96 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
[Aug. 3, tgot. 
Small Yacht Construction and 
Rigging. 
BY UNTON HOPE. 
Chaplcf IX.— Caalfcing, Stopping and Painting (Cootinoed). 
For those who wish to cast their own lead keels or bulbs the 
following hints may o£ use, but I should strongly advise any one 
to get the lead cast at a foundry, as it is a very troublesome 
business and requires a good deal of care to turn out a good 
casting. 
To make a mould for a lead keel of the size required for No. 1 
design, about two cart loads of moulder's sand must be obtained 
from a foundry, ordinary sand being useless, having no cohesion. 
should- be carried back on the plate for a distance equal to three 
times its thickness, dying gradually into the flat surface. The 
edges cannot be too sharp. Bull's metal is the best material for 
centerplates for all purposes, but it is expetisive and often sent 
out very badly buckled, unless specially ordered to be planished. 
Next to this metal, saw blade steel is the best for very light plates, 
or mild steel for heavier plates, whith are to be galvanized. Do 
not trj' to galvanize saw steel or it will buckle badly, and cannot 
be straightened. 
The above remarks apply equally to all centerplates of any form, 
and also to bulb-fin plates anc rudder blades. 
There are four types of centerplates now in general use, and 
many modifications of these general types. In addition to these 
there are lifting bulb-fins and ballasted centerplates, which most 
of them come under one of the four main types. 
These four classes are: 
First — ^The rectangular, with a vertical hoist by means of handles 
or one or more wires or chains. 
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THiS fOUtA OF 
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Secr/oi/ OF SHARP eoGBS. 
There are two methods of making the mould. First (and best) by 
digging a hole in the ground about 6in. deep, 1ft. longer, and 
1ft. wider than the pattern to be cast, and filling it up with the 
moulding sand round the pattern. The second way is to build a 
strong box of Sin. deals to contain the sand, but without either 
top or bottom. This box is filled with the sand round the pattern 
in the same way as the hole in the ground, but is liable to burst 
with the weight of the lead, and requires a special trench or shoot 
for the lead from the furnace or melting pot, whereas the ofher 
form of mould simply has a gutter cut in the sand, along which the 
lead flows. The advantages of each of these are cheapness, 
- simplicity and perfect strength and safety of the first, as against 
portability of the mould, ease of handling and getting out the 
casting, and possibility of using the mould on wood or brick floor 
of the second method. The latter must be very strongly made to 
stand the enormous strain of the lead. -,i 
Whichever plan is chosen, the method of making the mould will 
be the same. Fill the hole or box about 6in. deep with moulding 
sand, well rammed down, as hard as possible, ramming each layer 
of say an inch in depth, till the whole mass is solid. i;iace the 
wood pattern on this bed of sand, with the top face, which is to 
fit next to the wood keel, exactly horizontal, and levelling it care- 
fully in all directions. Support the pattern exactly m this position, 
and pour in sand, ramming it tighly as it is put in, till the whole 
mould is full and a bit above the level of the top of the pattern. 
Take a trowel and level the sand exactly to the surface of the 
pattern, and cut a groove or gutter for the lead to run into the 
mould at the thinnest end; the pattern can now be removed, but it 
should have a couple of screw eyes m the top to lift it out ot the 
sand. Before lifting it out, tap it all over sharply with a hammer 
to loosen it in the sand, and then lift it out carefully and slowly, 
so as not to injure the sharp edges and angles of the mould. 
These instructions only apply to patterns which taper, and can 
ther£fore be easily withdrawn from the sand. Bulb-shaped keels 
must be cast in a mould in two halves, which is beyond the 
amateur's power to make, as it requires special boxes to contain 
the sand, and considerable skill in moulding, to turn out such a 
''^Havfng prepared the mould, a melting pot or furnace must be 
constructed This should consist of an iron pot (wrought iron for. 
choice) which will hold at least a ton of lead, but if possible large 
enough to contain the whole amount required, and a few hundred- 
we^Xs extra for waste. This melting pot must be set in a rmg 
of firfLfcks wkh one or two openings at the bottom for firing, and 
several more Tt the top to create a draft, or it may simply stand 
on three fire brick piers and have an open fire all around it. In 
either clse I large Soke fire will have to be maintained for sorne 
hours, under and round the -melting pot which should be f^^^^^^^ 
•..^ith lend in as small pieces as possible at farst, larger pigs oeiiig 
Tided as the masT o melted leaS increases, till the whole aniount 
f= ,^^lfpH or the not is full. A pouring hole or tap should be 
fixeTh? the bottom of the pot if -possible, and. should consist 
Khole o^ pipe about lin. In dianleter, which is stopped from 
?he nu?side with a clay plug, to be knocked out when the lead 
is^ readv to pour A gutter is made from this hole to the runner 
or groove in^?he mould, the whole being on a good slope, so that 
^'f Ttidtinglof w"t\'rpo^uring hole or tap cannot be obtained,, a 
comm^ cast fron pot ^ be used, and. the lead dipped out in 
i„,,^T^^Hled ladles and poured by hand into the mould. This is 
L vlrv ttving job owLgC^he great heat of the fire, and several 
hands mus" be employed to pouF in the lead fast enough to keep 
U melteTfn the Toul/ till it is all in, as if it partly cools .a division 
or^ake wm occur and spoil the casting. In no case is it possible 
to obtain such a good casting by means of hand ladles as by run- 
ning drect from the meltini. pot, though I have seen a 2p-ton 
keel ca«t ent rely by hand ladles, and it turned out fairly web. 
To get a really good casting the lead should, be very hot and 
fluid fnd run into the mould as quickly as possible; also all dross 
and scum win be avoided if it is run from a hole at the bottom of 
the porThe hotter the lead is when rtm the denser the casting 
iVl^- and consequently the ca tmg w'^-^, w^e^S^i 
feT^t^<!^uldTn?y?u^stVouV' A Httle rosiri shou.d be thrown into the 
pot just before running as a flux. Don t forget, a casting oi a ton 
^T'Se^^cenllUta^e muTtr^o^rd^^re'^^^ the smith with the other 
r Va€ r Ihr^^wTn^. ^ ^ in S^lnd ^fe ''Xt'^ 
marW cleariy on it. Particular instructions should be given with 
IS ,?.r to sharoening the edges, and also stating that the plate 
must be aWutel/^^^^^^^^^ truef aAd a bent or buckled j, ate is 
S useless and cannot be straightened by an ordmary smith. _ 
^ The edgis should be sharpened to a long, easy bevel, which 
Second— The triangular plate, pivoted at the fore end, and 
hoisted by a handle, wire or chain at the after upper corner. 
Third— The semi-circular plate, pivoted in the center of its 
straight edge or diameter, and hoisted by a handle on one end, 
the slot in the keel being only half the length of the plate, but the 
case inside being the whole length. This is the easiest plate to 
raise of its weight. , , 
Fourth and most generally used now— The deep rectangular or 
knife-shaped plate (commonly called a "dagger" plate), and lifted 
by a lever and tackle from the forward upper corner. This plate 
was introduced in this country by me in 1894, in the l-''ater 
Sorceress and is very effective, but requires a long case and slot 
in the keel. I have used this type of plate of many shapes, from 
the original knife form of 6ft. drop and 2ft. wide to a plate of only 
3ft. drop and 2ft. 6in. in width, in the case of Scotia II., the 
winner of the French international 1-tonner cup in 1901. ihe ob- 
ject of the shallow plate in this case was to evade the tax on the 
radius of the plate, taken from the pivot to the furthest point in 
the plate. The semi-circular plate No. 3 type evades this rule very 
well, and was used in one of the competing boats, but she was not 
very good to windward. 
The first type of a rectangular plate, though not nearly so 
effective for a given area and weight, is essential under a rating 
rule which taxes the vertical drop of the plate heavily, and is also 
the best form for a lifting bulb or ballasted plate. 
The triangular plate lifted from the after end is hardly ever 
seen now, as it is ineffective for its size, as compared with the 
fourth class of plate, and does not conform well to the rating 
rules, like the first and third classes. This type of plate is in use 
only on very weedy waters, where a plate with a vertical or nearly 
vertical fore edge could not be used; even when it is used now it 
is usually lifted from the fore end like the No. 4 type. 
The fore edge of the No. 1 type is sometimes cut at a sharp 
angle to get rid of weeds, but of course it leaves a gap in the fore 
end of the case, when raised, unless it is raised in a direction 
parallel to the fore edge, which requires a long case forward of the 
slot in the keel. 
Of the_ lifting bulbs or ballasted plates, the simplest and most 
efficient is the No. 1 type plate, with a raking fore edge to clear 
weeds, etc., and a lead bulb of pear-shaped section and suitable 
weight. By means of such a plate a small boat can be made 
uncapsizable, and carries her ballast in its most effective form, 
while she is not debarred from shoal waters like a fixed bulb keel 
boat would be; the only disadvantage of this form being that the 
bulb projects below the keel when the plate is housed, unless a 
very large slot is cut in the keel and a wide box case fitted with 
some form of self-closing arrangement to stop up the gap in the 
keel, and hold the plate firmly when it is lowered. This is best 
done by having a loose wooden block on each side of the plate 
weighted sufficiently to keep it at the bottom of the case, till 
raised by the top of the bulb striking it on rising, and prevented 
by a slightly overlapping keel band from falling through the slot 
when the bulb is down. These blocks must be hard wood, teak 
for choice, and at least twice their width in depth, to prevent 
them from jamming in the case. 
Such a ballast plate as this should be lifted by two flat link, 
bronze, bicycle pattern chains, passing over sprockets on a central 
spindle along the top of the case, the latter being actuated by 
worm wheel gear. By gearing of this sort a bulb and plate up to 
several tons may be lifted, but the whole affair is very costly, and 
requires a good builder to fit it, and can only be made by a com- 
petent engineer. 
The Canada Cup Challenger. 
Toronto, Jul}' 27. — Stripped of everything above decks 
Invader, the Royal Canadian Y. C.'s backer of the 
Canada cup challenge, stands on a flat-car, ready for 
shipment to Chicago. Monday, July 29, is the date of 
her prospective departure from Toronto, and Wednes- 
day, July 31, is the date of her prospective arrival in the 
Illinois town. The yacht was taken to the Bertram 
Engine Works Company's yards, in the western part of 
the city, and there shorn of her spars, sails and rigging. 
Then the hull was carefully lifted out of the water by a 
huge crane, and flung over to where a special flat-car, 
60 feet in length, was waiting for her. A gang of car- 
penters and other workmen was in readiness, and at once 
commenced preparations for the yacht's safe journey 
by rail. She was lowered until the bottom of her lead 
bulb rested on the flooring of the car and carefully shored 
up and braced in all directions. The ballast was not 
removed. After the hull had been properly secured a 
ridge pole was nm from one end of the car to the other 
and a canvas cover fitted over. The yacht's spars and 
rigging were placed beside her on the flooring, the one 
car carrying all that there is of Invader. 
The yacht does not go westward with the prospect 
of a week or two of fitting out ahead of her. She is 
all ready to race as soon as her spars are in place and the 
canvas bent. It will not be necessary to use a ' paint 
bru.sh on her before she touches the water. All that 
work has been done. Her bottom has been smoothed 
and blackleaded. and a silver band painted around her 
waterline. Above that is the black enamel of the top- 
sides, relieved bv a gilt sheer ribbon with scrollwork 
forward and aft. On the black transom the name Invader 
appears in letters of gold, for the first time. Canadians 
.Hre singulariv reluctant about letting the names of their 
yachts be seen, but the experience of Aileen, at Chicago, 
years ago. when a tin name-plate had to be tacked on 
before "he big cutter was allowed to race, has been borne 
in mind. The silver band above Invader's wateriine alters 
her appearance wonderfully, making her look much 
K£EL 
