The tillers are of hard-wood three feet long and their inner ends are connected with a hard-wood stick by means of which the steering is done and both rudders operated at the same time.
The rudders, made from two sheets of galvanized iron, are riveted fast to the rudder-posts and are twelve inches high and fifteen inches long. Pins on the posts fit into eyes attached to the stern-post of the boats, and in Fig. 10 the arrangement of rudders, tillers, and connecting-rod is shown.
The main-sail is of twilled cotton that can be had at a dry-goods store for about ten cents a yard, and a rib should be sewed through the middle of each breadth to strengthen the cloth. The sail is nine feet and six inches on the mast, six feet on the gaff, thirteen feet on the boom, and fifteen feet on the leach. The jib, also of twilled cotton, is eleven feet and six inches on the forestay, eight feet across the foot, and eight feet and six inches on the leach. The blocks can be of galvanized iron but patent sheave-wood blocks are preferable.
For the halyards Manila-rope three-eighths of an inch in diameter will be the right size, and a half-inch anchor-rope will be stout enough, since a catamaran does not tug as heavily on an anchor as does a boat.
The wood-work of the boat and deck should be painted and the spars varnished. A pretty effect will be to paint the boat a rich olive green, with buff decks, and all the cross-pieces and deck planking in ivory white.
The ordinary sailing rules will apply to the handling of a catamaran. With these wedge-shaped boats you can sail quite close to the wind, but if round-bottomed and shallower boats are used they will have to be provided with centre-boards.
A Side-wheel Catamaran
The rowing catamaran can easily be converted into a side-wheel boat by removing the middle slat of the deck and making an opening through which a chain will lead to a cog or sprocket wheel on an axle.
At the outer side of each boat, between the middle and rear cross-braces, fasten two pieces of wood two inches wide and three inches high. Six or eight inches from the rear end make two U-cuts for a five-eighth-inch axle to fit into. At a blacksmith’s obtain two old carriage or buggy wheels, and cut the spokes so that they will be fourteen inches long from the hub. Dress one side of each spoke flat, so that a paddle may be attached to it with screws. The paddles are of hard-wood, eight inches wide at the outer end, six at the inner end, and six inches deep.
Have a blacksmith heat the ends of an axle and pound them square, then slip one hub over the iron, and with hard-wood wedges make it fast. The other wheel can be slipped on when the axle is in place and attached in a similar manner. It would be best to remove the old iron boxes from the hubs, so that a few screws can be driven through the hub and into the wedges to help in holding them securely in place.