Hints to Travellers, Scientific and General, Vol. 2 / Tenth edition, revised and corrected

by Royal Geographical Society

Canoeing and Boating.

By J. Coles.

Canoeing.

Choice of a Canoe.—In making choice of a canoe the traveller must bear in mind that, in all probability, there will be rapids in the river, which will necessitate a portage being made, and that the canoe may have to be carried over rough ground for a considerable distance. For this reason, it is far better to take two canoes of moderate size than one large one, besides which, a small canoe is much more easily handled in bad water, and even should it become necessary to carry a large load, this can easily be done by lashing two small canoes together, at about one yard apart, and laying a platform across them, on which to place the stores, &c. This, however, should not be done in dangerous and rapid rivers. The following remarks do not, therefore, apply to large canoes, which, having nearly the stability of a boat, may be handled in the same manner.

Paddles.—It will generally be found that the native paddles will be best suited for the work. The double-bladed paddle, such as is used with the Rob Roy canoe, is quite useless on a rapid and dangerous river.

Sail.—The sail should be made of duck, or some such light material, fastened to a light yard at each end, and its hoist should be about twice its breadth; its size must be in proportion to the canoe, the hoist being about one-fourth of the canoe’s length. The mast should be as light as possible, with a hole at the top for the halliards to pass through freely. The end should be stepped in a chock in the bottom of the canoe (when in use), and it should be lashed to one of the stays, or cross-pieces of the canoe. The sail should never be used unless the wind is steady and abaft the beam, and the halliards should be taken to the after part of the canoe in order to stay the mast, and secured in such a manner that it can be instantly let go, when the sail will at once fall, and undue pressure on the canoe relieved.

The Tow-line.—Too much attention cannot be paid to this important article. It should be light, but of the best material (such as the rope used by the Alpine Club), as its giving way at a critical moment in a rapid is sure to be attended with most serious results.

Loading the Canoe.—The packages should not exceed 50 lbs. in weight, as they may have to be carried long distances over portages, and care must be taken not to overload the canoe. Natives, who are all good swimmers, and have nothing to lose by a capsize, are very apt to put more into a canoe than is safe, so that it is a matter in which the traveller should use his own discretion.

In ascending a rapid river, keep close to one of its banks, and endeavour to take advantage of eddies. It will often happen that, owing to the strength of the stream, no headway can be made with the paddles, in which case recourse must be had to poling or tracking. In the event of the former, the poles should be straight and tough, and as long as can be conveniently carried in the canoe. Natives generally stand up to pole, but this the traveller should not attempt to do, or he will in all probability either fall overboard, or capsize the canoe, or both. In tracking, as great a length of line as possible should be used, as a sheer of the canoe in a rapid, with a short line, will often end in a capsize. Only two men should remain in the canoe, one in the bow with a pole, and the other in the stern with a paddle to steer; this man should also have his pole handy. The line should be made fast to one of the stays in the bow of the canoe, and never to a towing mast, as in a boat; as in passing round bad corners, or places where there are snags, and where it is necessary to give the canoe a wide sheer, the leverage of the mast, if the line were fastened to the top of it, would pull the canoe over. The man in the bow, however, should always have his knife handy to cut the tow-line, should necessity arise for his doing so. In tracking, when a river passes through sandy soil, the men on the line should keep at some little distance from the edge of the bank, as it is likely to give way under their weight, and precipitate them into the river. Several men lost their lives in Fraser River, in the early days of the gold discovery, by neglecting this precaution.

In crossing from one bank of a river to the other above a rapid, be careful to ascend the river for a considerable distance before attempting to do so; and then make the crew paddle as hard as they can, keeping the head of the canoe, if anything, rather down the stream, as in the case of a rapid river you would only lose ground by trying to fight against it.

In descending a river, the traveller should keep a look-out ahead for snags and places where the river is narrowed in between hills, as in such places there is nearly sure to be a rapid which may be so bad as to render navigation impossible. In all cases before descending an unknown rapid, he should land and inspect it throughout its entire length before attempting to run it in the canoe. When descending a rapid, care must be taken to keep steerage way on the canoe, as this will be needed to avoid rocks, or whirlpools. These latter are very serious dangers, as they generally do not remain fixed in one spot, but move about within a certain distance of a centre. There are, however, in most cases, short intervals when they break up, and that is the time to make a dash past them. To attempt this when they are in full swing could only end in the loss of the canoe and its occupants.

Boating.

When a traveller has to proceed for some distance overland before reaching a river or lake he purposes to navigate, he must of necessity provide himself with a boat constructed in such a manner as to be easily transported, either by being built in sections, that can be put together and taken to pieces at pleasure, or by taking one of the collapsible boats, such as Berthon’s. If the former, he cannot do better than to have one built of Spanish cedar, on the same plan as that which was constructed for Sir H. M. Stanley, by Mr. James Messenger, of Teddington, with such modifications as may be necessary, when the means of transport, and the nature of his journey, have been duly considered. Collapsible boats, though very useful for ferrying across lakes or rivers, cannot, where a boat of other construction is available, be recommended for a continued exploration.

If the exploration is to be commenced at the mouth of the river, a whale-boat will be found to be the best form of boat for the following reasons. Being steered by an oar, it is more easily handled in surf or a rapid; it is generally faster than boats of the same size of ordinary build; it will carry a good cargo, sail well off the wind, and is the best boat built for crossing the bars of rivers, or landing through a surf. Such a boat can generally be purchased at foreign ports, with oars and sail, and should be well overhauled before starting.

Boat-sailing cannot be taught by any book, and certainly not by a few short notes of this description. The traveller, therefore, who intends using a boat for exploration, should gather some experience before starting, which can be done at any fishing village on the coast. This will be the more necessary if he intends to use his boat on a lake, or for sailing along the coast, from the mouth of one river to another, and the following hints may, it is hoped, be useful to those who have had but small experience in boat-sailing.

When under sail, never, under any circumstances, allow the sheet to be made fast; a turn should be taken round a cleat, and it should be held by one of the crew ready to let go at any moment. Do not let the crew stand up, or sit on the gunwale. When about to round-to, remember that you cannot carry the same canvas on a wind that you can before it. If caught in a squall, put down the helm at once, ease the sheet, and if the squall is a bad one, lower the sail while it is still shaking. When approaching a danger, such as a rock, do not stand on if you are in doubt about weathering it, but go about in time, and have an oar ready to help the boat round if she appears likely to miss stays. Never carry too much sail, as there is considerable danger in doing so, and a boat will often sail faster with a reef taken in, than she will when unduly pressed. If necessary to take in a reef when sailing on a wind, do not luff, but check the sheet, lower the sail sufficiently to shift the tack, gather the sheet aft so that the men may take in the reef without leaning over the gunwale, shift the sheet, hoist the sail, while the sheet is slack, and do not haul the sheet aft until the men are again in their places.

Rowing.—This can only be acquired by practice, and though the traveller will seldom be called on to take an oar himself, circumstances may arise when he may have to do so, and we would, therefore, advise him to learn how to handle an oar before leaving England. Under ordinary circumstances, rowing on a river is sufficiently simple, and calls for no special instructions. The case, however, is very different when a river bar has to be crossed, or a landing made on a beach where a surf is breaking, and in either case it will be well to remember the following hints. On approaching the shore, a surf when seen from seaward never looks so bad as it really is. Where possible, a landing should not be attempted until opposite a village where the natives will be ready to assist the moment the boat touches the beach. When the surf is heavy, the boat should be backed in, pulling a few strokes to meet each heavy sea, and then backing in again until the shore is reached. The great thing to avoid is, letting the boat get broadside to the sea, as she will then capsize; a steer-oar should always be used, as a rudder is of little use in a surf, when backing in.

In crossing a bar, if there is a good, strong, fair wind, it will generally be best to cross under sail; but if the wind is light or variable, this should never be attempted. When rowing, the crew should be cautioned to keep their oars out of the water when the sea breaks round the boat, and to commence rowing again as quickly as possible afterwards. As even in the most experienced hands a boat will often be swamped on a bad bar, it will be well, before attempting to cross it, to prepare for a swim by removing all superfluous clothing, and see that everything that will float in the boat should be left free to float, while things that will sink, such as fire-arms, &c., should be securely fastened to the thwarts.

The remarks given on canoeing with regard to loading, to ascending and descending rapid rivers, are equally applicable to boating under similar circumstances, with the following exceptions. In towing, a short mast should be used to which the line is made fast; this is stepped in the same place as the mast, and should be stayed, so as to resist the strain of the tow-line. Paddles will often be found useful in reedy rivers where the oars get entangled. As a whale-boat empty will weigh about five hundredweight, more care must be taken at portages than in the case of a canoe, which can be lifted bodily over obstacles. The stems of small trees, or the oars should be laid down under the boat, and, where possible, sharp rocks must be avoided or moved out of the way. In a rapid, two men should be in the bow with poles ready to fend off from rocks, and the most experienced man of the crew should be in the stern with the steer-oar.

Although in the foregoing remarks special reference has been made to whale-boats, the hints given are equally applicable to boats of other construction, which should, however, for river work, crossing a bar, or landing through a surf, be fitted with a steer-oar in addition to the rudder. Awnings should be taken, but in rapid rivers, and when under sail, they cannot be used.