Boat-Building and Boating

by Daniel Carter Beard

Bow-piece

To stiffen the bow, a bow-piece of cedar, nearly three feet long ([Fig. 96]), an inch and a half wide, and half an inch thick on one edge, bevelled and rounded off toward the other edge, is needed. To facilitate bending edgeways it is split into four or five sections (as in [Fig. 98]) for about thirty inches. The end that remains unsplit is notched on its thicker edge ([Fig. 96]) to receive the lower end of an oval cedar board ([Fig. 97]) that is placed upright in the bow underneath the tip of the frame. It is bent to correspond with the curve of the boat, with the thin edge toward the outside of the circle, and wrapped with twine, so that it will keep its shape. The bow-piece is placed between the edges of the bark, which are then sewed together by an over-and-over stitch, which passes through the bow-piece.

A pitch is prepared of rosin and grease, in such proportions that it will neither readily crack in cold water nor melt in the sun. One or the other ingredient is added until by test it is found just right.