The keel of the frame is made from a thin piece of hard-wood that will spring and keep its shape, such as hickory, oak, or birch; and after soaking it in boiling hot water for a few minutes lash it fast to the bottom of the mast and draw up the ends with the strings C, C (Fig. 2), and carry the ends up over two yard-arms so the pressure of the keel will not draw the lower yard-arm out of shape. The sticks should be of good clear and tough white or North Carolina pine, spruce, or white-wood, three-eighths of an inch square for the mast and the same size but tapered at the ends for the yard-arms. Use strong cotton or linen twine for the connections between spars and mast and draw them taut but not so tight that they would spring the sticks out of shape.
From the ends of each yard-arm strings D D D are stretched and tied to the mast so as to make an opening at the bottom of each sail. In kite-making it is found a much better plan to have a number of planes against which the wind can act instead of one large one that is often unwieldy and difficult to handle.
This frame should be covered with thin paper muslin, sewed all around the edges over the string-ribs and to the frame-sticks with strong cotton thread. Do not have too much muslin overlap the edges, and after going around the edges twice with the needle and fine cotton thread it would be well to cut away all the unnecessary material as it only adds weight with no benefit to the kite. Do not use paste or glue to fasten the fabric covering on a frame; it only adds weight and does not stick well.
Arrange the yoke as shown in the illustration of the ship kite (Fig. 1), and to balance it make two funnel-drags or wind-anchors from thin wire or wood hoops, nine inches in diameter, the funnel proper being of paper muslin twelve inches deep. Use hickory or green birch for the hoops and lap the ends for three inches; then bind them together with strong linen thread.
Make the funnel-shaped bag of paper muslin and drop the hoop into it, taking care to get an equal space all around from point of cone to edge of hoop. Then sew the bag fast to the hoop and cut away all surplus material. The yoke is made of two strong, thin cross-wires or strings and the drop-string is fastened where they cross, as may be seen in Fig. 1.
The Chinese-junk Kite
The Chinese-junk kite (Fig. 3), is made in a similar manner to the ship kite, but there are two masts, as the kite is broader and larger; consequently the frame should be braced so that it will not rack in a strong breeze.
The masts are forty-two inches high, the lowest yard-arm thirty-six inches long, and the top one thirty inches in length. The bottom of the hull is made from a piece of green hickory or birch sprung into place and lashed fast with linen line. There are three inches of space between the hull and lower sail and from two to three inches of space between the other sails.
