At tea time George felt it difficult to keep reasonably quiet, he was so enthusiastic about the boat—much to the amusement of his father, who knew exactly how the boy felt.
Fig. 24. Stem of launch
After tea, all walked to the boat house, and the father assisted Fred to set up the keel, which was in two pieces, halved together midway and well fastened with screws. The joint was painted with a heavy coat of white lead and linseed oil paint, before being put together and screwed up. The keel is the lowest timber in a boat or ship, and it runs nearly the length of the craft. Sometimes there is a keelson placed on the top of the keel, and the ribs of the boat, or stanchions, are made fast to that timber, as shown in the illustration, ([Fig. 24],) in which the gains for the ribs or moulds are made. This portion of the boat was put together temporarily, so Fred had no difficulty in assembling the various pieces. The stem, keel, keelson, and deadwood were all made of oak, and looked strong. The keel and keelson were properly laid and adjusted, and after some explanations by Mr. Gregg the manner of setting up the ribs was thoroughly understood. Fred decided to telephone Walter Scott to come down next day, as it was Saturday, and help him to set up the skeleton.
As the weather was getting warm, the whole family spent the evening on the veranda and George introduced the question of naming the boat. He suggested Red Bird, but this did not seem to take well, and several others were proposed but none seemed to suit everybody. Jessie sat quietly on the steps till asked by Fred what her choice would be.
"I would like it called after mamma, Caroline."
"That's a good idea, Jessie," said her father, "and if the boys or your mother don't object, I think we'll settle on Caroline."
Early next morning the boys were out watching for The Mocking-Bird, which very soon made its appearance. Fred and Walter tied the boat up to the new dock and went into the boat house, where the latter began to examine the boat stuff, and to explain the manner of setting it up and fastening it in place.
Nick, who was on hand to help, did the heavy work, and helped to put up the stanchions. Walter seemed quite familiar with the work, and he and Fred soon had the boat so well in hand that it seemed to grow under their fingers. The ribs were easily selected, as they were tied together in pairs and numbered. They were then set in their places according to their numbers and were fastened to the keelson with the strong copper nails. All the nails required for the boat were of copper, because that metal is less likely to corrode than iron or steel.