Sept 18. 1897.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
^35 
The report which our Western correspondent sends of the 
Western Canoe Association is, we believe, in no way over- 
drawn, the story is much the same, unfortunately, from year 
to year, of a poorly selected camp site, a very small attend- 
ance, an absence of canoeists and canoeing, to say nothing of 
raciDK, and a predominance of foreig7i and discordant ele- 
ments, out of all harmony with the true spirit of camping 
and canoeing. It is perhaps too much to expect that men in 
ordinary business, tied down to a fixed roof and a spring bed 
for fifty weeks of the year, will care to plunge at once into 
the roughest camp life for the remaining brief period, the 
transition both ways is entirely too sudden and abrupt to be 
pleasant. At the same time there is a happy mean between 
the unbroken wilderness and the social desei't of the summer 
hotellawn; a camp of tents with no permanent buildings, 
within reasonable steaming distance of a railroad, but not 
in the suburbs of a little town; where men can meet in the 
free communion of the woods and sky. The American 
Canoe Association was born and cradled, on a hotel lawn,' 
and at times it has returned, to its sorrow, to similar local- 
ities for its annual meet, but its strength has been 
drawn from the more isolated camps where towns and 
hotels were not forced too obtrusively upon the canoe- 
ists who wished to avoid them. Stony Lake, Grind- 
stone Island, Bow- Arrow, Jessup's Neck, are the places 
dearest to the old members and most closely as^soci- 
ated with the prosperity of the Association. There has 
always been in the A. C. A. a movement in favor of the 
"backyard" meet, to favor some local interest at the expense 
of the Association, and of the hotel-lawn meet, for those ten- 
der spirits who cannot be happy more than two miles from a 
Troy laundry, and these elements have at times forced the 
Association into experiments that have proved failures; but 
the general desire now seems to be for a comparatively iso- 
lated location — at least distant from hotels — provided that 
the local transportation is adequate. 
The Western Canoe Association has had the same experi- 
ence, but in it the feeling for the hotel and summer resort 
has been stronger, and has almost invariably prevailed; with 
what results, is now too painfully apparent. Whether any 
change is now possible, we are unable to say; almost any 
change from existing conditions must inevitably be for the 
better. If there are still a .score or a dozen of real canoeists 
in the Association, it might be worth their while to combine 
and work for an experiment in a new line — a meeting in the 
woods, far from all hotels and other sideshows, planned to 
attract only canoeists. The attendance could not well be 
much smaller than it is at present, or the general interest in 
the business of the Association less; it is just possible that 
some good might come before it is too late. 
The British Canoe Association is, in its organization and 
its relations, quite different from the two American associa- 
tions. Though modeled on the same general plan— that 
originally worked out by the American Canoe Association — 
it has never secured a recognized position as the one govern- 
ing body of British canoeing; on the contrary, it has from 
the fir.st divided this honor with a local canoe club. 
As the oldest canoe club, and one that has always labored 
for the interests of canoeing in all its branches, the Royal 
Canoe Club, of London, long ago secured recognition 
throughout Great Britain as the governing power in the 
sport— in fact, through a membership distributed over the 
kingdoms, and at times through the establishment of 
branches, it has to a great extent exercised the functions of 
a national instead of a local body. 
When the B. C. A. was organized, as a matter of course as 
a national association superior to all clubs, it failed to receive 
the hearty support of all the members of the R. C. C; the 
scheme of organization failed to provide for the regulation 
of canoe racing, and it has happened that the management 
of this important branch of the sport has ever since remained 
in t he hands of the great parent club. 
With all its slovenly and faulty legislation, it must be ad- 
mitted that the attempt of the American Canoe Association 
to establish uniform rules and to regulate canoe racing, has 
worked successfully for eighteen years; at least as success- 
fully as the same work would have been done by any club. 
To fulfill its true functions and to maintain its proper posi- 
tion, the British Canoe Association should control and en- 
courage racing in the same manner; but this it has never 
attempted. Leaving the racing under the old management, 
that of the Royal C. C, it has devoted its efforts solely to the 
banding together of canoeists and the holding of an annual 
meet. While racing has never been entirely absent at these 
meets, it has never attained any great importance; it has 
been merely an incident of the camp, as this year. In the 
American Canoe Association, on the other hand, until a 
recent period, the races have been the most prominent fea- 
ture of the meets, attracting many as competitors and afford- 
ing amusement to all present. After all is said against the 
racing machine as displacing the old canoe and contributing 
to the neglect of cruising and camping, it must still be ad- 
mitted that the racing has made a central point about which 
each of the many successfxil meets has hinged. 
For one reason or another the British Canoe Association, 
well oflicered and strong in its personnel, with the hearty 
support of many good canoeists and experienced cruisers, has 
failed to attain such a membership in point of numbers 
as one might expect, and to attract canoeists to its meets. 
These, as a rule, have been successful in bringing together 
a representative gathering of practical canoeists and small 
boat men at some picturesque and attractive locality, the 
social features of the camp being always pleasant. At the 
same time the attendance has been small, the racing has 
amounted to very little, and even that little has been by 
craft not strictly canoes; and the camps have always been in 
close touch with home comforts in the shape of carpets 
pianos and such undesirable luxuries. ' 
The present meet was an experiment in a new direction, 
from which much was to be expected, a real cruising meet, 
sailing each day or so to a new spot, but the craft were not 
canoes, though the men were good canoeists, and the num- 
ber of men and boats was lamentably small. 
It is a good many years now since we first recognized in 
the then novel sailing canoe (what has since chrystalized 
into the 16x80 decked canoe), a craft possessing many 
charms and many possibilities peculiar to itself. In the 
course of some thirty years conditions have changed greatly, 
the canoe-yawl, the 15-footer, the small power launch and 
the knockabout have all come in as rivals with the original 
canoe for the favor of the novice, the single-hander and the 
Corinthian of moderate means. At the same time we believe 
that there is still a wide field for the canoe and for canoeing, 
a field still worth working by each of the three associations. 
As matters now are, there is no use of quibbling over an 
inch or two of beam or minor details of fittings; the one 
great point is to unite all who are animated by a common 
love for personal work on the water in small craft. Person- 
ally we believe that more can still be done by direct encour- 
agement of paddleable craft of not over 80in. beam than by 
extending the field to take in a mixed fleet of wider and 
heavier craft; but this is a mere detail. The great thing is 
to secure the co-operation of all users of small craft. 
In this work racing must play an important part, and - 
good racing rules are an absolute necessity. These can only 
be had and held by constant attention and labor on the part 
of the otficers and committees, and by interest on the part of 
racing men and owners. No rule is so good that it cannot 
be improved, and even though perfect for the time, condi- 
tions may arise at any moment which may demand material 
changes. Constant scrutiny and supervision of the rules in 
their practical working and careful, deliberate and method- 
ical discussion and legislation, are essential to the main- 
tenance of the rules, and these, even in the American Canoe 
Association, have too often been neglected in favor of hasty, 
incomplete and generally imperfect legislation. 
Even more important than the racing is the annual meet 
itself, an assembly of gentlemen, living in tents as far dis- 
tant as the needed facility of quick transportation will admit 
from cities and summer hotels, and finding amusement in 
clean, healthful outdoor sport. To make the necessary 
financial success of such a camp from year to year, assuring 
good transportation facilities, good mess and camp service of 
all kinds, the number present should run up to 200 at least. 
With that many in camp, a fair proportion of racing men 
may be expected, each man can find a group of associates to 
suit his special tastes, and there is a variety of amusement 
for all. The oflBcers, too, feel that their work has amounted 
to something, which is not the case when elaborate arrange- 
ments, involving much labor and time, are availed of by 
less than a dozen people. 
The notice which we publish this week tells that the 
annual meeting of the executive committee of the American 
Canoe Association wiU be held in Brooklyn on Oct. 16. This 
is about three weeks earlier than usual, but in some respects 
the change of date is better; as a rule the weather in Novem- 
ber is unpleasant and stormy. Last year at Toronto the first 
snowstorm of the season greeted, the canoeists. In the 
middle of October there is a much better prospect of good 
weather, a very desirable accompaniment to the meeting, as 
the following day is always devoted to the entertainment of 
the visitors. The only objection is that the official reports 
as a rule are delayed to the last possible moment, and there 
is difficulty in getting them all by the middle of November. 
As, however, all the i^resent oflacers retire by Oct. 1, and as 
the business of the Divisions and the Association was really 
over last month, there should be no diflEiculty in preparing 
the reports in time. It is in every way desirable that all re- 
ports should be presented and considered at the annual 
meeting in order that the exact condition of the Association 
in membership and finances shall be known to the commit- 
tee. There is no good reason why a simple Division report, 
for instance, should not be ready before midwinter. 
In the matter of new legislation, there is really very little 
to be done; the Association is now running admirably so far 
as its administrative machinery is concerned, the Board of 
Governors has proved a success in regulating the finances, 
which should be in quite a satisfactory condition; there is 
apparently no change necessary in regard to it or to the gen- 
eral association and Division government, as laid down in 
the constitution and by-laws. 
Several proposals have been made for the amendment of 
the racing rules, and two or three points need to be cleared 
up, but there is no need for any important or radical change. 
The rules in the main are very satisfactory, the great trouble 
is that men will not build and race under them. 
As to their amendment, there is no other canoeing or 
yachting body in the world that we are familiar with, which 
has such an admirable system for amending and perfecting 
its racing rules. As laid down in the by-laws, it is the duty 
of the regatta committee, the last act before vacating its of- 
fice after a year of experience in making up the programme 
and managing the races, to present a full report of the prac- 
tical operation of the rules, the details of the racing, and of 
such changes as are desirable in the opinion of the commit- 
tee. In addition to this, the committee must include in the 
report all proposals for changes made by members. This 
report must be made public to all members of the Associa- 
tion through the official organs, at least two weeks prior to 
the amendments being voted upon by the executive com- 
mittee. 
In this way the valuable experience of the retiring com- 
mittee, fresh from its work at the meet, is available for the 
amendment of the rules; every member of the Association 
has a right to offer amendments, and the committee has the 
charge and supervision of such amendments, thus knowing 
exactly what changes are contemplated. 
The one defect in this scheme is that the j)rovi8ions of the 
by-laws and racing rules are habitually disregarded; some- 
times the regatta committee puts in no report at all, some- 
times a mere perfunctory statement of races and winners; 
such amendments as are published are, as already instanced 
this year, mere crude suggestions that must be carefully 
put in shape by some one before they can be submitted to 
the committee for a vote. Some amendments, instead of be- 
ing sent to the committee in season for advance publication, 
are presented to the executive committee during the meet- 
ing, so that they cannot be carefully discussed and voted 
upon, but must be submitted during the winter to a mail 
vote, without the necessary discussion and deliberation of a 
meeting. 
In order to be voted upon at the meeting of Oct. 16, all 
amendments must be published in the Forest akd Stream 
of Oct. 2, and consequently must reach us at the very latest 
by the morning of Sept. 28. The time is short, but if the 
retiring regatta committee is really desirous of astonishing 
the entire Association and of bringing credit to itself by the 
thorough completion of its work, it is still possible to pre- 
pare such a report as the by-laws call for, setting forth the 
important details of the late races, the questions which have 
arisen, the conclusions of the committee upon the condition 
of the racing at the present time, and its recommendations 
of changes. These recommendations, with any received 
from members, .should be carefully written out, in the Eng- 
lish language, and in the exact phraseology in which they 
should appear in the rules. 
Whether.good or bad in themselves, most of the sugges- 
tions for the amendment of the rules are absolutely worth- 
less on account of their vague and indefinite form; if a man 
is desirous that a rule should be amended, the least he can 
do before occupying the time of a very busy meeting is to 
take the A. C. A. book and turn to the rule, writing out in 
carefully chosen language the exact idea which he has in 
his mind. The probabilities are that he will find some diffi- 
culty in doing this in a way that will conflict with no other 
provisions of the rule; but if he cannot do it, there is no rea- 
son why he should expect others to do so. It is an easy mat- 
ter to say ofl'hand that a rule is bad and should be changed; 
it is a very difficult matter to embody this idea definitely 
and clearly in an amendment that shall harmonize with the 
remainder of the rule. The result of the usual hasty and 
careless method of voting on mere crude suggestions is very 
plainly visible in Rule I of the Racing Regulations, as it 
stands to-day, as well as in the several suggestions thus far 
made for its amendment by the executive committee. 
A. C. A. Board of Governors. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
There will be a meeting of the Board of Governors of the 
American Canoe Association at the Clarendon Hotel, Brook- 
lyn, N. y., Oct. 16, at a o'clock, P. M. Members of the board 
are requested to attend. Robert J. Wilkin, Pres. 
C. V. WrsTNE, Rec. 
"Canoe Cruising and Camping" is the title of a new work 
by Perry D. Frazer, published by the Forest and Stream 
Publishing Co. It contains more common sense to the 
square inch than any work we have ever seen. The author's 
advice, if followed, will insure any canoeist or camper a 
royal outing. It is well written and ably illustrated. It 
tells the novice what to take for camp use, for clothing and 
for sport. It is intensely practical. Price $1.— Breeder a/nd 
Spo^rtsman. 
The Amendment of the Racing Rules. 
We have spoken elsewhere of the amendment of the rac- 
ing rules, a matter which is now in the hands of the regatta 
committee and which must shortly pass to the executive 
committee. The present Rule I., defining, measuring and 
limiting canoes, was framed many years ago when canoeing 
was in a very different condition. In the interval it has been 
chopped and patched from year to year until it is mere 
makeshift, incomplete, contradictory and confusing. 
So far as we can see, there is no demand at present for any 
material change of the rule; but it is very necessary that it 
shall be made more definite and explicit, especially as con- 
cerns the canoes entering in paddling races, whether manned 
by one man, two, four or more. In order to secure a proper 
amendment of the rule in the very short time remaining be- 
fore the legal date of publication, we have attempted to re- 
cast it in a more definite and accurate shape, as follows: 
Rule I, Definition.— A canoe to compete in any race in 
the American Canoe Association must be sharp at both 
ends, with no connterstern or transom, and must come 
within the limits prascribed for its class. 
Measurement.— The length shall be taken between per- 
pendiculars at the foreside of the stem and the after side of 
the stern. The beam shall be taken at the widest part, 
wherever found, and shall not include the beading, provided 
that it does not exceed IJ^in. in depth; if the beading exceeds 
this depth, it shall be measured as part of the beam. The 
word beam shall mean the breadth, formed by the fair lines 
of the boat; and the beam at and near the waterline shall 
bear a reasonable proportion to the beam at the gunwale. 
The draft shall be measured at the deepest point, where- 
ever found. The depth shall be measured from the in- 
side of the garboard next the keel to the lower side of a 
straight-edge laid across the gunwales or to a similar height 
in a decked canoe. The sail area shall be measured by di- 
viding into triangles in the usual manner, the sail being 
stretched taut and flat on a level surface. 
Dimensions.— Sailing— To be eligible to .sailing races a 
canoe must comply with the following limitations: The 
length shall be limited to a maximum of 16ft., with an ac- 
companying maximum beam of 30in. For each full inch of 
decrease in length the beam may be increased by >^in. The 
draft shall not exceed lOin. There shall be no limit to the 
weight or drop of the centerboard, but when hauled up it 
must not project below the keel. A canoe without a center- 
board may carry a keel Sin. deep outside of the garboards 
and weighing not more than S6lbs.; a centerboard canoe may 
carry a keel not exceeding 13^in. The keel-band shall not 
exceed }i\a.. inch in thickness, and shall be included in the 
measurement of depth of keel. Lee-boards may be carried 
by a canoe not having a centerboard. The sail area shall be 
limited to ISOsq. ft. 
To be eligible to the "cruising canoe" class, a canoe shall 
comply with the above limitations, and in addition shall be 
fitted with a well not less than I6in. wide for a length of 3ft. 
6in.; with a sleeping space of 6ft., of which at least 5ft. shall 
be clear; and the sails shall be fitted to lower and furl. The 
regatta committee shall have power to rule out any canoe 
which, in their opinion, does not conform to the spirit of 
these restrictions. 
Paddling- To be eligible to the paddling races, canoes 
must be within the following limits: 
One and Two Men (Single and Tandem)— Maximum length, 
16ft.; minimum beam, 30in.; minimum depth 12in.; minimum 
weight, SOlbs. 
Four Men— Maximum length, 20ft.; minimum beam, 30in.; 
minimum depth, 12in.; minimum weight, TOlbs. 
War Canoes — ^Maximum length, 35ft.; minimum beam, 
— ?; minimum depth, — ?; minimum weight, — ?; maximum 
crew, 15 men. 
We invite, on the part of all who are or should be inter- 
ested in the races of the Association, a comparison of the 
above with the rule as it now appears in the Year Book. We 
have attempted to embody the same ideas in a little different 
form and clearer language, with no material changes. The 
phrase in italics, limiting the depth of keel, may well be 
omitted now, the same point being covered by the limitation 
of draft. It is just possible that some recognition of the fin- 
keel and the weighted centerboard should appear in the rule, 
but we have not attempted to take up this new point. 
Those portions of the rule which apply more particu- 
larly to canoes in the paddling races have been extended to 
cover new conditions, the introduction of four-men crews 
and war canoes; they are substantially in accord with the 
rather vague suggestions set forth recently by the committee 
of the Northern Division. The only open point, we believe, 
is the limit of weight, we have inserted 50ibs. as the mini- 
niuna for the single and tandem canoes, a mean between the 
limit set several years ago as the weight of the average good 
service canoe of the open Canadian type and a proposal now 
made to lower the limit. We have taken the proposal of the 
special committee for the weight of four-men canoes, and we 
have left blank spaces for the limits of beam, depth and 
weight of war canoes, which should be filled in, if only for 
the sake of consistency. 
It is quite possible that the above proposal is capable of 
amendment, either in mere phraseology and detail or in new 
and material additions. We shall be very glad to have fur- 
ther suggestions and criticism, in order that the amendment 
may be submitted in the best possible shape to the regatta 
committee in season to be embodied in the annual report and 
voted upon by the executive committee. 
The following proposal to amend the racing rules has been 
sent us for publication by Thos. Hale, Jr. : 
To amend racing regulations. Rule V., 2d paragraph: 
After the words "and the year expressed in four figures 
thereon," to omit the words "and the five best flags at the 
disposal of the regatta committee shall be given to the first 
five record men, provided ten or more finish; if less than ten 
finish, a prize shall only be given to each two, or fraction of 
two finishing."; and to insert the words "and the first five 
men finishing, or fraction thereof, shall receive prizes." 
As now printed in the Year Book, the latter portion of 
Rule V. is badly jumbled up; we would point out that a re- 
arrangement is desirable, the paragraphing, at least, being 
changed. 
In the amendment offered by Mr. Schuyler, as printed last 
week, the limits should read "maximum length, 16ft.; mini- 
mum width, 28in ; minimum, depth, lOin. amidships; not 
less than 451bs. weight. 
A. C. A. ^Executive Committee. 
To the Executive Committee of the American^ Canoe Asso- 
ciation: 
The annual meeting of the executive committee of the 
American Canoe Association will be held at the Clarendon 
Hotel (Fulton, Washington and Johnson streets), Brooklyn, 
N. Y., on Saturday, Oct. 16. 
The meeting will be called to order at 10 o'clock, A, m, 
Frank L. Donnbll, Com. Eler*, 
By C. V. Schuyler, Sec'y-Treas. Elect. 
New Yobk, Sept. 7. 
