Fig. 104. Stern Post of the Canoe.
Immediately after Mr. Schreiner’s departure we started work on the canoe. A strip of spruce 1 inch thick, 3 inches wide and 12 feet long served as the keelson. At the stern a post 1-1/2 inches thick, 3 inches wide and 13 inches high was secured to the keelson with brass screws. This was braced as indicated in Fig. 104. At the bow a stem piece was attached to the keelson. This stem was cut to a somewhat semicircular form, as shown in Fig. 105. The outer edge was tapered with a
Fig. 105. Stern of the Canoe. draw-knife to a thickness of 1/4 inch and a brace was nailed to the inner edge. Our next work was to cut out three forms, one of the shape shown in Fig. 106 and two like that shown in Fig. 107. The first form was set up on the keelson midway between the stem and stern, and the other two were spaced about four feet each side of the center form. The center form was used only for shaping the
Fig. 106. Center Form. frame of the boat, and was not intended to be permanently affixed to the canoe. Therefore, we fastened it to the keelson very lightly, so that it could be readily removed. The other two forms, however, were made permanent parts of the frame, serving as bulkheads. The gunwales were now secured
Fig. 107. Bulkheads. in position. These were of spruce 3/4 inch thick and 2 inches wide. The ends were beveled off so as to neatly fit the stem piece and the stern post, to which they were fastened by brass screws. Then we applied the longitudinal strips, or rib bands, which were of 1/4-inch thick spruce 1 inch wide. Ten of these bands were used, equally spaced apart on the