July, 1919 
FOREST 
AND STREAM 
337 
ly, the center board is a very important 
feature, and to make this additionally 
strong make a pair of iron brackets of 
^sxl%-inch flat iron by 10 x 10-inch 
angle and screw one on each side. These 
take the strain when the boat is close 
hauled and center board down, as the 
pressure of the water against the side 
of the hoard endeavors to push the center 
board house out of a true line unless 
strongly braced and kept in a perfect ver- 
tical position with the floor of the boat. 
The seating arrangements may be ar- 
ranged to suit the builder. 
A popular plan is shown on page 336. 
Take especial care with the setting in of 
all seats and have them staunch and 
true as this preserves the rigidity and 
original outline of the hull and also 
greatly increases the boat’s efficiency. 
Build the rudder as shown, facing its 
outer edge with thin band iron and use 
great care in setting in the hangers to 
get them perfectly true and in the center. 
The tiller piece may be made of flat 
iron held in place by a draw up bolt 
over it. Drill the holes in each end >2 in. 
in diameter. Provide and screw in place 
several galvanized iron pulleys and 
through these run the rope to the wheel 
and fasten it around the drum of the 
wheel with heavy staples. 
Make the standard for the wheel of 
2 in. yellow pine and set it against center 
board house and secure it to floor by 
in. by V /2 in. flat iron brackets and 
to other convenient points by long, iron 
clamps so as to make a rigid job. 
T he wheel may be bought or made 
up in a carpenter shop, and if the 
latter the rim should be made of sev- 
eral sections halved and screwed to- 
gether. The spokes are turned up on 
the lathe or are made of oak balusters 
as used in house stairways. The rope 
drum should be 4 in. to 6 in. in diameter 
by 4 in. long and held to the standard 
by flat iron out bearing and ^ in. center 
bolt through same. 
Large iron washers, coated with grease, 
are set up on each side and make a good 
stiff wheel and yet ready to the touch 
of the hand. 
The iron washers are bored with a 
3/16 in. drill to an even countersink, 
that is, do not bore through. 
Drill five in each washer, one side only, 
and rub these full of grease. Assemble 
them face to face and the lubrication will 
last for a long time. Provide the two 
end tiller rope pulleys with adjusters so 
the slack in the rope is readily taken up. 
The adjusters are made by 3/16 in. 
bolts 6 in. long with eye ends which 
bolt to pulley swivel. The bolt threads 
then pass through a ■4 hole of an 
upset clamp on the gunwale. By the 
lock nuts on each side the pulley is drawn 
in or out. One of these is sufficient how- 
ever. 
The fish box is made by a water tight 
seat compartment with lift up lid, hinged 
and provided with a screened opening 
3 in. by 7 in. in the center. Bore several 
1 in. holes in the bottom and cover the 
entire bottom on inside with wire screen, 
in. mesh, galvanized, tacked down 
with copper tacks. Corks are provided 
to fit in the holes and the box can be 
baled out in a few minutes. For all day 
fishing these boxes are ideal, as the water 
is always fresh and live. 
A beautiful finish on a Sharpie can 
be had by spar-varnishing the interior 
and painting the exterior white. 
The masts should be carefully selected 
for their straight and knotless grain and 
carefully sand-papered and scraped be- 
tween coats of the varnish. 
The masts are held in their steps as 
usually done, but the bracing should be 
doubled, with iron ring brackets to floor. 
The booms are also to be carefully se- 
lected and the sails “made on” by a sail 
maker. 
The usual standard rigging is used, 
such as pulleys, ropes, halyards, braces, 
etc. The idea is to simplify and decrease 
the number of parts by making the craft 
sturdier than general construction. 
I F high speed is desired and sport an- 
ticipated, it is well to build an out- 
rigger, with which much excitement 
and nervy sailing can be had. The bal- 
ance of the boat, under these conditions, 
depends upon the shifting of the man’s 
body on the outrigger. 
It consists of a board 1J4 in. by 12 in. 
by 42 in. of spx'uce, planed smooth, with 
rounded edges. The sides of the gun- 
wale are fitted with iron channel pieces 
to receive the board and a loose pin 
holds it in place so that a man may 
readily sit out upon it when the boat 
is under full head and with opposite 
wale awash. 
It is a good plan to cover the board 
with a seat of corrugated rubber mat- 
ting, to give a grip on the board. Rid- 
ing on the outrigger with the sparkling 
waves dashing directly under you and 
the spray flying, coupled with the grace- 
ful rise and fall, is a sport not to be 
soon forgotten. 
On the whole you will find the Sharpie 
to be one of the most practical of boats. 
The younger generation of boys will 
do well to study its adaptability to the 
many forms of water sports that hold 
their attention. 
The sport you have in building and 
sailing your own boat can never be 
equalled by the pleasure of running a 
boat that you have bought from some 
other maker. 
Like many other things in life the 
harder we work for them the more we 
enjoy them. Then the simple construc- 
tion of the boat lends itself to rough 
knocking about — so very desirable in out- 
door implements of all kinds. With a 
Sharpie, a full grub box and a pleasant 
companion the great world of inland wa- 
ters is yours to explore and to enjoy. 
Head up into the bay some bright 
summer morning when the waves are 
dancing in the sunlight and a fresh breeze 
makes the little boat slip easily through 
the water, toward the little inlet where 
you know the fish are waiting. 
Take her out into the dim dawn of 
an early November morning with your 
gunning outfit safely stored below, and 
you will know why the old reliable 
Sharpie has held its own for so many 
years among the host of newer craft that 
dot the waterways along our coasts. 
