How To Make A Paper Boat
A Light Boat That Can Be Easily Carried
The Paper Boat Is Light and Easy to Propel
Detail of Framework Construction
Now you might think it absurd to advise making a paper boat, but it is not, and you will find it in some respects and for some purposes better than the wooden boat. When it is completed you will have a canoe, probably equal to the Indian's bark canoe. Not only will it serve as an ideal fishing boat, but when you want to combine hunting and fishing you can put your boat on your shoulders and carry it from place to place wherever you want to go and at the same time carry your gun in your hand. The material used in its construction is inexpensive and can be purchased for a few dollars.
Make a frame (Fig. 1) on which to stretch the paper. A board 1 in. thick and about 1 ft. wide and 11-1/2 ft. long is used for a keel, or backbone, and is cut tapering for about a third of its length, toward each end, and beveled on the outer edges (A, Fig. 2). The cross-boards (B, B, Fig. 2) are next sawed from a pine board 1 in. thick. Shape these as shown by A, Fig. 4, 13 in. wide by 26 in. long, and cut away in the center to avoid useless weight. Fasten them cross-wise to the bottom board as shown in Fig. 1 and 2, with long stout screws, so as to divide the keel into three nearly equal parts. Then add the stem and stern pieces (C, C, Fig. 2). These are better, probably, when made of green elm. Screw the pieces to the bottom-board and bend them, as shown in Fig. 2, by means of a string or wire, fastened to a nail driven into the bottom. Any tough, light wood that is not easily broken when bending will do. Green wood is preferable, because it will retain the shape in which it has been bent better after drying. For the gunwales (a, a, Fig. 3), procure at a carriage factory, or other place, some tight strips of ash, 3/8 in. thick.
