FOREST AND STREAM 
213 
are best made of clear white spruce, from 
carefully selected stock. The mast should 
not be over 5' 6" from top to bottom, 
while the spars should be from 3 to 4 
inches longer than the head or foot of the 
sail and can be made the same length for 
convenience sake. The sticks may be pur¬ 
chased already turned and can be drawn 
out tapering towards the end. The flat sail 
needs a stiffer set of spars, whereas the 
roached sail can have a lighter yard and 
boom. The spars should be of 1/2 inches 
diameter material, and the mast of 2 inch 
stuff. 
The equipment for the mast consists 
of either a hole, an inserted wheel, or a 
pinned pulley, through which the halliard 
is threaded, and just above the thwart 
step a pulley block for the hoist. At the 
place where the jaw rubs the mast, a wear¬ 
ing plate of light brass can be wound 
tightly and tacked down. This should be 
about four inches in width. On either side 
of this wearing plate a leather strap can 
be wound and fastened, making two deep 
bands of leather that will prevent the jaw 
from going off the metal band. 
A necessary supplement to the mast is 
the steps. The lower one is best made of 
a hard tough wood that will not split easily. 
It can be shaped as in the illustrations, 
about 4 inches long, 2 inch wide and 2 
inches deep. A square hole is cut clean 
through it to take care of the buttress of 
the mast, squared to fit it. The square 
hole avoids the twisting of the mast caused 
by the tension on the halliard. This step is 
fastened to the keelson with two screws. 
The upper step can be made exactly like 
the other thwarts in the canoe, but will 
probably need to be a triflle wider. A 
round hole is cut in the center of this 
thwart the same diameter as that of the 
mast at the point of contact. 
Y OU can link the boom and the yard 
together with a pair of heavy brass 
screw-eyes set into the end of each 
spar, the screw-eyes being connected with a 
brass ring that has been braised together. 
(B in the diagram.) A better way, per¬ 
haps, and less expensive, is to saw the 
end of each spar, split it for three 
inches, and connect the boom and yard by 
inserting a single piece of rawhide, leav¬ 
ing about one inch of free leather between 
the ends of the spars. Each end is riveted 
twice with copper rivets and lastly bound 
with strong fish line and varnished. (A in 
the diagram.) 
The jaw is simply two pieces of half 
round, one-half inch wide brass banding, 
bent in the manner shown in the illustra¬ 
tion. The part outside the mast is riveted 
together and the opposite flanges screwed 
flat against the boom. If your sail is 
equipped with the rings, place a small brass 
screw-eye every six inches along the inside 
of the boom and the yard, so that each 
screw-eye lies in between each ring on the 
sail. Later thread a stiff brass wire 
through each ring and eye, fastening the 
wire securely, at the ends of each spar, to a 
larger screw-eye. At the outer end of the 
boom and yard, drill a hole just large 
enough to carry leather laces, which with 
the one tied over the hinge are to pass 
through the grommets in the corners of 
the sail, holding the latter taut when in use. 
The outer thongs should always be loos¬ 
ened when the sail is not in use. 
On the bottom of the boom about four 
feet from its end a swinging pulley is 
lashed, and equidistant between this point 
and the jaw, two lignum vitas bull’s-eyes 
are bound with fish line. The sheet which is 
to be tied to the aftermost thwart is to pass 
through these guides to a second swinging 
pulley lashed to the mast, thence on to the 
hand, thus keeping the sheet always in 
front of the sailor. In this way there is 
little or no strain on the arms, no pulling 
force over the side and no chance of the 
sail blowing up in the air from sudden 
gusts of wind. 
The halliard is lashed to the yard at a 
point that will allow the hinge or tack to 
clear the decks and gunwales about two 
inches, and also allow the boom to clear 
the sailor’s head when he is sitting straight 
up in the bottom of the canoe. The hal¬ 
liard is to pass through the hole or ap¬ 
pliance at the top of the mast, down to a 
pulley block on the mast above the top 
step, and is carried back and cleated near 
the sailor’s hand. 
The lines—sheet and halliard—should be 
wound at .each end with thread and dipped 
in shellac to prevent fraying. They should 
be given a bath in the sugar of lead and 
alum solution provided for the sail, and 
when thoroughly soaked should be 
stretched around two poles until dry. This 
will prevent their kinking and hardening 
from constant wetting and drying. 
Some common mistakes made in setting 
up and rigging sails on canoes are having 
the mast too tall; stepping the mast too far 
back in the canoe; fastening the jaw too 
far back on the boom (which causes the 
boom to be a constant annoyance to the 
sailor or to drag in the water) ; not hoist¬ 
ing the yard so that it lies flat against the 
masthead; having a sail area that is too 
large for the canoe, and not having the 
center of effort over the center of lateral 
resistance. 
THE CRUISE OF THE “IMP” 
THE BUILDING AND NAVIGATING 
OF A LITTLE HOME-MADE BATTEAU 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Enclosed is an article which, if suitable, 
will you kindly publish to please an old 
cuss—cornfed sportsman, woods loafer 
and fresh air fiend of over 76 years—who 
has taken Forest and Stream for more 
than 30 years; and for several years, away 
back in the long, long ago, was often a 
correspondent of the magazine, then a 
weekly publication ? 
For all I am a trifle oldish, I still feel 
as young as many who call themselves 
young men, and enjoy many outdoor 
sports, such as hunting, rifle shooting, 
camping, tramping and boating, a blamed 
sight more than many of half of my age 
or less. 
Here’s hoping I can subscribe 
for Forest and Stream each year 
for manv vears to come. 
wide. Each side is a single board 12 
inches wide. I use it either as a canoe, a 
rowboat or a sailboat. As a canoe I use 
with it a single or a double-blade paddle; 
as a rowboat I have a pair of steel oar¬ 
locks which I temporarily clamp on. And 
as a sailboat I have an adjustable keel 8 
inches wide that can in a very short time 
be fitted to the boat with screws and light 
angle irons; also a rudder with tiller 
lines. It has a 12-foot mast set within 8 
inches of the stern, and 
carrying a leg-o’-mut- 
ton sail of some 60 
square feet. The seat 
is a little back of the 
a 12-foot boom, 
Since many outers are giving 
descriptions in sportsmen's mag¬ 
azines of their canoes and other 
craft, and also outings with them, 
for the benefit of brother outers 
who love boating but who like 
myself are not over¬ 
burdened with wealth, I 
will also give an ac¬ 
count of my outing last 
August, and also a de¬ 
scription of the little 
boat that I used, cost¬ 
ing comparatively a 
very small sum. 
It is not a canoe, but 
a batteau, which I built 
several years ago down 
in South Jersey, on a 
branch of Crosswick’s creek. 
I have owned and used sev¬ 
eral canoes, but this little boat 
fills the bill far better than 
any canoe that I ever used. 
It was built of l 4 -inch cedar 
worked down to -}4> and is It 
feet in length and 30 inches 
Scale- 
