Two bunks may be built in on each side, one above the other, and four wire springs may be arranged to rest on battens driven across the bunks at the head and foot. A small hatch should be cut in the rear deck and another one through the cabin floor so that a few things may be stored in the hold. The aft hatch should be provided with a suction-pump so that any water that leaks in can be readily pumped out.
Rings, cleats, and ropes should be provided for the punt, and two anchors would be better than one, especially when near the shore or in shallow water, to hold the punt from swinging, which it is sure to do if there is any wind or waves. Always anchor it so that the wind is blowing on one end and not broadside as it is a strain on the anchors and ropes to hold a boat broadside on.
By erecting a spar fifteen or twenty feet high and four or five inches in diameter, a square-sail can be rigged on yard-arms so that the house-punt can be sailed before the wind. A long oar will be necessary to steer with, or a portable rudder may be made and hung to the stern with pins and ropes.
A house-punt of this description will be a very great source of enjoyment to several boys in the summer-time, and in the winter when not in use the punt can be hauled out on shore, the windows boarded up, and old canvas drawn over the decks to protect them from the sun.
A House-raft
Almost any boy can build a fairly good boat, even if it is a flat-bottomed sharpy. But to build a raft of the proper size, and on it a house that may be comfortably occupied, will require the aid of a good carpenter who understands construction, and under whose direction several boys can work to good advantage.
For a party of four or five young fellows, a very convenient and commodious house-raft at anchor is shown in Fig. 8. The raft is about thirty-eight feet long and twelve feet wide, while the house is twenty-three feet long and twelve feet wide by nine feet high from raft deck to top of house.
These dimensions will, if necessary, permit the raft to be taken through any canal, and without mast and deck-rails it will pass under the road bridges that span the canals.
If the house-raft is to be used on canals only, it will be better not to have the mast, and the deck-rail may be arranged so that it can be removed quickly before passing under a low bridge.
The mast is for use on lakes, bays, or rivers only, where a large square-sail can be hoisted on a yard-arm, and by means of which the raft may be made to sail before the wind slowly, so that its position may be changed from time to time.