FOREST AND STREAM. 
41B 
eg 
•a 
§ 
OA 
§ 
IS 
a 
ca 
P. 
■3 
.g 
■5 
% 
a 
o 
s 
n 
■ o 
4) 
03 
J3 
OS 
1^ 
a 
M 
I 
a 
u 
J} 
a 
d 
0) 
CO 
I 
o 
& 
■a 
a 
« 
o 
-43 
■a 
§ 
a' 
o 
u 
a 
§ 
H 
.o 
(». 
.3 
■2 
o 
<M 
o 
a 
o 
O 
a> 
CD 
-,%in.°deep, with all ed^es 'parallel and a groove cut in the 
top to take llie point of the spline weight, is about equal in 
grade to the commoner sort of cast metal dividers. We have 
seen a few splines of hard rubber, specially made and much 
larger in size, upward of Jin. each way, that are very good 
tools; and the ordinary rubber iafte/i has a limited use for 
lines of considerable curvature; it is also convenient in trac- 
ing lines already drawn with a good wooden batten. The 
celluloid S2:)Ime is useful to a certain extent in that it is even 
more iiexible than the rubber and thus better for very hard 
turns, as in the level lines in the counter. Each of these 
would be improved by the omifsion of the groove, which 
merely serves to chip out small pieces from the working 
edges, ruining the tool. 
The extreme flexibility of celluloid makes it well adapted 
for the very short splines used in the body plan, as the spline 
may be quite large in section, allowing a good hold for the 
?M«V7A^ without interference with the pencil or pen, and yet 
may be sufficiently flexible to lit the short, quick turns of 
the sections. 
As already stated, the best material for a spline or Mitm. is- 
wood, as it is at the same time both flexible and rigid to a 
degree unknown in rubber and celluloid; and the best wood 
is lancewood. This wood is comparatively unknown in 
America, but it is in common use in England for the shafts 
and tongues of carriages and wagons. In one of the noted 
English yards the old shafts were always carefully pre- 
served, to be worked up into splines for the drafting room, 
the wood, of excellent quality in the first place, being thus 
perfectly seasoned. Perhaps the best substitute to be had in 
this country is spruce, such as is used for sounding boards, 
by piano and organ makers. This special grade of the wood 
is of the finest quality obtainable, clear, free from sap and 
gum, and very straight in grain. 
A good working outfit of battens should include several 
sets of varying lengths, each set containing four or live bat- 
tens. Of these there should be one sheer batten, which, for a 
length of 5ft, may be Jin. thick for the whole length, and 
fin. wide at one end, tapering to \\n. at the other. For the 
longer level lines the batten may be of the same thickness, but 
widest in the middle, say -,\in., tapering to -/sin. at one end, 
and ifz-in. at the other. This batten will have to make some 
sharp turns aft, but forward the curves will be much 
straighter, and the batten may be proportionately stiffer. 
Another Imtten tapering one way, Jin. thick, and -,\in. or a 
little less in width at one and for a third of the length, 
then tapering to at the other end, will be useful for the 
keel contour in the sheer plan. A batten about ^in. square, 
and with no taper to either side, will answer for long, easy 
lines, Euch as the diagonals, and also for the side line of the 
keel and the rabbet line, both of very slight curvature. The 
other sets may be 42in., 86in. and 24in., each with a similar 
assortment of shapes. In addition there should be some 
short and yqtj flexible battms for the body plan. 
It is impossible to give exact sizes, as so much depends 
upon the kind of wood used and its elasticity. Dependent 
on these, the different battens must be so proportioned as to 
adapt themselves naturally to the class of lines for which 
they are designed ; if they prove too stiff at any point they 
may be worked down with a small and very sharp plane or 
sandpaper. The best batten is the one which will fit the re- 
quired curve with the fewest number of iveights to restrain 
it. It will be evident that different lines, as, for instance, 
the sheer line and the load waterline in the sheer and half - 
breadth plans respectively, require very different battens- 
but the ordinary store batt-en ignores this difference and offers 
one uniform size for all purposes; flexible and wobbly, for 
instance, in the middle of a level line and too stiff to take the 
c'-irve of the ends. 
With a very flexible or badly proportioned batten the 
.draftsman must lay out the line by placiogim^'/i? after weight 
hut a few inches apart and readjusting the whole series until 
his patience is exhausted, the line even then being in all 
probability imperfect. With a good batten, the required 
curve, fair and true, is thrown in at once and fixed by a few 
weights, little or no correction being required. 
In making battens, a piece of wood of the required length 
and not less than li to 2in. on a side is worked up straight, 
square and true on two adjoining sides. It is then slit length- 
wise with a saw, and the first slab which comes off is resawn 
into battens The main piece is then reface"d where the slab 
came off and again eawn. In this way the finished baite7i has 
at least one side, if not two adjoining sides, which has been 
worked true in the piece before sawing. After the batten is 
finally shaped, with the clean, bright surface left by a sharp 
plane, it should be polished with shellac varnish, giving it a 
hard, glossy coating. If in use it does not bend fairly and 
truly, it may be touched up with the plane or sandpaper, and 
aa;ain polished over the fresh wood. 
"'For the level lines, bow-buttock lines, etc., the wood must 
be strong and flexible, so that the fine tapered ends will take 
a sharp turn without danger of breaking. For the s7ieer bat- 
tens and those for the diagonals and other lines of moderate 
and regular curvature, a softer and less elastic wood may 
answer. Pine and mahogany can be used, and some other 
woods. Those who possess the tools and some skill in using 
them, as is the case with many amateurs, will in time be 
able to fit themselves with a good set of batten s — 'better than 
can be purchased. Practice and experience will show where 
a baif.e?i may be improved for its designed purpose, or, pos- 
sibly, if too light, be cut down to make one of a different 
form. 
Harlem Y. C. 
The Harlem Y. C. will sail its fourteenth annual regatta 
on May 31, the courses being: 
Course No. 1 — From across a line between the steamer and 
Belden's Dock, City Island, around a stakeboat anchortd in- 
side of Throgg's Neck, keeping the same to port in rounding 
it, thence toward Matinnicock Point, keeping Stepping 
Stones Light to starboard in passing, around Matinnicock 
Point Buoy, keeping the same to port in rounding, and re- 
turning directly to the finishing line. Distance, 20 nautical 
miles. 
Course No. 2— A straightaway course (omitting the run to 
Throgg's Neck) direct to Matinnicock Point Buoy, keeping 
it to port in rounding, and thence directly back to the finish- 
ing line. Distance, 16 nautical miles. 
Course No. 3 — Same as No. 1, except that yachts must pass 
Old Hen Buoy, keeping the same to port in rounding, and 
thence back to the finishing line. Distance, about 13 nauti- 
cal miles. 
The following classes will sail over course No. 1: 
Cabin sloops, cutters and yawls: 51ft. class, 43Et. class, 
36ft. class, soft, class. Open jib and mainsail; 30£t. class. 
Open catboats: 30ft. class. Cabin catboats: 30£t. class. 
Over course No. 2: 
Cabin sloops, cutters and yawls: Soft, class, 30ft. class. 
Open jib and mainsail: 25ft. class. Open catboats; 25ft. class. 
Cabin catboats: 25£t. class. 
Course No. 3, the 15 and 20ft. classes of open catboats. The 
steamboat W. C. Egerton has been chartered to follow the 
boats over the course. 
A very good list of entries has alreadv been received. The 
regatta committee includes Messrs. H. B. McAllister, P. H. 
Leary, J. Wimmer, W. T. Hyde, and Wm. A. Towner, chair- 
man, 
Racing About Boston. 
Make no mistake. This is to be a great racing season in 
the classes under 30ft. racing length. There are more new 
boats than for several seasons past, and plenty of old 
ones, whose owners will make the new ones demonstrate 
their superiority by actual racing. And the 21ft. knock- 
about will not be by any means the least interesting of the 
lot. The restrictive rules of the Knockabout Association 
have fostered building and racing in the class, and at the 
same time have secured a safe, able and seaworthy boat. 
And they are not fin keels. 
Nor is the naming of the new knockabouts an uninterest- 
ing feature of the sport. The story of "Poor Cock Robin" is 
even more in evidence thp n it was last year, when only the 
name of the principal in the story was used. "Jenny Wren" 
a;ppears this season on the stern of Frank Peabody's new 
boat of his own design, while the "Fly," who saw Cock Ro- 
bin die„ ts embodied in W. O. Gay's new Herreshoffer. 
Yachtsmen can now place their bets as to whether or not 
this latest Fly will see Cock Robin die, either at its own 
hands, or by those of some others of the new fleet. It is con^ 
ceded that this Cock Robin will take a lot of killing, even 
by a Cockatoo, pugnacious as that little bird may be. 
Gosling is the una«suming name by which P. O. North and 
L. M. Clark bring their new Lawley boat into the racing, 
but certainly the owners are no fledglings at the sport, what' 
ever their boat may be. 
Jacobin is the speed-implying title which T. E: Jacobs 
gives his new Purdon design, while H. M. Sears takes a 
chance with the Hazard from Herreshoff's hands. D. C. 
Percival, Jr., likes the name of his first knockabout too well 
to drop it, and so has had Herreshoff pnt it on the stern of 
the new one. Figures are added to it, though, and it stands 
as Sally III. 
And. there you have them, gentlemen. Pick your winner 
if you can.— Boston Globe. 
The New Montreal Fleet. 
A MONTREAL correspondent of the Boston Globe writes as 
follows of the new 20-f ooters f or the defense of the cup: 
"To a party of members who went out to Dorval to inspect 
the progress that is being made with the work on the new 
and beautiful club house of the Royal St. Lawrence Y. C, 
G. Herrick Duggan, the designer-sailor who did such excel- 
lent work with Glencairn last year, permitted a view of the 
five boats which he is building for the trial races for a de- 
fender of the international Seawanhaka cup. It was a very 
unsatisfactory view, however, for in the dimly-lighted shed 
it was very diflicult to see anything except the merest gen- 
eral outlines. Only the hulls are finished, and these gave 
the impression that the boats would be somewhat of a cross 
between a soapdish and a flatiron, with great breadtJh of 
beam and very shallow. 
They did not look beautiful, but the designer seems to 
have the greatest confidence in them. Two of the boats 
will be fin-keels and the others centerboards. The boats are 
being built for Harrison B. Young, Com. Riddell, Shirley 
Davidson, Capt. Hamilton and Mr. Duggan himself. Great 
care is still being taken that the lines and figures are kept a 
secret, and people with cameras, or any suspicious looking 
person, who manage to get inside the grounds of the Royal 
St. Lawrence Y. C, where the sheds are, are being turned 
away without the slightest compunction. 
Notwithstanding all this, the figures of the sail dimensions 
of some of the boats have become known, although it is im- 
possible to obtain the sail plans. These figures, however, 
will give a pretty good idea of the general sail plans of all 
the Canadian boats. 
The boat of M. J. Langeuil, which is just across from 
Montreal on the St. Lawrence, will have silk sails, as fol- 
lows; Mainsail, 25ft. boom, 14ft 6in. hoist, 16ft. gaff, 33ft. 
3in. leach; jib, 22ft. lOin. hoist, 19ft. leach, 10ft. 6in. foot. 
The Duggan boat, built for Harrison B. Young, will have 
silk sails, as follows: Mainsail, 35ft. boom, 15ft. Tin. hoist, 
13ft. gaff, 34ft. leach; jib, 23ft. 4in. hoist, SOft. 5in. leach, 8ft. 
3in. foot. 
The sail dimensions of the two boats that are being built 
in Toronto by Cuthbert are also known. Both have cotton 
sails. The one built for Mr. Harry Abbott, son of the late 
premier, has sails as follows: Mainsail, 23ft. 9in. boom, 16ft. 
hoist, 13ft. Sin. gaff, 8Sft. Sin. leach; jib, 22ft. hoist, 18ft. 4in. 
leach, 15ft. 6in. foot. 
Another boat which is being built for an unknown by 
Cuthbert has cotton sails, as follows: Mainsail, 25ft. boom, 
16ft. hoist, 12ft. 6in. gaff, 30ft. 6in. leach; staysail, 18ft. 6in. 
hoist, 17ft. 6in. leach, 8ft. 9in. foot; jib, 25ft. hoist, 20ft. 6in. 
leach, lift. 2in. foot. 
Work on all the little boats is being pushed along fast, and 
the spars, which will be hollow, are being made now, but the 
boats will not be upon the water much before the Queen's 
birthday. 
Huguenot Y. C. 
JfEW EOCHELLE — LONCf ISLAND SOUND. 
Saturday, May 15. 
The racing on Long Island Sound opened on May 15 in a 
light and variable southeast wind that made the race less in- 
teresting than the entries deserved. The race was given by 
the Huguenot Y. C, of New Rochelle, the course being 
around Execution and Hen and Chickens buoys. Two new 
Huntington boats were entered: the 20-footer Keneu and an 
unnamed 15-footer for a AYestern yachtsman. There was not 
enough of a steady wind to test the yachts. The times were 
CABIN CATS— £OfT. OLAS.S. 
Length. Elap=ed. Corrected, 
Dosorisll., G. T. VaU 1 44 30 1 44 30 
CABIN CATS -2f FT. CLASS. 
Jonquil, H. W. WarnT 5;4.46 2 06 17 2 06 17 
Mary S , E. D. TTall, Jr 24.50 2 06 09 2 06 09 
Win or Lose, John L. Appleby S3. 70 2 C6 29 2 06 £9' 
Melita, O. H. Ohellbors Did not finish. 
CABIN SLOOPiS— S5FT. class. 
Modesta, C. Whann Did not finish. 
Wahneta. Aldrieh & Henry 1 56 48 Not meas. 
Jester (yawl), E. W. Robinson. 1 55 00 Not meas. 
OPEN SL0OPS-25FT CLASS, 
Celia, W. S, Gould 1 £9 03 1 39 03 
Houri, E. B. Hart, Jr 1 39 40 1 89 40 
OPEN SLOOPS— 20ft. class. 
Keneu, M. Clark 1 46 13 1 46 13 
OPEN CATS— 25ft. class. 
Edwina, J. N . Gould ;21.44 2 06 38 2 06 38 
Narrioch, A. F. Townsend 18.11 2 10 53 ? 08 30 
OPEN SLOOPS— 15ft. class 
1 50 51 
Hope, Arthur Iselin , 15.00 2 09 20 
Celia, cleverly sailed by Irvine Zerega, won a close finish 
by quick handling at the line after she was apparently beaten 
by Houri. 
The winners were: SOft. cabin cats, Dosoris II., walkover; 
25ft. cabin cats, Win or Lose; 25ft. cabin sloops, Jester, not 
measured; 25ft. open sloops, Celia; 25ft. open sloops, Keneu, 
walkover; 15ft. class, new Huntington boat. 
Regatta Committee— E. Burton Hart, Jr., P, B. Jones and 
R. T. Badger. 
