Sept. tf, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



19b 



TROPHY FLAGS. 



Bunnting-24x3<5in. 



PRIZE FLAGS. 

 Silk-lst. Silk -2d. 



12x18 tlx 13 



Bunting— 24x36 in. 



The Course. 



If enough money cannot he afforded, the racing men or the cluhs 

 can be appealed to for help, or the programme can be shortened 

 and. fewer prizes given; the latter should be done in any event, for 

 several reasons, to be slated later. 



The fourth duty of the committee is to appoint judges, starters, 

 measurers, time-keepers, police of the course, etc.. etc. The de- 

 mands of the racing men have grown each year, and at the same 

 time, the non-racers, as a rule, are less willing now than formerly 

 to do hard, work when off for a vacation— the work of judges, 

 starters, etc. It is very difficult for the committee at the meet to 

 command such help as is absolutely necessary. The use of a 

 steam launch race days has become an absolute necessity (as a 

 matter of safety in case of upsets, etc.), and greatly reduces the 

 number of men needed to run a regatta successfully, and there- 

 fore it should be provided by the Association. By means of a 

 launch the chairman of the committee can start all races, and in 

 all paddling races can police the course and judge of fouls, etc. 

 Therefore, the. only extra men needed are (1) a clerk of the. course 

 to keep the records, (2), a time-keeper who needs (3) an assist- 

 ant to call off the. boats as they cross the line, and two huov men 

 (4 and 5) for the sailing races. The clerk of the course is the 

 most important officer next to the chairman of the regatta com- 

 mittee, and, therefore, he should he a member of such committee, 

 appointed at the suggestion of the chairman, from the same 

 town or club as the chairman, or living near him. The third 

 member can well be a racing man who needs to do no work, un- 

 less he should fill the position of official measurer at the meet. 

 The measurer's duties were very light, this year, as only the 

 winning canoes were measured by him. The 'time-keepers and 

 buoy men can be got at the meet, and by appoint ing a number, 

 need serve only one day each. The clerk should serve all the 

 time to make sure of accurate records. 



SAILING RULES, NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS. 

 From the. Prut/ramme. 



Note L.— As there may come a time when larger canoes should 

 he entered regularly for races, the committee have put limits on 

 such canoes tor this year, hoping the A. C. A. will take action in 

 the matter, if for no other reason than because larger canoes than 

 the above Class C cannot well be handled by t he railroads as the 

 smaller canoes can, and we may therefore lose privileges we now 

 get from the companies if such canoes are shipped under the 

 Franking act now in vogue. 



Note M.— The regatta committee respectfully recommend that 

 Class A sailing be abolished. No distinction was made in the 

 programme of 1887 between A and B classes, and the results 

 amply justified the change. They would also suggest that the 

 limits of Ciass B cauoes be made to conform as those of Class I V. 

 paddling iu the matter of length. The rule should read: ''Class 

 B. Sailing. Length not over 16ft., with a limit of 80in. beam for 

 that lengt h." As the rule now stands a canoe that can enter a 

 sailing race is not admitted to any paddling race— namely, a 

 canoe 17ft. long by 28j^in. beam. 



The limits of Class C were fixed at 17ft.X36in. Only two canoes 

 competed in the race. Event 19. It would, perhaps, be well to 

 add this class in spite of the small number of contestants at this 

 meet. Perhaps it does no harm to let Class A stand, simply to 

 avoid an unnecessary change in rule 1. The change in the limits 

 of Class B as above suggested should be made. 



The following lines from Rule 1 can be dropped, as they are now 

 a dead letter. 



* * * "except as follows: Canoes built before May 1, 1885, may 

 he fitted with eentcrboards whicn, when hauled up, may project 

 below the keel, provided such projection of board and case is not 

 more than 2Um. in depth below the garboard, and not more than 

 SCin. in length. In order to be admitted in races without ballast, 

 the centerbnard or boards, including boits and other movable 

 Darts, hut not including fixed trunks or cases, must not exceed 

 151bs. in total weight." * * * 



The carrying of numbers on the sail, as called for in rule IV., 

 has hecome impracticable and inconvenient. The following 

 changes in the rule — the idea being included in Forest and 

 Stream's account of the races— should he made. 



Rule as it stands. 



"Every canoe entering, except for an upset race, shall carry a 

 colored signal flag, lOxtiin., on a staff forward, when paddling, 

 and [her A. C. A. number of enrollment in red block numerals 

 16i,n. High and 2 in. broad, when sailing, the number to be on both 

 sides of the mainsail and read correctly on the starboard side and 

 reverse on the port side. The Regatta Committee shall have 

 power to dispense with so much of this rule as requires the carry- 

 ing of numbers on sails iu cases where individuals have private 

 emblems on their sails of such size and character as, in the 

 opinion of the Regatta Committee, will enable the judge to dis- 

 tinguish the canoes as readily as if the numbers were carried.] 

 The Clerk of tne Course will lend the paddling signals for each 

 race, aud they must be returned to him, [but the sailing numbers 

 must be supplied by canoe owners.]" 



RuU as a mended. 



The lines here written to take the place of the matter net ween 

 brackets in the rule: 



[a number in duplicate printed on pieces of cloth to be sewed 

 - on 1 he mainsail on both sides, such numbers to be given owne l'H by 

 the Clerk of the Course in the order of entering the canoes, from 

 1 up, and to be returned to the Clerk of the Course before leaving 

 camp.] [after each paddling race before leaving the canoe.] 



Rule V.— Prize Flags— Should be revised to include the sugges- 

 tions contained in the. tollo wing extracts from the notes to this 

 year's programme: 



Njte B.— * * * The. man getting first Record Prize will 

 receive a large practical Mag, showing him to be one of the three 

 Honor men of the year. There will be a Paddling Honor man— 

 the winner of the Paddling Trophy race, and a Sailing Honor 

 man— the winner of the Sailing Trophy race. * * * 



Note D.— Besides the Silver Trophy (which the winner holds 

 for a year) a large practical flag will he awarded, showing the 

 holder to he the Sailing Honor man of 1888. The flag is the win- 

 ner's property, and it is hoped that future Regatta Committees 

 will yearly award such a flag in this race, as well as in the Pad- 

 dling Trophy race and the Record. 



Note F.— * * * Three flags will he of bunting, and are in- 

 tended to be used to hoist in front of the owner's tent. They are 

 the honor flags. Each will have the year and honor plainly sewed 

 into it, and when in future these men appear in carnii thev will 

 hoist the flags over their tents to show the scalps they have taken 

 in the years gone by. The club race flag is also of hunting, 24x36. 



The prizes for the record paddling races and sailing race and 

 the record prizes should be given by the Association and pro- 

 vided by it, and made of the same design each year. The prizes 

 for all other races might vary, and be pot from clubs or individ- 



uals who are willing to contribute them. The designs of thi 

 year's flags are appended: 



The straightaway (with no turn) paddling courses of the year 

 were much better than those of former years, and the distance 

 (1,000yds.) was plenty long enough to make a fair test of speed 

 and endurance. A note should be added to the rules defining the 

 fouling of huoys and marks, as there is nothing about it in the 

 rules as they stand. 



There are two points about the races that surely need attention: 

 First, the start in the sailing races. It has been found impracti- 

 cable and unfair to start the fleet in squadrons. The first leg is 

 apt to he a reach or a run, and no matter how long the starting 

 line is, a fair-to-all start is impossible. The ouly true way over a 

 triangular course is to start the race to windward over a long 

 starting line. 



The start can he made between the judges' boat, anchored 

 abreast of the. leeward-most Hag of the triangle and the flag itself. 

 Canoes should not be allowed to either remain still or have the 

 paddle used after the five-minute gun; but should he compelled 

 to keep sailing for position till the starting signal is given. 



Second, the point in the sailing and paddling races at which 

 paddling must cease or begin, is not now clearly defined, and 

 many take advantage of it, sailing over a good part of the pad- 

 dling leg when wind is free. The drawing shows how this can be 

 avoided— the change must be made before the canoe crosses a line 

 between ttio two flags at each angle, as shown. This method 

 must he adopted to insure fairness. 



THE PROGRAMME. 



The fixed events must be as follows: (1) a paddling race for each 

 of the four classes, (2) a combined race, (3) an unlimited (A and B) 

 sailing race aud the two (4 and 5) trophy races. All other races 

 should he optional. The upset races, gymnastics, tournament, 

 tug-of-war, hurry-scurry, etc., do not tan.e much time, are easily 

 managed, and afford great amusement. The club race is a good 

 one, and should he retained; but it could very well be included in 

 the unlimited sailing race. The maneuvering race is also a good 

 one, and might well be worked in with the combined race. The 

 extra paddling races (tandem, etc.) do not take much time, but 

 could be abandoned if necessary. The 75ft. limit and the consola- 

 tion sailing races could well be abandoned— or put on merely as 

 extra races if there is time. Fewer races would add to the value 

 of the flags won. 



For five years the general verdict has been "too many races," as 

 a look at the Forbst and Stream, Sept. 13, prize list, will proba- 

 bly convince any one. If it is desirable to give a novice prize 

 (and it undoubtedly is), let it be on the novice record in the unlim- 

 ited sailing race, and not sail a separate race for it. Class C could 

 also be sailed at the same time. The club flags, too, could be given 

 for the best club record in the same race, thus putting four races 

 into one, without any harm being done. If the maneuvering ra.ee 

 is a good test, why not add that feature to the combined race as 

 before suggested on the last (sailing) leg of the triangle— make 

 each man throw over his paddle behind him and recover it some- 

 where between the two buoys? Two paddling races, having not 

 more than four entries each, could be started over the same course 

 at the same time, and thus very greatly shorten the programme. 



Three days of racing is enough, and by careful work in arrang- 

 ing the programme and combining the races pretty much all that 

 is now done iu five days would be done in three. I hope these 

 notes will prove of use to the executive committee and the new 

 A. C. A. Regatta Committee. C. B. Vaux. 



PRIZE BLANK USED AT LAKE GEORGE. 



This is to Certify, that my Canoe length, beam, 



depth according to rules, Class entered event aud 



won place, without fouling any other canoe or a buoy, and 



completed the course, starting, rounding all buoys, and finishing 

 as directed by the regatta committee's notices and the rules, 

 and that therefore I am entitled to prize in that event. 



„, ' ,- : ■ Owner. 



The above dimensions have been verified by me, and are certi- 

 fied to be correct. 



• . - Official Meam/ren: 



THE A. C. A. MEET OF 1888. 



Uaiiwes and Fittinsjs. 



APART from the rig, which is of sufficient importance to demand 

 special consideration later on, there are five leading features 

 in the modern canoe, which we propose to consider in detail, and 

 in the following order: Build, model, arrangement, fittings and 

 equipment. 



BUILDING. 



While all the leading methods of canoe construction were rep- 

 sented at the late meet, there were no special novelties; and all 

 the methods represented have been previously described in the 

 Forest and Stream. This year all of the leading racers were 

 smooth-skinned boats, and of these the two most notable were 

 Eclipse and Narka. Both of these were built by Mr. Ruggles, of 

 Charlotte, N, Y„ on the peculiar system devised by himself. The 

 planks are narrow, ljjj to Sin. wide, and J4in. or less in the thick- 

 ness, laid without a lap and caulked with a thread of cotton, 

 rolled in with a sharp-edged wheel. There were a number of 

 Ruggles boats at the meet, and in those of this year's build the 

 faMlts that we noticed last year had been remedied. The greatest 

 of the two was the lack of finish, both in labor and varnish, but 

 the new boats, Eclipse, Narka, Cuenn, Ruggles and others, had 

 been well rubbed down and thoroughly varnished, showing a 

 smooth, hard surface; the seams, too, which in this method are 

 quite wide, were filed up with varnish, a point in which the earlier 

 boats were lacking. In the second detail which we criticised last 

 year, the size and shape of the stemband, a very great improve- 

 ment has also been made, the flat band, Mhl wide, being replaced 

 by a half-round strip of brass filed to a sTfarp edge. In one case 

 Mr. Ruggles imforms us that he took the entire stem out of one of 

 last year's craft, trimming down the rabbet and fining down the 

 fore edge, replaeingthe stem again and screwing it fast. The 

 Ruggles canoes have been present at four meets, with a steady 

 improvement each year, and after seeing the new craft we have 

 no nesitation in pronouncing them the best built at this or any 

 piv vic us meet. The hulls, whatever the model inav be, are all fair 

 and true, with both sides alike, and free from hollows or bumps; 

 in strength and lightness they will compare with any, while from 

 all that we can learn they are very tight. One point in their favor 

 is the ease with which a plank may be removed or replaced, or 

 any repairs or changes made. The clean-grained, narrow planks, 

 all in single lengths, certainly make a very strong hull, while 

 there is less liability to split than with wide planking. Tne 

 method was an experiment at first, and we have watched the 

 boats carefully each year to see how they stood the wear, but have 

 noticed no signs of weakness not traceable directly to ill-usage. 



The boats present were all of different models; in the two Springs 

 field canoes, "Ruggles" and Narka, the midship section, general 

 dimensions, and arrangement and limit of weight were furnished 

 by Messrs. Barney and Rice, the model being worked out by the 

 builder. Eclipse, was ordered by Mr. Blake, after seeing Narka, 

 to be 2in. wider and differing in some other details, hut in the 

 main an enlargement of the latter boat. Cuenn No. 4 was built 

 this year from an enlargement of a design made two years since. 



Of the lapstrake boats there were a number present, but mostly 

 old craft. The best of the new ones was the ( hrofla No. 5, a hand- 

 some smoothlap, built by Mr. Rushton for Mr. Nickerson, of 

 SpringfielrJ, Ttie comment was generally made about the camp 

 that the Rushlou boats had improved much within the past year, 

 and this boat bore out the assertion, as she was a better craft than 

 those of last year, and very far ahead of the boats of 1886. The 

 laps wore fined down to make a smooth skin, while the planking 

 was fair and even. The deck was a handsome piece of mahogany. 

 As long ag» as 1882 the writer abandoned Spanish cedar for canoe 

 decks in favor of mahogany, at a time when canoeists and build- 

 ers were both loud in the praises of the. former wood and opposed 

 to the latter. To-day it is the exception to see a Spanish cedar 

 deck, the canvas-covered decks have entirely disappeared, and 

 mahogany is almost universally used. One canoe at the meet had 

 a strong and handsome deck of butter nut, stained to a dark purple, 

 and the wood seems well adapted for the purpose; b it at the pres- 

 ent price of mahogany it is to be preferred to any other wood we 

 know of. White pine, as used on Notus, cannot compare with it 

 for strength or beauty, and is apt in a little time to show sappy 

 spots of a dark color. There were plenty of old craft to bear full 

 testimony to the merits of lapstrake work as to durability, hut the 

 day of tne lapstrake as a racer has gone by. 



The new canoe If is one of the first of the Bowdish canoes at an 

 A. C. A. meet, and she certainly made a good showing for her 

 builders, She is built after a method of their own, of narrow 

 planking similar to the Ruggles boats, but with a groove ploughed 

 m each edge, a thin feather of bass wood being placed in each ad- 

 joining pair of grooves. All the parts of these canoes are prepared 

 by special machinery, thus differing from the Ruggles boats, the 

 latter being built entirely by hand. There is no reason why tne 

 modern woodworking tools should not play a very important part 

 in the boat shop where work is done in quantity, but at present 

 most canoes are built by hand throughout, with the exception of 

 sawing ribs, etc. In the Bowdish canoes a plank over lin. thick 

 is sawn to the shape required for a given strake, it is then re-sawn 

 into 4 pieces, each being finished by machine to the required 

 thickness, after which a special tool cuts the grooves iu the edge. 

 They have also constructed a special cutter by which the rabbet 

 in the stem or stern may be quickly and accurately cut. The If 

 is planked with r, i„ in. cedar, consequently she is heavier than 

 necessary, in fact the firm have not yet devoted any special at- 

 tention to the production of a light and fast canoe, being busy 

 with steam launch and boat work. The method of building seems 

 very good, and with a closer study of the special points of canoe 

 design aud construction they have a wide field for turning out 

 good boats in large numbers. One peculiar ft attire of their 

 method is the use of light brass castings to join the ribs to the 

 keel and also to stiffen the deck and gunwale. 



The Vesper C. C, of Lowell, had this year a very fine exhibit of 

 canoes, the work of Stevens, a local builder; under the personal 

 direction of Mr. Paul Butler, who has devoted a great deal of time 

 and study, to say nothing of money, to the improvement of 

 canoes. These canoes were all ribband carvel, with Spanish 

 cedar planking of but little over %in. thickness, in fact their 

 great fault was that they wore too ligbt for ordinary hard work, 

 either racing or cruising. Mr. Butler has evidently Studied the 

 Nautilus pretty closely and copied some of the good points in her 

 construction, the planking beiug in 3 strakes to a side, with a light 

 ribband inside the seam. It is not an easy matter to build a fan- 

 boat with very light planks and ribs, but these boats would stand 

 a careful scrutiny when turned bottom up, being very fair all 

 over. This method, wide plank and ribband carvel joints, makes 

 a very good and handsome canoe, as shown in these ooats and the 

 Nautilus, but in the latter the planking was thicker than 

 necessary, nearly %ln„ while in the Lowell boats it is hut little 

 over %ia. The proper thickness for the average size canoe is not 

 far from Mhi. whatever the method of building. 



There were some very good canoes of the Ontario Boat Co. present, 

 but none of them were raced, in fact nearly all were of toe open 

 ciass. These boats have become very popular as an auxiliary to 

 the decked sailing canoe in The States, many canoeists owning one 

 of each kind. They are also much used in Eagland, being very 

 plentiful on the Thames. Both varieties, the longitudinal and the 

 thwartship rib. are strong, light and tight. 



After all that has been said about the importance of buildingto 

 rules, one cannot have much sympathy for a man who bas to re- 

 duce his canoe after she has entered for the races, and it was 

 amusing this year to see several at work paring down the stem 

 and stern and pinching in the sides. In one case a cauoe that had 

 been raced as 10ft. long before the meet, was found to be nearly 

 an inch too long, so off came the stemband and rudder braces and 

 the dead woods were chopped off. In another case the canoe, a 

 large one with a big rig, had spread to an inch or more over the 

 beam she was built to. As the easiest way to reducing her, holes 

 were bored through the upper strake, two on each side, one at the 

 fore end and one at the after end of the well. An eyebolt was 

 passed through each hole, then a strong line was rove through 

 ea'di opposite pair of eyes and twisted with a stick until the beam 

 was reduced, being left in until the racing was over. In this case 

 it was the fault of the owner, the canoe being built without bulk- 

 heads, braces, or even mast tubes, so that there was nothing to 

 hold her in place. Iu the other case it was the fault of" the 

 builder. 



The purchaser of a cauoe has a right, to expect that she will be 

 in every way conformable to the class for which she is intended, 

 aud the builder should be held responsible for any shortcomings 

 in this respect. At the same time the owner should not leave the 

 matter until he has sailed a race, when the official measurer may- 

 be obliged to refuse a certificate, but should measure the canoe 

 when received, using a steel tape or other reliable measure. The 

 fault arises from two causes, an inexcusable carelessness and 

 disregard of the rules, or the attempt to crowd the rules too 

 closely, leaving no margin for a slight error in measurement or a 

 change of size while building. The beam may and should be 

 made exact, the boat being left a little short in length, say }4in 

 with such amide deadwoods that a further reduction may be 

 easily made if necessary. 



There is a small detail to consider in connection with the meas- 

 urement that may lead to trouble some day. It is now the prac- 

 tice with some rudders to have a brass tube ruunmg the wnole 

 length of the sternpost in which the rudder ships. This tube is 

 about wide, and really adds that much to the canoe's len»th 

 but it now is not measured in the length. There is nothing in the' 

 rules to prevent a similar piece J^in,, lin., or even liSins, wide 

 lengthening out the lines of the boat by these amounts.' The only 

 important point about the matter is that the question should he 

 definitely settled how much, if any, a man may lengthen the lines 

 of his boat without having it counted against him. The common- 

 sense method would be to measure the stern in the same way as 

 the stem, by a perpendicular line touching the lines of the boat 

 whether formed by wood or metal, bat not including su<h isolated 

 projections as tile common rudder brace. The stemband is meas- 

 ured very properly, and there is no reason why a stemband, ex- 

 tending the whole length of the sternpost, should not be placed on 

 the same footing. 



The weakest point developed in the races was the forward mast 

 tube and step, the breakdowns in this direction being more num- 

 erous than in any other, and more serious as well. With a very 

 light tube in the extreme bow and a very large sail, the strain is 

 something enormousfor a boat of less than lOOlos. weight, and spe- 

 cial care is necessary to insure strength. In many cases the mast 

 tube is further forward than is really necessary, and if placed an 

 inch or two aft it might be made very much stronger. If too far 

 forward, the portion below deck is very short, consequently the 

 leverage on the step is greater. The only way to build a 'mast 

 step within less than a foot of the stem is to put m a large block 

 of light wood, for instance hackmatack, building it iu when the 

 frame is put together, as a part of the deadwood, the planking 

 being accurately fitted to it and fastened. It is an open question 

 with builders whether the mast step should be fastened to the 

 planking, but where the step lays against the planks and is in 

 close contact with them, they had better be screwed to it securely 

 The mast tube itself should run at least iigin. down in the step 

 and the foot of the mast should go down to the bottom of the tube' 

 thus bringing the strain of the mast directly on the step, and not 

 on to the tube alone, as is too often the case. In the Pecowsic th ! s 

 is done successfully, the mast being but Sin, below deck, but the 

 sails are so light that it is allowable. 



It is a pleasure to be able lo note the general excellence of the 

 canoes present, and also that the builders are doing their part 

 toward the improvement of the cauoe. The improvements in 

 model must largely come from the owuers, rather than the build- 

 ers; the latter have not the time for personal trial and experi- 

 ment which is necessary to test and perfect any canoe, and thev 

 must rely to a very great extent on the experience of the men 

 who use canoes constantly. The builder's part is not to furnish 

 the design, but to build well and truthfully from such designs as 

 may he brought to him. This leaves an ample field for him and 



