Chapter II: Boats, Rafts, and Make-Shift Floats (1)

{Stopping leaky boats.}

In traversing wild countries, or examining their coasts, lakes, or rivers, boats of some kind are indispensably necessary. The traveller may, perhaps, be fortunate enough to possess one or more sound and seaworthy. More frequently, however, it will be his lot to have either some sun-dried leaky craft, crank canoe, or unstable raft, on which to entrust his life and equipment, when his ingenuity and powers of resource must be exercised in order to successfully contend with the various shortcomings and failings he will certainly discover. If a boat be very leaky, and is so rotten as not to be reparable by ordinary means, cover the whole bottom with canvas to above the water line, and paint it, she will then be perfectly tight, and also very much strengthened and protected against external injury. Should the canvas even be left unpainted, it will be found to reduce the leakage very considerably. Turn the boat bottom upwards, take a breadth of canvas for each side, or, if one breadth be not wide enough, increase it as much as necessary by stitching on another. Lay one edge of this against the keel, just below the garboard streak; fasten it with copper tacks, or if with iron pump tacks, dip them previously in thick white paint, varnish or boiled oil, to prevent them rusting the canvas. Wet the canvas, and stretch it tightly, tacking it on the stem and stern post, so as just to cover the insertion of the planking; then stretch the upper edge to the moulding, just below the wash-streak, and nail it on there. It might, if necessary, be carried right up to the gunwale; but, in this case, it must be defended by a moulding or ribband of plank from chafing against the side of a vessel or pier. In the case of a gig, or long sharp boat, the canvas will give or stretch sufficiently to adapt it to the required form; but in one with a short bluff bow and stern, it must be fitted either by neatly folding the parts necessary to be reduced, or by cutting and stitching it to the shape required.

{Make-shift outrigger.}

If a small boat crowded with passengers has to leave a wreck in a heavy sea, she may be preserved from sinking or overturning by lashing across the gunwales a couple of oars (cut, if there is time for it, to a suitable length), and fastening to them, outside the boat, four small water-casks or breakers; these would somewhat impede her progress, but buoyancy and safety, and not swift sailing, are the chief requisites in leaving a wreck. Breakers lashed under the thwarts, or bow and stern sheets, are sometimes used; but, though they impart buoyancy to a water logged boat, they take up room, and do not give the additional stability which is afforded when they are placed outside.

{Rafts.}

The cumbrous mass of spars, water-casks, and other stores, which want of stowage under hatches often forces small vessels to carry upon deck, may easily be converted into a perfectly safe and buoyant raft, ready for instant use on an emergency, by the following arrangement of the lashings.

The spars, amongst which will generally be found one fit to make a topmast, another for a lower yard, and, perhaps, one or two more of equal length, are laid fore and aft on either side the main hatch; the water-casks, perhaps half a dozen on each side, are lashed to them; while the space between is occupied by the long boat, and, perhaps, one or two casks of meat or other stores, the whole being secured to the deck; but all this floating power is neither connected in itself, nor easily detachable from the sinking vessel.

It would not be much more difficult, when securing the row of casks and spars on either side the hatch, to connect all these by short spars lashed across the ends, as shown in the engraving, with a couple more crossing near the bow and stern of the long boat, and bearing others passing fore and aft beneath her bilge, to which she might be secured by lashings perfectly independent of the gripes by which she is fastened to the deck. Indeed, the chief requisite is to keep all the lashings that connect the parts perfectly clear of those which hold the raft to the vessel, so that, in case of need, it could at once be cut clear, and allowed to float bodily off from the sinking hull.

We have stated the absolutely necessary points as simply as possible; but many improvements might easily be suggested, such as the four casks, at the ends, being pointed like conical buoys, so as to offer less resistance to progress through the water; or that in two or more of the aftermost casks a quantity of salt or preserved meat, biscuit, or groceries should be kept in store for any emergency.

The smaller spars, of which there are generally plenty on board, might be crossed upon this framework, so as to make a platform, and a studding-sail spread over would prevent small things dropping through, or help to support the crew or passengers.

The boat, however leaky or battered, would always be a place of security and comparative comfort for the ladies or children, as the power of floatation would be in the spars and casks. We believe the Spaniards always endeavour to secure a boat on any raft they are obliged to make, using her, no matter how much she may be stove or broken, as a place of rest or refuge for the helpless or the weary.

It would be superfluous to give directions for the rigging of a mast or steering apparatus. Seamen in emergencies would improvise these according to the means at hand. Two or three small spars set up as a triangle would carry sail, where, perhaps, a mast could not be stepped; and the oars of the long boat, assisted by the trimming of such sail as could be set, would be most likely the readiest appliances for steering. Sometimes the "bridge" of a paddle steamer is made like a caisson, and shipped in grooves, so as to float off should the vessel sink. Small craft trading in the Indian islands, which carry a quantity of bamboo as small spars, are thus provided with a natural substitute for life-buoys, and a material for constructing rafts, or rendering boats, though leaky as so many sieves, perfectly unsinkable. Rafts of the large hollow stems of the bamboo are frequently used by fishermen in the Indian archipelago.

{Life-belts.}

It may, perhaps, be of little use to suggest that before a vessel leaves port attention should be given to the means of saving life should she go down at sea. The possible foundering of a seaworthy vessel is about the last thing a sailor thinks of; he trusts more to his presence of mind and ready application of the means at hand. Nevertheless, provision against danger would cast no imputation on their manliness. The law compels a proportionate number of boats to the complement of crew or passengers. Some owners provide cork belts or jackets for the men, with mattrasses, pillows, or cushions of cork, for the berths or sofas in the cabin; and it would be well if every passenger making a sea voyage were to provide himself, and each of those depending on him, with a life-belt, either of cork or of inflatable material, and likewise see that these were not stowed away in chests below the hatches, but kept at hand in the berths so as to be available when wanted; and also that their use was perfectly understood by those for whom they were provided.

We have seen a waistcoat with inflatable lining carried far into the interior by one of the boldest elephant hunters in South Africa; and it is stated that, after the sinking of the ill-fated steamer "Arctic," some of the passengers provided with belts floated on the surface of the Atlantic for some days, giving, with a kind of desperate humour, the names of different hotels to the piece of floating wreck at which they had "put up last night," or intended to do so for the next.

It is a pity that none of the waterproof materials at present in use are comfortable in ordinary wear, so that some common article of dress, as a neck-tie, a belt, or sash, might be made so as to be inflatable when an accident occurs.

Of all that we know at present, we should say the most effective, simple, and secure from damage, is the ordinary cork jacket, of the pattern supplied by the Life-boat Institution; it is sufficiently buoyant, does not impede the exertions of the wearer, and cannot be damaged by collision with rocks or other hard objects.

{Life-buoys.}

Perhaps the circular life-buoy now in common use is as good as any, but it requires some address and strength on the part of the swimmer to get it over his head to its proper place beneath his arms; it also lies low on the water when thrown overboard, and if at any distance is not easily seen by the swimmer or by the boat's crew who eventually go to his assistance.

In the navy a breaker or small cask is used, with a staff six or eight feet long passed through it, the lower end projects say three feet, and is loaded with lead; the upper will stand from four to six feet above the water, carrying a small red flag by day, or a port-fire by night.

The slings of the buoy are brought up to the taffrail and looped over a small pin, which is withdrawn by pulling the trigger of a gun lock, and a quick match led to this at night serves at the same time to ignite the port-fire, so that the swimmer, the boat's crew, and the commander of the vessel, have a conspicuous object to make for and are so prevented from losing each other.

In larger vessels, we believe, two breakers are used, connected by saddle-shaped iron bars; these enable one, or perhaps two men to sit, with their shoulders considerably above the surface; while beckets of rope all round would enable a greater number, say the crew of a capsized boat, to support themselves with a fair chance of safety. The size, however, of a life-buoy must always be limited. It is mostly required to save one person who has fallen overboard; and, though perhaps sufficient to support more, it should never be so large as to be dangerous or inconvenient when taken into the boat put out in a heavy and dangerous gale to the rescue.

Several fathoms of small line should be and often are attached to the buoy, so that if it is let go in time the swimmer may catch it, and be saved without the necessity of lowering a boat. We have seen a "life line" of coir or cocoa-nut fibre, which is very buoyant, successfully veered away to an overladen and endangered boat at a considerable distance, when a hempen rope, which sinks by its own weight, would have been of no service.

{Calabash float.}

Nearly similar in principle to this last-named life-buoy is the calabash float, described by Dr. Barth as being used by the natives of Central Africa; it is simply a bar or plank of light wood, so laced to the bottom of two large calabashes, that a man sitting on the bar, as he would upon a saddle, will sink about waist deep, and may use his hands to paddle himself across the stream.

{Reed boat.}

Our illustration shows how any buoyant article in the traveller's possession might be used in this manner. The boxes shown on pp. 8 and 9 are designed expressly for such emergencies. Small water "vatjies," barrels, or tin cans, wooden boxes, even though somewhat leaky, wrapped in canvas or two or three thicknesses of calico, which need not be cut, would become sufficiently tight for a short voyage. To make a reed boat, take reeds of any length you wish, a foot or two more than half the length of your boat, lay them lengthwise on level ground, with their small ends toward the ends of your intended boat, and their butts overlapping each other by a foot or two; take cord or other material for lashing, and interweave it with the reeds till the part in the centre resembles a flat cheese-mat, then bend it round the hoop which you intend for the midship frame. Insert smaller frames toward each end, and finally gather up the ends of the reeds into a point, cover this with some waterproof material, oiled calico or canvas, &c., or canvas simply pasted with flour and water, and you will have a boat buoyant and more or less durable according to the strength of the material.

About 1844 we made such a boat in Cape Town, using what are there called Spanish reeds, which run between 10ft. and 15ft. in length, three quarters or an inch in their greatest diameter, tolerably strong and very buoyant; these were lashed on wooden barrel hoops with a light deal keel and gunwale, and covered with two thicknesses of oiled calico. There was no leakage, and our little skiff was so light that with the assistance of a friend we easily carried her to and from the house in which she was built. We often ventured beyond the shipping anchored in Table Bay, our guns being secured by lanyards to the boat in case of accident.

{Reed raft.}

On parts of the Nile where reeds abound, the natives make them up into bundles of perhaps 8in. or 10in. in diameter at the larger end, and tapering almost to nothing at the smaller; three or four of these are fastened side by side, their points are made to curve up a little, and they form a portable and convenient vessel for crossing the river or conveying small cargoes of grain or other produce to market. The stoutest part of the fan-shaped leaf of the doum palm is used as a paddle. The float is not a heavy load for one man, when carried overland, and one supported by a forked stick, or three or four with their larger ends set on the ground and the smaller resting against each other, form very good sun-shades, or huts to protect the inmates against more inclement weather.

We have seen very useful and commodious rafts made by cutting very large quantities of marsh reeds, fastening them up roughly in bundles, laying these side by side, and then arranging another layer of bundles across the lower tier. A few vines, or twisted reed bands, serve to keep the bundles in their places, whilst a thick layer of loose reeds on the top makes a level surface for the traveller and his baggage to rest on. As the lower reeds become saturated with water others can be cut, and added to the top. Long river voyages, floating with the stream, have been accomplished on rafts of this description. Bamboo canes, when they can be obtained in sufficient number, form excellent rafts. They are also extremely valuable as outriggers, and outrigger beams for canoes, adding greatly to their stability.

In other parts, where reeds are not so common, floats of wood are used as an assistance to swimmers.

{Floats.}

When swimming our horses over many of the wide and rapid rivers of Central India, the natives who were employed in guiding the animals, first swam across with them without any artificial assistance, and then returned for others with billets of a peculiarly light wood held between their left arms and sides, under the shoulders; with these appliances, they floated with extraordinary buoyancy, and made rapid progress across the stream.

The inflated skins or intestines of animals, hollow gourds, earthen pots, bladders, or bundles of bark, may be used as aids in crossing rivers where canoes or rafts cannot be constructed.

{Cattle boat.}

On some of the great Indian rivers, large dish-shaped boats are used for the conveyance of horses or cattle. A boat of this description is very quickly made by first forming a basket-shaped framework of bamboo, here and there interwoven; this is securely lashed together with strips of raw hide, twisted cane, or common cord. When completed, the basket, or frame, is turned upside down, on the ground, pegged fast with hooked pegs cut from the branches of the nearest tree, and then covered with raw bullock hides, which are sewn fast to the frame, and to each other, grease being well rubbed into the seams. When complete, the boat is not unlike a common tea-saucer--measures between fourteen and fifteen feet in diameter, and is about two feet eight inches deep; made to these dimensions, the hide boat will safely carry from three to four tons of cargo. There is no possibility of upsetting it. When horses or bullocks have to be conveyed in contrivances of this kind, it will be necessary to lay branches of trees, and a good layer of reeds, or sedge grass, on the bottoms, in order to prevent the animals from thrusting their hoofs through the hides. The water-draught of hide boats is surprisingly slight, from five to eight inches being sufficient to float one with a full load on board. Long-handled shovel-shaped paddles are used to propel them with, and a store of raw hide, and some tallow, and an eyed awl, or large needle, for patching, enables the boat voyager to execute with expedition all the repairs his leather craft may need. All hide-covered boats, or floats, should be occasionally placed bottom upwards, on shore, to dry, in order to render the skins more durable.

{Coracle.}

The coracle, so much used by Welsh fishermen, is made much after the same fashion. A smooth level piece of turf being chosen, the frame-sticks, just such as coopers use for making into hoops, are bent and interwoven until the requisite form of the frame has been arrived at, the bottom being upwards. The edge, which afterwards becomes the gunwale, is formed by making a border of hazel-wand basket-work, the ends of the frame-sticks are trimmed off even with this, and a covering of Russia duck, or light canvas, is neatly sewn over all. The coracle is then paid over with tar, or some other water-proofing material; one thwart, or seat, is secured from each end to the framework, holes are made in this for a leather strap to pass through, which enables the fisherman to carry his coracle on his back. A single-bladed paddle, like a baker's _oven pile_, is used to paddle with. Some considerable practice is needed to enable a new hand to conduct, or, as it is called, _drive_ a coracle--not a little caution is required in both getting in or out. It is best, if possible, to depart from some shallow sand-spit, or gravel bed, where the coracle may be shoved off into deeper water, after the tyro has taken his seat, and established the proper balance. In landing, it will be well to observe the same caution until practice and experience give the confidence and dexterity which they alone can confer. There is a peculiar stroke of the paddle much used in coracle driving, to which the canoe man seldom has recourse. This is gained by turning the left arm round the handle of the paddle, until the hand is a short distance above the blade, and the shaft rests against the shoulder. The paddle blade is then worked in a figure-of-eight direction.

{Skin boat.}

The size of skin or canvas-covered boats will usually be determined by the available amount of skin or covering material. Any waggon ox requires 8ft. of room to work in, and his skin would give a square of leather of very little over 6ft.; the African buffalo would be about the same, the eland somewhat larger, the black or brindled gnoo, the koodoo, and some of the larger antelopes, rather less. Suppose you have two ox skins; cut them straight across where the neck is at its widest, and let the natives or waggon-drivers stitch them together with strong sinews or thongs of hide, using a round awl or piercer, to make a round hole that will close again, and not a sharp-edged one that will cut the hide and so leave holes that will afterwards become leaks. The sheet should be kept damp, not wet, by spreading ox-dung or damp earth upon it till the frame is ready. Suppose it now to be 12ft. long and 6ft. wide; you may make your boat of from 3ft. to 4ft. in width, and 10ft. in length and 2ft. deep. If you care to have definite stem and stern posts, it is very likely that poles may be found with branches projecting at the required angle, but practically it is best to let them curve more or less gradually into the line of the keel, and for this purpose to choose two long straight poles; bend their thick ends round a tree to rather more than the requisite curve, as they will always straighten again; then, having chosen a flat piece of stiff ground, make two holes 10ft. apart, for the thick ends of your poles to rest in, bend down their thin ends, let them overlap, the farther the better, and lash them together; then take another of about 8ft. (or a foot longer on each side than the width of the skin), and having curved this, stick the ends into the ground, about 3-1/2 ft. or 4ft. apart, and lash it where its centre passes under the keel; do the same with two others, 18in. on either side, and you will have the three midship frames; take two poles for each gunwale, join them by overlapping their thin ends as before, lash them to these central frames, so far from the keel that the edge of the skin will just cover them, bend them till they come together at the bow and stern, let them cross each other by a few inches, lash them tightly, and do not be in a hurry to cut their ends too closely; the curve they take will guide you in the insertion of the other frames. As you come nearer to the bow and stern, forked branches of the proper angle may be advantageously used, and along the sides, where the rowlocks come, forks may be left on the extremities of the ribs to serve for them; a fork may also be lashed in at either end for steering or sculling. Lay two or more ribbands or bilge pieces along each side; fasten in such boards or poles as you have for thwarts, and, when the whole is firmly lashed together, spread over it the prepared hide and stitch it all round to the pole that serves for gunwale, the hair, if you have not already scraped it off, being inwards; grease plentifully while it is still wet, and then let it dry; look carefully to the seaming; give this as much grease as it will absorb, or you can afford; and when it is quite stiff, saw off the superfluous timber ends, not too close; turn it up, and it is ready for use: never let your boat lie in the water longer than is absolutely necessary, and turn it bottom upwards whenever you haul it ashore. The quagga hide is proverbially rigid; and we should think that if taken off by merely making one slit along the belly, distending with dry sand and letting it harden in the sun, it would make a tolerably safe boat in smooth water for one person, without any other fitting.

We have heard of mules or transport animals being killed when water carriage became available; their flesh jerked for future provision, and even their ribs pressed into service to do duty without even a change of name in the canoes for which their hides served as coverings.

{Russian cargo boat.}

In the United Service Museum is a very carefully-constructed model of a Russian cargo boat from the Aleutian Islands, Commander Pike, R.N., the donor, states that it carries 3-1/2 tons of fur sealskins. No metal is used in it, the wooden frame is pegged or lashed together, and covered with walrus hide. No dimensions are given; but, as very nearly three feet are required for one oarsman, it is probable that the boat would be 25ft. long and 8ft. wide near the stern; it will be noticed that there are but single thole pins, and therefore grummets of rope or iron must be fastened on the oars.

{Esquimaux boats.}

The other boat is the _oomiak_, or woman's canoe, of the Esquimaux. The frame is made of drift wood and bone, often in very small pieces, but so tightly pegged and lashed together with hide thongs, that the compound seems fully as strong as a single piece; it is very neatly covered with sealskin.

The method of constructing the frames of both these varies but little from that we have just described, and we think will be made sufficiently plain by the drawings copied by permission from the models in the Museum.

The _kayak_, or man's canoe, is longer, sharper, and narrower, and is completely covered with sealskin, with the exception of a circular aperture in the centre, and from the edges of this a skin comes up so as to tie tightly round the waist of the daring walrus or seal hunter, so that not a drop of water can enter his little vessel; while even if by any accident she should capsize, a vigorous stroke of the double-bladed paddle will suffice to right her; the harpoons or other weapons cannot possibly be lost, for bladders are attached to the lines of those prepared for use; while the reserves are not cast adrift till they are wanted. Marvellously ingenious as these fur-clad boat-builders are, their frail craft are so difficult to handle that no ordinary explorer can, without long practice, hope to use them with much success. Still there are many points connected with their construction well worthy of imitation.

The small sledge in the background has a screen of skins suspended across it, in which a hole is made for the seal-hunter to fire through.

{Dug-out canoes.}

Canoes, hewn and dug from the solid tree trunk, are general and valuable; and there are few portions of the earth where forest trees grow to the requisite size that dug-out boats of some kind are not in use. The natives of British Columbia construct very large and powerful boats from the trunks of the huge cedar trees found in that country. To the fortunate possessor of the axe, the adze, the gouge, and the mallet, the formation of a dug-out canoe is a matter of comparative ease; but to the Indian, unprovided with efficient tools, it is a task of no ordinary magnitude, still he undertakes it boldly, falling back on shifts and expedients to aid him in his toil. With such rude implements as he may chance to be possessed of, he fashions the exterior, flattens the surface of the log, and hews out the bow and stern; then fire, kept within due bounds by the assistance of clay, is brought to bear on the mass of timber, and as the wood ashes form, and the wood becomes charred, a sharpened stone or thick sea-shell is used to remove the mass and expose a fresh surface. By dint of labour, patience, care, and perseverance, the shell of the boat is at length formed, but lacking the curves and contour needed to render it stable and seaworthy. Indian ingenuity again steps in to meet the difficulty. The boat is filled to the brim with water, a huge fire is lighted, and a number of stones heated to redness. These are one by one dropped into the unfinished canoe, until the water is raised almost to the boiling point; then when the wood is under the full and softening influences of the heated water and steam, transverse bars of wood are driven in one after the other, until the requisite breadth of beam and bilge are gained. The water is then removed, and the canoe allowed to dry with the bars in it, when the shape thus given remains as long as the boat lasts. The removal of the bars and a little polishing up renders the canoe fit for sea. It is not uncommon for craft of this description, manned by crews amounting sometimes to as many as thirty, to brave the turbulent and formidable seas of the Pacific Ocean, in pursuit of the sea-otter, fish, &c.

We have seen many canoes of this description on the large rivers of Central India, Australia, and on the Zambesi. The aborigines of Australia are also in the habit of using bark canoes of the most primitive form of construction. A sheet of bark of suitable size is stripped from the nearest tree, the ends are guarded by little walls of clay, and with a rude stick for a paddle, and a lump of moistened clay for a fire-place, Corry, armed with his unerring spear, starts on a fish-hunting expedition on the pond or river.

{Models of platform boat.}

During the years 1863 and 1864, while enjoying the hospitality of our late friend Charles John Andersson, the chief, as he may be called, of the persevering explorers of South-West Africa, we devoted considerable attention to the construction of models of boats for the purposes of discovery and river navigation, and of substitutes for them. The first essential in the case before us was that of portability of the boat or of the materials to make it; the second, facility of construction when it reached the water, equal facility of separation into its original parts at any interruption of the river course, and also of reconstruction after it had been carried to a point where navigation could be resumed. Another, and not less important condition, was, that the materials should be such as were obtainable either in Damaraland, or, at farthest, from some of the vessels that occasionally called at its bays or harbours from Cape Town. The conversion of the usual waggon gear into a float will be presently treated on; and we will now describe the model we constructed for our boat, suggesting to explorers that when they find themselves under the necessity of building, they will save much time, trouble, and anxiety as to the result of their labour, by proceeding nearly in the same way.

In the first place, we had decided on the use of sheet metal, plain or galvanised iron in sheets of 6ft. by 2ft., or copper of 4ft. by 2ft., with screwed bolts and nuts in either case of exactly the same metal as the sheets, so that any galvanic action should be impossible. Next, the framework must be of wood; and as to form, it was absolutely necessary that the boat should have beam and buoyancy enough to launch, without fear of submersion through any rapid that had water enough to bear her clear of rocks, and was not steep enough to be considered as a waterfall. We purposed to put the materials together on the spot; and, therefore, their weight only, and not the dimensions of the boat, were taken into consideration with regard to waggon carriage.

For the mere purpose of passing from the head of the river navigation to the sea, and thus proving that such navigation was possible, nothing more than a single boat would be required. But for observing, mapping, sketching, or otherwise improving to some useful result the various opportunities of the journey, sufficient room must be provided for the voyager to work comfortably on deck instead of sitting cramped up in the stern-sheets, and we, therefore, decided on making ours capable of being used as a double boat when the breadth of the river permitted it.

The advantage of being able to use each part when separate, as an independent boat, so that the sharers in the voyage might trace separate branches of the river, had to be balanced against the disadvantage of having to take each of these singly through rapids, which their dimensions might not insure their passing in safety, and also against the fact that if the "double" is formed of two perfect boats, they cannot attain great speed either in sailing or rowing, from the fact that the volume of water admitted between the stems, which may be, for example, 8ft. apart, must be compressed as it passes the midship section, to 4ft. or 5ft., according to the breadth of beam of the boats, and will again have to expand as it passes the gradually increasing space between their "run," or after section. And the loss of power thus expended in "heaping up water," although imperceptible at a low speed, would become enormous if a higher rate were attempted. Therefore we made our model so that when not required as a double, she should become one single yawl or whale boat of 30ft. in length, and 6ft. beam, with 2-1/2ft. internal depth in midships, rising to nearly 4ft. at either end to enable her to shoot a tolerably strong rapid without shipping water; the two sections were therefore each made like half a whale boat, the outer sides having their proper curve and the inner being perfectly flat, so that when used doubly the water might pass without resistance between them, and when singly they might be clamped together as one boat by screwed bolts through the keel, stem, stern posts, and the inner gunwales.

Our first care was to seek out a block of soft, fair grained wood, 30in. long and 3in. wide, and to shape this truly to the form required for one half section of our boat. We next provided a sufficiency of planking, ribbands, &c., also on a scale of 1in. to the foot, and then cut out from the thinnest tin case linings, forty pieces of 6in. by 2in., to represent our sheets of iron.

The dimensions of our boat had been previously so arranged that in the midship section the depth of nearly 2 ft. on the flat side should leave rather more than 4ft. of the iron available to form the curve on the outer, necessary to give a half beam of 3ft.

In building our model we adopted slightly different plans with each of the two sections. In that intended for the starboard side we laid along the flat or inner side of our block or wooden mould a batten, 1/4in. square (representing one of 3in.) and 24in. long (each inch being understood to represent 1ft.); to this we fitted the stem and stern post, each 6in. in length, both exactly alike, curving and raking forward and aft like those of a whale boat, so as to have an actual height, before the keel was added, of 3-3/4in. We then laid along the top of the flat side the inner gunwale 1in. deep, but as this would be an impediment to the rowers when the sections were clamped together to form a single boat, we cut out a piece (marked A, p. 106) 3/4in. deep and 18in. long, so as to be removable at pleasure, the remaining quarter then forming the stringer on which the thwarts would afterwards be laid, the bottom of the three-quarter piece (A) having checks cut in it to allow it to fit over them. We then took the piece of tin representing the midship sheet, and drawing a line across it, 1-1/2in. from its edge, bent it over the keelson, bolting the short end to the thwart stringer, and bringing the longer one of 4-1/2in. round the curve to the outer gunwale; nine sheets were required aft and nine forward of this, and the only difference in laying them was that, as we proceeded forward, the edge of each sheet overlapped by nearly 1/4in. the one behind it, while in working aft, the edge of each had to be inserted beneath that which lay before it. When the curves of the stem and stern were reached, the sheets had to be cut to the required form instead of being bent, and were bolted in their proper places. The outer gunwale, 1/8in. thick and 3/4in. deep, was now laid on and bolted to the metal sheets; another batten, 1/2in. wide, was laid from stem to stern along the bilge, and the keel, 1/4in. thick and deep, was fitted in its proper place and bolted through the metal to the keelson.

Our half boat was now sufficiently firm to be taken off the mould. A short stringer of 18in. was laid internally upon the floor, and another the whole length along the inside on which to lay the outer end of the thwarts; and timbers, 1/4in. thick, were bolted in with their heads projecting 1in. above the gunwale, so as to receive cross-beams of 1/2in. in thickness and 15in. long, by which the sections were kept apart when used as a double boat. We considered it better to secure the beams by cross-lashings than by bolts, which, if the boats worked much in troubled water, would probably rend the parts they served to connect. Along the gunwales, at short intervals, we intended to use lighter cross-beams, probably of bamboo, that is if it were procurable; but having carried out our model sufficiently to establish the general efficiency of our principle, we did not think it needful to spend time in completing every little detail, and this called forth the free but friendly criticism of Mr. Charles Bell, the Surveyor-General of the Cape colony, whose valuable and practical advice we take the liberty of giving (see p. 115).

The only difference of plan adopted in building the other or port section was that we built the whole of the inner or flat side of plank 1/8in. thick, by which we were enabled to cut 1-1/2in. off each sheet, and this method in building a full-sized boat would have enabled us to use copper sheets of 2ft. by 4ft. instead of iron of 2ft. by 6ft.

{Full-sized platform boat.}

In building a full-sized boat on this model, our plan would be to make the flat side all of 3/4in. plank, with the stem, stern post, and keelson all fast in their proper positions, and the keel left slightly apart, so as to allow the sheets of metal, whether iron or copper, to be inserted between it and the keelson. Then, laying the whole flat on its side, we would cross cut with a fine tenon saw our wooden model into eight pieces of equal length, and carefully enlarging the section of each length would make as many temporary frames, and set them upon the flat side, cutting checks in them to let in the stringers, which when bent down to the flat at either end would very effectually give the form of the boat. We would then fit the ribs, keeping them as light as possible with due regard to strength, cutting them, if requisite, out of wood selected with the proper natural curve; or, preferably, using flexible wood, such as ash, in pieces 2in. broad, and 1/2in. in thickness, and placing them not quite 2ft. apart, so that the overlapping edges of the sheets might coincide with the ribs, and the bolts might pass through them and also through the inner stringers, and the outer ribbands and gunwales at all their points of intersection. The ends of seven of these ribs, at nearly equal distances (as at sheets 2, 5, 8, 10, 13 and 16, on p. 106), we would leave standing six or eight inches above the gunwale, and about four inches from each we would set up another of equal height, so that the cross-beams might lie between them when required, and be secured by lashings passing down to the first stringer (p. 110), or so that when the two parts were connected as a single boat they might serve as rowlocks. Short struts from the foremost pair of these would give great additional stability to the masts.

In laying the deck, we should by all means endeavour to avoid injuring the planks by boring needless holes in them, as they might on an emergency be required for building a smaller boat. We should, therefore, lash them with raw hide to the foremost and aftermost crossbeams, and then laying lighter beams across near two or more of the intermediate ones, fasten them down where requisite by strips of the same material (p. 110).

For connecting the two sections, so as to form a single boat, we should use screwed bolts 1/2in. thick, and 7in. long, passing at intervals of about 16in. through both keels, stems, stern posts, and inner gunwales, thus firmly clamping both the flat sides together. The two removable portions of the inner gunwale (marked A) previously mentioned would, in this case, be unshipped to allow the oars free play, as in illustration on opposite page, and on page 106.

Copper is the only metal we should wish to use or recommend to others, and all fastenings used with it must be of the same metal. We recommend in this case, screwed bolts and nuts, presuming that the boat would be built for a journey, the exigencies of which might oblige the traveller frequently to take her to pieces and rebuild her; but as our own means were at that time inconveniently limited, we made a calculation of the comparative cost of plain and galvanised iron and of wood.

The mode of setting the sails, spreading the awning, &c., will be sufficiently clear from the engraving (p. 106).

Our little model, when tried upon the flooded flats at Walvisch Bay, sailed "like the wind," but had a tendency to bury the lee-bow, which was easily remedied by ballasting the weather quarter; an oar was the readiest and most convenient means of steering.

Estimate of material if the boat be built of copper, the flats or inner sides being of plank:--

£ _s._ _d._
40 sheets copper, 2ft. by 4ft., 1lb. to the foot, }
at 1_s._ 6_d._ per lb., or 12_s._ each } 24 0 0

200 square-headed bolts, 1/4in. thick (with nuts), }
1/2in. grip for the skin and ribs, }
}
180 ditto ditto 1/2in. thick, 1-1/4in. grip }
for skin, ribs, and stringers, }
}
180 ditto ditto 3in. grip, for ribs, }
stringers, and timber heads, } 27 0 0
}
90 ditto ditto 6in. grip, for keel and }
keelson and for clamping the two sections }
together when used as a single boat, }
}
Equal to 650 bolts, averaging perhaps 10_d._ each }

4lb. copper rivets, assorted sizes, for repairs 0 12 0

6lb. copper nails, from 1in. to 3in. 0 18 0

1lb. rooves, for clinching nails 0 3 0

2 red deals, straight and clean, 21ft. long, 9in. }
by 3in., cut into six pieces of 3in. square, }
of which five will suffice to make the two }
keels and keelsons; the remaining piece would }
cut four stringers 3/4in. thick. (If these deals }
could be procured 24ft. long, four pieces would }
do this, and there would be no necessity for }
scarfing.) }

3 deals of 21ft. each, cut into four 3/4in. planks; }
and 1 deal, cut into one 1-1/2in. and two 3/4in. } 4 0 0
planks, would give fourteen 3/4in. planks, of }
which nine would suffice for the two flat sides, }
two for the gunwales, 4-1/2in. wide, and three }
with the spare piece mentioned above for the }
stringers and ribbands, while the 1-1/2in. plank,}
by careful adaptation of the requisite curves, }
would cut for the four stems and stern posts, }
}
Or equal to 6 deals, say }

2 galls. boiled linseed oil, in tin cans of 1 gall.
each 0 12 0

4 galls. raw linseed oil, in tin cans of 1 gall. each 0 16 0

28lb. white lead, in iron kegs of 7lb. each 0 14 0

14lb. red ditto ditto ditto 0 7 0

(The cans and kegs will be useful as cooking or water
vessels when emptied.)

30lb. resin 0 10 0

6 paint-brushes and tools assorted 0 6 0

Tinsmith's small shears or snips 0 4 6

Engineer's hammer 0 4 6

6 punches, from 1/8in. to 1/2in. 0 9 0

2 screw-drivers, large and small 0 3 6

2 screw-wrenches 0 9 0

1-1/2in. auger 0 1 6

1 brace, and set of bits, including rymers, }
countersinks, and bits for metal } 1 4 6

3lb. brass screws, assorted, up to 3in. 0 9 0

3 pieces unbleached calico, double width, for lug }
sails, awning, &c. }

12 copper or composition cringles, small sizes, for }
sails and various purposes }

Manilla rope, 10 fathoms, 3in., for mooring }
}
Ditto 50 fathoms, 1-1/2in. } 2 0 0
}
Ditto 50 fathoms, 1in., for running gear, &c. }

If the boat be built of iron the same size--

Forty sheets of plain iron, 2ft. by 6ft., at 4_s._ 6_d._ 9 0 0

All the bolts, screws, nails, and other fastenings, must be of plain iron, and none of them must be galvanised.

Galvanised iron would not be much cheaper than copper, and would be very intractable in working. We should not recommend it to a traveller who intends to build his own boats in the wilderness and expects to have to take them to pieces and rebuild them two or three times.

Tinned charcoal iron would be nearly as expensive as copper, and the fastenings would also have to be tinned.

Plain iron is the only metal on which any saving could be effected, even at the cost of additional labour. In this case, perhaps, three times the amount of paint should be taken.

A mixture of red and white lead, with half boiled and half raw linseed oil, should be used rather thickly for painting the inside of every joint, and all the bolts, screws, or nails, should be thrown into boiled oil, then taken out and allowed to drain and dry before they are used. The boat must be thoroughly well painted after completion, and the paint allowed to harden before she is put into the water.

If the boat is built of wood the same size--

Two deals and a half, as before, for keels, keelsons, stems, and stern posts.

Four deals, each to be cut into four 3/4in. planks, for flat sides, gunwales, and stringers.

Five deals, each to be cut into six 1/2in. planks, or equal to 230 running feet of plank, to stand, when cleaned, not less than 5/8, and 630 feet not less than 3/8.

5000 copper boat nails, 1-1/4in., with rooves.

28lb. iron nails, assorted, from 1-1/2in. to 3in.

2000 iron screws, from smallest size to 3in.

90 1/2in. screw-bolts and nuts, 6in. grip.

200 1/4in. screw-bolts and nuts, 3in. grip.

6 rods of 1/4in. iron, to cut into lengths for bolts, as required.

Paint, oils, &c., as before.

If the traveller can afford to carry two or four good 12ft. ash oars and one of 14ft., by all means let him do so. Nothing is equal to them for pulling or steering, but let him carefully preserve his treasures, and not put them to any use that will twist or warp. If he engages natives as a permanent crew, they may be taught to pull very well; but if he hires temporary helps, let them bring their own paddles, and they will make the boat go well enough.

For the connecting beams, the masts, yards, &c., we should prefer bamboo, as being exceedingly strong in proportion to its weight. In the Indian islands we have seen oars made of bamboo poles, with a disk of wood about as large as a dinner plate lashed on the outer end, and the men pulled very well with them. If bamboo cannot be obtained, poles may generally be cut in the vicinity of a river; but the traveller in Africa or Australia must not expect to find any wood that will possess all the valuable qualities of good red deal, therefore we would say take as much of this as you can carry, without inconveniently incumbering your vehicles. The battens we were able to take to the Zambesi astonished the natives there, they had never seen wood so light, so strong, and so even of grain throughout its length; while the fresh smell it gave out when cut was their constant theme of wonder.

In 1864 Mr. Charles Bell, the Surveyor-General at Cape Town, who has built and used double boats since 1850, favoured us with the subjoined description of his method of construction:--

"My boats are only 12ft. long by 9in. wide, and 9in. deep, and 12ft. by 14in. I have never made them more than 15ft. long, with a bearing power of about 800lb. I have now built or directed the building of about five good boats on the principle, easy and swift under oars or before the wind under sail, and not very faulty even on a wind without any false keel, but you can never sail quite close without one. Mine were built to go through heavy surf all fore and aft, so that the wave could strike nothing except sharp edges, and in surf they are first-rate.

"Iron is objectionable both on account of weight for carriage, and liability to oxidisation in heat and moisture; nothing like canvas. A bolt of No. 3, 2lb. of tin tacks, and a few needles and hanks of twine, would be all I would bother myself to carry a mile. My first boat had not an ounce of metal in her barring rowlocks and rowlock sockets, and she cost me 17_s._ 6_d._ and some old plank, and carried me safely through wall-sided breakers that would have troubled a whale-boat's crew. Say you want a pair of 30ft. boats of 3ft. beam and depth, tolerably safe even against snags and rocks. For each take a 30ft. batten, 3in. by 2-1/2in. for keel; strut and erect on it knees' planks and stem pieces as in Figs. 5 and 6, and section in Fig. 2 (p. 116).

"Trust greatly to lashing the frame; let the knees diminish in beam from the centre to each end as in Fig. 1 (p. 116): draw in your side pieces and planks, or rather press them down to your vertical side laid on a flat surface, and you will have lines that will astonish you. Of course you can raise stem and stern for the look of the thing, as I have done, but it gives more trouble than it is worth. If you want to make a safe lifeboat, tack tight over each knee-frame a piece of canvas (Fig. 3, p. 116), leaving an edge loose and broad enough to be sewn on to the outer canvas, loosely (so as not to interfere with the lines it will naturally take), and be tacked to boards and battens where they come in contact with it. I should have first said cover bottom and sides with tightly-stretched canvas, in which operation a cobbler's pinchers are most useful, but any others will do, then grease outside and in. If you prefer tar and have it, well and good; then cover the deck in the same manner, stitching knee-piece canvases as you go. You will thus, if the workmanship be perfect, have in each half boat ten watertight compartments, which it will be no easy matter to damage; snags will be your worst enemies, and they cannot damage more than one at a time under ordinary circumstances, whereupon the first landing and a crooked needle with patch of canvas, twine, and grease, will make all right. In the deck of each such compartment you should pierce a marlinspike hole, button-hole the edges, and fit a plug, and as a large boat cannot be so easily turned upside down as ours, you may have a pipe, and any simple means of sucking out such bilge water as may get in. Next as to connection of the boats. If you wish it sliding, so as to increase or diminish the width between them when necessary, make it on the lattice girder or rafter principle, and avoid weight, as in Fig. 7; each not more than 6ft. from the centre. Stay and strut them to points near the stem and stern, and they will be quite strong and firm enough to support the mast and the awnings, with the other fittings. The knee-pieces may be left projecting when required to meet the sliding rafter; 1ft. between the boats will be quite enough, so 10ft. of rafter will be quite enough. The sail may be a long low lug, split if you like, to let it pass the mast when on a wind (Fig. 4). An oar will steer, and easily control the extra face of sail on one side when before the wind with the yard squared. But on a wind you must have a keel, one that will slide over sunken rocks, and not be damaged even when it takes them side on. It may fix with free play in the front beam, and lay loose in cleats on the after one with a projecting arm to be held upright by rope, as in Fig. 8.