THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
327 
tence— Be always kind to them ; let them 
be in every way dependent on you, but 
never try to force their affection. 
(To he concluded.) 
Amateur Boat-Building —YI. 
IRIOUS sizes of nails are used in 
boat-building, according to the 
particular purpose for which 
they are required. They are 
made either of copper or of iron, those of 
the latter metal being occasionally tinned 
or galvanized, but not usually. For 
general purposes, copper nails are to be 
preferred for fixing the skin of the boat, 
although iron nails are employed by 
some professional builders for light craft. 
The mbst usual form of boat nail is that 
sliown at A, Fig. 1. This nail is square, 
Ijas what is known technically as a 
*' rose " head, tapers towards the end, 
and terminates blunt and square. This 
blunt end is found better adapted for cer- 
tain i)urposes than if the nail were 
pointed. With this boat nail is used the 
"rove,"B Fig. 1, which is a small per- 
forated metallic disc. In fixing on the 
planking of the boat, the nails are driven 
from the outside, and are always of suffi- 
<?ient length to leave a portion inside the 
boat after the wood has been pierced. 
When the entire skin of the boat has 
been thus nailed on, a* rove is slipped 
over the point of each nail, of which lat- 
ter any superfiuous portion more than is 
sufficient to form a good rivet is cut off 
by the aid of a pair of boat-builder's nip- 
pers, which cut at the ends ; the remain- 
der of the shank of the nail is then care- 
fully riveted down with a light hammer 
upon the rove. 
Tbis rivetting the shank of the nail 
down upon the rove brings the planking 
close, and makes a good job. The rove 
is usually circular in form, as shown at 
B, but formerly a diamond shape c, Fig. 1, 
was more common. Beside the regular 
boat-nail, the clout-nail d, Fig. 1, is often 
used, the rove being dispensed with, and 
the portion of the end which projects in- 
side being beaten down on the wood in 
the direction of the grain, and struck 
with the hammer, so that it sinks into 
the boarding. This is called clinching. 
If the nail projects more than a quarter 
of an inch, the surplus portion must be 
cut off, as in the case of the roved-nail. 
Clout-nails are square, like boat-nails, 
but have a flat, round head instead of a 
rose head. The size of the nail will, of 
course, depend upon tlie class of work for 
which it is to be used. From 14 to 17 
gauge are employed for light craft, with 
Nos. 1, 2, or 3 roves. Boat nails and roves 
cannot often be procured of ordinary 
hardware dealers. Our builders may, 
however, get them, and all other kinds 
needed for boat-building by sending to 
this office where we will furnish small 
quantities to amateurs. Nails of much 
larger size than those specified noted in 
the proper place. The French wire nail 
E, Fig. 1, is somtimes employed for light 
boat-building, its tenacity rendering it 
very suitable for easy clinching. This is 
a round nail, and is used without a rove. 
In light work it is best to employ a fine 
bradawl to bore a small hole for the boat, 
or clout nail. The French nail {point de 
Paris) being sharp, does not need this 
preliminary, as there is little fear of its 
splitting the wood. 
As there have been several requests 
from our readers for information about 
canoes, especially of the "Bob Boy" 
form, introduced by Mr. Macgregor, we 
will alter our original order, and devote a 
short space to that subject before taking 
up punts, skiffs, etc. 
The " Bob Boy " canoe has well earned 
its celebrity as the best craft for general 
travelling purposes, and the amateur can- 
not adopt a better model. Several varie- 
ties and modifications have, however, 
been brought out since, some of which, 
as Alden's boat, tlie "Shadow," have at- 
tained considerable popularity. 
Mr. Macgregor's first " Bob Boy " made 
a voyage of a thousand miles through 
France, Switzerland, and Germany; and 
his newer canoe navigated the Baltic, and 
went through much of Sweden and Nor- 
way. The "Bob Boy " was primarily— 
and, indeed, above all— a travelling craft, 
light, easily adapted to what the Cana- 
dians term " portage," or the capacity of 
being carried readily by land, strong, and 
