Feb. 28, 1884.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



97 



AMSTERDAM C. C. 



QIGXAL. blue maltese cross on vrhite ground. Amsterdam. N. Y. 



O Established 1888. 



AMATEUR CANOE BUILDING. 

 Eighth Paper. 



BTTTLBIMl. 



THE drawing of the boat heing completed, the moulds 

 made from it and the bench and stocks being ready as 

 previously described, the first step in the actual work of 

 building, is the shaping of the keel. If the boat has no 

 ceuterboard trunk, the keel is made of the same siding or 

 thickness ;s the stem and stern, for its entire length, its 

 depth below the rabbet being- taken from the drawing and 

 Jin., the thickness of the plank, added. The keel maybe 

 made ljiu. deep, the extra depth, if more is required, being 

 made up by a false keel screwed to it, which may be re- 

 moved f or shoal water, as shown in Fig. 11. In selecting 



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Fig. 11. 



the wood for the keel and keel batten, the layers should lie 

 horizontally, as shown. 



If for a centerboard. either of the usual form, or one of the 

 patented varieties requiring a trunk, a flat keel must be used 

 as shown iu the plate, which represents the cross section of a 

 flat keel and centerboard trunk. The width, for the length 

 of the trunk, will be eijiu. on top, tapering to the size of "the 

 stem and stern at its ends, the depth or thickness of the 

 keel being uniform, fin. to liu. throughout its length. 



With the edge keel, a keel batten is necessary as shown in 

 the cross section. This will be Jin. thick, and lin. wider 

 than the keel, to which it is nailed, thus overlapping the 

 latter -Jin. on each side, forming a rabbet for the garboards. 

 If the flat keel is used, the rabbet is cut directly on the keel. 



The stem is next sawed out from a hackmatack knee, and 

 planed up | or lin. thick, for an ordinary canoe, and the 

 fore edge, rabbet and bearding lines marked on it, using the 

 moulds made for each. 



The rabbet line of a boat, marked a iu the drawing, is the 

 line where the outer surface of the skin or planking Joins the 

 surface of the stem, stern, and keel; the inner or back rabbet, 

 own by the dotted line, is the line along which the inner 

 side of the plank joins the lower edge or ends of the same, 

 and the bearding line, c. shown by a brokeu line, is wliere 

 the ir.ner surface of Lite skin joins the deadwoods, keel, stem 

 and stern. The back rabbet is feund by squaring in from 

 the rabbet line, a distance equal to the thickness of the 

 plank. 



After the labbet and bearding lines are laid off, the rabbet 

 is cut, a piece of wood Jin. thick and several inches long 

 being used, applied to the rabbet as the cuttiug progresses 

 to test its depth and shape. The rabbet is not cut quite to 

 its full depth at present. 



The stempost iu most canoes is made of a knee, the rabbet 

 being curved as at the bow (see drawing of the Dot in the 

 Forest and Stueam for May 34, 1883), but there is no good 

 reason for so doing, unless the rake of the sternpost is exces- 



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Fig. 1:3. 



sive, as is now seldom the case, ami a better plan is to make 

 the sternpost of a straight piece, as shown, the rabbet form- 

 ing a right angle or a little more, at the junction of keel and 

 post. This piece is planed up, the rabbet marked and cut, 

 as iu the stem, and fastened to the keel by a 2^iu. screw 

 passing up into it, as shown, and further secured by a chock 

 of oaknailed or screw-ed in the angle. 



To fasten stem and keel together,' a scarf is cut of the shape 

 shown iu the drawing, about 8iu. long, copper nails being 

 driven through the keel and stem, and rivetted over burrs on 

 the top of the former. The keel batten is now nailed on top 

 of keel, butting against the stem forward and the chock aft, 

 The bearding line is drawn iu where it has been omitted 

 across the scarf forward and chock aft, and the rabbet 

 trimmed at these *points and the frame laid on the large 

 drawing, from which the water line is marked on stem and 

 stern, and the positions of moulds, bulkheads, mast steps, 

 trunk, etc., on both top and bottom of keel. 



If a centerboard trunk is required, it must be put in now; 

 being constructed as shown by the sectional views. The 

 head ledges, forming the ends of the trunk, are of oak. Urn. 

 wide and as thick as the slot or opening, fin, for a thin iron 

 board, and £ to liu. for a heavy iron or a wooden one. The 

 slot is first cut, ljin. longer at each end than the required 

 opening, then a groove, Jiu. wide and deep, is ploughed on 

 each side of it for its entire length. 



The head ledges are now fitted iu place, projecting over 

 the keel Jin. fore and aft. to allow for caulking, and fast- 

 ened by a copper rivet through the keel and lower end of 

 each to keep the keel from splitting. The sides of the case, 

 of dry pine, are fin. thick on the lower edges, each of which 

 has a tongue on it to fit the grooves in keel, and i:n. on 

 upper edges. A thread of cotton lamp wick is laid in the 

 grooves, the inner surface of the sides, as well as their lower 

 edges, ±he keel and the head ledges are well painted, and 

 they are put in place and driven into the grooves. Before 

 the paint is hard the sides are rivetted to the head ledges 

 with '..in. copper nails, and brass screws 3Jin long, spaced 

 6in. apart, are put through the keel up into the sides, the 

 holes for them being very carefully boied and countersunk 

 into the keel. If the board is hung* on a bolt, the hole for it 

 must now be bored, as it cannot be done later. 



The moulds must now be fitted to their places, a small 

 piece being cut out of each to admit that part of the keel and 

 keelson inside of the bearding line, after which, if the 

 bd*at is to be built with the keel down, the frame is placed 

 iu position on the stocks, secured bj r a few nails driven 

 through the keel into the latter (which will be drawn and 

 the holes plugged when the boat is ready to turn over), the 

 stem and stern are plumbed with a plumb-line and fastened 

 by shores from the floor or roof, the moulds put in position, 

 adjusted by a centeriine from stem to stern, and also shored 

 firmly. 



If 'the latter method of building is followed, the moulds 

 are screwed to the table, the frame laid on them, and all 

 firmly shored from floor to ceiling. Now a ribband one-half 

 inch square is nailed along on each side, at the height of the 

 deck, being fastened to the stem, stern and the moulds, and 

 the positions of the bulkheads and ribs are squared up or 

 down on to them. 



To prevent any leakage through the scarfs, stopwaters are 

 next put in. These are small plugs of dry pine, the holes for 

 which are bored where U13 seam "or joint crosses the rabbet. 

 They should be bored between the inner and outer rabbet 

 lines, Fig. 12, so as to be covered by the caulking, if in a 



Fig. 12. 



large boat, or by the edge of the plank where the seam is not 

 caulked, as in a canoe. This should be done at all scarfs, 

 or where water is liable to follow a seam. 



The rabbet is now completed by trimming it out with a 

 sharp chisel, using- as a guide, a strip lxjiu., and long- 

 enough to cross at least two moulds. This is held down 

 across the moulds, one end being applied to the rabb 

 the wood cut away until the surface of the strip and the out- 

 side of stein and stem coincide. 



The positions of the ribs are now laid off, as shown in Fig. 

 13, which represents the fore end of a canoe, set up on a 

 building table or flench. The distance apart of the ribs will 

 be 5in., with an intermediate rivet through each lap between 



every pair of timbers. Beginumg at station ? the spaces of 

 oiu. are laid off toward bow and stern to within a foot of 

 each end, aud marked on top and bottom of keel so as to be 

 seen from inside or outside when the plank is on, and also 

 squared down on the ribband. 



Perhaps the most difficult part of boat building, certainly 

 the most difficult to make plain to a novice, is the plankina. 

 In order to obtain both strength and durability, each piece 

 must be put ou in such a way that it will bring no strain on 

 any one part, and will not itself be forced into'" an unnatural 

 shape, to attain which ends, though it may be bent or 

 twisted, it must not be "sprung" edgeways or* in the direc- 

 tion of its breadth, or it cau never' be made to fit properly. 

 Although strakes are sometimes "sprung on" by experienced 

 builders, the amateur should not attempt it. as' the" chances 

 are that the framework will be pulled out of shape. 



Before commencing to plank, the beginner can obtain an 

 idea of how the planks must lie by taking a piece of board 

 as long as the boat, 4 or Sin. wide and Jim thick, tacking the 

 middle on moulds 6 and 8 at about the turn of the bilge, and 

 then bending the plank until it lies on all the other moulds, 

 but not forcing it edgeways to or from the keel. The ends 

 of course will come up higher on bow and stern than the 

 middle, and if the piece be laid in a similar manner along 

 the keel they will also he higher. The garboard streak, or 

 that next the keel, will be 4 to 5in. wide in most canoes; 

 then marking off the width desired. 4Jin., for instance, on 

 moulds 6 and 8, the board mentioned above, having one 

 straight edge, is laid over the moulds, its straight edge 4jin. 

 from the keel and the ends bent down and tacked to each 

 mould and the stem and stern, and a mark is made "where 

 the board crosses, showing the position of the upper edge of 

 tin- garboard. By upper edge is meant the edge nearest the 

 gunwale, in all cases, whether the boat is built keel up or 

 otherwise. With some models it will be better to vary 

 somewhat from this liee, of which the builder must judge 

 fur himself, according to the circumstances of the case'. 



Next, to lay off the upper streak, we will take a width of 

 oi'm. at amidships, 2iu. at bow and If in. at stern, marking 

 off these distances (Fig. 13) from the upper edse of the 

 streak, already marked by a ribband, and putting a similar 

 ribband through these three points, bending it fair ana mark- 

 ing where it crosses each mould. There should he six- 

 streaks on each side, so there remain still four to be laid off; 

 to do whie-h, the distance from the lower edge of the upper 

 streak to the upper edge of the garboard on "bow, stern and 

 each mould is divided into four equal parte, making 

 planks ail the same width on any given mould, though of 

 course the widths on one mould differ from tho-e on another, 

 as the planks taper toward the ends, the girths at bow and 

 stern being much less thau amidships. 



The planks being laid off, the next operation is to get the 

 shape of the garboard, to do which a "staff" is nee ssary. 

 This is a piece of board four or five inches wide, one-quarter 

 inch thick, and as long as the boat, several havine more or 

 less curvature, being necessary for the different strakes. For 

 accurate work, especially where tin re is no help at hand, it 

 is best to have two short pieces, each about one foot longer 

 thau half the boat's length. One of these piecs is cut roughly 

 to the shape of the forward rabbet and fastened in place 

 with a screw clamp, or a small piece of wood with a nail 

 through it called a hutchock (et Fig. 13. It is then bent 

 carefully over the moulds as far as 'it will reach, and tast- 

 ened to each with a hutchock. The staff should be of uni- 

 form thickness and quality so as to bend fairly, and is best 

 cut so as to lie in the rabbet, though it need not fit closely. 

 A similar piece is now fitted aft, lapping some two feet over 

 the former, and the two are nailed firmly together, so as to 

 preserve their relative positions when "removed from the 

 moulds- As the fitting of the garboard depends mainly on 

 the manner in which' the spiling is taken, great care is 

 needed to prevent the staff springing or buckling in apolying 

 it. 



When it is properly adjusted a series of marks are made 

 with the rule and pencil on the rabbet line ou the frame, and 

 also across the staff, about two inches apart where the line 

 is curved, as at the stem, and four inches where it is 

 straighter along the keel. These marks are to insure the 

 compasses being set at the same points in taking the spiling, 

 and in transferring from the staff to the plank afterward, as 

 will be undei stood later. 



Now, with the compasses set to any convenient distance, 

 usually from two to three inches, a circle is first swept on the 

 staff, to reset them by if accidentally changed; then one 

 point is applied to a mark ou the rabbet line, as at «. and, 

 with the other, a prick mark is made on the same line, at 

 on the staff. The compasses are applied in succession to 

 each of the other points on the rabbet line and mirks made 

 on the staff, one lire ou the stem marked X (m m) being 

 called a sirmark, by which the plank is final! v adjusted. 



THE WINTER CAMP-FIRE. 



NO meeting was held ou Feb. 19, owing to a misuudei standing iu re- 

 gard to the date, so the subject will be deferred until the uext 

 meeting. 



