Marcu 19, TS98.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
233 
_ About twelve yeai"s ago my brother and 1 conceived 
the idea of buildhig s. boat. At the start it was to be 
a rowboat, but we invited two friends to join tis in our 
grand project. Our ideas enlarged with our increase 
in numbers, and within a week nothing but a sail boat 
could be considered. We made a model. (Our father 
had taught us some of the mysteries of model making 
and getting the lines therefrom.) When this task was 
completed we found we had developed a craft of the 
following dimensions: 22ft. over all, 19ft. waterline, 6ft. 
beam, and an estimated draft of about iSin. As she was 
to be a centerboard sloop, the reader will observe that 
our knowledge of the required width for such a boat 
was remarkably- deficient; and but for the fact that our 
creation, seemingly aware of this fact, expanded herself; 
during the process of construction, an extremely cranky' 
ship would have been the result of our labors. 
It happened in this way: Our frames were made of 
oak, which we, with the aid of hot water and steam, 
bent as near as possible to the required shape. As we 
put them in place battens were nailed across from one 
side to the other. When we had secured the gunwales 
to the frame the battens were removed. 
The next morning our boat, instead of being 6ft. wide, 
was 7ft. 2in. — a fact which we bewailed a great deal at 
the time, but since have had cause to be very thankful 
for. 
Our father, who up to this time had taken little stock 
in our enterprise, came over to the shop one evening, 
and seeing the bad weather we were making of it, was 
considerably amused. However, while he would not 
admit openly that we had done fairly well for amateurs. 
'i|j,and as soon as she was finished I engaged through a 
pfriend a man to haul her to the river. He arrived one 
•('afternoon about 5 o'clock. The house in which I lived 
' was next to a vacant lot, and all I had to do was knock 
I off a few boards from the yard fence and the truck could 
back right up and receive its burden. In less than ten 
minutes after the opening had been made it seemed as 
though the whole population of the ward had assembled 
"in that lot to view the wonderful sight of a little sail 
boat emerging from a back yard. 
I was disappointed with the appearance of the man 
Birthplace of Monaitipee. 
"We Made a Model." 
he nevertheless turned to and gave us some valuable 
assistance, such as lining out planks and helping us put 
them on. _ 
When this feat was accomplished, we had quite a 
formidable looking vessel, so we concluded we would put 
a cabin on her. 
Three months' time (we only labored evenings, being 
engaged during the daytime in earning our living and 
the money with which to purchase the materials for our 
craft) was consumed in building the hull and cabin. I 
don't think four prouder or happier young fellows ever 
existed than were we the day that Monaitipee was 
snaked out of the old blacksmith shop on a mammoth 
boat truck drawn by two large horses. 
But what tortures we suffered as we were forced to 
see our hearts' delight go rumbling and bumping over 
two miles of uneven city streets. We wondered if there 
would be any putty left in the seams, or any paint on 
her beautiful sides, which were receiving a tremendous 
amount of rubbing and chafing by the lines and cradles 
which held her on the wheels. 
And yet the agony as far as myself was concerned was 
insignificant compared with what I endured some five 
years later, when, having severed my connection with the 
Monaitipee, I built in my back yard ati iBft, catboat, 
who came to take her away. He 4icl not seem to take 
the interest I would have liked to see him take in the 
job. In fact it did not seem as though he knew whether 
he came to remove a boat or cart away the boards I 
had battered off the fence. He appeared to haA^e an aver- 
sion for young people, for when some small boys made 
audible remarks about his abstracted air he suddenly 
charged on them, and a general stampede followed, and 
for five minutes the wildest confusion reigned in the 
lot, in the midst of which could occasionally be seen the 
bald head of a half drunken Irishman surrounded by a 
howling mob of urchins. Before he got back T had with 
the assistance of friends got the boat on to the truck 
and made her as secure as possible with the limited 
supply of lines which the driver had brought. He finally 
came staggering toward us, puffing and blowing like 
a porpoise, and vowing vengeance. Seeing all was ready 
he climbed up, and seating himself astraddle of the bow, 
which was toward the horse, he jerked the reins and 
gave the nag a clip with the whip. Away he went over 
the tmeven ground and across the curb into the street. 
As the forward wheels dropped the boat slid for- 
ward and struck the animal. Away he went on a gallop 
down the steep incline toward Fourth avenue, while 
the driver yelled like a Comanche Indian. In less than 
a minute he had reached the cross street and was appar- 
ently going straight across into a hallway on the oppo- 
site side. 
My heart almost stopped beating. I could plainly 
see all my hopes and the beautiful result of my long 
hard winter's toil being dashed to pieces, and scattered 
broadcast in a miserable hallway. I cannot express the 
anguish I felt at that moment. I stood transfixed with 
horror, while the youngsters about yelled and screamed 
w'ith fiendish delight. 
By some miraculous intervention of Providence or a 
lucky pull of the rein the horse suddenly turned sharply 
to the left, and the outfit fetched up against a lamp- 
post, the traces parted, and away went the plug through 
Fourth avenue. The driver was shot from his seat and 
landed about loft. in front of the turnout in a heap. 
Well, the animal was caught a couple of blocks away 
and brought back trembling with fright. The driver 
pulled himself together, somewhat soberer, and after 
a good deal of trouble got the horse hitched up again. 
But the nag was so nervous that when he chirped to 
him he gave such a leap that he again broke the traces. 
Before we got the boat to the river the harness was a 
total wreck, and the steed had run 'away twice. The 
driver insisted in stopping at every corner to have a 
drink, and was so drunk when we arrived at our destina- 
tion that he only charged half the price he had originally 
named, saying that he had had the worth of the other 
half in fun. The strangest part of it all was, that the 
boat was not even scratched, and in this respect fared 
much better than Monaitipee did on her journey to the 
sea. 
Well, in due time she was rigged up and launched 
forth into her future element. Our first trip was from 
Poillon's old shipyard, foot of Bridge street, Brooklyn, 
to Sheepshead Bay. And our skill in handling a new 
and untried boat was put to the test in rounding Coney 
Island on this occasion. It came on to blow from S.E. 
and caused us to double reef in Gravesend Bay. Once 
outside the Island the storm commenced to have fun with 
us. Monaitipee was swept by one wave after another 
until we were all drenched to the skin. The anchor, 
which was swung under the bowsprit, got adrift, and in 
trying to secure it I was submerged by a heavy sea, lost 
my cap, and had my watch filled with salt water. Still 
we plowed ajong beautifully, and in a very short while 
had passed the iron pier. 
One of our crew had confined himself to the cabin 
as .soon as we struck rough water to avoid getting his 
new suit wet. Presently he inquired if it was getting 
any smoother. We told him it was like a mill pond. 
Ho cautiously emerged from below, and just as he was 
stretching himself a vicious comber landed against her 
weather bow, and he got the result of it full on tlie 
broad of his back. He beat a hasty retreat. Misery 
likes company, and the rest of us who were so wet we 
could not get any wetter howled merrily at his dis- 
comfiture. However, the worst part of the trip was now 
"Away He went on a Gallop." >" ""^^^ 
over, and slacking sheets we eased away a point or 
two, and soon had dry bar to windward. 
Monaitipee now sprang away, leaving a seething streak 
of suds behind her. Fifteen minutes and we had reached 
Point Breeze. We passed through the Inlet and on upi 
to our destination at the upper end of the Bay, about a- 
mile further on, where we anchored off the village of 
Sheepshead Bay. 
Our first sail had shown us that our boat could bc' 
improved by adding more ballast, which we did at the 
first opportunity, Monaitipee turned out to be a very 
good boat, although not so stiff as some of the broad- 
beamed craft on this side of Long Island. The owners 
of these boats sometimes shook their heads ominously 
as she went tearing down the Bay and across to Sandy 
Hook in most all kinds of weather, heeling to an angle 
of from 40 to 45 degrees. 
"We Plowed along Beautifully." 
In these days fishing was our hobby, and we frequently 
visited the locality of the Roanier Beacon or Monument, 
as it is familiarly spoken of. Small sea bass and black 
fish were quite plentifid about the rocks which lay 
on the bottom near this light. Time and again we drove 
her across the Roamer Shoals when none but the reck- 
less and thoughtless boys we were would have dreamed 
of doing so except for very urgent reasons. Returning 
from these trips we always landed at Point Breeze, 
which is the extreme eastern end of Coney Island or 
Manhattan Beach. 
In 1886 there were two buildings situated here. One 
was the ruins of the old Point Breeze Hotel, which 
I believe had been a financial failure, had been deserted 
and left to the mercy of wind and weather, or any 
beach comber who happened to be prowling about and 
in need of lumber. There were a number of rooms 
which were yet secure from storms, and I recollect one 
time we all spent a night in one of them just for a 
lark. 
A ghostly procession we must have appeared to any 
one could he have seen us, as each with a bundle of salt 
hay under one arm we marched up the rickety steps, 
carrying in the right hand, held high above our heads, 
each a soda water bottle with a lighted candle stuck in 
