FOREST AND) STREAM, 
American Canoe Association, 
Commodore, W. G. MacKendrick, 200 Eastern avenue, Toronto, 
Can. 
Secretary-Treasurer, Herbert Begg, 24 King streetj Toronto, Can. 
Librarian. VV. P. Stephens, Thirty-second street sad avenue A, 
Bayonne, N. J, 
Division Officers, 
ATLANTIC DIVISION. 
Vice-Corn., H. C. AJlen, Trenton, N. J. 
Rear-Com., Lewis H. May, New York. 
Purser, Arthtar H. Wood, Trenton, N. J. 
CENTRAL DIVISION. 
Vice-Com.. John S. Wright, Rochester, N. Y. 
Rear-Com., Jesse J. Armstrong, Rome, N. Y- 
Purser, C. Fred Wolters, 14 East Main street, Rochester, N. Y. 
EASTERN DIVISION. 
Vice-Com., Frank A. Smith Worcester, Mass. 
Rear-Com., Louis A. Hall, Boston, Mass. 
Purser, Frederick Coulson, 405 Main street, Worcester, Mass. 
NORTHERN DIVISION. 
Vice-Com., J. McD. Mowatt, Kingston, Ont., Can. 
Rear-Com., E. C. Woolsey, Ottawa, Ont., Can. 
Purser, J. E. Cunningham, Kingston, Ont., Can. 
WESTERN DIVISION. 
Vice-Corn., Wm. C. Jupp, Detroit, Mich. 
Rear-Com.. F. B. Huntington, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Purser, Fred T. Barcroft, 40& Ferguson Building, Detroit, Mich. 
Regatta Committee: R. Easton Burns, Kingston, Ont., Can., 
chairman; Herbert Begg, Toronto; D. B. Goodsell, Yonkers. N. Y. 
Meet of 1900, Muskoka Lake, Aug. 3-17. 
Official organ, Forest and Stream.. 
Fixtures, 
March. 
10. Meeting of Canoeists at Sportsmen's Show, New York. 
May. 
26-31. Atlantic Division meet, Park Island. 
August 
3-17. A. C. A. meet, Muskoka. 
The discussion of the question of the most desirable 
type of canoe and fittings has brought out a number of 
different opinions on both sides of the subject, one of the 
racing men being heard from this week in behalf of the 
long slide and the bath-tub cockpit. As long ago as 
1886, when the sliding seat was hardly more than an in- 
dividual experiment and the bath-tub cockpit was un- 
known, we took up a position on this question which, 
after watching carefully the course of canoeing for fifteen 
years, we still adhere to with but little change. At that 
time and for several years previous the Forest and 
Stream resolutely opposed the surrender of the best part 
of the canoe, the middle third of the length, to the center- 
board trunk, unfitting the canoe for other use than match 
sailing; and from, the same point of view we opposed 
the standing rig and the sliding seat, as mere machine 
features, which were detrimental to the interests of canoe- 
ing. The abandonment of the well, the building of canoes 
so shallow that they have neither displacement, internal 
room nor reasonable freeboard, but are mere shells to 
float a minimum weight of crew, rig, sliding seat and 
centerboard, and the general uselessness of the resulting 
machine that with its big standing rig and long seat 
projecting far beyond the sides cannot be left afloat for a 
moment or handled conveniently near a doclc, has cut 
the list of racing canoeists down to half a dozen men. 
That a gain has been made in absolute speed is in dis- 
putable, but we believe that this is of no account what- 
ever when weighed against the serious damage to a noble 
sport. 
Our contention has always been that the essential 
features of the useable canoe, that is, room below for the 
crew to sleep, a rig that can be hoisted and lowered from 
the cockpit, a model of good sea-going qualities and fit- 
tings that are compact and appropriate, such as a center- 
board that will house completely within the limits of keel 
and deck, and a rudder that can be lifted in shoal water, 
should be rigidly guarded under the rules. If this had 
been done by timely and judicious legislation in 1885-6, 
when the all-round canoe such as Vesper and Notus was 
still winning a generous share of the prizes, there would 
still have been a wide field for the ingenuity of inventors 
in the creation of centerboards to be used elsewhere than 
in the center of the well, of shipshape and efficient hoisting 
rigs, and of numerous other auxiliaries. While the re- 
sulting canoe at the present time would probably have 
been slower by a material amount than Mab and her 
kind, there would be many more of them in use and far 
more canoeing done, but racing and general work. We 
fully believe that there is sufficient ingenuity in the circle 
of canoeists to produce a thoroughly satisfactory solution 
of the problem of a fast canoe with wholesoiue dimen- 
sions, full sleeping room and hoisting rig. 
The actual course of development during the time in- 
dicated and under the expressed policy of the Associa- 
iion, to legislate against no undesirable features until they 
had proved their quality by such general prevalence that 
legislation was impossible, has produced little that canoe- 
ing may be proud of. It represents no advance in de- 
signing when additional speed under certain conditions 
IS obtained by the sacrifice of displacement, freeboard, 
sea-going qualities, and the construction of a shell of 
veneering that demands the most delicate handling. It is 
;i mere evasion of an interesting problem to give up the 
I'll tire useful part of the canoe to the centerboard. and in 
the same way the work of improving the rig, once one 
of the attractive features of canoeing, as in the early 
days of the Mohican C. C, has been entirely abandoned by 
the adoption of the standing sail. 
The one_ point in which our opinions have changed 
since 1886 is in relation to the sliding seat, which at one 
tiine we opposed as an unshipshape and undesirable ma- 
chine. The experience of many years seems to show that 
whatever may be said against the seat on these grounds, it 
has made of the canoe a better and more effective sailing 
craft than was otherwise possible, giving a man a new 
power over his boat and making him dryer and more 
comfortable than if on nr below deck. At the same 
time li Js beyond dispute that a sUde pf 5 to 6ft. length, as 
used to-day, makes of the canoe a most awkward and 
clumsy machine ; and that the hull which is designed 
merely as an auxiliary to float such a seat and a big 
jig, is a pretty poor type of craft. As between the two 
extremes suggested by various correspondents, of abolish- 
ing the sliding seat entirely and on the other hand of 
leaving it as at present, the controlling feattire of canoe 
design, w'e are inclined to think that a middle course is 
best, retaining the seat but limiting it to such a length 
as will make the canoe as whole more compact and man- 
ageable when not under way. 
The Foggy Dew, as shown by the lines published last 
month, shows how much has actually been accomplished, 
in the direction we have indicated ; had the ingenuity of 
canoeists been concentrated on the same problem for the 
past fifteen years, a still more satisfactory canoe might 
be expected. For one detail, the arrangement of the can- 
vas bag seems to solve satisfactorily the question of the 
bucket cockpit in a cruising canoe. 
One of our correspondents makes a suggestion this week 
of a one-design canoe of the old all-around type. If there 
is any general demand for such a canoe, or in fact for any 
one type of wider canoe, we will be glad to prepare and 
pubHsh a design, for criticism and suggestion, all canoeists 
being at liberty to build from it after it is perfected. It 
would itot pay to do this in the racing machine type, 
but if canoeists will make known any general desire for 
such a craft as a modernized and improved Foggy Dew, 
and will suggest what they consider to be the main re- 
quirements and most desirable features, we will provide a 
design. 
The letter which we publish this week from Mr, Linton 
Hope gives a very complete and interesting account of 
the recent development and preseitt condition of canoe- 
ing in England. Owing to the lack of full descriptions of 
new canoes and the numerous changes of names and 
repetitions of the same name, it is very difficult for a 
stranger to keep fully informed of the progress of canoeing 
from the reports of races in the various English papers, 
but Mr. Hope has put the whole canoeing history of the 
last few seasons, during which some important changes 
have taken place and a marked revival has been evident, 
into a very compact form. It will be seen that the Eng- 
lish "canoe"' of to-day is mvtch like what has been called 
at times the Class C or unlimited canoe in this country, 
with greater beam and some of the details of the small 
racing yachts. How such a canoe woul^ succeed here as 
a substitute for the regular 16 by 30 boat, is an open ques- 
tion. Though best known as a yacht designer and a 
.skillful handler of racing yachts, Mr. Hope was originally 
a canoeist, and has of late taken up the sport in earnest, 
sailing regularly in the R. C. C. races. 
On the Revival of Canoe Sailing. 
Louisville, Ky., Feb, 5. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
As a constant reader of your charming paper. I have for 
several years inissed very greatly the space and matter 
given in time past to the Canoeing Department. I there- 
fore cannot refrain from assuring you of my great delight 
upon the receipt of the last few numbers, containiijg "lots 
of canoe talk," and a promise of "lots" more to come. 
I have for the last few years heen unable to actively in- 
dulge in canoeing, but my love tor it has in no way les- 
sened, and I live in the hopes that I may again take it 
up at an early date. I am particularly interested in cruis- 
ing and cruising canoes (sailable-paddhng). and I would 
like to suggest one method of popularizing this type of 
canoe, which in my opinion would be to publish a design 
and working drawings, with sail plans, etc.. for a canoe, 
say, 15 feet by 31^2 inches or 16 feet by 30 inches, with 
plate board so placed as to give at least 5 feet 6 inches 
between after end of box and after bulkhead (giving .sleep- 
ing room for the 6-footer), with simplest form of sail 
plan of moderate area, etc. Then get a number of reputa- 
ble builders to state at what price they will agree to fur- 
nish the plain hull, primed, with C. B. box and two bulk- 
heads, ready for the amateur of modest means and some 
mechanical ability to complete. This would enable many 
to become active canoeists and enthusiastic cruisers who 
now feel that they are debarred by reason of the excessive 
cost of the complete cruising canoe. Of course, any one 
wishing to purchase the canoe complete could readily do 
so; but they also would be benefited by being able to se- 
cure the "one-design," plain, simple, substantial "Forest 
and Stream'' cruising canoe at a reasonable cost. 
I sincerely hope that you will be able to act upon my 
suggestion, "as I am firmly of the opinion that it will help 
to revive the interest in canoe cruising, which the over- 
sparred, sliding-seated, bucket-well, small-displacement 
racer has seriously injured. 
With great faith in you and the Forest and Stream, 
I remain, most truly, 
John Bacon Hutchings, 
Capt. Louisville Boat Club. 
BRQGKtYiJ, N. Y., Feb. 3. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
In the year 1890, if I remember aright, there were forty- 
eight caaoes in one race, and several, if not most, of them 
had sliding seats. There was every kind of sail used. 
■ The only difference that I can see between the canoes 
of that date and this is that the canoe now in use for rac- 
ing has a deeper centerboard, making the canoe more 
stable; the so-called bathtub cockpit, which is a great ele- 
ment of safety in a seaway, and the longer sliding seat, 
which I claim has not only added safety, but comfort lo 
the canoeist. 
I remember the canoe trip I took with Mr. G. back in 
1893, or thereabouts, along the south side of Long Island, 
the Connecticut shore and up the Connecticut River to 
Essex, Conn. Mr. G. had a canoe with a plate center- 
board, a 4-foot sliding seat and a comparatively small 
cockpit. He could not sleep in his boat, but carried all 
the necessary articles for camping. On that trip my 
canoe was one with bilge boards and a cockpit about 8 
feet long., I had a very short sliding seat — one of 30 
inches. I remember well how I wished my sliding seat 
had been longer, and I am sure if T had had a 5-foot one 
I should baxe been far more comfortable than I was. 
With no sliding seat at all I should have been much more 
fatigued, and also wetter. Mr. G.. with his long s.eat and 
shorter cockpit, was far more c-prafortabl? thj^n I, and 
bis csnpe shipped less water. 
In case of an upset it is much easier to right a sailmg 
canoe with a sliding seat than one without. 
No ; I cannot blame the sliding seat for the falling oflf 
in racing. As for it taking an expert to sail the modern 
canoe, I do not agree with those who allege this. I have 
a case in mind of a young lawyer, Mr. R. T., who had 
never been in a sailing canoe before. He started from 
the New York C, C. float in a so-called racing machine, 
was out four hours off Coney Island Point, and never up- 
set once, although there was quite a sea on and a stiff 
souther!}^ wind. Of course, he knew the principles of 
sailing pretty well. 
As to the standing rig, it has its advantages as well as 
its drawbacks. One would hardly go on a cruise with a 
standing rig, but in racing the standing sail is simpler an^l 
safer, in some respects. There are no reef lines or hal- 
yards to tangle up one's feet and perhaps cause a drown- 
ing accident. There are no blocks to stick, jam or .^ve 
way in an emergency. The sail is up in its place and 
cannot sHp down, as the hoisting rig sometimes does, un- 
expectedly. The standing sail is cheaper and simpler, but, 
of course, could not be used for cruising. 
Mr. Butler's canoe, the Wasp, if I am not mistaken, 
took part in the races at Jessup's Neck, 1890. The same 
boat to-day is, with few exceptions as successful as she 
was then; but she has been improved slightly by having 
that safety appliance, the bathtub cockpit, added, and a 
longer seat. Does the addition of a bathtub cockpit and 
long sliding seat make the said canoe a racing machine? 
Ts this the cause of the falling off in canoe sailing? Can 
it be that the putting in of a safety appliance — a bathtub 
cockpit — and adding a foot or so to the seat, also for 
safety — can it be that these are the causes of the lack of 
interest in canoe racing at the present time? 
A large number of the canoes at Jessup's Neck in i8go 
had a sail area greater then 130 feet, the present limit. 
Were not the canoes then more dangerous and more ex- 
treme racing machines, with their big rigs, than those of 
the present time? Yet we had more entries then. 
No; I cannot blame the sliding seat, the bathtub cockpit 
or any of the modern appliances for the falling off in 
entries. The trouble, I think, is that dimensions, weight, 
etc., have not been limited enough. For instance, in 
r895, the sailing rules were changed to limit the sail area 
to 130 square feet. That was all right, as far as it went, 
but it did not go far enough. At that time few canoeists 
had time, money or inclination to build a new boat. In 
spite of this, the limiting of tlie sail area brought a larger 
number of entries into the races than for some years be- 
fore. One canoeist, taking advantage of the new condi- 
tions, built a canoe extremely light, but strong enough 
to carry 130 square feet. No one can blame him for 
doing this. He had a perfect right to build a new boat 
if he so wished, and to take advantage of every rule or 
condition. The result was that the other canoes were so 
outclassed that the entries the following year fell off 
greatly. 
A limit was put on one part of the canoe — the sail — and 
that caused an extremely light canoe to be built. If at 
the same time the weight of the sailing canoe had been 
limited to a certain figure, as the paddling canoes are, 
the result of the racing might not have been so unequal, 
and more interest would have been shown. There are few 
canoeists who have time or money to build a new canoe 
every year to suit new conditions, and to get new rigs 
and appliances, and most men, if they go into a race with 
their old boat and are very much outclassed, are loath to 
enter again, and drop out of racing. If a man thinks he 
has a fair show of winning a race he will enter; bttt if he 
knows that his boat is almost sure to be beaten he will 
not enter. That is human nature. 
I remember when the Seawanhaka Corinthian Y. C. 
held the trial races for is-footers at Oyster Bay in 1896. 
In the first race there were over thirty entries. Every 
man thought his boat had as a good chance to win as 
any other; but when he found himself outclassed be 
withdrew from the subsequent races. The loose rules al- 
lowed men to build some most remarkable freaks in the 
way of 15-footers. The racing rapidly died out on ac- 
count of expense and because the rules were not strict 
enough or comprehensive enough. The 20- foot races- 
suft'ered from the same cause, and also from their enor- 
mous cost and .general uselessness. 
My remedy for canoe racing would be, first, to leave the 
limit of sail area as it stands (130 square feet), or reduce 
it slightly. Second, limit the weight of the canoe, so 
that the hull and fittings (not including sails) shall not 
weigh less than a certain figure, without ballast. I would 
put no limit on excess weight. Let a man build his canoe 
as heavy as he pleases. The sail area limit (130 square 
feet) would prevent his building a too heavy boat. Third, 
limit the planking of the canoe to a certain thickness. 
These limits would do away with the extremely light, 
fragile and costly canoe. If necessary, I would also place 
a minimum limit on the height of bow and stern of the 
canoe, as svell as depth amidships. This rule would allow 
of a more seaworthy boat and less of a diver. 
The one-design idea is productive of good results in 
increasing the interest in racing, but is not practicable in 
such a large organization as the A. C. A. 
If thought practicable, do aAvay with the standing rig. 
I should not, however, abolish those safety appliances, 
the sliding seat and self-bailing cockpit.. If one wants to 
do without them, let him; but do not make a rule about it. 
Pioneer. 
The team of the Ottawa C. C. at the Boston Sports- 
man's Show Vv'ill include Messrs. W. J. Johnstone. R. W. 
Nichols. E. R. McNeil. R. W. Patterson, H. B. Cowan, 
H. W. Crouch, A. de M. Bell, J. B. Duford, A. Ballan- 
tyne. 
The Knickerbocker C. C. has elected the following of- 
ficers: Com., John Maler; Vice-Com., M. Ohlmever, Jt. . 
Sec'y, L. S. Stockwell ; Treas., William R Farrell. Jr 
^ ^ ^ 
The annual meeting of the Yonkers C. C. was held on 
Feb. I, the following officers being elected: Com., Geo. 
I. Eddy; Vice-Com., Robt. Edgar; Sec'y, Louis Hun- 
ter: Treas.. E. M. Underbill; Capt., Arthur Reese; Cus- 
todian, Louis Simpson. The flag of the club was changed, 
the new one having a red dolphin on a white field. The 
annual dinner of the cltib took place on Feb. 17, 
