“Peterson,” said John, “can calk and rig her, and father and Ben can make the sails.”
“The next question,” said Charlie, “is, What kind of a vessel do you want?”
“I want her built to lug a load and to steer well. Speed is no object to what the carrying part is. The voyages will be short, and wages and provisions are not high in comparison with the value of cargoes. I don’t want one cent laid out for looks. We must go on the principle of the man who goes on to new land. He lives in a log cabin, built as cheap as possible, because he expects to have a better one.”
“But you wouldn’t have her look too bad,” said Charlie.
“That’s just the way I want her to look. All I’m afraid of is, you can’t make her look bad enough. I want a sloop, with good spars, rigging, cables, and anchors.”
“What makes you want a sloop?”
“Because she is cheaper rigged and handled.”
“How large?”
“Two hundred tons.”
At this all the boys expressed their astonishment.