BOATS. 161 



this plan of constructing with tubes, it may be used in the con- 

 struction of ships as well as of long-boats, when the supply of 

 the substance shall be equal to so great a demand. Notwith- 

 standing there is a sufficient supply in nature for such a demand, 

 the means are not yet applied for gathering it to a sufficient ex- 

 tent. This plan of construction, however, is equally applicable, 

 whether the tubes are formed of whalebone board only, or of 

 sheets or plates of iron or finer metal covered with caoutchouc 

 whalebone board. In the first attempts to build a vessel or long- 

 boat, they would be constructed with less difficulty by continu- 

 ing the tubes entirely around the model, and forming the bows 

 and stern of plates of metal, as represented plate , figs. 



The foregoing suggestions are made for the consideration of 

 those who may deem them worthy of notice, not doubting that at 

 a future day they will receive attention. However speculative 

 these views may appear to some, in regard to substituting these 

 materials in vessels of a large class for timber, their correctness 

 is already clearly demonstrated as applied to boats. A descrip- 

 tion of some of these is briefly given in this work. 



The description of a variety of fancy and portable boats, and 

 also of portable life-boats, are given in Chapter of this 



volume, the object is here only to describe those designed for 

 common use for vessels, such as yawls, long-boats, row-boats, etc. 



The hard compounds, whalebone and whalebone board, in 

 sheets, (without being first made into tubes,) are strong enough 

 for row-boats and the small boats of vessels. They are superior 

 to boats made of wood, on account of their lightness and perfectly 

 water-proof qualities, and may be made of one entire sheet of 

 uniform strength. 



The seams, of which there are but one or two in the covering 

 of a large-sized boat, are the strongest parts of the work, being 

 those parts in which wooden boats are most defective, and on 

 which account chiefly they are unsafe, whereas boats of these 

 materials are so cemented and united as to form one entire 

 piece. This substance for boats may be described as a plastic 

 wood, which, when in a soft state, may be shaped into any form 



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