Toti 



*i» U ±UL^ 1 AIW'TW IIJUJUU 1 . 1 ■ 



under the mainsail, and from cariosity, Ibe weather being heavy 

 i sea on, I contrived to Bail her under that canvas, and 

 work into port with it. It' it blows too 1 a d Mr the full mainsail 

 aud Jib, by hauling down the mainsail you can work to windward 

 nnder the foresail without reefing ; and while a reef is being taken 

 in the mainsail, no time nBad be lost, as ha kappa right on under 

 the foresail. In foot, it must bo heavier weather than I ever yet 

 experienced on a summer cruise to prevent my working on the 

 wind under this foresail with my jib. And the boat of it is that it 

 requires no extra craw to manage, like the common lag sail, which 

 is wilh most the important item as with myself. 



There Beams to be one radical evil in yacht building rpon which 

 you have not commented to any great extent, aud which is 

 more important to cruising yachts than any question of model. 

 That is the building of yachts without proper strength for 

 seagoing put poses. Yachts have been and are being built in 

 Boston as welt as New York which, between the weight of 

 their lead ballast deep down upon their keel and the pressure of 

 the large amount of canvas aloft, would be wrenched to pieces in 

 a respectable gale in the open sea. For instance, I am credibly 

 informed that a keel schooner yacht of about 60ft. is being built 

 in Bostou.having her mainmast set in her house and supported by 

 I 1 , in. decking upon 2Jax4in. beams, merely bolted down through 

 the sides of the bouse in the ordinary way. Just imagine such 

 a vessel caught in a gale on a lee shore, whore it becomes neces- 

 sary to carry sail to "claw off" to windward. Yet her builder 

 contends that she is built strong enough " for a yacht," and her 

 owner probably relies upon his judgment. It is such yachts as 

 this nhich have brought discredit upon our American models, and 

 will so long as the ignoranoo of their owners allows it to be dODe. 

 It is such yachts which are not found in line for a raoe of ten or 

 twenty miles out to sea, as suggested by you in a recent number 

 of the Forest and Stream, because their sailing masters know 

 better than to go there, although they never tell the owners the 

 trouble. It is such yachts which avoid Capo Cod as a dreaded 

 barrier to be slipped around in pleasant weather only, and creep 

 alor.g our coast ready to dodge into port at the first approach of a 

 respectable sea. If a yacht has a good bilge and plenty of ballast 

 it Btauda to reason that she must also have commensurate 

 strength of hull to carry her Bail in a seaway. 



One other novelty before I close. Being dissatisfied with white 

 paint and gilding for a cabin finish, I desired last year to have my 

 cabin finished off in the natural wood iu my new craft. A diffi- 

 culty presented itself, however, whioh was that all our common 

 hard woods, such as ash, black walnut and mahogany, if put in a 

 cabin, creak so when the yacht ia in a seaway that they sometimes 

 oven prevent sleep, and are a great annoyance. In looking 

 around, my attention was called to California Bed Wood, which is 

 of beautiful grain, softer than pine, and greatly resembles Bose- 

 wood ; besides, it is comparatively cheap, coating about the same 

 as pine. 1 used it to finish off my cabin, and I find that it serves 

 the purpose admirably. It never creaks when the vessel ia in a 

 seaway, and it possesses another advantage, even greater, for it 

 never shrinks or swells. Djors made of it never bind or have 

 orack9. It haB a beautiful dark purple tint not found in any other 

 w-ood, which, combined with the appearance of rosowood, gives a 

 characteristic and rich finish to a cabin, both bright and cheerful. 

 Combined with our Buow-wbile Eastern (Lombardy) poplar, whioh 

 is also a soft wood, with black walnut or mahogany trimmings, 

 it placeB within reach of the yachtsman possibdities in cabin finish 

 not otherwise to be had. 1 have a single partition in my yauht of 

 the redwood, driven together green, and which has since thor- 

 oughly seasoned, that has not shrunk at all, and is as tight as the 

 day it was put up. I Bpeak of shrinking widthways of the boards. 

 It does shrink endways, but the ends being properly covered, that 

 does not show. 1 hope that we shall at no distant day have a largo 

 fleet of seagoiDg yachts, and I believe that the stand taken by 

 Forest ami Stream on the BubjectwUl conduce greatly to so 

 desirablB a result. If the public do not adopt the English cutter 

 type, they will at least be moved to adopt a style and build which, 

 While oompriBinE oomfort, which the Englishman knows not of, 

 will meet him on equal terms upon the ocean, 



Opes Sea. 



CANOES AND THEIR RIGS. 



Brooklvn, April £1, 1879. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



If your readers (inoluding those who may have built skiffs) 

 really want a light, handsome boat to crniso in this summer, let 

 them take their plana, if they have any, to some good professional 

 boat-builder, aud let him do the work. The cost will be greater, 

 but you will be fully repaid in comfort and peace of mind, for 

 there are few things bo utterly beastly aB a heavy, clumsy, ugly, 

 home-made canoe. Of couibo thera are some amateurs who build 

 their own boats, and well, too ; but, understand, they have had 

 considerable practice. However, whether you build or bay, there 

 is one thing you must not lose sight of— your oanoe must be 

 suited to the waters and work she is meant for. 



If I lived inland, near a narrow, winding river, or intended to do 

 all my cruising on suoh waters ; or if I only wanted to paddle 

 about on some quiet lake, I should certainly get a Bob Boy, for 

 there is no other canoe that I know so easy and swift under pad- 

 dle This is due to her being narrow and shallow, having very 

 little bearings and no sheer to catch the wind. I can tell you the 

 last is a great advantage. She won't make a very comfortable 

 bed-room, but you can have a camber of three or four inches to 

 the deck, and that will help mattera a little. She won't sail well 

 either eioe.pt down the wind, but in inland cruising one has to 

 rely chiefly on the paddle. Then, too, the Bob Boy's well is small, 

 leaa than three feet long, and a single sliding hatch, or a Utile 

 apron, will cover it completely. 



If on the other band, I meant to do most of my canoeing on 

 w ida rivers or bays, but also occasionally to take a trip inland, 1 

 enould have a very different sty lo of boat. She should be consider- 

 ably wider than the Bub Jioy, with good bearings, so that she could 



s&rry fifty ° r eixt y lBOt of Bail m a ligUt hleBZB withoul ballatt - 

 She should have a Bheer of six or seven inches— enough to keep 

 Waood and dry-and a long, flat floor, lor that would give her 

 wJanov and fight draft. She would be slower under paddle than 

 SobBoyatanyttae, a nd,hecauBe of her sheer, particularly 

 when" working to windward ; but you can never expeot to combine 

 tbfl best sftiliPB wd PH*Uing qualities in any one oanoe. 



The S.'.nilow and the now Jersey Blue are both boats such sis T 

 have described, and for this work. I think would suit you better 

 than any other type. Their sleeping accommodations are excel- 

 lent. But, speaking of sailing canoes, don't fall a prey to the old 

 Nautilus monster. As a provoker of " bad language and abuse " 

 it has no equal on the face of the waters. If you want to realize 

 this fact, just try to paddle a full-grown Nautilus, with twelve 

 ichea sheer, for five miles against a stiff head wind. Cgh! Be- 

 sides, if yon want to carry full sail on her you mu.it also use bal- 

 last, and why any man should want to embitter lus life by toting 

 around forty or fifty pounds of shot, when ho can gain the same 

 stiffness and greater speed from a little more beam aud a flatter 

 lloor, passes my understanding. I know what you are going to 

 You've been reading, and you want to have a fling at mere 

 initial stability. Why, that iB all one wants or can have in such a 

 cockle-shell. No one cares to kjep perpetually hanging out to 

 iudvvard, and in a squall you must let your sheets fly anyway, 

 id sometimes let go your halliards, too, for that matter. 

 You must not expect to be able to Bail well close-hauled in any 

 canoe. She will always make more or less leoway, depending on 

 the strength of the wind. For nearly fifteen years canoeists have 

 been trying to find some thorough remedy for this fault, and not 

 one of them has yet succeeded. An ordinary centreboard would, 

 of course, check leeway, but the trunk takes up the room neoded 

 for sleeping, and the slit amidships weakens the boat and makes 

 her leaky. A temporary centreboard, bolted to the keel, answers 

 well enough for sailing in deep water, but it brings too great a 

 lateral strain on the keel, and the necessity for constantly 

 shipping aud unshipping it makes it unsuitable for cruising. 



Some men have used "side-boards," working like centreboards, 

 between the side of ibe boat and a metal band ; but they are apt 

 to strain the top-streak, and are troublesome after all. As for 

 leeboards, of whatevor shape they may be, they are simply un- 

 mitigated nuisances. I once knew a canoeist who said that per- 

 haps he had been a little too hard on his jib ; that, though it was 

 useless for sailing, it made a very decent towel at a pinch ; but I 

 never heard any one say a kind word about his leeboard, and I 

 should advise you in cruising to do without anything of the sort, 

 and paddle to windward when you must. 



The well in all sailing canoes is much larger than in the Bob 

 Boy. There are several good reasons for this, which I haven't 

 time to speak of now, but, as it is so, the forward and after ends 

 must each he oovered with a hatch. The Shadow haa two extra 

 hatches — one to be used instead of an apron, Ihe other meant to 

 cover all the rest of the well when the boat ia out of the water. 

 This is a very neat arrangement, but after all I should stick to the 

 apron. When not in use it can be rolled up on the forward hatch 

 aud will take up no room at all in the boat. 



For Bteeiing a sailing oanoe have a rudder with foot gear, then 

 both hands will be free. A good way of arranging this iB to have 

 a stretcher about two inches high at the sides and running up to, 

 say, seven inches amidships. Oa top piyot the foot yoke ; then 

 from this lead copper wire straight along the inside of the well- 

 combing, and out through it aft to the rudder yoke. Fit enap- 

 hooks to the ends of the wires, and small rings to the yokes— they 

 will save you trouble when you have to unship the rudder or 

 stretcher — and be careful to make everything about the stretcher 

 and foot-yoke Btrong. The designer of the Jersey Blue is the 

 father of this gear, which I tested thoroughly last season, and like 

 very much. You had better, however, in addition, have a socket 

 for a rowlock on each side of the boat, for in very rongh water it 

 is both safer and easier to steer with the paddle. In the Bob Boy 

 you wiU, of conrse, always use the paddle for steering. A seven- 

 foot paddle is long enough for a narrow boat, but one of eight feet 

 in length ia better adapted for me in a wide craft like the Shadow 

 or Jersey Slue, or even the Nautilus. 



A canoe's sails must be low, because she is very narrow in pro- 

 portion to her length. Then they must he so arranged that you 

 can set them, tie down a reef, take them in and, if necessary, 

 stow them below, without moving far from your seat. You must 

 be able to do this easily and quickly, too, and it follows that the 

 whole rig must be j ust as simple aB it possibly can be and meet 

 theoe needs. Beniember, a canoe iB not a yacht, and nothing 

 pays so well in a small boat as simple gear. In the Boh Boy yon 

 will carry so little canvas anyway that you had better have it all 

 in a mainsail. Some canoeists carry jib as well, but it would 

 give you more annoyance than it ia worth. The standing lug is 

 probably the best mainsail for this boat. To set it yon have only 

 to toggle the boom to the mast, then bend the halliard to the yard 

 and run it up, while to take it in the operation must be reversed. 

 With the sailing canoes, however, the case is different. One of 

 these boata will stand a spread of thirty-five or forty feet of sail in 

 a moderate breeze, and about sixty feet in fight winds. Now, 

 moBt canoeists agree that the best way to divide this is to put 

 about two-thirds of it into a mainsail, and the rest into a jib and 

 dandy of equal size. Then the mainsail tube must be stepped 

 well aft, say about four feet and a half from the bow, and with a 

 six-foot boom the centre of effort of the sail will be in the right 

 place. The tube for the dandy-mast steps just aft the well, and 

 the dandy and jib of course balance each other. This arrange- 

 ment is the handiest one possible, excepting one which I'll speak 

 of later, for in cruising and ordinary sailing there is but one sail 

 to be managed, as the jib and dandy are only meant to be set 

 light weather. A triangular sail has been found the most co 

 venient dandy, aud the jib can only be of one shape. The chief 

 difference between the four or five best rigs lies in the shape and 

 fittings of the mainsail. Three books— Baden Powell's " Canoe 

 Traveling," Alden's " Canoe and the Flying Proa," and " Canoe- 

 ing in KanucUia "—contain piates whioh will give a better idea of 

 the appearance of the sails than writing could. Mr. Baden Powell 

 says he found the sliding sprit very handy, and the chief advan- 

 tages he claims for it are the ease with which the sail can be 

 stowed by simply unshipping the topmast and untoggfing the 

 boom, and the fact that, as the sprit slides dowD with the gunter- 

 brass'and topmast, the sail will keep a square head when reefed 

 But then Mr. B. P. is the inventor of this particular rig, and we 

 must make allowance for some paternal fondness on his part. 

 Other peonle have found that the sliding guuter-brass often be- 

 lies its name, and persistB in staying aloft when it "hadn't 

 oughter :" and that a mainsail which won't lower to the deck is a 

 nuisance. Besides, there is too much gear for comfort, 

 (ifo Ve oontinvti.) 



• ' ■ tosT,— MassaoDBaetts is beating 



to anus, and archery ri , towns. 



BpriDgSeld has two— the Lance woo I aud Ihe Glen, 



The officers tind members of the Lancewood are as follows i 

 i. E W. Seeger; Lieutenant, Miss H. B. Alwater; 

 Clerk, W. T. Seeger; Ladies, Misses M. B. Afcwater. L D. 

 Foot. U. E. Gunn, Mattie Hall, 1\I. K\ Hatch, 0. E. Warner, 

 E. B. Warner, Mrs. J. W. Kirkhara, Mrs. O. p.. Ireland; 

 Gentlemen, P. I). Foot* S. D. Foot, J. W. Kirkham, O. B. 

 Ireland, Fred Harris. 



The officers and members of the Glen are: Captain, Miss 

 Mary Benton ; Lieutenant, Miss Mary Leonard ; Clerk, Miss 

 Fannie Stebbins; Ladies, MiS3es Nellie Morris, Nannie Leon- 

 ard, Louise Stebbins, Clara Bhurtleff, Clara Collins; Gentle- 

 men, R. F. Hyde, Edward Morris. There are also about a 

 dozen honorary members, -who attend the meetings simply to 

 witness the sport. 



Greenfield archers will soon organize. The rivalry ought, 

 to develop some good work in these clubs. 



Steeped Pedestrians. — Some f the Massachusetts 

 Clririestown Slate Prison men, who were allowed Hie free- 

 dom of the yard, found go-as-yoti-please races — eighteen times 

 around to the mile— a glorious way of dispelling their MWMM. 

 We have no records of the results, save that, a poor aeh I l 

 act prisoner usually came in ahead of his oomnetilor, a corpu- 

 lent, puffy bank defaulter. To heat the " Bl iwer " Br< ■ n'a 

 record the course should, have been straight-away from the 

 prison. 



"Blower" Enowy's Record.— The six days go-as-you- 

 please match, at Islington, England, which closed last Satur- 

 day night, is remarkable as developing the biggest pedestrian 

 record yet made. The men on the track were "Blower" 

 Brown, Hazael, Corkey and Weston. HazaeL in the first SS 

 hours, made the astonishing distance of 137 miles, a task 

 never before approached; and " Blower " Brown, who held 

 the first place at the end of the sis days, added another won 

 derful record in his score os 5+2 miles and two laps. This 

 was 22 miles better than any one has done before. Corkey, 

 who took second place, scored 492 miles ; Hazael, 473 ; and 

 Weston, who walked, 450. At this rate, American pedes- 

 trians will have to brush up if the belt is to be brought, back. 

 We shall see 100 miles per day for six successive days 

 these long-diatance tasks are over and the belt finally all 

 to rest. 



A New Task.— Miss Lulu Loonier, a New York pedes- 

 trienne, who recently out-Andersoned Anderson at .Boston in 

 the quarter-mile style of locomotion, has now begun the task 

 of making a belter record than the long-standing one of Capt. 

 Barclay's 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours. "Boston was somewhat 

 later than New YorK in surrendering to the woman-walk 

 mania, and the disease lingers there longer than it has on this 

 Island. We think a six-days' fiasco like that at Gilraore'a 

 Garden recently might be effectual. 



Cricket. — The Manhattan Cricket Club opened the seasou 

 at Prospect Park last Saturday with a game between sides 

 chosen by Messrs. Mackenzie and George Scott, the totals 

 being respectively 12 and 46. 



ToTjNCt America. Cricket Club. — This club, of Germai - 

 town, Pa., has secured new and comimii , which 



will be eleven acres in area, inclosed with an open fence eight 

 feet in height, aud will embrace grand stands, with a seating 

 capacity for over 1,000 people, arid running aud walking cin- 

 der track twelve feet wide and one-third of a mile in I io;t •, 

 with a 100 yard stretch ofjtwenly feet wide; and, in addition, 

 a full assortment of implements for lawn-tennis, an i 

 all popular athletic sports and outdoor games. A noteworthy 

 and commendable move is the opening of the club privileges 

 on a fixed day in each week to the ladies. The Young Amer- 

 icas number over three hundred strong and ia in excellent 

 financial condition. The following officers were elected for 

 1879: President, E. M. Davis, Jr. ; vice-president, C. E. 

 Morgan, Jr. ; secretary, D. S. Newhall, 225 Church street ; 

 treasurer, E. G. H. Howel', 720 Filbert street, who with O. 

 M. Newhall, W. R. Wright and G. Willis, constitute the com- 

 mittee. The club are arranging to play matches with Lord 

 Harris' team in May, with the LasceH.es club in June, and 

 and with Daft's professional team in August, all foreign teams. 



International Cricket Match — New York, April 20. — 

 Lord Harris' team arrived safely in Ban Francisco, aud at 

 once telegraphed Mr. Soutter, of ihe St. Georges Oluh, ar- 

 ranging a match for Tuesday and Wednesday, May and 7, 

 to be played at Hoboken, N. J. The American eleven will 

 be composed of the best New York and Philadelphia cricket- 

 ers. This will be the only game the English eleven will play 

 in the East. On Oct 17 of last year Lord Harris' eleven 

 sailed from Southampton, bound for the antipodes. The first 

 match was played at Adelaide, on Dec. 12, in which Ihe 

 travelers were victorious. Varied success followed the visit- 

 ors throughout their trip— a trip originated by a parly of 

 gentlemen solely out of a pure love of sport, and it is greatly 

 to be regretted that their pluck in goin^ so far was not re- 

 warded by better treatment at the bauds of both Australian 

 cricketers aud public, the insult offered to the English team 

 at Sidney, during the progress of a match with the New 

 South Wales eleven, being unprecedented in cricket annals 

 for unfairness, blackguardism aud brutality ; and it is to he 

 hoped that America and England have seen the last of Aus- 

 tralian cricket sharps. It is stated that five of the English 

 team have returned to England, via Sufz. This will leave 

 nine men to travel this way. Lord Harris, however, can 

 easily fill the two vacancies on his eleven from English crick- 

 eters now visiting this country. A match has already been 

 arranged to be played in San Francisco. The next number 

 of the Forest and Stream will contain the.dates of matches 

 and name of the visitors. 



K. Daft's team of English professional cricketers to visit 



the United States in August is as follows : R. Daft, P. Ear- 

 ley J Selby, A. Shrewsbury, W. Oscroft, Ephraim Lock- 

 wood, G. LTyett, W. My croft, R. G. Burlow and probably 

 A. Shaw. 



a tjili/itc Civcb.— The programme at the .spring 

 carries of the Union Athletic Club, to be held Saturday, May 

 21 includes : Putting the shot, throwing the hammer, 100- 

 ya'rd run, pole leaping, running broad jump, one-mile walk 

 (limited to members only), three-mile walk, seven mile walk, 

 three-mile run, one-mile run, one-half-mile run, oue-quartcr- 

 mile run, bicycle race. Putting the shot, throwing the ham- 

 mer, running broad jump, and pole leaping, will take place 

 during the seven-mile walk, 



