July, 1918 
FORES T AND S T R E A M 
419 
blade will often save one from being tossed 
out of the canoe by a sudden wave or by 
an unsteady partner. Altogether it is safer 
to paddle right so let us start now. 
C ANOEISTS all over the country 
have asked questions of such gen¬ 
eral interest that I have drawn dia¬ 
grams to illustrate my answers. 
“Will you kindly publish or write me re¬ 
garding the following information? What 
is the best and most simple sailing rig for 
the 17-foot open canoe? For a sail area 
of fifty square feet, one sail, leg-o’-mut- 
ton, how high would the mast have to be 
and how long the boom? At what angle 
does the boom project from the mast? 
What is the best wood to use for the 
spars? What size should the lee-boards be? 
What is the best wood for this purpose?” 
Below are given two excellent single 
rigs for open sailing canoes, the lateen and 
the leg-o’-mutton. Both are used with 
either one or two lee-boards, preferably 
one well-made board. The leg-o’-mutton 
sail can be made with either a tall mast on 
which the sail is held by means of rings 
or with a short mast and a sprit or yard. 
The former is 
better for rac¬ 
ing and the lat¬ 
ter more suit¬ 
able for cruis¬ 
ing. The cruis¬ 
ing type can be 
easily stowed 
as all the spars 
are of convenient and nearly identical 
in length. This sail has one advan¬ 
tage over the lateen sail in that it can 
be reefed. The total height of the rig in 
Fig. 1 is 14 feet, made up of the mast 
8'—6" and the yard 8'—6" which will allow 
for an overlap of the two spars. The 
boom is 9'—0" long and is from 12" to 
16" higher from the deck at its after end 
than it is at the mast. The very best of 
all woods for use as spars is spruce as it 
is light, tough and springy. The best wood 
for use in lee-boards is mahogany as it is 
stiff, strong and can be tapered and planed 
to a nice shape with very little likelihood 
of its warping. The overall dimensions of 
a board for a 50 square foot sail should 
be four feet by one foot. The June, 
1917, issue of Forest and Stream 
.gav-e a complete description of the 
lee-board. 
The open canvas covered 
canoe for paddling and sail¬ 
ing illustrated at the top 
is of the following dimen¬ 
sions: Length 17’ 
beam 33"; sail area 50 
sq. ft.; mast 8'—6"; c/ei 
j boom 9'—0" ; yard 
8'—6": foot 8'- 
head 11'—9"; leech 13'—o"; roach 3"; mast 
step from bow 3'—3" ; lee-board pivot from 
bow 5'—6"; lee-board length 4'—o" ; width 
12". 
Frazer says: “In purchasing a canoe 
the first thing to be considered is the 
particular use to which it is to be 
put. Like rifles and fishing rods, it 
will be best for one kind' of use. 
You may combine two things in 
one—as a canoe for both sail¬ 
ing and paddling — but you 
cannot have in that combi¬ 
nation the very best pad- 
dler and the very best 
sailer.” Many things 
have changed in the 
ten years since 
Forest and 
Stream pub- 
1 i s h ed Mr. 
F r a z e r’s 
book and 
it is safe 
to say 
that 
satisfaction of paddling home very easily 
when the breeze dies down. And now a 
word of caution to one who is learn¬ 
ing the proper use of the single 
blade. Do not get in the habit of 
paddling always on the same side; 
learn to shift the paddle from one 
side to the other and learn each 
side at the same time, for if it is 
not mastered in this manner there 
is always a slight awkwardness in 
managing it on the least-used side. 
*ya -ter Line 
The leg o’ mutton sail 
adapting sails to a canoe 
for paddling is one of 
the things that have 
been improved upon in 
that decade. The open canvas covered 
canoe which is illustrated and described on 
this page is as nearly perfect for all 
purposes on a cruise as anv I 
have ever 
stiff breeze 
of open 
t r y 
cruise 
handled. With a 
and a long stretch 
water I will 
conclusions 
anyone in 
sight and 
if he hap- 
pens to 
best 
P. R. B., Rome, Ind.: 
I have read with interest your re¬ 
cent articles on Canoeing. Will you 
kindly refer me to such books on 
canoe handling and sailing as you 
know to be good. How are 
“Canoe Handling and Sailing” 
by Vaux, and “Canoe Cruis¬ 
ing and Camping 1 ’ by Frazer? 
I do not care about the 
camping part so much, but 
want the actual canoe 
handling. Are you a 
member of the American 
Canoe Association? If 
so, who is the Secre¬ 
tary at present? 
“Canoe Handling” 
by Vaux is an ex¬ 
cellent treatise on 
£ 2 * 4 . the theory and 
management of 
the canoe both 
sail and paddle as well as be- 
most interesting history of the 
development of the sport. Many of the 
rigs described in this work are a trifle 
old fashioned as compared with those in 
use to-day, but are, however, correct in 
every detail. Frazer’s book is recommend¬ 
ed for cruising and camping, but' not for 
sailing. We are now preparing for publi¬ 
cation a book by Jule Marshall on “Han¬ 
dling the Modern Canoe.” We are proud 
to say that we are members of the Ameri¬ 
can Canoe Association, an organization 
which stands for the very highest ideals of 
the Great Outdoors. The Treasurer, Mr. 
S. B. Burnham, P. O'. Box No. 23, Provi¬ 
dence, R. I., will be glad to correspond 
with you relative to membership in the As¬ 
sociation or, better still send your applica¬ 
tion to this office. The initiation fee is 
$1.00 and the dues $1.00 per year. Editors.] 
The practical and popular lateen sail is more suitable for cruising 
C. L. J., Maine: 
Will you kindly give me some simple 
sailing rules that apply to sailing canoes? 
The “rules of the road” on the water 
are important to know. A vessel is on 
the starboard tack when the wind 
blows against her starboard side, and 
she has the right of way over a 
vessel on the port tack except 
when the latter is sailing close- 
hauled and the former sailing 
free, in which case the vessel 
- on the port tack has the right 
of way. If two vessels have the 
wind blowing on the same side, 
the vessel to windward shall 
keep out of the way of the one 
to the leeward. A steam vessel 
must get out of the way of a 
sailing vessel. Every vessel over¬ 
taking another must keep out 
of the latter’s way. Editors.] 
