158 
FOREST AND STREAM 
April, 1919 
THE ANATOMY OF THE CANOE 
UNDER THE GLOSSY PAINT AND GLITTERING VARNISH THERE MUST 
BE SOLID HONEST CONSTRUCTION ALONG CERTAIN DEFINITE LINES 
BY FOREST HARLOW 
T he small, naked boy down in the old 
swimmin’ hole who gleefully strad- 
dles or squats upon a floating log 
is emulating some far-distant savage an- 
cestor in his crude attempt at the first 
canoe. Such a log, hollowed into a 
dug-out, was the first water craft to 
vision far down the centuries the thing 
of swanlike beauty and slim appealing 
lines that today we love as a canoe. 
Not all dug-outs were the unshapely 
affairs that the average canoeist would 
produce if necessity called upon him to 
make a floating craft with fire and blunt 
tools as the only implements of use. 
Many dug-outs are gracefully formed; 
some are marvels of simple construction. 
The war canoes of the Haida Indians 
were capacious, and the tribesmen had 
learned the secret of increasing the car- 
rying power by filling the craft with wa- 
ter heated by means of hot stones, and 
bracing the softened wood into wider 
space and better lines. 
The next step was the canoe of skin 
or bark, and lightness and stability were 
thereby gained. Some of the skin boats, 
such as the Eskimo kayak, are ingeni- 
ously constructed, eminently fitted to the 
purpose for which they are employed; 
while the birch bark canoe of the North 
American Indian will continue deathless 
in the song and story of this country 
long after the last redman has vanished 
from the land that once knew him so 
well. The quintessence of Romance is 
enfolded in its lines, the charm and 
elusiveness of a bygone age when life 
was lived, in the open, under freer, 
saner conditions. These speak to us 
from the high prow and seamy sides of 
the birch canoe, for the spirit of Hi- 
awatha still keeps tryst with his beloved 
craft. 
Improvement in tools to work with 
results invariably in improvement of the 
object of the expended labor. Steel, 
sharp and precise, has left its mark upon 
the canoe. Today, the dug-out and the 
skin and bark canoes have yielded place 
to the craft constructed all of strips of 
Sectional views showing the three prin- 
cipal methods of construction used in 
all-wood canoes. Left, rib and batten, 
most popular; center, cedar rib, prac- 
tically indestructible; right, longitudinal 
strip, strong and yet light 
wood, sometimes covered with canvas, 
built along lines that make for speed and 
combine the minimum of weight with the 
maximum of carrying power, stability 
and strength. 
C ANOES are of many different 
lengths, depending upon the amount 
of work or upstanding ability re- 
quired of them. The guides of the North 
woods prefer canoes eighteen or twenty 
feet in length. They know that smaller 
craft will not carry the outfit necessary 
for a fortnight’s stay in the woods far 
from the base of supplies — “forty miles 
from a lemon.” But the canoeist who 
paddles for enjoyment along the pleasant 
streams near home will not need such 
a large canoe; neither will the canoe 
cruiser who is at all times within a few 
miles of needed supplies. The question 
as to which size canoe is the best to pur- 
chase can be quickly solved by a resume 
of the determining factor — what do you 
want it for? 
There is one size of canoe that seems 
to have been accepted as a standard 
wherever canoeing is indulged in to any 
great extent, and that is the “sixteen 
footer.” True a shorter canoe could be 
designed to have the same carrying ca- 
pacity, but it would not handle so well 
under certain conditions. As a pleasure 
craft a canoe must be easily handled by 
one person and its capacity should be 
such as to make it safe when carrying 
at least three persons. The sixteen-foot 
canoe, with a beam of from 31" to 34" 
and a depth of 12", seems to answer the 
requirements better than anything else. 
In any catalogue showing canoes you 
are likely to find the canoe set forth as 
the leader. 
It will carry two persons and compact 
equipment for a cruise, including small 
tent, blankets, cooking outfit and neces- 
sary supplies. Mast and lee-boards may 
be attached to a canoe of this size, and 
the resulting sailing canoe will be safe 
and seaworthy. 
There are many different methods of 
construction employed in the manufac- 
ture of canoes, but the main objective 
that all builders seek to obtain is a mini- 
mum weight combined with the required 
strength. Sixteen-foot canoes will range 
from 55 to 80 pounds in weight, accord- 
ing to the material used and the method 
of construction. It is possible to build 
a 16-foot canoe that will weigh less than 
60 pounds (we refer to cruisers and not 
racing canoes), but to do so the strength 
must be sacrificed to some extent and 
such a canoe could not be subjected to 
the usage that a canoe usually has to 
stand on a cruise or camping trip. 
C ANOES can be placed in two classes 
as far as construction goes — i. e., 
“all wood” or “canvas covered.” 
There are several methods of construc- 
tion in the all- wood canoes, but the three 
principal ones are known as “rib and 
batten, longitudinal strip and cedar rib.” 
These three methods are entirely differ- 
ent. There are also “flush or inserted 
batten” canoes and “metallic joint” 
canoes, but both of these are just slight 
variations from the “rib and batten” 
canoe. 
In the “rib and batten” canoe the ribs, 
usually half-round pieces of rock elm or 
white oak, are bent over a solid form or 
mould. These are placed 6" apart and 
run from gunwale to gunwale in one 
piece. The other parts of the frame 
work — i. e., the keelson, stems, etc., are 
put in place first. To this frame the 
planks are nailed. Do not be misled 
by the use of the word “planks.” The 
thin strips of tough wood have little in 
common with one’s usual conception of 
planks. The planking usually consists 
of basswood or cedar and either material 
will make a good canoe. The cedar, of 
course, is the best and the basswood must 
be kept well painted or varnished. These 
planks are one-quarter inch thick and 
are put on either three or four each 
side of the keel. As a sixteen-foot canoe 
measures about 52" around, the planks 
are from seven to ten inches wide. The 
