To Carry a Canoe
To pick up a canoe and carry it requires not only the knack but also muscle, and no undeveloped boy should make the attempt, as he might strain himself, with serious results. But there are plenty of young men—good, husky fellows—who can learn to do this without any danger of injury if they are taught how to lift by a competent physical instructor.
To pick up a canoe for a "carry," stoop over and grasp the middle brace with the right arm extended, and a short hold with the left hand, as shown in [Fig. 105].
When you have a secure hold, hoist the canoe up on your legs, as shown in [Fig. 106]. Without stopping the motion give her another boost, until you have the canoe with the upper side above your head, as in [Fig. 107]. In the diagram the paddles are not spread apart as far as they should be. If the paddles are too close together a fall may break ones neck.
Fig. 110.—Northern Quebec Indians crossing the "ladder portage."
Now turn the canoe over your head and slide your head between the paddles (which are lashed to the spreaders, as shown in [Fig. 105]), and twist your body around as you let the canoe settle down over your head ([Fig. 108]). If you have a sweater or a coat, it will help your shoulders by making a roll of it to serve as a pad under the paddles, as in [Fig. 109]. I have seen an Indian carry a canoe in this manner on a dog-trot over a five-mile portage without resting. I also have seen Indians carry canoes over mountains, crossing by the celebrated Ladder Portage in western Quebec, where the only means of scaling a cliff is by ascending a ladder made of notched logs. For real canoe work it is necessary that a man should know how to carry his craft across country from one body of water to another. All through the Lakelands of Canada, and also the Lake St. John district, up to Hudson Bay itself, the only trails are by water, with portage across from one stream or lake to the other.
CHAPTER VII
HOW TO BUILD A PADDLING DORY
A Simple Boat Which Any One Can Build—The Cheapest Sort of a Boat
To construct this craft it is, of course, necessary that we shall have some lumber, but we will use the smallest amount and the expense will come within the limits of a small purse.
First we must have two boards, their lengths depending upon circumstances and the lumber available. The ones in the diagram are supposed to be of pine to measure (after being trimmed) 18 feet long by 18 inches wide and about 1 inch thick. When the boards are trimmed down so as to be exact duplicates of each other, place one board over the other so that their edges all fit exactly and then nail each end of the two boards together for the distance of about six inches. Turn the boards over and nail them upon the opposite side in the same manner, clamping the nail ends if they protrude. Do this by holding the head of a hammer or a stone against the heads of the nails while you hold a wire nail against the protruding end, and with a hammer bend it over the nail until it can be mashed flat against the board so that it will not project beyond its surface.
After you have proceeded thus far, take some pieces of tin ([Fig. 112]) and bend the ragged edges over, so as to make a clean, straight fold, and hammer it down flat until there are no rough or raw edges exposed. Now tack a piece of this tin over the end of the boards which composed the sides of the boat, as in [Fig. 114]. Make the holes for the tacks first by driving the pointed end of a wire nail through the tin where you wish the tacks to go and then tack the tin snugly and neatly on, after which tack on another piece of tin on both bow and stern, as in [Fig. 116]. This will hold the two ends of the boards securely together so that they may be carefully sprung apart in the middle to receive the middle mould which is to hold them in shape until the bottom of the boat is nailed on, and the permanent thwarts, or seats, fastened inside. When the latter are permanently fixed they will keep the boat in shape.
Fig. 111.—Parts of dory.
To make the mould, which is only a temporary thing, you may use any rough board, or boards nailed together with cleats to hold them. The mould should be 2 feet 6 inches long and 1 foot 4 inches high. [Fig. 111] will show you how to cut off the ends to give the proper slant. The dotted lines show the board before it is trimmed in shape. By measuring along the edge of the board from each end 10.8 inches and marking the points, and then, with a carpenter's pencil ruling the diagonal lines to the other edge and ends of the board, the triangles may be sawed off with a hand saw.
The simple details of the dory.
[Fig. 111] shows where the mould is to be placed in the center of the two side boards. As the boards in this diagram are supposed to be on the slant, and consequently in the perspective, they do not appear as wide as they really are. The diagram is made also with the ends of the side boards free so as to better show the position of the mould. But when the side boards are sprung apart and the mould placed in position ([Fig. 113]), it will appear as in [Fig. 116] or [Fig. 117]. [Fig. 115] shows the shape of the stem-posts to be set in both bow and stern and nailed securely in place.
Fig. 118.
Top views of dory and parts of dory.
When you have gone thus far fit in two temporary braces near the bow and stern, as shown in [Fig. 117]. These braces are simply narrow pieces of boards held in position by nails driven through the outside of the boat, the latter left with their heads protruding, so that they may be easily drawn when necessary.
Now turn the boat over bottom up and you will find that the angle at which the sides are bent will cause the bottom boards to rest upon a thin edge of the side boards, as shown in [Fig. 119]. With an ordinary jack-plane trim this down so that the bottom boards will rest flush and snug, as in [Fig. 120].
Fig. 118½.