Then, having propped the barrels to keep them in place, we lifted this hollow rectangle onto them so that it rested on their sides as in Fig. 15. Cutting the four-foot joists into four one-foot pieces, we utilized them as corner braces.
Next we fastened the barrels to the frame, and, after painting them with a coat of thick paint to fill the cracks, we launched the craft. Then we covered the frame with the boards, laying them crosswise. A ring-bolt in each corner and a roller in the middle, and an old hose-pipe tacked around the edges, completed the float as shown in Fig. 16.
This we found was a most excellent float, and, above all, it was light, could be hauled out on the bank easily, or stored during the winter.
As it rose and fell with the tide there was no trouble in launching the boats at any time, whereas with a dock the pleasures of launching at low-water are too well known to be described.
Below is a table of expenditures:
| Barrels, at 25 cents each | $1.00 |
| Joists, at $20 per M | .55 |
| Boards, at 30 per M | 3.00 |
| Nails, at 4 cents a pound | .20 |
| Paint, at 20 cents a can | .20 |
| Rings, at 20 cents each | .80 |
| ——— | |
| Total $5.75 |
While the prices of these articles, particularly the lumber, have risen somewhat, the cost of this float will remain extremely small.
Chapter XVII
MARLINE-SPIKE SEAMANSHIP
Ropes may be joined to one another either by knotting or by splicing. If the rope belongs to the running rigging (such as halyards, sheets, etc.) of the vessel, it will be necessary to put a splice in it, as a knot would refuse to render (pass) through the swallow (opening) in the block. There are three kinds of splices in general use—namely, the long, the short, and the eye-splice. When joining running rigging a long splice is always employed, as it does not increase the diameter of the rope, and when neatly made cannot easily be detected. The short splice is very bulging, but it can be made quickly and is employed in all cases where the rope does not pass through blocks. The eye-splice is used for making a permanent loop in the end of a rope, such, for instance, as is seen in the hawsers by which steamboats are temporarily made fast to a dock, the loop or eye being thrown over the spile on the pier. Let us first consider the making of the latter splice.