| |
II. THE CANOE.
History.
"Across the broad breast of the river at rest
Gayly I glide.
For my paddle dips deep, in its long, steady sweep
Through the sleeping tide;
And the new-risen sun gilds the drops as they run,
Like pearls from the blades with a tinkling song,
And the ripples dance bright, and they laugh outright
All my wake along ;
When I launch my canoe in the sweet, clear morn,
We're the merriest pair by the waters bone."
It must have been very early in the history of
mankind when boats of some sort or other
came into use. No great distances, anywhere
but on the desert, can be traveled without
crossing streams and other bodies of water.
In fact the raft is older than man, for animals
have been known to use it - if not actually its
builders. Following the law of evolution, the
next step in development is to hollow out the log.
This improvement is suggested by nature herself in
many ways-floating bark, dry leaves, nut shells, and
even some sea shells. These forms were no doubt
imitated in wooded countries by hollowing out logs to
some extent with rude tools and fire, and elsewhere
by stretching skins over rough frames. A very little
further up in the scale - when the logs' ends are
sharpened - the canoe comes in. The canoe is the
first real boat built by a people. Think of a savage,
anywhere, and does not the thought go paired with
that of a canoe? The South Sea Islander, the cannibal, the African, Esquimau, Indian -all picture
themselves in the mind at once as canoeists; yes,
professional canoeists. The canoe is older than civilization, and will no doubt outlast it. Go where you
will, the canoe will be there before you. It is on the
equator, and again within the Arctic circle. It was
in America long before Columbus discovered it.
What a Canoe is.
The canoe has two characteristics which always
mark it. Both ends, bow and stern, are sharp,
brought to an edge, pointed if viewed from above.
It is propelled by a paddle. With the raft a pole
was probably first used and advantage taken of cur-
rents when possible. As soon as the navigator left
shore on his raft far enough to fail in reaching bottom with his pole, he had to invent something to take
its place, and the paddle suggested itself to him.
The oar and rowing are civilized. The paddle is
barbarian. It is complete in itself, and whether
single-bladed, as used by the savages, or double,
Esquimau fashion, it is used independently of the canoe - having no fixed fulcrum-directly with the
arms. No savage would ever think of turning his
back in the direction in which he was rowing. It
took the security of civilization to give man the
courage to travel thus (rowing) practically with his
eyes shut. The canoeist always faces the way he is
going when paddling. Rowing is a reverse, acquired
mode of propulsion - paddling, a direct, natural
method. The canoe being older than history, its
comparatively modern forms and evolutions alone
can be treated by history.
The word canoe means to most people one of either
of three kinds of boats: the Indian birch bark (the
bark sewed over a wooden frame); the dugout, a hollowed log; and the kayak of the Esquimau (made of
skins sewed together and stretched over a frame of
bones). The birch and dugout are open canoes.
The kayak has a deck and is entirely closed in except
the man hole. It is pictured in many of the geographies with an iceberg for a background. The civilized canoe is different from any of these, but borrows
its original idea from them; and it approaches one
or the other type in its various forms according to
the uses to which it is to be put. The tame canoe
is very recent; this generation, in fact, can claim it.
In earlier times the wild canoe was used by the pale
face and appropriated to his needs. Nearly every
good thing that the uncivilized man ever had has at
one time or another been thus appropriated by the
white man, according to the natural law that might
is right.
Mr. J. Macgregor, a Scotchman, deserves the
credit of originating canoeing as a pastime and
showing the canoe's cruising capabilities. Canoes
were known and used in England to a limited degree before he built his Rob Roy and took a thousand-mile cruise in her in 1865. His canoe was so
far superior to any then in use for traveling purposes,
and so many have been built like it since, that canoeing, as we now understand it, may be said to date
from 1865, and Macgregor's Rob Roy and the accounts he published of her performances.
The Rob Roy is essentially the kayak, propelled
like it with a double-bladed paddle, but built of wood
instead of skins and bones. To the dry skin and
bones Macgregor added flesh, and the spark of life - popularity - thus creating the being all who know intimately learn to love. In many ways he made the
canoe more convenient and commodious for use in a
warmer climate than that of the polar regions.
Certainly as early as Macgregor's time, if not long
before it, the Indian birch was used in Canada for
journeys other than those of strict business or the
chase. The canoe itself did not, however, show the
marks of a civilized hand (at least in literature) till
Macgregor wrote of his voyage on the Rhine. The
Canadian canoe is still very closely allied to the birch.
The modifications and improvements from the original have been so gradual in the evolution of this
canoe to its present perfect form for the uses to which
it is put, that the successive steps are next to impossible to trace, and it is especially difficult to separate
and date them. Suffice it, then, to say that during
the last twenty years this canoe has hardly changed
at all in its general form; but, having had a great
amount of thought spent on its construction, the
wonderful improvements made all lie in this direction. The model was perfect before and could not
be improved upon. It is a stronger canoe than any
other, is very light to portage easily, will carry a
greater load for its size, always adapted for a crew
of two or more persons, draws very little water (about
two inches), has practically no keel, propelled almost
entirely with the single-blade paddle, and it is capable of being paddled faster than any other model,
and can hardly be improved upon for running rapids
and performing the services required of it. The
hunters and trappers of the North use it as their sole
transport over lakes and rivers for general traveling. It takes the sportsman to his happy hunting or
fishing grounds, and with him all his belongings, including the dogs. It brings him and his "catch""
home again to his very doorstep, maybe. Lastly,
this same canoe will afford him many an hour's enjoyment near home, perhaps of a summer's evening
when she consents to accompany him, sitting forward,
most comfortably posed within easy billing and cooing distance of his place aft, where the paddle is plied.
It is said of John Macgregor, Adjutant of the
Scottish Eight, that in May, 1865, he was roughly
handled in a railway accident, and was thus prevented from shooting at Wimbledon. "Walking
moodily by the Thames, he decided to go afloat
again, and that night devised the Rob Roy canoe,
which was launched in July following on her cruise
of a thousand miles." The following is what Mr.
Macgregor says of his canoe:
"The [first] Rob Roy canoe was built of oak, with
a deck of cedar. She was fifteen feet in length,
twenty-eight inches broad, nine inches deep, and
weighed eighty pounds. A paddle seven feet long,
with a blade at each end, and a lug sail and jib were
the means of propulsion, and a pretty Union Jack
was the only ornament. My baggage for three
months was in a black bag, one foot square and six
inches deep."
In his first chapter of the "Thousand Mile Cruise"
he notes down many points of interest to all canoeists; his exact words are therefore here quoted:
"It was a pleasant book that 'Log of the Water
Lily,' telling how she was rowed on. the Rhine and
the Danube; and after her went the Waterwitch to
labor up French rivers and a hundred tedious locks
on the German canal. But all such cruising in rowboats was of course very limited, for in the wildest
parts of the best rivers the channel is too narrow for
oars, or if wide enough, it is often too shallow; and
the tortuous passages, the rocks and banks, the weeds
and snags, the milldams, barriers, fallen trees, rapids,
whirlpools and waterfalls that constantly occur on a
river winding among hills, make those very parts
where the scenery is wildest and best to be quite
unapproachable in such a boat, for it would be
swamped by the sharp waves, or upset over the
sunken rocks, which cannot be seen by a steersman.
"Now these very things which bother the 'pair
oar,' become cheery excitements to the voyager in a
canoe. For now, as he sits in his little bark, he
looks forward, and not backward. He sees all his
course, and the scenery besides. With one sweep of
his paddle he can turn when a foot from destruction.
He can steer within an inch in a narrow place, and
can easily pass through reeds and weeds, or branches
and grass; can work his sail without changing his
seat; can shove with his paddle when aground, and
can jump out in good time to prevent a bad smash.
He can wade and haul his craft over shallows, or
drag it on dry ground, through fields and hedges,
over dykes, barriers and walls; can carry it by hand
up ladders and stairs, and can transport his canoe
over high mountains and broad plains in a cart drawn
by a man, a horse, or a cow.
"Besides all this, the covered canoe is far stronger
than an open [row} boat, and may be fearlessly
dropped into a deep pool, a lock, or a millrace, and
when the breakers are high, in the open sea or in
river rapids, they can only wash over the deck, while
it is always dry within.
"The canoe is safer also than a rowing-boat, because you sit so low in it, and never require to shift
your place or lose hold of the paddle; while for
comfort during long hours, for days and weeks of
hard work, it is evidently the best, because you lean
all the time against a swinging backboard, and when
the paddle rests on your lap you are at ease as in an
arm-chair; so that, while drifting along with the current or the wind, you can gaze around, and eat or
read, or sketch, or chat with the starers on the bank
and yet, in a moment of sudden alarm, the hands are
at once on the faithful paddle ready for action.
"Finally, you can lie at full length in the canoe,
with the sail as an awning for the sun, or a shelter
for rain, and you can sleep at night under its cover,
or inside it when made for that purpose, with at
least as much room for turning in your bed as
sufficed for the great Duke of Wellington; or, if you
are tired of the water for a time, you can leave your
boat at an inn, where it will not be 'eating its head
off,' like a horse; or you can send it home, or sell it,
and take to the road yourself, or sink back again into
the dull old cushions of the 'Première Classe,' and
dream you are seeing the world.
"With such advantages, then, and with good
weather and good health, the canoe voyage is truly
delightful.
""It may well be asked from one who thus praises
the paddle, 'Has he traveled in other ways, so as
to know their several pleasures? Has he climbed
glaciers and volcanoes, dived into caves and catacombs, trotted in the Norway carriole, ambled on an
Arab, and galloped on the Russian steppes? Does
he know the charms of a Nile boat, or a Trinity
Eight, or a Yankee steamer, or a sail in the ?gean,,
or a mule in Spain? Has he swung upon a camel,
or glided in a sleigh, or sailed a yacht, or trundled
in a Rantoone?'
"Yes, he has most thoroughly enjoyed these and
other modes of locomotion, fast and slow. And now,
having used the canoe in Europe, Asia, Africa and
America, he finds the pleasure of the paddle is the
best of them all."
He might also have added that pecuniarily it is
the most economical mode of journeying of any of
those he named, and perhaps the most healthful.
The main feature of the Rob Roy, distinguishing
it from other canoes in general use up to its time by
the Saxon race, is the deck. The canoe differs in
construction and sheer - the rising of the sides of
the canoe when approaching the ends - from the
Esquimau kayak, but gets its deck idea from the
kayak. The Rob Roy has a rather flat deck, slightly
rounded laterally. The kayak has a very decided
sheer, thus sharply curving the deck up toward the
bow and stern.
Mr. Baden-Powell took up canoeing shortly after
Macgregor published his book, and purchased a Rob
Roy canoe, which was named Nautilus. After using
this canoe for a time he became much interested in
sailing it, and the idea occurred to him that a better
canoe could be designed for this purpose, and yet
retain good paddling qualities. He planned and
built Nautilus No. 2. In reality this was the first
Nautilus canoe - of a model different from the Rob
Roy. Up to this time the two types of canoes known,
open Canadian and decked Rob Roy, were built for
paddling, and very little account was taken of the
sail. The Nautilus canoe was the first one designed
with the intention of a frequent and effective use of
the sail. This canoe was decked, but had a decided
sheer, and was intended to draw more water than the
Rob Roy, thus making a better canoe for carrying
sail and beating to windward. A second Nautilus
was built the following winter (being really Nautilus
No. 3) having a number of modifications and improvements over the No. 2 (or No. 1 of the new type).
This No. 3 Nautilus is the one Americans usually
mean when they speak of the Nautilus model. Mr.
Baden-Powell drew out the lines of a No. 4 Nautilus
- almost identical with those of No. 3 - but never
built from them. These No. 4 lines, however, were
the ones obtained by a member of the New York
Canoe Club from England, and are the ones from
which James Everson, of Williamsburgh, built in
1870 the first canoes of this type known of in the
United States. Mr. Jarvis, a builder of rowing-boats
and canoes on the Thames, came to this country
about the same time and settled in central New
York. He soon began building, and produced a
number of very good Nautilus canoes (of No. 3
model), the best known of which is canoe Psyche,
built at Ithaca in 1876.
Mr. Baden-Powell has built many canoes, all called
Nautilus, no two of which are alike; in fact, their
models grade all the way from the slightly modified
Rob Roy up to the sixteen-inch draught, heavy centerboard sailing canoe. Nautilus model, therefore,
means nothing; or, rather it can mean almost any
thing. In the United States Nautilus is usually
intended to mean either Nos. 3 or 4.
Three canoe TYPES then, it has been shown, are
pretty clearly marked and distinct, the one from the
other, of those used in civilization. 1. The Canadian
open canoe, holding two or more persons, for sporting, carrying heavy loads, and for general lake, river
and rapids navigation, handled with the single blade
paddle. 2, The Rob Roy canoe, holding one person,
decked, double-blade paddle, adapted for cruises.
3. The Nautilus [3 or 4], not quite as good in either
of the special fields covered by the other two, but
still quite capable of much that the others are, and
adding to this good sailing qualities, which neither of
the others possess. Under one of these three types
any of the canoes now in use can be housed. The
word canoe being here somewhat limited in meaning
to conform closely to the definition given by the
American and the Western Canoe Associations of
America, and the Royal Canoe Club of England.
The Rob Roy and Canadian open canoes have
not changed very much in model in the last twenty
years, though in construction they have both been
very greatly improved. The great changes and
almost endless varieties in model come under the
head of Nautilus type - meaning the type of canoes
constructed to carry sail to advantage. The sail has
brought this all about. Few "points" enter into the
problem of the design of a paddling canoe, weight to
be transported, character of water to be used on, and
speed desired being the principal ones. For sailing
it is different. Every man has his own ideas, as in
yacht designing, where two are rarely built just alike.

Every man who builds changes this existing feature,
or modifies that to suit his individual taste or whim,
so that extremes of all sorts have been run into only
to eventually improve and perfect the happy medium
canoe. There is no such thing as a best canoe.
Many good ones exist, and you will have to select
from them the best one adapted to your special needs.
Much has been said and written about the "perfect
canoe." The only perfect canoe is the one you
happen to own and want to sell. Canoeists are a
little like horse jockeys; their statements about their
own canoes and the wonderful feats accomplished in
them must be taken with a grain of allowance. So
beware of what I tell you and do not accept it as fact
till you have demonstrated it yourself. I shall state
it all as fact, but you are to understand it is merely
my opinion.
Construction.
The materials used in building barbarian canoes
are skins and bark stretched over rude frames of
bones or wood and sewed together, the seams being
rendered water-tight with pitch, gums or oils and
grease; the trunks of trees hollowed out and sharpened at the ends; and in some localities of matted
grasses or woven reeds. The tame canoe adds to
the above list, wooden planked canoes, metal (tinned
iron, zinc, copper and steel), canvas and paper.
The most common are those made of thin planks
of cedar or basswood and varnished or painted.
Some canoes are built of many, very narrow strips
laid lengthways and tapered to form the lines, nailed
securely to each other and to the keel, stem and stern
posts, the whole covered with canvas and painted.
Some have the strips run from the keel to gunwale,
tongued and grooved into each other. Others are
veneers of two or three thicknesses cemented or
riveted firmly together. Many different kinds of
woods are used for the various parts having special
necessities. Oak keel and frame, white cedar planking, Spanish cedar deck, walnut mouldings, pine bulkheads and carlines, hackmatack knees, stem and stern
posts, and spruce spars and paddle, are a few of the
woods used, and their special functions. (*For full particulars on building and material see "Canoe and Boat Building for Amateurs" by W. P. Stephens, Forest and Stream Publishing Company.) The cedar
planked canoes are the most common in use in the
United States. The lightness, toughness and elasticity of this wood recommend it for such use.
These canoes are built principally in two ways-the
lapstreak and the smooth skin. A streak is a single
plank of the hull running from stem to stern. When
a streak is made up of two pieces, each extending
about half the length of the canoe, the planks are said
to be butted. There are usually five or more streaks
on each side of the hull. In the lapstreak canoe the
seams are made tight by the lapping of each streak
over the edge of the one below it and beveled into it,
the rivets or nails being drawn through both planks
and burred or clinched on the inside. The streaks
are fastened to the ribs in the same way. In smooth
skin canoes the planks are laid edge to edge, and a
batten run over the seam on the inside and nailed to
both planks, the seam being afterward caulked. The
lapstreak is said to be "clinker built." The Canadian
canoes are all smooth skin canoes built in several
ways without the use of the batten, the tongue and
groove method being quite popular. The streaks on
either side of the keel on the bottom of the canoe are
called the garboard streaks.
Uses.
The fact that the canoe has lived so long and is
now on the increase, as to numbers, rather than dying
out in use, shows conclusively that it has a place in
human affections-is useful. For what? It is
specially adapted for journeys (of pleasure) on small
rivers and lakes in wild regions on account of its
lightness, for ease in carrying from one water way to
another, and the simplicity of its management. It is
so narrow that an inlet three feet wide can be navigated, and if no outlet is found the canoeist merely
turns himself around and paddles the canoe stern
first out again, A rapid can be conquered (going up)
by poling the canoe along, if the water be not too
swift; paddling down a deep rapid is the finest and
most exciting sport yet invented. The canoe carries
a large amount of baggage besides the crew, and is
strong enough to stand many a hard knock and rough
usage. The above are some of the reasons why the
Indians used canoes and learned to build and handle
them with wonderful skill. Hunting and fishing can
be done in them, usually using the single-blade paddle and the open canoe. Paddling is capital exercise
with either the single or double-blade. The wrist
movement in paddling is said by an authority to be
an excellent cure for writer's cramp, and the fresh air
and pleasant scenes sure to be got at in a canoe will
tone up the body and refresh the tired brain - and certainly provoke a good appetite. Wherever a small
boat is useful a canoe is useful, ornamental and
thoroughly enjoyable as well. How can a summer
afternoon be spent more pleasantly than in nosing
around in a canoe on a quiet creek, mountain lake
or stream, some lovely river reach, or calm bay of the
sound, or along the coast?
Racing is of secondary interest in canoeing. It
can be made most exciting and enjoyable if the other
objects for which the canoe exists are not lost sight
of. Many things prevent that these points should be
neglected to the racing interest; the little time that
can actually be devoted to racing, the strong inducements to cruise, take short trips, in fact, get on the
water anyhow, and the inconveniences of a racing
canoe and strictly racing appliances for such other
functions as are sure to push themselves; and last,
but not least, the limits drawn by the Canoe Association rules for races among its members. Builders
have to come within these rules or there is no sale
for their wares. The rules are specially drawn to
prevent the construction of racing machines, as you
will discover if you read them carefully in the book
published yearly by the A. C. A.
If you are tempted by any canoe bait here presented, or urged upon you by canoeists of your
acquaintance, and decide to go into canoeing, remember that the canoe is not a toy and canoeing child's
play - but a manly sport and pastime. If you catch
the fever (canoesia) you are likely to have a serious
attack. You will either come out well cured the first
season, or become a confirmed enthusiast of paddle
and sail. Believe in no rose-colored accounts of the
sport, but make up your mind to lots of tough work,
hard knocks, petty annoyances, some disappointments,
many trials, and always remember that nature is stern,
unrelenting and no respecter of persons. "Time and
tide wait for no man," woman or boy; neither will
the wind blow always the way you wish it to; in fact,
as a rule, it never does. When most you need a
breeze, a calm will be your fortune, and when a calm
would be a blessing it will blow a gale. If you fear
a wetting, never get into a canoe. It has been aptly
said that in a canoe you come face to face with nature;
look out then that you don't become acquainted too
early with her stern expressions, as they are pretty
sure to strike terror to any one viewing them for the
first time. Take her when she smiles and let the
frowns come when you know her other moods well.
The canoe is the child of nature. Win the mother as
you would the daughter-by patience and endurance
rather than force. Expect nothing from her, and she
will give you all she has - a rich store, never exhausted.
If you start out in the canoe to go somewhere -
and it is well always to have an objective point - go
there. Think it all over beforehand, prepare your-
self, and then "never say die." If you weather the
rough work at the beginning, you are all right. You
will find such friends among the clan as you never
dreamed of before, and delights kings and the rich
are strangers to. To acquire these you will have to
earn your own experience. Rest assured that in get-
ting it many surprises are in store for you-some
pleasant ones, others the reverse. The real canoeist
is a good fellow and one whose acquaintance will do
you good. He is healthy, body and mind; and is
the result of (old Darwin's theory) the survival of the
fittest; and also remember that only the fittest do
survive, as canoeists.
On the highways the canoe can go safely where
many another boat double its size would not dare to
venture. By an apron and hatches, the well, or open
part of the canoe, can be closed around the body of
the skipper so water cannot conveniently get inside;
and if the canoe is provided with water-tight compartments, as it should be, it will not sink or become
unmanageable, even if some water does get into the
hold, though laden with weight of baggage and crew,
perhaps ballast. The canoe can live in a sea, by
good management, up to the limit of the weight of a
breaking wave actually crushing in the deck when
falling on it; or a wave so high that it will turn the
canoe over end for end, or roll it out of its course,
broadside on for the succeeding wave to roll it over.
Such seas are rarely met with in any but open waters
- the large lakes and old ocean itself. For navigating safely rapids, narrow and winding streams, shallows and varied waters, the canoe has no equal
among boats. It is a boat of averages, adapted for
many uses and varieties of water. It is rarely the
best boat for any particular one of them. In point
of speed it is inferior to the better class of rowboats.
Oars will propel a boat faster than the paddle, other
things being equal. Generally a sailboat of the
canoe's length will make better time than a canoe
sailing. The sailboat always has the advantage of
being wider, and thus carrying more sail. On a
journey of one or more days' duration, the canoe will
make better average progress than either the sail or
rowboat. The canoe can sail faster than a rowboat,
and can be paddled faster than a sailboat can be
rowed. Thus, where sailing cannot be done all the
time, the canoe can be moving under paddle while
the sailboat is at anchor. For a length of time paddling is easier and quicker than rowing. The canoe
furnishes many comforts foreign to a rowboat. It is
dryer, usually lighter, is not as much affected by
head winds, and is more conveniently steered by
a crew of one, as he sits facing forward. The canoe
is easier to get under way and house than the sailboat.
Kinds of Canoes.
Canoes are not all alike. The dimensions and
models for particular uses have departed from the
original birch and kayak, and have been modified
and changed to better adapt the canoe to the precise
uses to which it is to be put. Two canoes are rarely
built exactly alike; or, if so built, are differently fitted
and rigged. The canoe is either paddled, sailed or
carried (over portages, etc.) by her crew. Towing
and other means of locomotion are omitted in the
above statement, as they are exceptional cases. A
canoe which is equally adapted to all three is not apt
to be a very excellent canoe for any one. In building canoes for certain uses, primary importance is
given to one of the above three points and secondary
importance to either of the other two, very rarely to
both equally. All the canoe varieties can be grouped
under five heads, in a sort of general classification,
recognizing only vital differences brought about by
special fields of usefulness. Canoes are propelled either by paddle or
sail. Some canoes never have a sail used in them.
Others rarely use the paddle. The proportion existing between the use of the paddle and the sail in
any canoe determines its class. The classification
given in the rules of the American Canoe Association for racing is much more limited than the
above broad classification; but within its limits it is
very exact in drawing dividing lines by actual measurements of hull.
The TYPES of canoes have been described. There
are three from which CLASSES, MODELS and VARIETIES
have been derived; namely, Rob Roy, Open Canadian
and Nautilus, or decked paddling (double blade),
open paddling (single blade), and decked sailing
canoes. Types have to do with the history of canoeing; classes deal only with canoes now in existence. Models are subdivisions of each class, and varieties
are slight modifications in model not of sufficient
importance to constitute a separate and distinct
model.
Before buying a canoe, make up your mind which
class will give you most pleasure or profit, and then
get advice from some one well informed which model
in that class is the best for your special needs. The
classes merge one into another with no very hard
lines of demarcation, which is quite natural.
| Canoe Classification. |
| I. |
II. |
III. |
IV. |
V. |
| Paddling 6. |
Paddling 4. [Sailing] 2. |
Paddling 3. and Sailing 3. |
Sailing 4. [Paddling] 2. |
Sailing 6. |
| Models |
Birch. Kayak. Rob Roy (long) Nessmuk. Kill von Kull
Racers. Peterboro. Herald. |
Rob Roy. Am. Traveling Nautilus (2).
Note. Many of
Class III canoes come in this class unl;ess fitted with sailing appliances
such as keel, ceterboard, etc.
|
Shadow. Stella Maris St. Lawrence. Ellard. Nautilus (3)
Juniper. Grayling. Diamond. Clyde. Princess. Ontario.
Jersey Blue. Sandy Hook. Mohican. Springfield. Everson. |
Nautilus ('80). Pearl. Guenn.
Note. Some of Class III.
canoes come under this class when fitted with heavy centerboards and are more
especially used for sailing. |
Nautilus ('79). Atlantis. Mersey |
| Note. The figures in each class after the words paddling and sailing
show the proportion existing in such a class that the use of the paddle
bears to the use of the sail, taken for an entire season's work. |
Class I. canoes carry no sail and are entirely propelled by the paddle, either single or double-blade.
Class II. use a sail only now and then with a free
wind (that is a wind blowing in the direction the canoe
is going, or nearly so) and do not depend much on the
sail. These canoes have little or no keel and are
without center and leeboards. They draw very little
water and have no hold in it, so to speak. Therefore, with sail up, if the course is changed from
before the wind so that the wind strikes the side of
the canoe, it will be found to drift sideways, or make
leeway as it is termed, and if the course of the wind
is departed from very much, this same leeway will be
greater than the headway made.
Class III. paddling and sailing canoes, are getting
to be by far the most common. The sail and paddle
are used about equally. The length and breadth of
these canoes are means between the extreme length
and beam for one use only. These canoes by means
of keels or centerboards, are enabled, under sail, to
make to windward, that is, to reach a point in the
direction from which the wind blows, from the starting
point. Beating to windward means sailing at a very
acute angle to the direction of the wind, first to right
(or left) for a distance, then coming about (tacking)
and sailing to the left (or right), and so on till the
desired point is reached. In sailing back to the
starting point the wind would be free. One man can
lift and carry a Class III. canoe when relieved of its
load of ballast or cargo.
Class IV. are used mostly for sailing. They have
fixed deep keels or heavy centerboards of iron, and
carry considerable ballast to enable them to stand up
under a large area of sail. These canoes are adapted
to open water sailing, and are built usually with a
view to racing - under sail only. They are nearly
always built up to the limits indicated by the Association or the Clubs, and though they do excellent
work under sail, are heavy and tiresome to paddle.
Class V. can cover large sailing canoes outside the
rules, which are not paddled if it is possible to avoid
it, and more nearly come under the head of sailboats.
Except for their general canoe lines and method of
rig they would be regular sailboats.
The Various Parts.
HULL.The body of the canoe. The sum of all its
parts with the exception of masts, sail, rig, etc.
The hull is made up of frame, planking and deck.
FRAME.The skeleton to which the planking and
deck are fastened. The body frame consists of
keel, keelson, stempost, sternpost, ribs and knees.
KEEL. The backbone of the canoe. A timber running from end to end on the bottom of the hull
and terminating in the stem and sternposts, to
which it is securely fastened.
KEELSON. A timber or plank inside the canoe
fastened to the keel and resting on it above the
junction of the planking with the keel.
STEM. The curved (or straight) timber rising from
forward end of keel, to which the planking is
fastened, forming the bow of the canoe, and
terminating at the deck, or very slightly above it.
STERNPOST. The timber rising from the keel at its
after end, to which the planking is fastened,
forming the stern of the canoe. Bow, forward
end. Stern, aft, or rear end.
RIBS. Timbers running from gunwale (the junction
of deck and sides) on one side, down to keel and
up to the gunwale on the other; or, from gunwale
to keel. The curve of the ribs governs the shape
of the canoe, and forms its lines, so called. A
canoe's lines merely mean its shape, the lines indicating its shape. The ribs are fastened to the
keel and to the timber at gunwale (which timber
extends on both sides from stem to stern) or the
top streak, which in that case is heavier than the
others, as is the case in the illustration on this
page (section). In building the planking is put
over the moulds and fastened, the ribs being put
in afterward, in this respect differing from the
method employed in building larger vessels. The
distance between ribs varies in different methods
of building from 1-1/2 inches to 10 inches or more.
KNEES. Timbers taking the place of ribs along the
canoe the length of the well or cockpit, and forming deck supports as well as assuming the functions of ribs.
PLANKING. Boards forming the sides and bottom of
hull. They are sunk into the keel and securely
fastened to it, to the keelson, to each other on the
laps and to the ribs. A single plank is called a
streak. The garboard streak is the one (on each
side) next to and joining the keel. The streaks
usually run the entire length of the boat, terminating at the stem and stern posts, to which they
are fastened. If they do not extend the entire
length two pieces are butted, as it is called.
DECKS. The covering of the hold or body of the
canoe which is formed by the bottom and sides.
The opening in the deck to admit the placing of
stores and cargo inside and to accommodate the
crew is called the well. The deck is made of a
frame and deck planks. The frame consists of
carlines, side-frame of well, ridge-piece, main beam,
and mast beams.
CARLINES. Deck beams fastened to the planking at
the gunwale on which the deck planking is fastened. Technically, they are pieces of timber
fastened between beams in a fore and aft direction.
SIDE-FRAME. Timbers running fore and aft, fastened
to and supported by the knees and forming the
well hole.
RIDGE-PIECE. Timbers extending from stem and
sternpost to well. The carlines are fastened
to it, and it forms the ridge or crown of the
deck.
MAIN BEAM. The largest beam generally placed in
a canoe) just in front of the well as a support for
the ridge-piece and fore end of well frame.
MAST BEAMS. Wide beams supporting in part and
stiffening the deck frame, and through which the
mast-tubes are run to the step on the keel.
STEP. A block fastened to the upper side of keel-
son, with a hole sunk in it for the reception of the
mast to keep it in position.
MAST-TUBE. Usually of brass or copper, running
from deck into the step and securely fastened at
both ends, and plugged at the bottom to prevent
the water coming on deck from getting into the
hold. It also guides the mast into the step when
putting the mast up. It should be made large
enough to allow the mast to be easily removed,
even if somewhat swelled after having been wet
for a long period.
COAMING. A plank on edge fastened to side-frame
of well and completely surrounding the well to
prevent deck wash from coming inboard.
HATCH, A lid or covering for any part of the well
or other opening in the deck, capable of easy removal, and resting on the coaming if over the well.
BEADING. A narrow strip of wood in the angle the
coaming forms with the deck at point of junction,
to prevent water entering. Also a narrow strip
of wood run along the top streak at the gunwale,
to protect its edge from wear.
BULKHEADS. Partitions dividing the hold into compartments. They may be permanent, in which
case the planking of sides and deck are nailed
to them and an attempt is made to render them
water-tight; or they may be movable, and simply
used as partitions.
APRON. A cloth covering for the well, to take the
place of hatches or supplement their use.
BOTTOM or FLOOR BOARD. A board, or boards
fastened together, laid on supports raised from
keelson and bottom planks on which the crew
and stores rest. It is a protection to the planking, and keeps crew and stores above any small amount of water that may be in the canoe's bottom.
SHOE. A metal band run along bottom of keel at
either end or its whole length to save it from wear
in putting the canoe up on land.
DEADRISE. The angle (if less than a right angle)
made by the junction of planking with the keel.
The section given on page 38 shows no deadrise.
This canoe is said to have a flat floor - i.e., flat
bottom.
BILGE. The curved part of the canoe's side formed
in turning from the bottom to the straight side
line.
TUMBLE-HOME. Where the sides of a canoe slope
inward from its widest part to the deck at gunwale. Nautilus canoe section on page 26 shows a very decided tumble-home.
SHEER. The difference in height above the water
line between the bow or stem and the gunwale
amidship. In the sheer plan on page 26 the
curve of the gunwale line upward from amidships
to stem and stern posts shows the sheer.
CAMBRE. The arch of the deck. Sheer is the curve
of the deck fore and aft; cambre, the curve of
the deck athwartship.
BACK-BOARD. A board usually hung from a hatch
or bulkhead directly behind the paddler, against
which he rests his back.
BRACE. A cross bar of wood placed in a rack (to
adjust to any length of leg) on the bottom board
of a canoe against which the feet rest or brace
themselves while their owner is paddling.
RIVETS. Usually of copper, used in fastening the
parts of a canoe one to another. The rivet has
a head on one end. The other end is run
clear through a plank or timber and a burr (a
flat rim) is pushed over it and the rivet end flattened, thus forming two heads to the rivet-one
at each end - and effectually preventing its working out of its place. When nails are used to
fasten parts together, their ends are clinched,
turned over to prevent their getting out of place.
BEARINGS. A plank weighted to float on edge in
the water has practically no bearings. The same
plank floated naturally is practically all bearings.
A sharp deadrise and slight curve to bilge give
slight bearings. A flat floor and quick bilge
curve give good bearings. Good bearings are
needed to give stability under sail. Slight bearings render paddling easy.
DISPLACEMENT. The space occupied by the body
of a canoe afloat below the water-line.
Continue
|
|