A short piece of tube, C, is now fitted to a flat brass plate, D. The plate is mounted at an angle to the tube, so that when it is in place on the stern of the boat the propeller-shaft will be in line with the crankshaft of the engine.
A clearance hole is now drilled through the hull, so that the propeller-shaft can be put in place. Solder the tube to the plate, and punch four small holes in the plate, so that it can be screwed firmly to the hull. Solder a short piece of tube, as shown at B, [Fig. 82], to keep the propeller-shaft in position.
The propeller must now be made. This is easily done by cutting out a disk of brass 11/2 inches in diameter, as shown in [Fig. 83]. The shaded portions of the brass disk are cut away. The blades are bent to shape, care being taken to see that they are all alike. This done, the propeller is soldered to the propeller-shaft.
The only part of the job that remains is to screw the boiler in place under the fore-deck of the boat. This done, the Nancy Lee is ready for her trial. The fore-deck should be made removable by fitting it with pins or screws with the heads cut off, so that the deck only needs pushing into place. This little boat should be capable of attaining a speed of from four to five miles an hour if it is made carefully and according to the directions outlined in this Chapter.
CHAPTER VII
AN ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN LAKE FREIGHTER
A PROTOTYPE of the model lake freighter described in this Chapter will probably be familiar to many readers. It is a type of boat used on the Great Lakes, and, owing to its peculiarity of design, it lends itself very well to construction in model form.
The lines of the boat may be seen very clearly in [Fig. 84].