Fig. 117. The Mast Step.
Our boat was fitted with two masts, a mainmast and a mizzen or dandy mast. The former was 6 feet long and the latter 4 feet long, and each measured 1-1/2 inches in diameter at the base, tapering to about 1 inch diameter at the upper end. They were held in brass bands, or clamps, bent around them and secured to the bulkheads, as shown in Fig. 117. The sails were of the lanteen type.
Fig. 118. The Mainsail. The mainsail measured 8-1/2 feet along the boom, 9-1/2 feet along the yard and 10 feet at the leach. The dimensions of the mizzen sail were: along the boom, 5 feet; along the yard, 5-1/2 feet; and at the leach, 6 feet. The boom was attached to a strap of leather on the mast, and was thus given freedom to swing around in any desired position. The yard was similarly attached, and was raised
Fig. 119. The Mizzen Sail. by a cord, which passed through pulleys at the top and at the base of the mast and extended to a cleat within easy reach of the occupant of the boat. A double paddle was fashioned from a board 1 inch thick, 6 inches wide and 6 feet long. The blades were shaved down to a thickness of 3/8 of an inch at the edges.
It will be observed that we used no iron in the construction of this boat. Uncle Ed has warned us not to, because iron rusts out so easily and is apt to damage both the canvas and the wood with which it is in contact.
A canoe is rather a tipsy thing to sail in, as we soon learned, and it was lucky that we could all swim, else our vacation
