414 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 25, 1901. 
Small Yacht Construction and 
Rigging- 
BY UNTON HOPE. 
Chapter III.— Laying Off, Making Ihe Moulds and Setting 
Up the Frame. 
Having got all the necessary tools and materials, and a suitable 
workshop with a good light, the first thing to be done is to lay off 
the design full size on the floor. If, however, the workshop has 
not a boarded floor, it is quite possible fn work without laying oflf 
the whole design, and only lay off the bi.dy plan and the profile of 
the stem on a large sheet of paper for Ihe 22ft. centerboard boat. 
In the case of boats of the hollow-bott<;med fixed keel type, a full 
sized drawing of the whole profile from stem head to the end of the 
counter should be laid ofl", and if the workshop has no boarded 
floor, some long, clean floor boards must be clamped together to 
make a temporary mould floor; but we will suppose there is a 
suitable floor. 
When laj'ing off full size, start with the L.W.L. as the main 
base line, from which all vertical measurements are taken, and the 
fore and aft center line for setting ofl; the half-breadths. Then rule 
the floor or board to exactly correspond with the design from 
guide to saw it out by. Now saw out the rough shape of the 
section in duplicate, and then carefully fit it to the curve of the 
section till it is exact. Mark the L.W.L., center line, and sheer 
height of the deck edge on each half, and fasten them together 
with two cross battens at the L.W.L. and deck level, thus: 
Then cut out the section of the keel at that station so as to let 
the mould fit over the keel to its proper depth— that is to say, till 
it is flush with the rabbet in the keel; but don't cut it too big at 
first. Be sure and take the greatest care that each mould is 
accurate, and that the center line is square with the L.W.L. and 
sheer line on it; also number each mould as you finish it. 
When you have finished making the moulds you must make a 
thin wooden pattern or template of the stem from the full-sized 
drawing on the floor, in the same way as the moulds, and lay it 
on a suitable piece of crooked oak, drawing a pencil all around it 
to mark the curve of the moulding or depth. Saw it a little outside 
the line, so as to have a bit of spare wood for trimming up with 
plane and spokeshavc. Cut the scarph as accurately as possible, 
and square it carefully. 
Get out similar templates for the keel and stern frame (for No. 2 
design, or the transom knee for No. 1 design) in the same way, 
and prepare the wood as before, in all cases marking the center 
line along both top and bottom when finished. 
The keel should now have the stations for the moulds marked 
accurately on it, measuring from the construction sheer plan and 
taking the d'stanccs along the top edge of the keel on the draw- 
ing (not the horizontal spacing of the sections). At each of these 
which you are working. This is done by setting off all the dis- 
tances of the waterlines, buttocks and diagonals from the center 
and stretching a chalked cord from one end of a line to the 
other and then pulling it up in the middle and letting it snap on 
the floor, leaving a clean line, which is perfectly straight and can 
be penciled in. Be sure all your lines are parallel and sqxjare to 
one another, and that you have not mistaken decimals for inches. 
Decimals are generally used throughout the design, but inches 
would be used in the construction drawing. 
Having got the floor ruled to correspond with the design, start 
with the body plan. Set off half breadths of the mid-section along 
each horizontal line from the vertical center line, taking the ut- 
most care that the distances are absolutely correct. Then mark 
the vertical distance on the center line from, the bottom of the keel, 
below the L.W.L., the height of the deck above L.W.L. at the 
half breadth on deck, and the vertical heights above or depths be- 
low the L.W.L. where the section crossed each buttock line. _ The 
diagonals are set off by taking the distances from where they inter- 
sect the center vertical lina to the points where they intersect each 
section on the body plan. 
When all these pomts are set off, a thin flexible batten should 
be bent so as to pass through all the spots, and is kept in position 
by some wire nails till a clean line has been drawn around the 
whole section. From this line a parallel line is drawn inside it 
/is- 
7 
sections set off the half breadth on each side of the center line, as 
shown in the half breadth drawing of the keel and stern, etc. A 
batten should be bent through these spots and a fair line drawn 
through them from end to end of the keel, which may now be cut 
out a little larger than this line and then planed up ready for 
setting up and scarphing to the stem, etc. 
Fit the scarph between keel and stem, painting between the two, 
and bolting them together with about four %:in. copper bolts, 
clenched inside on copper rings. These bolts can be made in a few 
minutes in the vise by cutting off pieces of the %in. copper rod 
Fig. 2. 
about an inch longer than the total thickness of wood, and making 
a good head on one end with the small riveting hammer. 
The other end should be slightly pointed, and the bolt carefully 
driven, fairly tight; but the hole must not be bored too small, or 
the bolt will bend in driving. Be careful not to get the holes 
much out of the center line on the outside of the scarph, but 
exact shape of the section to the boarti it is usual to lay a row of 
punch the heads into the keel. 
For the centerboard boat the transom should now DC cut out in 
exactly the thickness of the planking to be used; the other sections 
are drawn in the same manner. Then the sheer and profile are 
taken from these sections, and checked by the design. In small 
Ijoats it is not really necessary to lay off the half breadth plan, 
as well as the sheer and body plans, but of course it helps toward 
accuracy, and is always done in the case of larger vessels. 
The moulds should be made of some common floor boards or 
any cheap wood, about %in, or lin. thick, and to transfer the 
cant them to each side alternately on the inside, as in Fig, 5, and 
tacks or nails with their heads along the line of the inside of the 
plank on the section, thus: ' . . 
The object of the nails is, that when the piece of board to be 
used for the mould is placed over the nails and tapped all over 
with a mallet, the heads of the nails are driven half into the draw- 
ing on the floor and half into the wood for the mould, leaving a 
LileflF IT!??^ 9f g}} f^^'^^ cnx^^., whiplj js (jHltp enough 
Fig. 6. 
the same manner as a mould, but of course from a single piece 
of mahoganv %in. thick. It must be carefully planed up and 
fitted to the' drawing on the floor, and it should be cut with about 
i/4in. bevel on the edges, so that the inside is ^iin. larger all around 
than the drawing. It should be at least Sin. higher than the deck 
level to allow for trimming up afterward; and also to fasten the, 
shores. Now fit it over the end of the keel, like the moulds; but 
in this case the joint must be watertight. The transom knee 
must now be bolted to the keel with three 3-16in. bolts, _ similar to 
those in the stem scarph, and of course the joint painted first. 
The transom should be fastened to 'the knee, with three stout 2in. 
copper nails or screws; it must be perfectly square with the keel 
and its center line plumb with the stem. Cut the slot _ for the 
centerboard in the keel, and also the rabbets along each side of it 
for the sides of the case. Before setting up the keel in its place 
Jhege rabbets musf l^e v^fy carefviUy finished to th^ section shown. 
In the case of the fixed keel boat (No. 2) the keel should be set 
out from the body plan and half breadth and bolted to the stem as 
before; but instead of a transom and knee on the after end of the 
keel there is a sternpost and counter frame. The sternpost should 
be cut out according to the drawings and specification, and 
scarphed to the keel by cutting away half the keel and half the 
sternpost where they cross, and securing them by four 3-16in. 
bolts. When the sternpost and keel are properly scarphed and 
fastened, the dead wood must be roughly cut to the thickness of 
its largest part and fitted to the angle of the keel and sternpost 
and well bolted with %in. bolts, as shown in the sketch above. 
Then trim it roughly with the adze to the thickness of the stern- 
post on its after edge and to the keel at the bottom, but leave the 
full thickness along the top till the moulds are up. See that the 
sternpost and stem are both plumb with each other and not one 
over to port and the other to starboard, as often happens at first. 
Cut out the counter frame to the moulding and siding given in 
the drawing, and cut the inner end carefully to fit around the stern- 
post, to which it must be well bolted with two or three ^in. bolts; 
but be sure the angles of it and the sternpost are right by laying 
a rough template of keel, sternpost and counter frame against the 
frame when it is ready to bolt together. 
A German Singflehandet* 
We have several times published from the Wassersport 
the designs of Max Oertz, of the firm of Max Oertz & 
Harder, Neuhof am Reiherstieg, near Hamburg, Ger- 
man}^ keel craft of exceptionally handsome lines. The 
little boat here shown, also from the Wassersport, is only 
a single-hand cruiser, without the refinements of form 
which distinguish the moderii racing yachts, but she is 
ni.ost shapely in her form, below and above water, and 
should make a good boat for those who prefer a yacht to 
a bam door. Her dimensions are: 
Length — 
Over all 24ft. 5 in. 
L.W.L i6ft. 5 in. 
Breadth- 
Extreme Sft- lo^in. 
L.W.L 5ft- 3 in. 
Draft 3ft. 2^m. 
Mast— 
From stem at L.W.L 3ft. 9 in. 
Deck to hounds 20ft. 
Boom 20ft. 4 in. 
Yard 15ft. 
Mainsail 266 sq. ft. 
Jib 68 sq. ft. 
Total 334 sq. ft. 
The lead keel weighs I,8i5lbs. ; for cruising only an 
iron keel of the same weight may be used without in- 
creasing the draft or decreasing the stability by giving a 
bulb form instead of the tapering sides and rounded bot- 
tom. In building the main keel may be 4in. thick, the 
stem and sternpost each sided 2^in., the frames sided 
34in., moulded xY^^m. at heels, lin. at flat of floor and 
J.^in. at the heads, spaced gin., and the plank and deck 
each finished to 5^in. If enlarged to 18ft. waterline, the 
design would give a snug little cabin for singlehand 
work. The scales shown on the drawings are in meters, 
3.28ft. 
Alvina. 
The steam yacht Alvina, which was recently built at the 
yard of the Harlan & HoUingsworth Co., of Wilmington. 
Del., for Mr. Charles Fletcher, N. Y. Y. C, of Provi- 
dence, R. I., arrived at Manning's Basin, South Brooklyn, 
on April 22, after a very successful trip up the coast. 
Alvina was designed by Mr. A. S. Cheeseborough, of 
Bristol, R. I., who superintended the construction. Alvina 
cost over $250,000. On her recent run from New to 
Newport, the Alvina, on an eight-hours' trial, averaged 
15.34 knots, with natural draft. This speed was made 
with 130 tons of coal in the bunkers. 
She is a very handsome vessel, with high freeboard, and 
has the appearance of an English designed and built 
yacht. The vessel is a steel twin-screw steam yacht 
with the following dimensions: 215ft. over all, 
178ft. waterline, 26ft. Sin. beam, lift. 6in. draft. 
She is to be rated loa Ai at the British Lloyds. In 
the hull there are seven water-tight bulkheads and two 
decks. At the forward end above the main deck are a 
forecastle deck, under which are arranged the windlass, 
crew's mess, firemen and oilers' quarters; also a large 
galley for officers and crew.^ 
There is a long continuous deck house extending from 
just abaft the foremast to just abaft the mainmast. In 
the forward end of this house is the dining room, aft of 
which is a hallway on the starboard side, connected with 
a covered passageway leading aft. The pantry and gal- 
ley of the owner are situated on the port side of the 
deck house; boiler inclosure, a large laundry and engine 
room casing, then a library, large stateroom and hallway 
complete the whole deck house accommodations. On top 
of the main deck house and just forward of the smoke 
stack is a structure in which is arranged the captain's 
room and a chart room. 
The yacht will be steered from a flying bridge above 
this structure. She is schooner rigged and will carry 
three boats on a side, one on the starboard side well aft 
to be steam or naphtha launch. Going below through 
finely fitted companionways, the visitor will find the ac- 
commodations very roomy. Beginning forward under the 
decks are located the sailors' quarters, then the officers' 
quarters and next aft three large staterooms, besides 
owner's bath room, coal bunkers and machinery space. 
Further aft there are five staterooms of good size, three 
being very large, also two bath rooms and a large cabin.. 
The yacht's finish is most elaborate throughout, and she 
is built strongly and with great care. 
Arrangements have been made for water ballast, and 
for this provision she is fitted with two large tanks, one 
forward of the machinery space and the other aft of it. 
The yacht will be driven by two sets of triple-expansion 
engines, together developing 1,300 horse-power, natural 
draft. Steam will be furnished by two Scotch boilers, and 
there also is a donkey boiler. Auxiliary machinery, con- 
sisting of air and feed pumps, two electric light plants, 
evaporator, distiller and ice-making machinery, is in- 
stalled. There is a bunker capacity of 170 tons of coal. The 
contract speed of Alvina is 14 nautical miles an hour 
for a four-hours' run. She is intended for long voyages, 
and will probably be taken to Europe this summer. She 
has a waist of good depth, with bulwark rails constructed 
from just abaft the foremast to the stern. A brass rai' 
is placed on the sides for \Yar(J of the foremasf. 
