RAFTS AND BOATS.
Rafts.--Rafts of Wood.--Rafts are made of logs of wood, held together by pairs of cross-bars, one of each pair lying above the raft and the other below; then, the whole may be made quite firm by a little judicious notching wherethe logs cross, and a few pegs and lashings. Briers, woodbines, etc., will do for these. If the logs are large, they should be separately launched into the river, and towed into their proper places. Outriggers vastly increase the stability of a raft. The raft-fastening in common use is shown in f. 1: it is a stout, little wand, bent over the cross piece, and wedged into holes in the framework.
The rafts of European rivers are usually built on shore, and launched into the water: three slides are laid for the purpose, on the sloping bank of the river; upon these are laid the four poles, secured together by their ends, which are to form the framework of the raft (fig. 2). Other poles are put in between, until the whole is complete.
Bamboo rafts.--Where bamboo is plentiful, it is preferable to any other material for rafts. A few bamboos lashed into the shape of an ordinary field gate, but with two diagonals, and with handfuls of grass thrown on to make a platform, is very buoyant and serviceable.
Floating power of various Woods.--The floating power of a raft depends on the buoyancy of the wood of which it is made. I give, in a Table (p. 90), a list of the specific gravities of a few well-known woods; and have annexed to them a column of what may be called their "specific floating powers."*
[Footnote] *Specific floating power = (1/Spec. Gr.)--1. (Mem., the Table of these, in previous editions is incorrect.) Burden = weight of raft x specific floating power. Weight of wood required to support a given burden = Burden x (Spec. Gr./1-Spec. Gr.); the last column gives the latter factor.
Hence, to find the actual floating power of a raft, it is simply necessary to multiply its weight into the specific floating power of the wood of which it is made.
Thus, a raft of 12 logs of larch, averaging 30 lbs. each, weighs 360 lbs.; this multiplied by .47, is equal to 169 lbs. very nearly, which is the weight the raft will support without sinking. Poplar is the lightest on the list.
Examples: -- a raft of alder, weighing 200 lbs., would just support 200 x .25 or 50 lbs.
A burden of 100 lbs. would require a raft of alder, weighing not les than 100 x 4.0, or 400 lbs. to support it.
Burning down Trees.--Where there are no means at hand to fell trees, they should be burnt down; two men may attend to the burning of twenty trees at one and the same time. When felled, their tops and branches, also, are to be trimmed by fire. (See "Hutting Palisades.")
Reed Rafts.--Mr. Andersson, in exploring the Tioughe River, in South Africa, met with two very simple forms of rafts: the one was a vast quantity of reeds cut down, heaped into a stack of from 30 to 50 feet in diameter, pushed out into the water, and allowed to float down stream: each day, as the reeds became water-logged, more were cut and thrown on the stack: its great bulk made it sure of passing over shallow places; and when it struck against "snags," the force of the water soon slewed it round and started it afresh. On an affair of this description, Mr. Andersson, with seven attendants, and two canoes hauled up upon it, descended the river for five days. The second reed raft was a small and neat one, and used for ferries; it was a mattress of reeds, 5 feet long, 3 broad, and some 8 inches thick, tied together with strips of the reeds themselves; to each of its four corners was fixed a post, made of an upright faggot of reeds, 18 inches high; other faggots connected the tops of the posts horizontally, in the place of rails: this was all; it held one or two men, and nothing but reeds or rushes were used in its construction.
Rafts of distended Hides.--"A single ox-hide may be made into a float capable of sustaining about 300 lbs.; the skin is to be cut to the largest possible circle, then gathered together round a short tube, to the inner end of which a valve, like that of a common pair of bellows, has been applied; it is inflated with bellows, and, as the air escapes by degrees, it may be refilled every ten or twelve hours." ('Handbook for Field Service.')
We read of the skins of animals, stuffed with hay to keep them distended, having been used by Alexander the Great, and by others.
Goatskin rafts are extensively used on the Tigris and elsewhere. These are inflated through one of the legs: they are generally lashed to a framework of wood, branches, and reeds, in such a way that the leg is accessible to a person sitting on the raft: when the air has in part escaped, he creeps round to the skins, one after the other, untying and re-inflating them in succession.
African Gourd Raft.--Over a large part of Bornu, especially on its Komadugu--the so-called River Yeou of Central Africa--no boat is used, except the following ingenious contrivance. It is called a "makara," or boat par eminence.
Two large open gourds are nicely balanced, and fixed, bottom downwards, on a bar or yoke of light wood, 4 feet long, 4 1/2 inches wide, and 3/4 or 1 inch thick. The fisherman, or traveller, packs his gear into the gourds; launches the makara into the river, and seats himself astride the bar. He then paddles off, with help of his hands (fig. 1). When he leaves the river, he carries the makara on his back (fig. 2). The late Dr. Barth wrote to me, "A person accustomed to such sort of voyage, sits very comfortably; a stranger holds on to one of the calabashes. There is no fear of capsizing, as the calabashes go under water, according to the weight put upon them, from ten to sixteen inches. The yoke is firmly fastened to the two calabashes, for it is never taken off. I am scarcely able, at present, to say how it is fastened. As far as I remember, it is fixed by a very firm lashing, which forms a sort of network over the calabash, and at the same time serves to strengthen the latter and guard it against an accident." It is obvious that the gourds might be replaced by inflated bags or baskets, covered with leather, or by copper or tin vessels, or by any other equivalent. I quite agree with Dr. Barth, that a makara would be particularly suitable for a traveller. In Bornu, they make large rafts, by putting a frame over several of these makara, placed side by side.
Rude Boats.--Brazilian Sailing-boat.--A simpler sailing-boat or raft could hardly be imagined than that shown in the figure; it is used by fishermen in Brazil.
Log Canoes are made by hollowing out a long tree by axe and by fire, and fastening an outrigger to one side of it, to give steadiness in the water. Recollect Robinson Crusoe's difficulty in launching his canoe after he had made it. (See "Rafts of Wood.") It is not a difficult, though a tedious operation, to burn out hollows in wood; the fire is confined by wet earth, that it may not extend too far to either side, and the charred matter is from time to time scraped away, and fresh fire raked back on the newly-exposed surface. A lazy savage sill be months in making a single canoe in this way.
Canoe of Three Planks.--A swift, safe, and graceful little boat, with a sharp stem and stern, and with a bottom that curves upwards at both ends, can be made out of three planks. The sketch, fig. 1, is a foreshortened view of the boat, and the diagram, fig. 2, shows the shape of the planks from which it is made. The thwart or seat shown in fig. 1 is important in giving the proper inclination to the sides of the boat, for, without it, they would tend to collapse; and the bottom would be less curved at either end. If the reader will take the trouble to trace fig. 2 on a stout card, to cut it out in a single piece (cutting only half through the cardboard where the planks touch), and to fasten it into shape with pieces of gummed paper, he will understand the architecture of the boat more easily than from any description. If he wishes to build a boat he had best proceed to make as large a model in pasteboard as his materials admit, and to cut the planks to scale, according to the pattern of his model. The grace of the boat depends on the cut of its planks, just as much as the elegance of a dress does on that of its cloth. These three-plank canoes are in frequent use in Norway. Bark may be used instead of planks. If the canoe be built of five planks instead of three, a second narrow side-plank being added above each gunwale, the section of the canoe is decidedly improved.
Inflatable India-rubber Boats are an invention that has proved invaluable to travellers: they have been used in all quarters of the globe, and are found to stand every climate. A full-sized one weighs only 40 lbs. They have done especial service in Arctic exploration; the waters of the Great Salt Lake, in the Mormon country, were first explored and navigated with one by Fremont; they were also employed by Dr. Livingstone on the rivers of South Africa. They stand a wonderful amount of wear and tear; but, as boats, they are inferior to native canoes, as they are very slow in the water: it is, indeed, impossible to paddle them against a moderate head-wind. For the general purposes of travellers, I should be inclined to recommend as small a macintosh-boat as can be constructed; just sufficient for one, or at the most for two, persons; such as the cloaks that are made inflatable, and convertible into boats. A traveller wants a portable boat, chiefly as means to cross over to a village for help, or to carry his valuables across a river, while the heavy things are risked at a ford; or for shooting, fishing, or surveying. Now a very small boat, weighing about ten pounds, would do as well for all these purposes as a large one, and would be far more portable.
It is perfectly easy to get into a macintosh-boat, after having been capsized out of it into deep water.
Basket-boat with Canvas Sides.--FitzRoy gives an account of a party of his sailors, whose boat had been stolen while they were encamped, putting out to sea in a large basket, woven with such boughs as were at hand, and covered with their canvas tent--the inside of which they had puddled with clay, to keep the water from oozing through too fast. They were eighteen hours afloat in this crazy craft. I mention this instance, to show how almost anything will make a boat. Canvas saturated with grease or oil is waterproof, and painted canvas is at first an excellent covering for a boat, but it soon becomes rotten.
Canoe of Reeds or Vegetable Fibre.--A canoe may be made of reeds, rushes, or the light inner bark of trees. Either of these materials is bound into three long faggots, pointed at one end: these are placed side by side and lashed together, and the result is a serviceable vessel, of the appearance fig. 1, and section as fig. 2. The Lake Titicaca, which lies far above the limit of trees, is navigated by boats made of rushes, and carrying sails woven of rushes also. Little boats are sometimes made of twigs, and are then plastered both inside and outside with clay, but they are very leaky.
Hide Tray.--This is a good contrivance; and if the hide be smoked (see "Hides") after it is set, it is vastly improved. In its simplest form, Peruvian travellers describe it as a dish or tray, consisting of a dry hide pinched up at the four corners, and each corner secured with a thorn. The preferable plan is to make eyelet-holes round its rim, and pass a thong through, drawing it pretty close: the tray is kept in shape, by sticks put inside and athwart its bottom.
Coracle and Skin Punt.--If a traveller has one hide only at his disposal he should make a coracle, if he has two, a punt. This last is a really useful boat; one in which very great distances of river may be descended with safety, and much luggage taken. Hide boats are very light, since the weight of a bullock's skin only averages 45 lbs.; but, unless well greased, they soon rot. When taken out of the water, they should be laid bottom upwards to dry. To make a proper and substantial coracle, a dozen or more oxier or other wands must be cut; these are to be bent, and have both ends stuck in the ground, in such a way as to form the framework of the required boat, bottom upwards, much like half a walnut-shell in shape, but flatter. Where these wands cross, they should be lashed; and sticks should be wattled in, to fill up gaps. A raw hide is then thrown over the framework, sewn in place, and left to dry. Finally, the projecting ends of the osiers have to be cut off. Should this boat, by any chance, prove a failure, the hide is not wasted, but can be removed, soaked till soft, and used again.
A skin punt requires two bullocks' or other hides, and also about ten small willow-trees, or other tough flexible wood, 14 feet long. Captain Palliser says that a couple of days is sufficient for two people to complete an entire punt of this description. He has been so good as to furnish me with the following minute description of the way of making this very useful boat.
1. The keel, stem and stern might be in one; but because the stem and stern ought to be strong, this whole line is made of two small trees lashed together with the thick ends outwards, as in fig. 1, where AB is a lithe clean little willow-tree, and ab another similar one. They are lashed together at their taper ends.
2. Cut notches half-way through KK, at about 20 to 25 inches from each end; then turn up the notched portions, and you have stem, keel and stern, all in one piece, as in fig. 2.
3. Stake out the ground, according to the size your boat will cover, by driving eight strong pointed stakes of wood into the ground; to these lash four cross (willow-tree) sticks, notched in two places, so that each of these four willows shall form two knees, as well as run across the bottom of the boat.
4. Bent two more main willows for gunwales for the boat, and two more for bottom rails. Each separate stick, as will be perceived by fig. 3, is lashed in five different places, and the keep in eight places.
The main framework being now completed, loosen it from the stakes driven into the ground.
5. Fasten a large number of little slender willow-twigs between each of the main cross-knees, as shown by the thin lines in fig. 3. It is then fit for covering. Lift it up like a basket, and turn it topsy-turvy.
6. Kill two bulls, skin them, and in skinning be careful to make your cuts in the skin down the rump to the hock of the animal, and down the brisket in front of the fore-leg to the knee, so as to have your skins as square as possible (fig. 4). Cut off the heads, and sew the skins together at the nape of the necks; and, while reeking, cover the wicker-work, turning them over it, the hairy side inwards, and fasten it all round by means of skin-cords. Cut holes with a knife round the edges, to pass the cords through, as you lash up to the top-rails of the boat.
7. Leave it 24 hours in the sun; cover the seam where the skins are sewn together, with melted fat, and the boat is fit for use.
Bark Boats.--"From a pine, or other tree, take off with care the longest possible entire portion of the bark; while fresh and flexible, spread it flat as a long rectangular sheet; then turn it carefully up at the sides, the smooth side outwards; sew the ends together, and caulk them well. A few cross-sticks for thwarts complete this contrivance, which is made by an American Indian in a few hours, and in which the rapid waters of the Mackenzie are navigated for hundreds of miles. Ways of strengthening the structure will readily suggest themselves. The native material for sewing is the fibrous root of the pine." ("Handbook for Field Service," Lieut.-Col. Lefroy.)
Birch-bark canoes.--Birch bark, as is well known, is used for building canoes in North America, and the bark of many other trees would do for covering the framework of a boat, in default of leather. But it is useless to give a detailed account of birch canoes, as great skill and neat execution are required both in making and in using them.
Boats of Sheet-tin, covered with Pitched Canvas.--These might be made at any of the outposts of civilization. I am indebted to a correspondent, whose name I regret exceedingly to be unable to insert, having unfortunately mislaid it, for the following full description of his shooting-punt. It will be obvious that his methods are applicable not only to their professed object, but also to tin boats of any shape whatever.
"Form the bottom, fig. I., as follows:--Select the thickest sheets of tin and solder them together by their narrowest sides, until as many lengths are made as, when laid side by side, will be sufficient for the whole length and breadth of the figure. The soldering should be by a joint of this kind."
"These lengths must then be soldered side by side by a similar joint, and the whole sheet thus made, trimmed to the shape of fig. I., care being taken that no two joints in the lengths should be exactly opposite each other. Form two other sheets in a similar manner for the two sides, and of the shape of fig. II. The dotted lines a b c d e f, fig. I., show the portions of the tin round the edges, 1 inch wide, which must be turned up at right angles with the bottom, and to which the sides are to be soldered on the inside; they should have triangular pieces clipped out of them, as shown in the fig., where the bends of the boat begin, to make them take the curve required. The two extra pieces at the ends a d, e f, 2 inches wide, are for turning down over an iron rod, which is to pass round the gunwale, to give stiffness to the boat; g h, fig. II., is a breadth of 2 inches of extra tin, for the same purpose of turning down over the iron rod.
"Each side is now to be soldered to the bottom piece, beginning with the centre, and working in to each end.
"The soldering of the turned-up edges to the bottom, on the outside, may then be done. Separate slips of tin 2 inches wide should then be bent up longitudinally in halves, like angle-iron, and fitted along the joining of the bottom and sides, on the inside, and soldered; these slips may also be clipped on either side, when necessary, to make them take the curves.
"The measure round the gunwale may now be taken within the edge of the tin, and an iron rod 3/8 of an inch thick, to go round this gunwale, bent to the form of the outline of fig. III., i b k c, which will now be that of the boat, and the ends welded at their meeting. Sufficient iron rod must be taken to form eyes at i and k to receive rings of 3 or 4 inches diameter, through which a pole is to be passed, for carrying the boat, and for their welding at the meeting of the ends.
"The iron-rod gunwale may now be put in, and the 2 inches width of tin, allowed in excess on the sides and ends of the bottom, turned down closely over the rod, all round and soldered on the inside. The side elevation of the boat will now be as w x y, fig. IV. "The boat should be proved as to being water-tight by filling it with water, any leak being stopped by more solder.
"The outside must now be covered with pitched canvas, thus:--
"Turn it upside down, in a sheltered spot exposed to the sun, or warm it by other means, and have a caldron of boiling pitch on a fire at hand, also have sufficient canvas sewn together in breadths as will quite cover the boat, bottom and sides; then, beginning across the middle of the bottom, brush on a layer 3 or 4 inches wide of the boiling pitch, and quickly press down the corresponding central portion of the canvas upon it; work on thus, from the centre of the bottom to the ends, laying on a breadth of pitch, and then pressing down and stretching a portion of canvas over it; then turn down the canvas over each side, and pitch in the same way, butting out the parts of the canvas that would overlap too much at the bends, but leaving no tin uncovered; the boat may then be righted, the excess of canvas cut off, and the edge laid down with pitch, a little short of the gunwale.
"The bottom may then be pitched over the canvas for 6 inches up, and the rest of the outside, with the inside, be painted with two or three coats.
"A flooring of thin planking for 3 1/2 feet of the central portion of the boat must now be made as follows:--Make five planks, between 8 and 9 inches wide, to fit across the beam of the boat, and in each of the outer planks, o o, p p, fig. III., fix uprights m n, 6 inches high, to support a seat, mortised on the pair of uprights in each board; the ends of each seat should be short of the breadth of the boat by an inch or so, so as not to bear against the sides; then lay down two ribs of tough wood, fitted to bear equally across the planking, on each side, as rs, r1 s1, and screw each end of them down to the outer planks only.
"Wooden cleats can be fixed on each board at t t, each to receive the butts of two guns, while their barrels lie in hollows formed in the cushions of the seat opposite them, so that the rower can put down his paddles and take up his gun instantly; steps for a mast can be also contrived at the same points. The woodwork is to be also well painted; it can be taken out with ease, as it is nowhere connected with the tin of the boat. Care should be taken that no projections in this woodwork, such as screw-heads, etc., should chafe the tin, and that it should be always kept well painted.
"The boat, of which this is a description, drew 2 1/2 inches water with one person in, with two guns and ammunition, etc.; it was furnished with two short paddles, which were tied by a short length of string to the sides, so as to be dropped without loss of time on taking up the gun to fire; the boat turned with the greatest ease, by one backing and pulling stroke of the two paddles, and was very stiff in the water.
"Iron rowlocks were fitted to it, on the outside at b, e, fig. I. (I do not give the diagram by which the author illustrated his description; the rowlocks were applied to the sides of the boat, and each rowlock was secured to the side by three bolts.) The two upper bolts had claw-heads to seize the iron-rod gunwale on the inside, and a piece of wood was fitted on the inside, through which the three bolts passed, to give substance for their hold, their nuts were on the outside. With these rowlocks two oars of 7 feet long were used. The breadth between the horns should be only just enough to admit the oars.
"This boat could be carried on the shoulders of two persons, when suspended on a pole passed through the end rings, for a distance of twelve or fifteen miles daily, with guns and ammunition stowed in it. It could be fired from, standing, without risk, and be poled over marshy ground barely covered with water, or dragged with ease by the person seated in it, through high reeds, by grasping a handful on each side and hauling on them. A rudder was unnecessary. It was in use for more than three years, and with due care in getting in and out, on a rough shore, and by keeping it well painted and pitched, it never leaked or became impaired in any way."
Boats.--Of Wood.--English-made boats have been carried by explorers for great distances on wheels, but seldom seem to have done much useful service. They would travel easiest if slung and made fast in a strong wooden crate or framework, to be fixed on the body of the carriage. A white covering is necessary for a wooden boat, on account of the sun: both boat and covering should be frequently examined. Mr. Richardson and his party took a boat, divided in four quarters, on camel-back across the Sahara, all the way from the Mediterranean to Lake Tchad. A portable framework of metal tubes, to be covered with india-rubber sheeting on arrival, was suggested to me by a very competent authority, the late Mr. M'Gregor Laird.
Copper boats have been much recommended, because an accidental dent, however severe it may be, can be beaten back again without doing injury to the metal. One of the boats in Mr. Lynch's expedition down the Jordan was made of copper.
Corrugated Iron makes excellent boats for travellers; they are stamped by machinery: Burton took one of them to Zanzibar. They were widely advertised some ten years ago, but they never came into general use, and I do not know where they can now be procured.
Canoes.--The earlier exploits of the 'Rob Roy' canoe justly attracted much attention, and numerous canoe voyages have subsequently been made. The Canoe Club is now a considerable institution, many of whose members make yearly improvements in the designs of their crafts. Although canoes are delicately built and apparently fragile, experience has amply proved that they can stand an extraordinary amount of hard usage in the hands of careful travellers. As a general rule, it is by no means the heaviest and most solid things that endure the best. If a lightly-made apparatus can be secured from the risk of heavy things falling upon it, it will outlast a heavy apparatus that shakes to pieces under the jar of its own weight.
A hole cut in the square sail enables the voyager to see ahead.
To carry on Horseback.--Mr. Macgregor, when in Syria, took two strong poles, each 16 feet long, and about 3 inches thick at the larger end. These were placed on the ground 2 feet apart, and across them, at 3 feet from each end, he lashed two stout staves, about 4 feet long. Then a "leading" horse was selected, that is, one used to lead caravans, and on his back a large bag of straw was well girthed and flattened down. The frame was firmly tied on this, and the canoe, wrapped in carpets, was placed on the frame. This simple method was used for three months over sand and snow, rock and jungle, mud and marsh--anywhere indeed that a horse could go. The frame was elevated in front, so as to allow the horse's head some room under the boat's keel. Two girth-straps kept the canoe firmly in position above, and carpets were used as cushions under its bilge. A boy led the horse, and a strong man was told off to hold fast to the canoe in every difficulty. It will be seen, that in the event of a fall, the corners of the framework would receive the shock, not the canoe.
Boating Gear.--Anchors may be made of wood weighted with stones. Fig. 1 shows the anchor used by Brazilian fishermen with their rude boat or sailing-raft already described. Fig. 2 shows another sort of anchor that is in common use in Norway.
Mast.--Where there is difficulty in "stepping" a mast, use a bar across the thwarts and two poles, one lashed at either end of it, and coming together to a point above. This triangle takes the place of shrouds fore and aft. It is a very convenient rig for a boat with an outrigger: the Sooloo pirates use it.
Outrigger Irons.--Mr. Gilby informs me that he has travelled with a pair of light sculls and outrigger irons, which he was able to adapt to many kinds of rude boats. He found them of much service in Egypt.
Keels are troublesome to make: lee-boards are effective substitutes, and are easily added to a rude boat or punt when it is desired to rig her as a sailing-craft.
Rudder.--A rude oar makes the most powerful, though not the most convenient rudder. In the lakes of North Italy, where the winds are steady, the heavy boats have a bar upon which the tiller of the rudder rests: this bar is full of small notches; and the bottom of the tiller, at the place where it rests on the bar, is furnished with a blunt knife-edge; the tiller is not stiffly joined to the rudder, but admits of a little play up and down. When the boatman finds that the boat steers steadily, he simply drops the tiller, which forthwith falls into the notch below it, where it is held tight until the steersman cares to take the tiller into his hand again.
Buoys.--An excellent buoy to mark out a passage is simply a small pole anchored by a rope at the end. It is very readily seen, and exposes so little surface to the wind and water, that it is not easily washed away. A pole of the thickness of a walking-stick is much used in Sweden. Such a buoy costs only a rope, a stick, and a stone. A tuft of the small-branches may be left on the top of the pole.
Log.--For a log use a conical canvas bag thus--
When the peg is drawn out by the usual jerk, the bag no longer presents its mouth to the water, but is easily drawn in by the line attached to its point.
Boat Building.--Caulking.--Almost anything that is fibrous does for caulking the seams of a boat. The inner bark of trees is one of the readiest materials.
Securing Planks.--In default of nails, it is possible to drill or to burn holes in the planks and to sew them together with strips of hide, woodbine, or string made from the inner bark of fibrous trees. Holes may be drilled on precisely the same principle as that which I have described in making fire by friction.
Lengthening Boats.--If you have an ordinary boat, and wish to make it of greater burden, saw it in half and lengthen it. Comparatively coarse carpentering is good enough for this purpose.
Boat Management.--Hauling boats on Shore.--To haul up a boat on a barren shore, with but a few hands, lay out the anchor ahead of her to make fast your purchase to; or back the body of a wagon underneath the boat as she floats, and so draw her out upon wheels. A make-shift framework, on small solid wheels, has been used and recommended.
Towing.--A good way of fastening a tow-rope to a boat that has no mast is shown in the diagram, which, however, is very coarsely drawn. A curved pole is lashed alongside one of the knees of the boat, and the tow-rope, passing with a turn or two round its end, is carried on to the stern of the boat. By taking a few turns, more or less, with the rope round the stick, the line of action of the tow-rope on the boat's axis may be properly adjusted. When all is right the boat ought to steer herself.
When Caught by a Gale recollect that a boat will lie-to and live through almost any weather, if you can make a bundle of a few spare spars, oars, etc., and secure them to the boat's head, so as to float in front of and across the bow. They will act very sensibly as a breakwater, and will always keep the boat's head towards the wind. Kroomen rig out three oars in a triangle, lash the boat's sail to it, throw overboard, after making fast, and pay out as much line as they can muster. By making a canvas half-deck to an open boat, you much increase its safety in broken water; and if it be made to lace down the centre, it can be rolled up on the gunwale, and be out of the way in fine weather.
In Floating down a Stream when the wind blows right against you (and on rivers the wind nearly always blows right up or right down), a plan generally employed is to cut large branches, to make them fast to the front of the boat, weight them that they may sink low in the water, and throw them overboard. The force of the stream acting on these branches will more than counterbalance that of the wind upon the boat. For want of branches, a kind of water-sail is sometimes made of canvas.
Steering in the Dark.--In dark nights, when on a river running through pine forests, the mid stream canbe kept by occasionally striking the water sharply with the blade of the oar, and listening to the echoes. They should reach the ear simultaneously, or nearly so, from either bank. On the same principle, vessels have been steered out of danger when caught by a dense fog close to a rocky coast.
Awning.--The best is a wagon-roof awning, made simply of a couple of parallel poles, into which the ends of the bent ribs of the roof are set, without any other cross-pieces. This roof should be of two feet larger span than the width of the boat, and should rest upon prolongations of the thwarts, or else upon crooked knees of wood. One arm of each of the knees is upright, and is made fast to the inside of the boat, while the other is horizontal and projects outside it: it is on these horizontal and projecting arms that the roof rests, and to which it is lashed. Such an awning is airy, roomy, and does not interfere with rowing if the rowlocks are fixed to the poles. It also makes an excellent cabin for sleeping in at night.
Sail Tent.--A boat's sail is turned into a tent by erecting a gable-shaped framework: the mast or other spar being the ridge-pole, and a pair of crossed oars lashed together supporting it at either end; and the whole is made stable by a couple of ropes and pegs. Then the sail is thrown across the ridge-pole (not over the crossed loops of the oars, for they would fret it), and is pegged out below. The natural fall of the canvas bends to close the two ends, as with curtains.
Tree-snakes.--Where these abound, travellers on rivers with overhanging branches should beware of keeping too near inshore, lest the rigging of the boat should brush down the snakes.