176 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[March £2, 1888, 



lifting rod and pulley properly, but with this arrangement no 

 special adjustment is necessary, the board and strip are dropped 

 m place and all is ready. In trying this arrangement, the idea of 

 moving the board forward and aft suggested itself and the follow- 

 ing details were devised to accomplish it. The strip was pro- 

 vided with four small wheels a a a a. sections cut from a :J4in. 

 brass roti, with a i^in. hole drilled In the center. These wheels 

 work m slots cut in the slip A. The lifting pendant leads through 

 the cheek block C, or through a double block if more power is 

 needed, or the line may lead directly aft, without a purchase. 

 A line G, 1s attached to the fore end of A, leading through 

 a cheek block D, on the dock, theuce aft to a cleat, 

 as shown. A third line E, is fast to the after end of A, 

 and leads through a hole in the coaming, as shown. In 

 operation, the board is first dropped, then by easting off the 

 line G the strip A, with board suspended from it, will run 

 aft until the lifting pendant reaches the after end of case, when 

 the board will be in the position shown by the dotted line. This 

 will carry the center of the board aft about a foot at least, and 

 will make a material di (Terence in the balance of the hull and 

 sails. The line E is used to draw the board aft if necessary, or a 

 rubber spring may be attached to it. so as to act automatically. 

 In hoisting, the board must first be hauled forward by the line G, 

 after which it may be raised by F. There is this objection— the 

 board cannot be raised if aground until it is hauled forward, but 

 aa tlie device is for sailing, usually in deep water, this is of little 

 consequence. If the device is to be placed in a new boat, the case 

 may extend as shown about a foot further aft, to the height of the 

 floor boards, in which event the board may be raised some distance 

 while m the after position, or may he easily cleared in case of 

 grounding. The main use of the shifting board is to improve the 

 balance of sail, allowing full or reefed sail to be carried at will, 

 and giving, just so much weather helm as maybe at any time 

 desirable. By its use the centerboard trunk can be placed well 

 forward, and yet in racing the board itself may be readily adjusted 

 to one of severa l positions, and may be thrown at least a foot, fur- 

 ther aft. Two points are necessary; the casa must be wide enough 

 to alloAV the board to move freely, and the lifting pendant must 

 be made fast so far aft that the board will not rise at the fore end 

 through the after end being the heavier. 



a special plane, taking half out of each. The ribband-carvel 

 canoes built by the writer in 1881 and 2 had a strip inside the 

 seam, as in 4, both planks being nailed to the strip, the ribs were 

 put in afterward, being jogged over the ribband. The Albany 

 canoes are built now on a similar plan, but by a method hardly 

 suitable for amateur work. A strong mould or last is first con- 

 structed of the shape of the inside of the canoe. The deadwood 

 and all the ribbands are fastened to this last, the ribbands are cut 

 away so that the ribs can be let in flush, then the planks are laid 

 and screwed to ribbands and ribs. The construction of the mould 

 or last ovej which the canoe is built is almost as troublesome and 

 costly as the canoe itself, so this method is only practicable when 

 a number of canoes arc to be built of the same model. In the 

 method shown in 4 the usual plank moulds are used, as in lap- 

 streak work, so the proee-is is well adapted to the needs of the 

 amateur. The details of this method are fully given in "Canoe 

 and Boat Building for Amateurs." 



The canoe shown in t he accompanying plans was illustrated in 

 the Fou kpt ,v nt) Stream of Jan. f>, 1888, a Class B craft, 15ft. •-. SI in. 

 The lines wore designed by Mr. John Hyslop, but the details of 

 board, rudder and steering gear are all original with the writer. 

 They are unpatented, and at the service of all. It is but fair to 

 state that the method of moving the board aft has not yet been 

 tested in actual use, but it is in everyway practicable and can be 

 tried without any material alteration of the hull in any canoe 

 having a trunk open on top, so it. is given in hopes that, canoeists 

 will test it and perhaps improve it in some way. 



In the construction of a canoe of this size, presumably to carry 

 some ballast, the following scantling will give strength with 

 little weight. The stem and sternpost will be of hackmatack, 

 sided so as i o end all lines fairly at the extreme ends. It lias been 

 the custom to make these pieces of lin. stuff, which in most cases 

 makes an angle in the waterlmes at the rabbet in stem and stern. 

 To avoid this they must be sided as shown by the full size plan 

 which will be laid down before building. The stem will be ! tin. 

 on its fore edge, the sternpost %in. The stem band will be made 

 from t|in, half round brass rod, and after it is screwed in place 

 the wood and brass will be filed down together until the lines arc 

 carried out straight and fair. The usual method is shown at 5. 

 the proper one at 6, the dotted line in the latter shows where the 

 stem is left a little thick in cutting the rabbet, being filed and 

 planed down after the plauking is completed und the stem band 

 in place. 



The keel is usually made at least lin. thick, but this is in no 

 way necessary. It is better to make it as thin as possible and 

 quite wide. In the preSeut case it is shown 3in. wide and -Kin. 

 thick, but it might well be 4 or 5in. wide outside and hut, Uin. 

 thick. Toe sti ll'ness of the bottom depends but little on the t hiok- 

 ness of the keel, the main point being to brace the whole floor 

 system thoroughly by the ledges which carry the floorboards. 

 The keel may lie regarded simply as a wide bottom plank, and so 

 need be but little thicker than the other planks. It is here shown 

 thick, or H inside of boat, forming the rabbet, 34 for thick- 

 ness of garboard, and '4 projecting outside of garboards. Really 

 all that is needed is k for raobet inside and }/j fur garboard, leav- 

 ing no projection outside. If at the same time the keel be Sin, 

 wide it makes a wide, flat surface on which the canoe will rest 

 when ashore, or on which she may be easily dragged over rocks 

 or logs. It often happens that while a canoe can be dragged 

 easily enough, there is great difficulty in holding her upright on 

 her keel and at the same time dragging her, but with a wide keel 

 she will always keep upright with little aid. In a canoe with 

 much deadrise the keel if very wide, may be slightly rounded, 

 and in anvcase it should be protected by ii-gin. strips of fiat brass 

 1-10 thick, screwed to the entire lenarth and soldered or brazed to 

 the stem band. With such protection and a similar strip 4ft. long 

 on each bilge, the boat will stand safely a great amount of hard 

 work, and as for racing, the lessened damage to the planking 

 will more than compensate for any slight friction of the brass" 

 The keel should be worked from au inch board, leaving the full 

 thickness at the ends to aid in forming the deadwood, but planing 

 down to }^in. or a little more at the middle half of the boat, say 

 for a length of 8f i. The scarfs of stem and sternpost as well as 

 the fastenings are shown, it is now the fashion to place the 

 mainmast as far forward as possible, to do which the step must 

 come m a part where the lines are very fine, which necessitates a 

 very thick step. The one shown is of clear white pine, to save 

 weight, and is fastened in when the frame is put together. It 

 must be very securely bolted and must be trimmed carefully to 

 shape iust as (he deadwoods are, so that the planks will fit accu- 

 rately against its sides. The step for the mizen may be put in 

 afterward, in the usual way. 



One method of setting the trunk is described in "Canoe and 

 Boat Building," but a simpler yet tight method is to put the sides 

 of the case together with the neadledges between, riveting them 

 up, then to get out a piece of pme as wide as the top of the keel 

 and J4in, thick, which piece is screwed last with long screws to 

 the bottom of the trunk. The lower side of this bedpiece is then 

 accurately fitted to the top of keel and screwed fast by short 

 screws passing through it into the keel. Th& labor of rabbeting 

 is avoided and the joints, if laid with white lead and Canton flan- 

 nel, will be perfectly tight. The sides of the case will be of clear 

 white pine, J^in. on lower edge and %\n. at top. The headledges 

 will be lin. wide and thick enough to allow ample room for the 

 board. The planking will be Mm. of white cedar. The upper 

 strake, of the width shown in the drawing, will be full %in thick 

 being rabbeted on the lower edge so as to lap over the'strake 

 below, showing J^in. outside. There will be no gunwale, the deck 

 being screwed to this upper strake. The ribs may be a little less 

 than %x!4in., spaced Bin, witli two rivets between. The bulkhead's 

 will be %in„ of clear white pine. The deck will be of l&in 

 mahogany. The ledges for the floor will be of spruce or hackma- 

 tack, as deep as the distance from floor to garboard, and 3 -gin 

 thick. They should be very securely fastened with long rivets 

 through each lap and the keel, at loast two through the tatter. If 

 long nails cannot be had, copper wire can be used, with large 

 burrs on each end. These ledges should be placed alongside the 

 trunk, of course being in two pieces each, and a stout one should 

 be placed against the after side of the trunk and screwed to the 

 headledge. If well fastened they will make the bottom perfectly 

 rigid, no matter how thin the keel may be, while boats are often 

 found with a keel lJ4'm. thick that will constantly work under the 

 strain of the board or when ashore. The centerboard trunk itself 

 plays a very important parr in strengthening the hull, if properly 

 built into the boat and coming up to the deck. 



The shifting bulkhead is placed with a slight slant, to accom- 

 modate the back better than if vertical, in planning the arrange- 

 ments, every effort has been made to give plenty of room for 

 cruising, not a mere hole where a man may stow himself for half 

 an hour, but room to carry stores and bedding, to cook, to Change 

 one's clothes and to sleep in comfort. At the same time t he sail- 

 ing qualities could not be neglected, and the board has been 

 placed as far aft as possible, with a provision for shifting it still 

 further aft in sailing, as will be described later. The distance 

 between bulkheads is 7ft. Sin., and as the boat is both wide and 

 deep, this space should give plenty of room for all stores; but the 

 after compartment mignt be fitti d with a hatch if more room were 

 desired. As now arranged, the mess chest could fit on one side of 

 the trunk, the clothes bag on the other; while the tent and the 

 bedding, the latter tightly strapped in a waterproof bag, would 

 be in the locker under the movable hatch. In sleeping, there 

 would be a clear length of Gft. 5J£ip. from bulkhead to after end of 

 trunk:, and the feet could extend for a few inches into the space 

 beside the trunk lately occupied by the clothes bag, now doing 

 duty as a pillow. The tent, of course, would be set, the bedding 

 spread, and the hatch and bulkhead removed for the night. The 

 space under the side decks affords plenty of room for oilers, spare 

 gear, apron, etc. The well is large, as in summer cruising a man 

 requires plenty of room, and if the feet and tegs are kept continu- 

 ally below deck they will be very warm. Sleeping, cooking, and 

 the positions one naturally takes to obtai n a rest when afloat all 

 day, demand more room than some racing men seem to think 

 necessary. To close the large well in stormy weather, the best 

 plan is an apron of heavy drill, fitting over the pointed coaming 



and tightly laced along the sides to screw heads outside the coam- .. - 

 ings. The apron may extend as far aft as the cleats shown. The voke or deck yoke. The former is in the shape of a wooden wheel, 

 mast tubes are 2J4in. at deck, tapering. Both are of the same bin. diameter and thick, turned in a lathe, with a groove 



depth, so that the masts may be interchangeable. It will be %m. deep around it, large enough to take the rudder lines of 

 noticed that the coaming is cut down very low at the after end. ~ 

 It was formerly the custom to make the coaming as high there as 

 anywhere, but this is not necessary, as little water will come 

 aboard in the center of the deck, and by cutting the ooaming 

 down low the need of raising the deck tiller is avoided. 



The arrangement of the centerboard is peculiar and entirely 

 novel. The usual arrangement familiar to canoeists has a lnova- 

 blo pulley for the lifting pennant, which pulley fits in a brass 

 plate on deck. This plate is apt to work loose under the strain of 

 a heavy board, to avoid which the writer devised the. plan of 

 fastening both lifting rod and pulley in their correct relative 

 positions on a strip of hard wood. By this means the two are 

 always in place; the board may be lifted out or dropped in with a 

 certainty that pulley and lifting rod are in their correct position". 

 The board is nuug by two strips of sheet brass, the upper ends of 

 both coming through the strip mentioued, being secured by a 

 rivet. In use the board is hauled up, the pendant belayed on a 



" ) fir 



STEPHENS' RUDDER FA8TENINO 



The cheek blocks may be cut out of mahogany, with brass 

 sheaves, or they may be cut or sawn out of 1-lfsin. sheet brass, 

 filed up neatly and bent in a vise to the proper shape to fit the 

 sheave. Sheaves of this kind are readily made by sawing with a 

 hack saw pieces from the ends of brass rods of various sizes, 

 holes are drilled in the centers, the pieces are held in a vise and 

 the score or groove cut with a small round file. With a very few 

 tools for working brass both blocks and sheaves with many other 

 small fittings may be easily made by the amateur. The hoisting 

 pulley B is shown on a large scale to illustrate the construction. 

 The main part of the shell is made from a piece of sheet brass 

 doubled over in the form shown, the upper part being a half cir- 

 cle. To each side a strip of brass bent at right angles is riveted, 

 a mortise is cut in the the strip A, the brass case is set in until the 

 side pieces rest on the strip, and then fastened by screws through 

 these pieceB. The pulley is put in place and the pin on which it 

 turns is run through holes drilled in the sides of the case, the 

 ends being then riveted up. 



The rudder shown is of mahogany, a cruising rudder, but as 

 effective for ordinary work as a drop rudder. The lower side, 

 below the keel, is sharpened to a fine edge. The rudder hanging 

 is shown in the small drawing. The part attached to the boat or 

 canoe consists of an upper and lower brace of the usual form. A 

 and C, with a rod E, J4in., running through them and screwed 

 into C. On the rudder is a common brace, B, at the top. At the 

 bottom is a split brace, D, made of two castings, a and b, both 

 exactly alike, but fastened on opposite sides of the rudder. The 

 upper sides of the pair are shown at 1, the fore ends at 2, and the 

 lower sides at 3. It will be seen that by laying the rudder hori- 

 zontally with the port side, 1) uppermost, the opening between a 

 and b, Fig. 2, will admit the rod E. Now if the rudder be raised 

 to a vertical position, the two hooks embrace the rod E, the upper 

 brace B is dropped oyer the top of E, and the rudder is fast, only 

 to be released by raising B off the rod and dropping the rudder 

 horizontally. In practice the split brace can be put on or off the 

 rod by inclining the rudder to an angle of 45 degrees, without lay- 

 ing it horizontal. With this gear there are no detached parts, 

 the work may all be done at the upper part of the rod, just below 

 A, and it is not necessary to grope under water to ship the lower 

 pintle. The rudder can only be detached by raising B from the 

 top of the rod, and the rudder lines when attached prevent it ris- 

 ing so far of itself. 



The deck tiller and gear shown have been tried in practice and 

 found to work perfectly, the whole arrangement being very strong, 

 while there is not the least chance for lines to foul the rudder 



cleat on the strip, and all may be lifted out together. With a 

 board of 501bs. it is sometimes all that a man do can to ship the 



3-16in. copper wire rope. This wheel is fitted on its lower side 

 with the usual dovetail plates, one being fastened to the deck and 

 one to the wheel. The deck immediately beneath the wheel 

 should be leveled, so that the wheel will bear on its entire lower 

 surface. On the upper side of the wheel are two hasps, bent out 

 of sheet brass and screwed fast to the wheel, in which the tiller 

 ships. The tiller is reduced at the after end, where it fits into 

 the after hasp, but on top of it is a spring, K, of flat spring brass, 

 turned up at a right angle at the after end, as shown. This hook 

 on the spring serves to hold the t iller in place, and further acts 

 to raise the fore end of the tiller. By this means some spring is 

 allowed in the latter, and incase of any weight being suddenly 

 thrown on it, it will give until the hand touches the top of the 

 hatch and will not break off. As the wheel has a bearing 6in. 

 long, no matter what position it is in there is no danger of twist- 

 ing off the plate. The weak point of most deck tillers is the long 

 pin and high block on which they arc mounted to enable the yoke 

 and tiller to clear the hatch, and with such a rig breakdowns are 

 frequent. The present rig is both strong and compact, the long 



grotesquely curved arms that foul sheets and halliards are absent 

 and, if fitted closely to the deck, no lines can foul. 



On the rudder head is a similar wheel, of the same size, but with 

 the fore side cut away as shown, so as to allow it to ho placed 

 below the level of the deck. The angle allows ample play for the 

 rudder. In order to insure perfect action the center of the wheel 

 must coincide exactly with the center of the pin on which the 

 rudder is hung, then the lines wilt be of the same length, no mat- 

 ter bow far over the helm may be thrown. The lines lor the foot 

 gear, also wire rope, run round the rudder wheel, being fastened 

 at one point only, ho that they cannot slip on the wheel. The two 

 ends arc led forward and down through the deck, as shown. A 

 brass ring is securely lashed to each line near where it leaves the 

 wheel, and a strong hook on the end of each of the short lines 

 from the deck Wheel will hook into the ring. The short lines are 

 each provided with turnbuckles, as shown, by which they may be 

 tightened. When the deck tiller is not needed the turnbuckles 

 are slacked up, the short lines unhooked, and the deck wheel may 

 be removed, leaving only the lower plate set in the deck. The 

 rudder wheel should be set as low as possible and yet allow the 

 lines to clear the deck; there is no need to have it, as is often seen, 

 far up in the air. If the two wheels are anywhere near the same 

 height there will bo no possible chance for the lines to run out of 

 the grooves; in fact, if thrown out in any way they at once spring 

 back. Of course there is nothing to catch the mizen sheet, as the 

 lines will keep it from getting under the wheel. With aOin. 

 wheel there is power enough to turn a much larger rudder than 

 is needed on a canoe; in fact, the wheel might be even smaller if 

 desirable for any reason. One great advantage of a wheel over 

 the ordinary arms is that the pull is always the same, no matter 

 how far over the rudder maybe. 



to ($Qnenyon&mtjl. 



EH*"* No Notice Taken of Anonymous Correspondents, 



H. S. S.- Write to W. Wallace, North William street, New 

 York. 



E. J. T., Little Falls.— You can order the target through any 

 dealer in sportsman's goods. 



F. E. N„ Oswego.— We cannot yet say just when "Sam Lovel's 

 Camps" will be put into book form, but due announcement will be 

 made. 



Snapshot, Vermont.— The wildfowl season in Vermont will 

 open May 1. There is a law against taking pond pickerel save 

 with hook and line. 



Gilbert, New York.— 1. Do fresh-water black bass run over 414- 

 lbs. in weight? How heavy are the largest? Will they reach 81bs.? 

 2. A friend tells me that all great shots sight with both eyes open. 

 I say it is not so. Who is right? I feel certain that all wing and 

 rifle crack shots close the left eye. Am 1 right? Ans. 1. We have 

 a stuffed black bass from Rice Lake, Out., which weighed 61bs.; 

 and the head of a black bass from Florida which weighed 23>glbs. 

 2, Some sight with both eyes open, some with one eye closed. 



J. G. B.. Rock Island Arsenal, 111.— I find that there is in my gun 

 a small hole in the left barrel about half way between the muzzle 

 and the breech, and extending into the rib connecting the two 

 barrels. When I clean the barrels with water the water comes 

 out at the extractor. I would like to know if there is any danger 

 in firing the gun. Ans. A hole as described is not necessarily 

 dangerous. It may be a pin-hole, which will in no wise in terf ere 

 with the shooting of the gun or its safety. Submit it for opinion 

 to a gunsmith. We have used a gun with a pin-hole in the barrel 

 through which smoke would puff out when the gun was fired; this 

 was in old muzzleloader days, when shooters were not always so 

 particular as they are nowadays. 



Jorbish, Glenn's Ferry, Idaho.— 1. Are the salmon that ascend 

 this river (Snake River) and begin spawn ng here about Oct. 6 the 

 same as the Atlantic salmon (Salma mlar) and can they be caught 

 with a fly? 2. What is the cause of the mortality among them 

 and do they all die or do some get back to the sea? 3. What 

 species of salmon is Saimo quinnat't I do not see any mention of 

 it in the "ThejGame Fish of the North." 4. What species of salmon 

 is it that are ascending the river now, called here salmon trout, 

 and make their way T up to the headwaters of the mountain streams 

 and spawn there about the month of April? 5. Can you name any 

 book which treats of the fish of the North Pacihe slope (fresh 

 water)? 6. Can you give me any receipt for preserving fresh the 

 ham and loin of venison so that they would keep for a period of a 

 month or so, when boxed or shipped across the Atlantic during 

 the month of September, and what is the best way to pack them? 

 Ans. 1. The Salmosalar 18 not found on the Pacific coast. There 

 are six species of salmon described by Jordan and Gilbert which 

 inhabit the western coast, but we cannot say to which yours 

 belong. Some of these will take the fly. Try them and report 

 your success. 2. This is not known. The "salmon disease" has 

 attracted the attention of naturalists and anglers in Europe for 

 many years, but the cause of it has not been discovered. It 

 manifests itself in a fungus growth, which may be caused by 

 bruises. 3. It is the chiuook salmon (Qncvrhynchns chuuicha or 

 0. quinnat) the common salmon of the Columbia and Sacramento 

 rivers. 4. Possibly it is the Salmopurpwratxts, if it has red blotches 

 on the lower jaw. Common names vary so much that little de- 

 pendence can be placed on them to determine species. W hen 

 "The Game Fish of the North" was written there was little or 

 nothing known of the salmons and trouts of the Pacific slope and 

 of the West, it is an entirely Eastern book. 5. Get the "Synopsis 

 of the Fishes of North America," by Jordan and Gilbert, Bulletin 

 of the U. S. National Museum, No. 16, published by the Smithson- 

 ian Institution, Washington, 1882. 6. No; we know of no means 

 by which the meat can be kept fresh for that length of time at 

 that season of the year. 



Take him out of his little round and the average indi- 

 vidual is very ignorant. Of five newspaper men, who 

 were asked the other day to tell what a swath was, only 

 one could give an intelligent answer, or who knew any- 

 thing whatever about it. The vocabulary of the field, 

 of terms used in connection with hunting, shooting and 

 fishing, is "all Dutch" to the multitude. 



A Bangor man recently was going to spend the day fish- 

 ing, he said to his wife, and after starting out, followed by 

 her sweet assurances of success, he leisurely made his way 

 to a fish market and ordered a liberal quantity of pickerel to 

 be sei t up to the house for supper. Coming home at night- 

 fall, the pleasant smile which his wife gave him assured him 

 that he was successful in his scheme and had pleased her. He 

 said he left the fish at the market and inquired after their 

 safe arrival. His wife sweetly invited him to the kitchen to 

 see. them. No man is ever unwilling to see the result of a 

 day's fishing, but the presentfinstanee is an exception. The 

 day's batch proved to be a peck of clams. The supply of 

 pickerel bad been exhausted, and the market boy, supposing 

 something was wanted for supper, took up the unfortunate 

 substitute.— tfpringMld Republican. 



The insight which one gets of a phase of civilization in America, 

 th".t has now nearly passed away, through such books as "Old 

 New England Days" and "Lmcle Lisha's Shop," is well worth 

 having. Even though the stories, considered merely as such, are 

 without literary form or finish, and could more properly be called 

 a collection of anecdotes, there is about them the spirit of the 

 sturdy, honest simplicity wnieh has for so long characterized the 

 rural population of New England, and which makes one regret, in 

 spite of Matthew Arnold, that the statistician is busy with noting 

 its decadence and gradual absorption, while the realist novel 

 writer is describing its demoralization by the march of progress 

 and the city boarders. It was a phase of civilization, it is true, 

 which was far from perfect; there was much in it that was hard, 

 and but little light or sweetness. Yet there was an independence, 

 coupled with a neighborly helpfuless, about it, a morality which. 

 While it was intolerant, was nevertheless sincere, and a respect if 

 not an appreciation for higher things, for which, one sometimes 

 thinks, the new and growing communities of the West to-day might 

 advantageously exchange a portion of their push and energy.— 

 Tlie Nation, March IS. 



