FLOATING AND RAFTING 
423 
driven in behind them. This was an expensive method because 
of the large amount of rope required, and it has now been super- 
seded by an improved method pat- 
ented by an employee of one of the 
boom companies. 
The brails as now made have a 
set of boom sticks forming a rec- 
tangular pocket which is filled with 
loose logs. The boom sticks are Fig. 153 
held together by a 3-link chain 10 
inches long (Fig. 154) through the 
outer links of which the pin (Fig. 
1546) is passed and then driven into 
2-inch holes bored in each boom stick. These pins are 
made of oak and turned to a minimum diameter of 2 inches 
Method of fasten- 
ing Rafting Poles to Logs by 
means of Wooden Rafting 
Pins. A method formerly 
used on the Mississippi River. 
Fig. 154. — Details of a Mississippi River Log Raft. a. The method of 
fastening the boom sticks together, and bracing them with cables, h. A 
rafting pin such as in inserted in the outer hnks of the chain d. c. The 
free end of the cable which is used to strengthen the raft. d. 3-link chain 
through the outer links of which the rafting pins are driven. 
and a length of 11 inches. The top end has a swell 2| inches 
in diameter, with a slightly smaller swell in the center. The 
head is large enough to prevent the chain link from slipping 
over it and the swell in the center binds on the wood and holds 
the plug fast. A cable is passed through the center links around 
