Boat-Building and Boating

by Daniel Carter Beard

A More Simple Set of Plans

Here the cabin is built on top of the upper deck, and there are no bottom-ribs, the uprights being held in place by blocks nailed to the bottom of the boat, and by the deck of the boat. This is secure enough for well-protected waters, small lakes, and small streams. Upon the inland streams of New York State I have seen two-story house-boats, the cabin, or house, being only a framework covered with canvas. One such craft I saw in central New York, drifting downstream over a shallow riff, and as it bumped along over the stones it presented a strange sight. The night was intensely dark, and the boat brightly lighted. The lights shone through the canvas covering, and this big, luminous house went bobbing over the shallow water, while shouts of laughter and the "plinky-plunk" of a banjo told in an unmistakable manner of the jolly time the crew were having.

Canvas-Cabined House-Boat

If you take an ordinary open scow and erect a frame of uprights and cross-pieces, and cover it with canvas, you will have just such a boat as the one seen in central New York. This boat may be propelled by oars, the rowers sitting under cover, and the canvas being lifted at the sides to allow the sweeps to work; but of course it will not be as snug as the well-made American boy's house-boat, neither can it stand the same amount of rough usage, wind, and rain as the latter boat.

In the frontispiece the reader will notice a stove-pipe at the stern; there is room for a small stove back of the cabin, and in fair weather it is much better to cook outside than inside the cabin. When you tie up to the shore for any length of time, a rude shelter of boughs and bark will make a good kitchen on the land, in which the stove may be placed, and you will enjoy all the fun of a camp, with the advantage of a snug house to sleep in.

For the benefit of boys who doubt their ability to build a boat of this description, it may be well to state that other lads have used these directions and plans with successful results, and their boats now gracefully float on many waters, a source of satisfaction and pride to their owners.

Information for Old Boys

On all the Western rivers small flat-boats or scows are to be had at prices which vary in accordance with the mercantile instincts of the purchaser, and with the desire of the seller to dispose of his craft. Such boats are propelled by "sweeps," a name used to designate the long poles with boards on their outer edges that serve as blades and form the oars. These boats are often supplied with a deck-house, extending almost from end to end, and if such a house is lacking one may be built with little expense. The cabin may be divided into rooms and the sleeping apartments supplied with cheaply made bunks. It is not the material of the bunk which makes it comfortable—it is the mattress in the bunk upon which your comfort will depend. The kitchen and dining-room may be all in one. An awning spread over the roof will make a delightful place in which to lounge and catch the river breezes.

The Cost of House-Boats

The cost of a ready-made flat-bottomed house-boat is anywhere from thirty dollars to one or more thousands. In Florida such a boat, 40 by 20 feet, built for the quiet waters of the St. John's River or its tributaries, or the placid lagoons, will cost eight hundred dollars. This boat is well painted outside and rubbed down to a fine oil finish inside; it has one deck, and the hull is used for toilet apartments and state-rooms; the hull is well calked and all is in good trim. Such expense is, however, altogether unnecessary—there need be no paint or polish. All you need is a well-calked hull and a water-tight roof of boards or canvas overhead; cots or bunks to sleep in; chairs, stools, boxes or benches to sit on; hammocks to loll in, and a good supply of provisions in the larder.