Fig. 7.
The constructor, however, found that the boat leaked, and he then covered it with unbleached muslin strained outside over the paper, tacked along the gunwales, and sewn at the ends; it was then tightened by shrinking, and received three coats of a mixture of varnish and paint; this appears to have stopped the leaking entirely, and the owner then enjoyed a great deal of cruising and paddling in his paper boat.
After using it some time he discarded the ‘paddle proper,’ and fitted a pair of iron rowlocks sufficiently long to be secured to the bottom board and the gunwales, and used a pair of short sculls.
II.—Paper and other Typical Canoes.
It must entirely depend on the surroundings of the maker as to what materials he had best use. If a lad has the ability to build a canoe at all, he must be the best judge of the easiest way for him to set about it, and it is impossible to lay down hard-and-fast rules as to what he shall use in its construction. All he requires is the general idea which is given here, and where a lad with every convenience and a long purse will use the best materials another, under different circumstances and perhaps far away from opportunities of getting the most suitable timber, etc., for his purpose, will have to exercise his ingenuity and bring into use those materials he is limited to. So, perhaps, in some instances where thick and good canvas cannot be got, a serviceable boat can be made of a thinner and cheaper material, such as unbleached calico put on over a skin of old newspapers pasted together to form a backing; and such a covering thoroughly varnished with several coats, or if that is too costly well painted inside and outside with a mixture of tar and pitch boiled together, half and half, would give a great deal of amusement to its owner, and cost a mere trifle. Of course, it would not look so well. The best backing to use under thin canvas or calico would be good paper, prepared in this way:—take a large sheet of good strong paper, brown preferably, and cover it with a coating of marine glue; place another piece of paper over it to cover the glue, and take a flat-iron, warm, but not too hot; thoroughly iron the top paper till the glue comes out through the pores of the paper; the two sheets will then be firmly held together by the waterproof glue, and any size can be prepared in this way, making a first-class stiffening inside skin, which can be covered outside with thin calico, painted and varnished.
The paddles used with these canoes are single-bladed. The stern paddle, which is used to steer as well as propel the canoe, is considerably larger than the bow paddle. The lengths of the paddles are—stern, five feet; bow, four feet; breadth of blade at broadest part—stern, six inches; bow, five inches; length of blade of paddle, two feet. The handle may be about three-quarters of an inch to one inch in diameter, but much thicker at the extreme end, where some of the paddles now used are shaped like [Fig. 8].
Fig. 8.
The paddle is used as follows. You will readily understand that a stroke of a paddle used only on one side would cause the boat or canoe so propelled to turn its bow in the opposite direction; to meet this, before the paddle is withdrawn from the water, it must be slightly feathered and the handle brought inwards, the middle of the paddle resting on the gunwale of the canoe, the blade thus bringing the bow round and steering the canoe in a straight course. The pressure used must be merely adequate to bring the canoe straight, and will depend on the amount of sheer she has taken. If this is properly done, which requires some practice, it will not at all interfere with the forward propulsion of the canoe. The handle of the paddle is left rather wide at the end to allow of an easy grasp, and the other hand holds the paddle not quite half way down.
In stalking game the Indians never withdraw the paddle from the water at all, but feather under water without making the slightest noise and scarcely causing a ripple.