galvanized iron may he bought 

 cheaply. Those which swivel on a plate are th'ebesl. Set a 

 pair for each rowing seat. The rowlocks should measure Cl- 

 inches between the widest part of the horns. Seat* mayor 

 may not be fitted in the ends of boat, as the builder prefers. 

 After this nothing remains to he done but caulking and paint- 

 ing. 



For caulking small boats 1 prefer candlcwick, which can be 

 divided into any sized strand required. Force si rands of a 

 suitable size into the seams, and drive down enough to leave 

 room to finish the seam with stiff whilelead ground in oil. 

 Give two or three good coats of paint, inside and out; attach 

 a ring and staple to bow of boat, and you have done. 



In all boats of this kind the builder can van' dimensions 

 given to suit his particular requirements or preference— thus 

 the ends of boat can be of more or less width, Ihe sides may 

 have more bevel, and consequently the boat will have more 

 "sheer," or concavity, i the boat may he of a greater or less 

 Width, keeping in mind that, the larger the dimensions, the 

 more the boat will carry, and the harder it will row. A boat 

 of the dimensions I have given will carry five or six persons 

 comfortably. Oars should be 7 to 8 feet long; rope to lie boat, 

 hemp or manjlla, f inches in diameter, and 12 or 15 feet long. 



Napi 1^ i 



THE YALE STROKE, 



New Haven, July 2. 

 Km tdi: Fobbst and Stream : 



" Is the Yale Stroke a Failure." This is thchcading of an 

 editorial fas consequent as most Herald editorials) that appear- 

 ed in the New York Herald of July Sth, or thereabouts. Who 

 can have fathered the article in question I cannot imagine, 

 but it must have been either a fool or a venomous knave. From 

 beginning lo end the article is an attack on .Air. took, the man 

 who has, by the Herald's own Statement, done more for Amer- 

 ican rowing than any man in the country. Last year We were 

 informed editorially by the Herald that Mr. Cook has inaugu- 

 rated a new system of rowing, that it was Undoubtedly the 

 only correct one, that the country owed him a. debt of "grat- 

 itude for the work he had done in bringing together a crew 

 that could row well enough to virtually defeat the London 

 Bowing Club, and much more to the same effect. Verily the 

 Herald is a consistent sheet. Noyv , before going into the ques- 

 tion of strokes, let us fora minute look over the article and nail 

 a few of the untruths therein contained. 



We read that " The Vale crew went all to pieces, until, 

 more than one witness testifies, that, they actually did not 

 scemable to hold on to I heir oars." indeed '. Yet we read in 

 the HercUdot July 1st that they rowed a superb race; that they 

 held their own resolutely in the rough water; that in the last 

 mile they made spurt after spurt, repeatedly lessening the dis- 

 tance between the boats, and that finally, water-logged as 

 they were, they made a magnificent struggle at the finish, 

 rowing forty strokes to the minute, anil putting forth a burst 

 of speed that neaily closed the gap between them and their 

 rivals. Could men Scarcely able to hold on to their oars do 

 this, think you? Could a crew "gone all to pieces" so hold their 

 own with sdeh a superb crew as the Harvards were ? This 

 statement, like most others in this precious article, won't bear 

 reading in the light of reason. No honest man who saw the 

 contest will deny that it was superbly fought from start to 

 finish. Mo reasonable man reading of 'the race, and aware of 

 the facts that the course was a four-mile one; that one of the 

 boats was nearly waterlogged; that there was a turn in the 

 course which give the inside crew Ibead vantage: thai lie refe- 

 ree, after the positions had been drawn, moved t.he buoys mark- 

 ing the flats, and I hen ruled that the outside boat (Yale.) should 

 not, go within 300 feet of them, forcing her over into shoal 

 water throughout the second mile, and that there was only 

 three-quarters of a length of clear water between the boats at 

 the finish, can fail to see that the Vales were nol " beaten easily 

 all over the course," and that under different circumstances, 

 the contest would have been even closer. Fairly beaten 

 Yale undoubtedly was ; easily beaten she was not. Both 

 crews were exhausted at the finish- — Yale more so 

 than Harvard, but not more so than she should have 

 been after such a race. The losing crew which 

 does not come in exhausted after a race is dishonored. A 

 fresh man at the end of a lost race indicates one who has 

 spared himself at. the expense of his fellows. A fresh crew at 

 the end of a lost race, indicates a boat full of faint hearts. 

 Again the Herald says, and in so saying gives the lie direct to 

 dozens of its own statements, editorial and other, since '73; 

 "Vale has spent four whole years on her present Stroke, cer- 

 tainly ample time to test its every merit, and in them nil she never 

 won a clear or satisfactory victory until last Bummer, and then 

 over a crew badly rigged* and so young and inexperienced that 

 they hardly amounted to a respectable class crew." Now can 

 a more contemptibly mean statement be imagined? Is it a 

 pretty tiling to see a great, newspaper thus calmly print a 

 statement which would seek to rob dozens of good fellows of 

 their hard won laurels, which seeks to rob all graduates of 

 Yale of the pride which they so justlj feel in that grand old 

 institution's boating record since '73? It is needless to say 

 that, the sentence we have quoted is utterly untrue. In '73 

 Yale's single sculler won his race with ease, rowing the so- 

 called " Vale stroke." J'he following day thefreshmen, using 

 the same stroke, won their race with equal ease. Then the 

 University crew came in ahead of a field of thirteen. They 

 too rowed the " Yale stroke." Werenot these " clear or satis- 

 factory " victories. In '74 the foul took place, but Wilcox, of 

 Yale, won the sculls with ease, pulling the "Yale stroke." 

 In '75 Kennedy won rhe sculls with ease, pulling the "Vale 

 stroke." In '70 the Y T ale eight, rowing the "Vale stroke," 

 beat Harvard terribly. The Herald says that they beat i( a 

 crew badly rigged, and so young and inexperienced that they 



hardly amounted to a respectable class crew " Indeed I 

 Well, six of these same young and inexperienced bi 

 to Saratoga, and with scarcely any practice and with great 

 ease defeated Columbia, Onion, Wesleyan and Princeton, and 



nearly beat Cornell. Does this speak' well for the //■r.r'7'.j 



assertion in regard to the make tip of the Harvard - r 



" he Yale four went to the Centennial. They defeated every 



In? 1 



clci 



t with I 

 the Bet 

 I ese I lear and sat.isfael 



bridge and Columbia 



championship of Am 

 not this a clear and sn 

 Yale had won nine-oil 



three 



■ exception of the London four, and 

 Id virtually defeated them. Were not 

 7 victories:' They defeated Cam, 

 ■aeeitolhem a walk-ovci l for the 

 Polleges n few days later. Was 

 Ctory victory? We thought that 

 id satisfactory races in the I : i ■-. i i,.i , 

 ".4. one in '75, and four in '76. 



The Herald says she has gained but one. 



Again the 7/m/W goes on to say, speaking of Mr. Walson, 

 the Harvard coach: 



'■ But the latter were taught by a gentleman who never saw 

 England, who had not rowed a race in nine years, who was a 

 member of the fast '08 Harvard crew, arid who will I 

 day that nearly all the ideas ho now inculcates ' 

 then, the chief change being only that required to adapt them 

 to the sliding seat." 



Now, honor where honor is due. To Mr. Bancroft belongs 

 the honor of the victory. He taught his crew the stroke. 

 And what Stroke was it? The stroke learned in '08 by Mr. 

 Watson? The English stroke— the "Yale stroke." Mr. 

 Bancroft went to the Centennial and studied the English 

 crew s. lb- applied his study, and we saw the result at Spring- 

 field. He set the stroke, the coach drilled the seven men be- 

 hind him, using him as a model. We don't think that Mr. 

 Watson will "testify" to anything else. Mr. Bancroft, has 

 worked with rare perseverance and resolution for the attain- 

 ment of the fine edtion of the English stroke rowed by his 

 crew this summer. Do not, seek lo rob him of the laurels 

 which are his and his only. 



And now for the question "Is the Vale stroke a failure?" 

 Why not, ask the same question of the Harvard stroke, for it 

 was essentially the same thiug. As I said before, the stroke 

 rowed by Harvard was the English stroke— so is that pulled by 

 Yale; lit least so says Colston of the London Rowing Club, 

 though Mr. Goodwin, of Columbia (who will only allow that 

 "Yale rows pretty"), has kindly pointed on! to Y'iile that. Mr. 

 Gulston is mistaken, and that hers is not the English stroke, 

 Now can there be no reason for a lost race but a faulty stroke .' 

 Does the beaten crew in the great English Lnivcrsity race:. 

 always seek a new stroke? If the Yale stroke is a failure, 

 every crew that has won a college race since '73 can know 

 that its stroke, has been modeled on that same failure. In '73 

 Cook, of Yale, gave up one year of bis college course and 

 went to England, whence he returned with the 

 "Y'ale stroke." That year he won his raec with it. In '74 

 nearly every crew on the course rowed as near an approxima- 

 tion to it as they could arrive al. Cornell used if in '75, and 

 in '70 rowed it nearly as well as did the Yale men at Spring- 

 field the Fame year. "Columbia rowed it in '7t and has rowed 

 it ever since. At, Springfield this year she rowed it, having 

 learnt it from Mr. Kelly, the same man who coached the Yale 

 Crew last year. If ale rowed it at the Centennial, and English- 

 men on the banks sang out, " Well rowed, Vale!" 



Every year since '73 the .great papers of the country have 

 Steadily indorsed the " Yale stroke" (meaning the .English 

 stroke), the Herald, more than any of tbem. Last year after 

 the brilliant struggle with the Londoners at Philadelphia, the 

 Herald could find no words to express sufficiently its admira- 

 tion for the English stroke as rowed by Cook's four, and alter 

 declaring that the country at large should feel grateful to Cap- 

 tain Cook for his work, went on to criticise in glowing terms 

 his stroke, which never rose above 88, while, the Londoners 

 were rowing up to 40. Yet here we see this great and con- 

 sist ent newspaper solemnly and foolishly propounding the 

 queslion, "Is the Yale stroke a failure?" and after a 

 column of maundering idiocy, stilling that question to its 

 own entire insane satisfaction, fa the affirmative. 



Again I say, Yale was heavily overmatched physically, her 

 men averaging I en pounds lighter than the Harvards. They 

 knew from Ihe start that they were overmatched, but hoped 

 for victory on the grounds that they rowed their stroke SO 

 much betierthan did the Harvard men. So they did ton 

 weeks before the race, but when race day came the reds had 

 coached so faithfully as to row nearly as cleanly as they did 

 themselves. The ten pounds per man extra weight i.". the 

 other boat and the. rough water did the rest. Yale will thank- 

 fully avail herself of Mr. Cook's services next year it she .an 

 get them, which is doubtful, if she Cannot, she will adhere lo 

 his system. The Herald, in closing, says Yale should adopt 

 another stroke ("even though to learn it they must turn 

 from a well meaning friend (poor Cook j and go to an ancient 

 but always an appreciative enemy." Who may this ancient 

 and appreciative he? 



Wii.i.iAH.-^BtKOii Yvoiit Ciajn. — A match race was Bailed 

 July 18th between the Kosina and Emma D., the course being 

 from the foot of 104th street, East River, to and around the 

 Gangway buoy and return, a distance of thirty miles. The 

 Emma D. was the winner by 2 min. 11 sec. The following 

 shows the result: 



Elapsed corrected 

 Start. Finish. Tuiie. Time. 



H. Si. s. n. M. s. n. m B. n it, s. 



EmraaD 12 84-20 ti So on 5 SO M 



Rosina JS3-1H0 638 la 5 r.4 10 5 62 51# 



Broorlvn YacBT Cniin.— Twelve schooners and ten sloops 

 constitute the squadron which started on the 80th fai their 

 cruise to the eastward. Their names are : Schooners— Made- 

 leine, Estelle, Columbia. Comet, Lreaduaught, Mystic, Play. 

 ftd, Sea Witch, Tempest, Vision, Vista, Clyde. Sloops— M. 

 antic, Arrow, Ada, Alice, Cyclone, Gracic, Kale, Lizzie L., 

 Mat tie. Schemer. Their ultimate destination is New Bedford. 

 On their return they will disband at Newport. 



Citv Point Mosquito Fi.rkt RboATCA— Qfoue&ter, ■Inly 

 16. — Wind light and the water smooth. Everything adapted 

 for a successful race for the tiny craft. Appended is a sum- 

 ma ry : 



FIRST CLASS. 



Boats. Owoers. Time. 



h. m. s. 



Stioereg C. Borden 11 n 00 



Lizzie Mirj.MeDonongh 11 n ir, 



Ro-lyn - J.Oonoon ll 2 00 



SECOND CLASS. 



Manquiia 



Young Turk 



Niagara. . - . 

 Cry., 



Gazelle ... 



TH1BD cuss. 

 .. .P. Dexter I 



...C. B. aanon . .it 2 20 



. A. Dean tl, -8 it 



...J. Woodward II t CO 



, , .J Bertram . 



