CYPRESS:
Two pieces 3/4 in. x 18 in. x 14 ft.
Two pieces 7/8 in. x 2 in. x 14 ft.
Two pieces 7/8 in. x 7/8 in. x 14 ft.
One piece 1 7/8 in. x 9 in. 12 ft.
One piece 7/8 in. x 1 ft. 3 in. x 8 ft.
One piece 7/8 in. x 3 in. x 12 ft.
One piece 7/8 in. x 2 in. x 1 ft. 9 in.
Four pieces 7/8 in. x 3 in. x 18 ft.
OAK:
One piece 6 in. x 5 in. x 12 in.
Two pieces 7/8 in. x 7/8 in. x 14 ft.
One piece 7/8 in. x 13 in. x 2 ft. 7 in.
Two pieces 1/4 in. x 6 in. x 11 ft.
One piece 1/4 in. x 3 1/2 in. x 3 ft. 9 in.
One piece 1 in. x 4 in. x 4 ft.
GEORGIA PINE:
One piece 7/8 in. x 6 in. x 14 ft.
One piece 1 in. x 7 in. x 7 ft.
One piece 7/8 in. x 6 in. x 3 ft.
WHITE PINE:
Five pieces 7/8 in. x 6 in. x 16 ft.
THE most important part of a
flat-bottomed boat is the stem. This should be of good white
oak. You can make it yourself, or have it cut out at a saw
mill, which is easier. Next, get out the two sideboards. They
should be of number one cypress, without knots or sap streaks,
three-quarter-inch thick. Lay out the dimensions as shown on
the plans, then saw and plane to the desired shape.
When these are done, make the molds.
As they are not permanent, they can be made of old material.
Be sure to leave a notch in each lower corner, or else the
stringer cannot be fitted. Then make the transom, or stern
board. This should be of oak.
When ready to set up, nail each
sideboard to the stem with a double row of nails. Hold the
mold A five feet from the end of the stem, bend the
side boards around it, and fasten securely. Then hold mold B
three feet from mold A and fasten as before. Be sure to
have each mold at right angles to the center line of the boat.
To fasten the sides to mold C and to the transom it
will be necessary to fasten heavy rope around the sides, and
twist it with a board in the manner shown in Fig. 2.
This will bring it together, and you can fasten to mold C
and the transom. Never drive a nail without first boring a
hole for it with a bradawl. For all permanent nailing use
galvanized iron boat nails. These are square cut nails.
Along the bottom of each side put in a
cypress stringer seven-eighths inch thick and two inches wide,
extending the full length of the boat. It will be necessary to
make a few saw cuts near the stern where it bends sharply up.
The ribs are oak, 7/8" x
7/8" and should be screwed in.
To put on the flooring, turn the boat
upside down, off the sideboards and stringer so they will be
flat across. Lay several strands of cotton wicking along the
edge, and nail the floor boards to both sideboards and
stringers. The floor boards should be white pine, as clear
from knots and sap streaks as possible. Cypress can be used,
but it is not so good. Make as tight a joint between the
boards as possible, as there is to be no caulking.
Fasten a strip of Georgia pine
7/8" x 6" along the outside bottom from stem to
stern for a keel shoe. Be sure to get Georgia pine, and not
North Carolina pine. Nail with long boat nails clinched on the
inside.
Turn the boat over, and put in the
seats where shown on plans one and one-half inches from the
top. They should be cypress 1 5/8" x 9".
Now the molds can be taken out. When
this is done, put in a 7/8" x 7/8" cypress rib, and
just below the seats, extending from stem to stern.
Cut a centerboard slot where shown,
two inches wide. Put a post at each end extending from the
bottom of the slot as shown in Fig. 3, and nail firmly to both
floor and keel shoe. The sides of the
centerboard trunk should
be in one piece, cypress, seven-eighths-inch thick. Before
nailing them on lay two or three strands of cotton wicking
where they will join the floor. Put a molding along the corner
where the centerboard trunk meets the floor. It would be well
to put cotton wicking underneath this, too, as the centerboard
trunk is a fruitful place for leaks. The top of the
centerboard trunk should be oak one-quarter inch thick.
Put in deck beams, as shown in Fig.
2.
Curve them up about two inches in the center. For the side
deck, make deck knees like those in Fig. 2, and put one at
each seat and one between. Before putting on the deck lay
several strands of cotton wicking along the top of the
sideboards and nail the deck firmly to the sideboards. The
deck should be cypress in strips, 7/8" x 3".
When the deck is laid, smooth the
inside of the cockpit ready for the combing. The combing
should be one-quarter-inch oak. Bring it to a point in bow,
and finish in the stern as shown on drawings.
Then prepare to lay the canvas deck.
Paint the deck with a heavy coat of white paint. Paint the
underside of canvas the same way, and lay while paint is wet.
Bring the edges over onto the sides, and nail to side boards
with galvanized or copper tacks, placed close together. Nail
inside edge to combing. Where edges of cloth meet on the deck,
overlap, and paint thickly underneath. Do not tack to deck.
Screw a two-inch half-round fender rail over joint between
deck and side boards. Nail a half-inch quarter-round molding
in corner between deck and combing, as shown in Fig. 3. Screw
to combing four oarlock blocks, as shown in Fig. 3. They
should be strengthened with brass angle irons.
For a rudder pipe use a one-inch
inside diameter brass pipe. Thread each end, and screw a nut
on. Before putting in, line the holes with white lead.
Make the rudder of seven-eighth-inch
Georgia pine. For a rudder post use a one-inch diameter brass
rod. Square upper end to fit tiller socket. Split the other
end and straddle it over rudder. Rivet it with copper rivets.
Bore two holes near the top and get a brass pin to fit the
holes. This is to hold the rudder in. Make the tiller out of
oak. A brass tiller socket such as shown in Fig. 3 can be
bought for it. The centerboard should be Georgia pine one inch
thick. Make it out of two pieces dowelled together, as shown
in Fig. 3. Use brass rods for dowels, and be sure to bore the
holes for them straight and of the same diameter as the rods.
Make a five-inch slot in one corner to permit the centerboard
being dropped as low as possible. Fasten centerboard in with
an oak pin. Fasten a brass rod to top to raise and lower it.
Make a mast hole in foremost thwart,
or in forward deck. Line it with leather. Place an oak mast
step on the floor directly beneath it. Make a locker at each
end of boat, using beaded cypress.
Paint the whole boat with three coats
of good paint. Paint the centerboard and centerboard trunk
before putting them together. Use deck paint for the deck. All
varnished work should be varnished with good spar varnish. Do
not try to economize by using cheap varnish. It won't pay.
Obtain a mast. For the boom and
sprite, get 2" x 2" spruce. It will be easier to
round it if you get the corners cut off at the saw-mill.
The easiest way to get a sail is to
have it made at the sailmaker's. When giving him the
dimensions, if you are having the spritsail made, be sure to
give him the corner-to-corner dimension. If you are making it
yourself, overlap each piece of cloth about an inch and sew
with a
double row of stitches. Sew a light rope around the
edge, leaving a loop at the outside corner, as in drawing.
To fasten on the leg-of-mutton sail,
lash it firmly to the mast hoops. Run the hilliard from the
top of the sail, through a pulley at the top of the mast, and
belay-that is, fasten-on a cleat near the bottom of the mast.
To set the sail, insert small end of the boom into loop on
corner of sail, and stretch sail as flat as possible. Fasten a
rope, having a loop in one end, to the mast with a double
half-hitch. Run free end of rope through slot in end of boom,
through loop in other end, and fasten to boom with double
half-hitch, as shown in Fig. 4.
If using the spritsail rig, lash the
sail permanently to the mast. Set the same way as
leg-of-mutton sail. The sprite is the spar that holds up the
upper corner of the sail. This is put on the same way as the
boom. The main sheet-as the rope that hauls in and lets out
the mainsail is called-should be belayed or fastened on a
cleat on one side, rove-that is, passed-through a pulley on
the boom and belayed on the other side.
Fasten the jib to eye-bolts in stem
and masthead with snap hooks. There should be two jib sheets,
one on each side, led through eye-bolts, and belayed near
mainsheet.
Bolt a large cleat through forward
deck, and put a chock on each side of bow. Put four oarlocks
on the sides, and one in the stern. Put a cleat in the stern.
A twenty-pound anchor will be about
the right size.
The spritsail rig is the best for
rough water and high winds, and is easy to handle, but the
boat is very much undercanvased rigged this way. If you want
more sail, use the leg-of-mutton sail. The mast for spritsail
should be nine feet six inches high. For leg-of-mutton, it
should be twice that height, but should taper very much toward
the top.
The cost will, of course, vary with
the locality and the fittings.