The builder is cautioned not to destroy the appearance of his boat by making the mast too large. After the mast has been nicely sandpapered, a little wire frame is bent to shape and fastened to the top, as shown in [Fig. 87]. The little wire railing that is placed in front of the mast is then bent to shape, and this and the mast are put in their permanent position. The mast can be held to the deck by boring a hole a little under size and smearing the bottom of the mast with a little glue before it is forced in. Pieces of black thread are run from the top of the mast to the railing at the bottom, as shown. These threads are used to hoist signal flags. Two little angle-pieces are placed on the forward deck, one on each side of the pilot-house. These are for the harbor lights. One should be painted green and one red.
This finishes the forward cabin. It should be placed in the center of the deck and the position it occupies should be marked out with a pencil. This portion of the deck should be carefully cut out with a coping-saw. The cabin is then forced into the opening. The fit should be fairly tight, so that it will not be necessary to employ nails or glue, as this is the only way in which the interior of the hull is made accessible.
Two ventilators are placed just back of the forward cabin. Between the forward cabin and the cabin aft there is placed a rapid-fire gun. The details of this gun are given in [Fig. 94]. The barrel of the gun is made of a piece of brass rod. A hole is drilled through this rod with a small drill and a piece of copper wire is inserted. A square piece of brass for the breech is then drilled out to receive the barrel. One end of the barrel is placed in this hole and held with a drop of solder. A drop of solder should also be used on the copper wire that runs through the barrel. The bearing and shield of the gun are made from thin sheet brass, as illustrated. Three holes are drilled in the bearing bracket, two through which the wire passes and one through which the small nail is placed to hold the bearing to the wooden standard. The shield is forced over the barrel and held in place with a drop of solder. When the barrel is mounted in the bearing, a drop of solder should be put in place to prevent the barrel of the gun from tipping.
The cabin which is placed aft on the boat, is of very simple construction. It is made up entirely of cigar-box wood tacked together, and the top should overlap 1/4 inch. The cabin is then tacked to the deck of the boat. The mast should be only three-fourths as high as the forward mast, and a tiny hole is drilled near the top. Into this hole a small piece of soft wire is placed, and from this wire a thread runs to the cabin. A small flag can then be placed on the thread, as illustrated in [Fig. 86].
Six port-holes are now bored in each side of the hull with a 1/2-inch bit. These can be backed up with mica or celluloid. Five smaller port-holes made with a 1/4-inch drill are then bored in each side of the forward cabin. Three are placed in the aft cabin.
With the exception of painting, the hull is now ready to be launched. Before finally applying the paint the hull should be given a thorough rubbing with sandpaper. A battleship gray with maroon trimmings makes a pleasing color combination for this boat.