The shapes should be placed with strips turned towards the ends of the canoe and at right angles to the keel, the larger one 10 in. behind the middle point of the keel, and the smaller one 2 ft. 10 in. in front of the same point (Fig. 4). Take care that the middle points of the shapes are in a straight line with the stem and stern post. A good nail may now be driven right through the two ends of each pair of strips, clipping the keel tightly between them. Next take two clean strips of deal rather longer than the canoe. They should be perfectly free from knots or imperfections, or much trouble will be occasioned afterwards. Say 1¹⁄₂ in. × ³⁄₄ in. Fit them on as in Fig. 4, bevelling off the ends, and nailing into stem and stern post.

They should be allowed to take their natural curve, but pulled lengthways a little, so as to hold well to the shapes. Both sides should be alike, and the shapes should not be driven out of the central line. To prevent this, before nailing get a friend to hold the two ends against the stem while you nail the other ends to the stern post. Then nail the former ends to the stem, pulling them towards you a little, and keeping your eye on the central line. They may now be nailed to the shapes by means of corner pieces.

Next prepare, or get a carpenter to prepare for you, ten strips a little longer than the canoe, and ¹⁄₄ in. square. This is a very good thickness. These are to be arranged as in Fig. 5, the distances between the strips being equal, or, if anything, decreasing a little towards the keel, where the pressure of the water will be greatest. They should be put on in the same way as the upper stronger strips which already form the gunwale. I may repeat that this thin wood must be thoroughly good. If any strip is not so, it is useless and must be replaced by another. Cut rests for the strips in the shapes, allowing them to project a little. Let the strips lie flat to the edges of the shapes. Do not, however, twist them in fitting their ends to stem and stern post. Those edges of the strips which would press into the canvas must be planed off. The ends, especially near the keel, will require care in fitting (Fig. 6).

It is better to drive no nails through the strips except at the ends. Those parts of the shapes which are between the strips should now be hollowed out (Fig. 7), so that when the water presses in the canvas no projection shall be produced across the direction of motion of the canoe, as such projections seriously retard its progress. All the edges of the strips which would be liable to work through the canvas should be shaved off as before mentioned.

Next for the coamings round the well in which to sit. This should be made generally strong. Make a framework of deal 2 in. × ³⁄₄ in., to fit in exactly between the shapes as shown in Fig. 10. The breadth at the stern end may be 18 in., and at the other 14 in. This will be quite broad enough. The two end pieces should be well nailed into those strips by which the shapes were strengthened. Also fit struts between the middle points of the sides of the well and the gunwale. Fit two strips about 1¹⁄₂ in. × ³⁄₄ in., or 2 in. × ¹⁄₂ in., from the middle point of the top of each shape, or end of the well, to the stem and stern post, nailing the gunwale at each end into it through some interposed wedges, so as to make a solid triangle at each end.

In each of the three compartments of the canoe fit a strengthening rib, as shown in Fig. 8 for middle, Fig. 9 for ends, which will sufficiently explain the construction. They should be fastened to the gunwale, but the thinner strips had better be arranged merely to rest against them, and not to be nailed into them. They need only be made of thin wood. Thin oak would be best.

Put one or two light cross strengtheners between the two sides of the gunwale, and one or two from the keel to the upper longitudinal pieces. The latter may be nailed into the cross pieces. Go carefully over the whole framework, removing any eminences or loose nails likely to wear a hole in the canvas, remembering always that the water will press it well against the framework, and the canoe will be ready for covering. But the floor should be first put in, which may consist of a piece of ¹⁄₂ in. plank laid on the keel, strengthened at each end by a cross piece. By means of the latter it may be nailed into the shapes, and another piece across the middle may be added, which will not interfere with sitting.

The covering is best made of what is known by linendrapers as ‘crash,’ strong and close. It must be wide enough to go completely under the canoe, and can be had about 5 ft. wide, which will be quite wide enough. Seven yards of it will be sufficient.

To put on the canvas, turn the canoe over. Lay the canvas with the centre line along the keel. Stretch it well by pulling at each end, and tack it through the middle at the extreme ends with a few tacks in a temporary manner. Put in temporary tacks along the gunwale at moderate intervals, stretching slightly, and endeavour to get rid of all folds. Begin in the middle and work towards the ends, and always pull straight away from the keel, and not along the gunwale. Then put in a second set of tacks half way between the first set of tacks on one side, pulling fairly tightly. Then on the other side put in tacks opposite to the latter, pulling as tightly as possible. The best way to do this is to seize the canvas with a pair of pincers, so that on pulling you can get the head of the pincers just over the gunwale, when they can be used as a lever to give an extra pull. A tack may then be put in on the outside of the gunwale. Half-inch galvanised tacks will do. Now remove the temporary set of tacks. To get rid of folds, which will not occur along the keel, but along the gunwale, keep bisecting the distance between two consecutive tacks by another tack, so that the canvas is equally loose on each side of it, always now pulling the canvas as tightly as possible. In this way the folds will disappear, and the canvas be stretched tight and well fastened to the gunwale. Leave that portion within a foot of each end untacked. Next cut away all that portion which projects beyond the stem and stern post, turn the edges in, and tack along the edges at moderate distances. Bisect these distances, and these again, till you have a very close row of tacks, as in Fig. 12. Pull fairly tight, but not too tight, and do not use pincers for this part. Quarter-inch tacks will be best. The ends may be cut out and put on, lapping the edges over the side, as shown in Fig. 12, and enough canvas will be left to fill the part along the sides of the well, into which the canvas should be tacked with a fine row of tacks, afterwards being stretched over the gunwale. The canoe will now be completely covered in except the well. Before putting on the top, however, give the lower part outside a good coating of boiled linseed oil. This will be most of it absorbed into the canvas. The same may be done afterwards with the top. When this is dry—that is, after two or three days—give another good coating of the same. Then paint the canoe according to taste. Two coats for the bottom will be advisable, and paint which will stand water well should be used. It would be well to paint the framework with one coat before covering.

Make a stretcher (Fig. 13) for the feet of ¹⁄₂ in. board, and slips to fit it into (Fig. 10), with stops on the floor. Also a backboard of ¹⁄₂ in. board to correspond (Fig. 14). Each piece in the latter may be 18 in. × 4 in. They should be nailed into two cross-pieces behind, so as to form a hollow for back, and should be placed 2 in. apart, to allow a space for the spine. I prefer myself to fit in the backboard by means of stops on the floor and back of the well, making it keep one position, and that at a considerable slope, and have not found a swinging backboard so comfortable as some appear to have done.

For the paddle, for which I think about 7 ft. 6 in. long over all is a good length, take a light, clean piece of yellow pine or fir 1¹⁄₂ in. × 1¹⁄₄ in., not more, and 6 ft. long. In the ends of this cut slots 6 in. long, each to receive two pear-shaped pieces of very light ¹⁄₂ in. plank 1 ft. 3 in. × 8 in. Nail them through with copper nails if possible. The blades should be at right angles to the thickest direction of the handle. Before nailing-in shave down the handle from an oval of 1¹⁄₂ in. × 1¹⁄₄ in. for 2 ft. of the middle to an oval of about 1¹⁄₈ in. × ⁷⁄₈ in. near the beginning of the blades. The handle should have its full thickness at the beginning of the blade but should be well tapered off along the blade, so as to be quite thin at its middle, where it ends. It should have its full breadth across the breadth of the blade. The blade itself may be shaved off thinner towards the edges. I do not think that for ordinary purposes any strip of copper or tin need be put round the blade, and the weight is increased by using it. The great thing about a paddle is that it should be as light as possible, and, if it appears able to stand it, it may be reduced still further. It may be painted or varnished, all but two feet in the middle. I find no rings on the paddles necessary.

A short strip nailed outside the gunwale in the middle of the canoe is a good thing; it prevents wear from the paddle, and forms something to catch hold of in lifting the canoe. A short outer keel is also a good thing at each end to prevent wear; but in making holes for the nails through the canvas into the keel care must be taken to turn in the edges round each hole, to tack with a close circle of tacks, and paint well, so as to render the place watertight.

An apron is seldom wanted, but may be made of canvas rendered waterproof with boiled oil if desired. It is well to fasten some inflated bladders in each end, so as to make the canoe a diminutive lifeboat, in case of an upset or of a hole being knocked in her.

The canoe will now be ready for launching. The owner should learn to put her carefully into the water and take her out by himself—to carry her on his shoulder. Superfluous wood may be cut from the central parts of the shapes, and also from along the keel towards the ends before covering. The floor forms a considerable item in the weight, consequently this should be made no wider or thicker than necessary. In paddling, learn to reach well forward and back, with a good swing of the body from side to side.

Such a canoe as described will be found to wear well, and one made by myself for a friend two years ago is now in use, and quite watertight.

CHAPTER XXV.—CANADIAN, INDIAN, BIRCH-BARK AND OTHER LIGHT CANOES.
By C. Stansfeld-Hicks.

I.—Canadian and Birch-Bark Canoes.

The most convenient size to make will probably be that of a canoe now in my possession, 17 ft. long, 27 in. wide, and 1 ft. deep. She is built as follows.

Two strong pieces of tough wood, forming together something the shape of a snowshoe, as Fig. 1, and lashed strongly together at the ends, form the gunwale. The ribs are of thin stuff about one-eighth of an inch thick, and two to three inches wide, running from gunwale to gunwale in one piece, the ends slightly pointed so as (Fig. 3) to fit into notches cut in the under side of the gunwale. Between these ribs and the outer skin is placed some kind of thin bark pitched over, and the outer skin is composed of birch bark.

At each end, at the dotted line A A (Fig. 2), there is a strong apron-piece, but the bows are simply sewn together, as are the other joints in the boat, which is very light and handy. Now the thing is for you who have no birch bark to build a canoe on the same principle, easily and at little cost, and we will consider how this is to be done.

In an American paper there once appeared an article on ‘A Paper Boat,’ built on the lines of a birch-bark canoe, and it is not long since an adventurous young American went a tremendous distance on the American rivers in a paper canoe of his own construction. So you have paper proved to be possible as a skin for your boat as a substitute for birch bark. Another substitute and a far stronger one is canvas.

We will now proceed to get out the framework of the boat in question.

In the diagram (Fig. 4) you have sheer plan, body and deck plan, of a modified Canadian canoe; the ends are less curved than the original, but otherwise it is much the same. The first thing you will have to do is to draw a plan to scale on this principle of the canoe you propose building, and the simplest scale you can use is that of one inch to a foot, and in this way, if you decide on a canoe fifteen feet by two feet by one foot, the plan on paper will be fifteen inches by two inches by one inch, which you can multiply by twelve to get your measurements for any part.

You must first get a piece of wood for the keel. These canoes are always built without any exterior keel, and are therefore easily turned and managed; at the same time they are as easily turned by the wind, if there should be any, and for rough water I should prefer giving a small exterior keel screwed on to the keel on which you build the canoe, and which forms part of the body of the boat itself; but this you must decide for yourself. If you only want to punt about in smooth water and in shallows, you can dispense with any exterior keel, and in any case you can easily screw on a false keel of whatever depth you consider necessary afterwards.

The keel proper had best be shaped broad in the middle—say, six inches—and tapering off to the ends where the stem and stern posts are joined on. Having got your keel ready, and the stem and stern posts kneed in, and ascertained by a plumb line that they are perpendicular to the keel, the next thing is to cut out shadows, or frames, from the body plan. Three of these shadows will do (see Fig. 4, C C C), one amidships, and one each between midships and the stem and stern. These shadows must be secured to the keel in such a way that they will not shift from the perpendicular, to which you must plumb them. The keel can be made of any good wood, elm or oak for preference; but common deal will do very well. It should be three-quarters of an inch by six inches in the middle, and taper to the ends. The stem and stern posts can be of three-quarter inch deal or hard wood, of sufficient length, and two to four inches deep, shaped out and secured with a galvanised iron or wooden knee to the keel. You can use an apron-piece or not, as you prefer. If you elect to dispense with the apron-piece the stem and stern posts must be deeper than if you use it, and a light groove of, say, one-eighth of an inch cut to receive the ends of the stringers. (See Fig. 5, A A A A.) Or this groove can be dispensed with, and the end of the stringer tapered off so as to come flush.

You will now want two to three stringers each side, of elm, ash or other tough wood, of sufficient length, and about half an inch thick by one inch wide. These will run from stem to stern over the shadows, and be firmly secured to the parts. The gunwale must be of the same sort of wood, say one inch square, and let in half an inch into the shadows to bring it flush with the stringers. The gunwale must be secured to the stem and stern posts, leaving about an inch of the posts above it; and a triangular piece of hard wood an inch thick and about three to six inches deep must be shaped to fit between the gunwales and the stem and stern posts, and the gunwales firmly secured to it by countersunk screws. This will bind all firmly together. As you will have taken the measurements from your plans, in which you have decided the sheer of the boat, the gunwale will follow this sheer, starting from the midship shadow and curving up towards the posts.

You have now got the framework ready, with the exception of the ribs, which are put in afterwards. The next step will be to get the canvas to form the outside skin.

You must buy sufficient canvas to cover your canoe. See that it is close and strong (No. 6, Navy unbleached, or something as near that as possible). Turn the canoe upside down, and stretch your canvas over it, tacking it firmly along the keel with copper nails about an inch apart, and then strain it tightly to the gunwales and secure it there with copper tacks (iron or large tin tacks may be used here if you are short of copper), first turning down the raw edge of the canvas. Then tack down the ends to the stem and stern posts, lapping one side of the canvas first round the opposite side of the part and securing it, and then bringing the other side of the canvas over the part secured and tacking it on the opposite side, thus doubling the canvas over the stem and stern posts. It is as well to run a copper band from six inches down the stem and stern posts to about a foot along the keel, to take the wear off the canvas, and a slight wooden false keel may be screwed over all with brass screws, or fastened with copper nails. Any slackness that may exist in the canvas must now be taken up. Turn the canoe right side up and gather in the canvas where you can find it slack, which will probably be at the bow and stern; and, after gathering it tightly in a pleat, sew it strongly down on the inside. This, perhaps, had best be done before you completely secure the canvas down, and while it is only secured at the ends and along the gunwale, leaving it unfastened along the keel.

Next get your ribs ready; these had best be made of rock elm or other tough wood, to avoid the trouble of steaming. They must be about three-sixteenths of an inch by three-quarters wide, or one inch or even two inches wide will do if you can bend them. Space the ribs about six inches apart; you can put them closer if you want extra strength. See that they are cut the right length, that when put in—which must be done by main force—the ribs take all the stringers, and butt tightly under the gunwales. You may either cut a slight notch in the gunwale to receive the ends of the ribs, or, after all the ribs are in, run a strip of wood half an inch by half an inch under the gunwale and over all the ribs, screwing it firmly to the gunwale, to keep the ribs in their places. When the ribs are all in their places, you may remove the shadows and look over the canvas again to see if it is all tight, putting an extra rib in wherever you have taken it up, and securing such a plain to the rib by a few tacks.

You must now cut the crossbars the proper size and fit them in, securing them to the gunwale by knees on each side. You have now only to paint the canvas, and when it has had two or three coats, firmly dried on, the canoe is ready to use. After using it turn it upside down, so that water cannot accumulate inside, as if it does it will soon rot the canvas, and whenever the paint wears off a little be careful to replace it. With these simple precautions such a canoe will last a long while, and will be of great use and amusement to you, as it can be easily carried from one piece of water to another by one person. Should you wish to make it a lifeboat, all you have to do is to get two zinc cases fitted to each end, which will float the canoe if capsized, or run a tapering belt of painted canvas filled with corks round the canoe outside on the water-line (see Fig. 5, A A A A A). If you take this precaution you will probably not regret it, as a capsize is a very simple matter to achieve in any round-bottomed light boat, and there is not much stuff in such a slightly-constructed craft to float the occupant if capsized.

The American paper canoe was constructed something in the same way as to framework, but two of the shadows were left in after being cut away in the middle (see Fig. 6), leaving them three or four inches deep all round, and the keel was left about one foot wide between the two shadows, which were placed so as to divide the keel into three equal parts. They were firmly screwed to the keel, stringers (B B) were then run from stem to stern. The stem and stern posts were of green elm screwed to the bottom board or keel, and bent (see cut) into the required position; the ribs were made of osier willow switches put in while green; the gunwale (A A) was of ash. This framework was covered with very strong wrapping-paper, smooth and very tough, neither stiff nor very thick. This was secured first to the bottom board, the canoe being turned upside down; and then the paper was trimmed into shape and brought up to the gunwales, and secured there by being turned in over the gunwale and held down by long strips of ash or cane. The whole outside surface of the paper was then given three coats of varnish (Fig. 7).

The constructor, however, found that the boat leaked, and he then covered it with unbleached muslin strained outside over the paper, tacked along the gunwales, and sewn at the ends; it was then tightened by shrinking, and received three coats of a mixture of varnish and paint; this appears to have stopped the leaking entirely, and the owner then enjoyed a great deal of cruising and paddling in his paper boat.

After using it some time he discarded the ‘paddle proper,’ and fitted a pair of iron rowlocks sufficiently long to be secured to the bottom board and the gunwales, and used a pair of short sculls.

II.—Paper and other Typical Canoes.

It must entirely depend on the surroundings of the maker as to what materials he had best use. If a lad has the ability to build a canoe at all, he must be the best judge of the easiest way for him to set about it, and it is impossible to lay down hard-and-fast rules as to what he shall use in its construction. All he requires is the general idea which is given here, and where a lad with every convenience and a long purse will use the best materials another, under different circumstances and perhaps far away from opportunities of getting the most suitable timber, etc., for his purpose, will have to exercise his ingenuity and bring into use those materials he is limited to. So, perhaps, in some instances where thick and good canvas cannot be got, a serviceable boat can be made of a thinner and cheaper material, such as unbleached calico put on over a skin of old newspapers pasted together to form a backing; and such a covering thoroughly varnished with several coats, or if that is too costly well painted inside and outside with a mixture of tar and pitch boiled together, half and half, would give a great deal of amusement to its owner, and cost a mere trifle. Of course, it would not look so well. The best backing to use under thin canvas or calico would be good paper, prepared in this way:—take a large sheet of good strong paper, brown preferably, and cover it with a coating of marine glue; place another piece of paper over it to cover the glue, and take a flat-iron, warm, but not too hot; thoroughly iron the top paper till the glue comes out through the pores of the paper; the two sheets will then be firmly held together by the waterproof glue, and any size can be prepared in this way, making a first-class stiffening inside skin, which can be covered outside with thin calico, painted and varnished.

The paddles used with these canoes are single-bladed. The stern paddle, which is used to steer as well as propel the canoe, is considerably larger than the bow paddle. The lengths of the paddles are—stern, five feet; bow, four feet; breadth of blade at broadest part—stern, six inches; bow, five inches; length of blade of paddle, two feet. The handle may be about three-quarters of an inch to one inch in diameter, but much thicker at the extreme end, where some of the paddles now used are shaped like Fig. 8.

The paddle is used as follows. You will readily understand that a stroke of a paddle used only on one side would cause the boat or canoe so propelled to turn its bow in the opposite direction; to meet this, before the paddle is withdrawn from the water, it must be slightly feathered and the handle brought inwards, the middle of the paddle resting on the gunwale of the canoe, the blade thus bringing the bow round and steering the canoe in a straight course. The pressure used must be merely adequate to bring the canoe straight, and will depend on the amount of sheer she has taken. If this is properly done, which requires some practice, it will not at all interfere with the forward propulsion of the canoe. The handle of the paddle is left rather wide at the end to allow of an easy grasp, and the other hand holds the paddle not quite half way down.

In stalking game the Indians never withdraw the paddle from the water at all, but feather under water without making the slightest noise and scarcely causing a ripple.

Another description of boat made of canvas is the Irish Curragh (Fig. 9), used principally in the south-west of Ireland. Some of these boats are of considerable size—I have seen one twenty-six feet by four feet beam—and are used in the heaviest weather and the roughest seas, and from their extreme lightness are wonderfully good sea boats, the peculiar construction of the bow, which rises very much, lifting the boat over the seas. They have a strong frame made of ribs with stringers spaced only about three inches apart. The stringers run the whole length of the boat, which is something of the shape of half a barrel greatly elongated. They are simply and easily constructed, and are covered with common canvas. Several coatings of a preparation of tar are given to the canvas, converting it into a species of tarpaulin, and as the interior framework is very close it is impossible to stand or press in any way on the canvas skin, which is thus kept from injury from that source. The curragh is propelled by paddles used as sculls, and a large one has six men, each pulling two paddles. They have no rowlocks, but an iron pin stands up from the gunwale, and a chock is fixed to the paddle with a hole to fit the iron pin. In this way the paddles can be left without being unshipped if necessary, and fall alongside the boat with no chance of being lost.

The coracle used for fishing in Ireland and in Wales is merely a framework, sometimes of wicker and sometimes of wood, somewhat in the shape of the half of a walnut-shell. They are generally covered with leather, and are extremely light.

Since writing the above I have seen a paper which, to those who can afford the price, is the very thing to employ in building a canoe or small boat. I allude to the Willesden paper, invented by the late Dr. Scoffern. This paper is thoroughly water-proof, and is manufactured in all thicknesses. The best for the purpose is about one-eighth of an inch thick. It runs in sufficient length to build an ordinary canoe in one piece, and the width, being fifty-three inches, is amply sufficient. The price is five shillings per yard run, which, for a canoe say fifteen feet long, would be twenty-five shillings, and would be the principal part of the cost. This paper will not only make a strong and safe boat, but also a very handsome and fast one, as, being in one piece, there is no joining or unevenness, but one perfectly smooth surface, offering little resistance to the water. For the purpose of building models it would be hard to find a better substitute for wood, and in most cases it would be found far cheaper.

The Canadian batteau (Fig. 10) is a class of boat that is very easily constructed in paper, canvas, or wood, and you will see from the plan how it is made. It differs from the preceding canoe in that it is flat-bottomed, the American paper canoe approaching it most nearly in shape, though in the batteau the flat bottom is wider, and the sides are also flat, flaring out a good deal.

I also give sketches of other types of crafts. And now for a parting word of advice: whatever type of canoe you select, I hope you will be able to produce one that will pass the examination when your parents and others hold a survey; and in view of this do your work well and carefully, or you had better leave it alone. In any case, do not canoe unless you can swim. A canoeist, particularly when racing, thinks nothing of an upset, which to an accomplished hand is merely the loss of a few minutes, when, the canoe righted and the owner once more in charge, the prize is still held in view. This, to a non-swimmer, might mean, however, loss of life. Speaking from my own experience, I can assure you that I should not now be writing this if I had been unable to swim, and in no case should canoeing or boating be indulged in by those who have not mastered that necessary and simple art. To the swimmer an upset is in most instances simply an annoyance, but to a non-swimmer it may mean a fatal accident.

CHAPTER XXVI.—HOW TO BUILD A PUNT.
By the Rev. Harry Jones, M.A.

Some years ago I wanted a cheap, strong punt for use in a large pond of some ten or twelve acres, and went to two or three regular boat-builders to ask the price of such an article. It varied from some sixteen shillings to a pound per foot. Now, as I needed something long enough to be rowed, or bear propulsion, with some steadiness, of course, and, moreover, to carry a good load, I perceived that nothing much less in length than about sixteen feet would answer my purpose.

The cost of this amounted to more than I was inclined to pay to a professed boat-builder, and so I put on my considering cap to see whether I could not escape the charges of an expert and yet realise my punt.

I determined to employ an intelligent country carpenter, who had never been in a shipyard in his life, and who, being wholly unacquainted with the structure of a boat, would be likely to follow out my directions without any bias of his own, yet take the whole credit of the result to himself.

We fixed on deal—good red, not white deal—for the wood of our boat, though my carpenter agreed with me that elm would have been better and teak best, for this latter does not split in the sun. Elm, however, is generally cut into lengths of only 12 ft. or 13 ft., which allows for the measure of two coffins, which are mostly made of this tree. Teak my friend had never seen. The worst of this is its original cost, and also, when a boat has to be built for inland waters, the expense of its carriage by rail from the neighbourhood of some coast ship-yard.

We settled on the red deal harmoniously. First we got four planks of 11-in. deal 12 ft. long and 1¹⁄₂ in. thick. I had it of this thickness to ensure comparative immunity from splitting when the sides should be nailed on, for these were to form the floor or bottom of our punt. When planed on both sides, this thickness was of course reduced. The edges of the planks were ‘shot,’ and made to fit as for a glue joint. After being cramped together they were kept in position by nailing on transverse pieces 1 in. thick and 4 in. wide, these transverse pieces not reaching quite to the whole width of the floor. This, the floor, we narrowed, from the centre towards the ends, until the result was something like a gigantic ‘sole’ with its head and tail cut off square. This raft was our bottom or floor, four planks wide in the middle, and three planks wide at each end.

I wanted my boat to have not exactly a flat bottom, but one that should rise, or ‘spring,’ some two inches fore and aft. This gives a punt more buoyancy in rowing, and also enables it to be run aground easily, and to be pushed off without ‘sucking.’ A perfectly flat-bottomed punt sticks or clings to a shallow, muddy shore. If it is slightly curved, it is shoved off without any difficulty. The question was how to curve it.

We built our punt in a barn, with crossbeams overhead. First I got two trestles, rather narrower than the ends of the bottom, and rested its ends upon them, there being some three or four inches to spare between the trestles and the ends of the bottom. It stood quite flat and stiff. You could not bend it with any pressure from the hand. I then measured the distance between its surface and a beam under which its centre stood at right angles, and found it to be exactly 11 ft. I next cut a length off a young fir-tree, which lay by our saw-pit, 11 ft. 2 in. in length, and requested our carpenter to set it upright on the middle of the punt floor, under the beam. Of course he could not. It was 2 in. too long. Then I got him and his assistant to stand on the bottom of the punt, whose ends just rested on the trestles, with three or four inches to spare, and to see if the tree would not then stand under the beam. It did easily. Then he and his assistant stepped off, and, lo! the punt floor, in trying to recover its flatness, was rigidly fixed, with a ‘spring’ or curve, fore and aft, of 2 in.

The fabric, so far, was steadied for further operations. Then I took two clean 9-in. planks, 1 in. thick, planed on both sides, and, keeping them duly apart with boards set edgewise the width of the punt bottom, nailed them to the sides. They bent quite easily, without any assistance from heat, and at once we had the two sides of our punt. I had these sides considerably longer than the bottom, in order that the punt might have projecting ends, and so be more easily stepped into from the shore when run up ‘end on.’ Then we got two pieces of wide elm plank for the two ends of our punt. These were the whole width of the end of the floor, and sloped out fore and aft. To these we nailed the ends of our sides, and the result was at once a very shipshape punt, but without any knees or thwarts. These we put in afterwards, as is usual in boat-building.

But the sides, though high enough to make a punt capable of carrying a considerable load, were too low to carry rowlocks unless the rower sat on the bottom of the boat. Thus we put on one other plank on each side 9 in. deep and 1 in. thick. It overlapped the other 2 in., and was long enough to continue the projection of the ends. It fitted very closely. We nailed these two side planks on with long copper nails, and put in other pieces of elm for the ends. Outside the top of these second planks we also nailed a strip 2 in. deep and 1 in. thick. This made the gunwale of the punt nearly 2 in. wide, and capable of receiving thowls, or pins.

The seats, or thwarts, we rested on the top of the lower side planks. This gave a seat of about 7 in. high for the rower, and sufficient height for the bed of the rowlock above the level of the rower’s seat, namely 7 in., which is about the usual rule. We strengthened the thwarts with oak knees against the upper side planks. This, moreover, gave great rigidity to the whole fabric of the punt. We also used oak knees or angles, called, in boat-building language, ‘hooks,’ at the four corners of the gunwale, nailing them in horizontally, and thus much tightening the punt at each corner.

The disposition of the thwarts in such a boat is matter of much importance. They should be at the proper distance from the rowlocks, and the rower should not take up too much of the available space in the punt. We arranged ours thus, and they answered admirably. The floor, be it remembered, was 12 ft. long. We ‘middled’ this, and set the centres of the two thwarts 18 in. from this line. This gave 3 ft. as the distance between the centres of the two thwarts, and their position in the boat was such that one rower by himself sat just where his weight should be; so did two, and both sat well away from any ‘sitter’ in the end of the boat. The distance of 3 ft. between the centre of the thwarts enables the rowlocks to be correctly placed. They should come exactly halfway between the thwarts. By having three rowlocks on each side, equidistant, the rower or rowers had only to turn round and row in the opposite direction, the boat having stem and stern alike. This is convenient under some circumstances, as when there is not room to pull the boat itself round. The thwarts themselves should be 9 in. wide, and two boards of the same width at each end, resting on the top of the lower side planks, make sufficient accommodation for sitters, who, by the arrangement of thwarts and rowlocks which I have described, are well out of reach of the rower’s legs in a punt of the size we made. Altogether the result was excellent. The boat rowed with much lightness and ease, and would carry four or five adults. It was, moreover, very stiff in the water. There was no fear of it turning over when rowers shifted places. It ran far up on shore, so that ladies could step in and out dry-shod.

I should say that we made the ends project about 18 in. fore and aft, while the floor of the punt was 12 ft. long. Thus our length over all was 15 ft. If I built another I think I should make each of the ends project 2 ft., and curve the gunwale a little, giving it a drop of an inch or two in the middle. This gives an agreeable curve, and takes off the severe straightness of the upper line, which I must confess rather marred the ‘elegance’ of our punt as she lay on the water. A very little curve or wave-line produces the desired effect.

The cost of building our punt was not very much. I have before me the bill of the carpenter for wood, time, and some of the nails. It is £6 5s., and he was longer over it than he would have been had it not been his first attempt. Besides this, I had to buy the rest of the nails. Ours were mostly zinc, but on another occasion I should use only copper. The additional expenses were the oak knees for strengthening the boat, and the varnish with which we ‘dressed’ her. We used no paint, and only two or three places in the seams outside were ‘caulked’ with a little oakum.

I would advise the builder of such a punt, when not able to do the work himself, to employ an intelligent carpenter who makes his joints close. The whole cost, all expenses included, was between £7 and £8—the larger proportion being for labour, which sharp boys might themselves supply—and the fabric certainly seems as if it would last well. It has now passed its second year of service, and is as tight as a bottle, though it has been somewhat roughly used. For such a punt I should have had to pay at a boat-builders some £15, and I do not see why one built as I have advised should not be as strong and serviceable as any could be. The only point is that I would advise copper rivets, and not zinc, to be used throughout.

Of course, the expense might be lessened by using thinner wood, and therefore less heavy copper rivets. It is indeed a disputed question whether copper or iron nails and rivets should be used for fresh-water boats. Many Thames watermen prefer iron. This would, of course, make the cost of the punt less. I had our sides one inch thick, in order that the boat might stand very heavy work, and in case of cracking from extreme heat, might be cured without danger of battering the sides in by caulking them, and without the necessity of patching them. I should add that we strengthened the ends with stout oak stem and stern posts nailed or riveted up the centre of the ends inside. They should be about 2 in. square. Into these we drove staples, to which a rope could be fastened.

I should, moreover, advise iron pins instead of, or as well as, ordinary thowls. We had them as well as thowls, there being halfway between each thowl-hole a hole for an iron pin half an inch thick. Then, if we wished to use thowls, we took the pins out, or vice versâ. The advantage of pins which run through the oar in places where the punt is used for fishing is, that the oars may be left on the pins without risk of slipping overboard.