Chapter II · BOATS, RAFTS, AND MAKE-SHIFT FLOATS.

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.

BOAT WITH BREAKERS OR SMALL CASKS AS OUTRIGGERS.

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.

THE SPARS AND WATER-CASKS CARRIED ON DECK WITH THE LONG BOAT, USED AS A RAFT.

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.

THE CALABASH FLOAT, MAKORO OR MAKARA, OF CENTRAL AFRICA.

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.

REED BOAT.

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.

REED RAFT AS USED ON THE NILE.

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.

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 3½ 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 3½ 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.

RUSSIAN AND ESQUIMAUX SKIN BOATS

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.

DOUBLE BOAT OF IRON OR COPPER CONVERTIBLE INTO A SINGLE BOAT WHEN NEEDED.

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 2½ft. 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 3¾in. 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) ¾in. 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, 1½in. from its edge, bent it over the keelson, bolting the short end to the thwart stringer, and bringing the longer one of 4½in. 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, ⅛in. thick and ¾in. deep, was now laid on and bolted to the metal sheets; another batten, ½in. wide, was laid from stem to stern along the bilge, and the keel, ¼in. 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, ¼in. thick, were bolted in with their heads projecting 1in. above the gunwale, so as to receive cross-beams of ½in. 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 ⅛in. thick, by which we were enabled to cut 1½in. 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.

THE SECTIONS CLAMPED TOGETHER AS A SINGLE BOAT, OR USED WITH CONNECTING BEAMS AS A DOUBLE.

Full-sized platform boat.

In building a full-sized boat on this model, our plan would be to make the flat side all of ¾in. 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 ½in. 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 ½in. 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 1s. 6d. per lb., or 12s. each 24 0 0

200 square-headed bolts, 1/4in. thick (with nuts), ½in. grip for the skin and ribs, 27 0 0

180 ditto ditto ½in. thick, 1¼in. grip for skin, ribs, and stringers,

180 ditto ditto 3in. grip, for ribs, stringers, and timber heads,

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 10d. 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 ¾in. thick. (If these deals could be procured 24ft. long, four pieces would do this, and there would be no necessity for scarfing.) 4 0 0

3 deals of 21ft. each, cut into four ¾in. planks; and 1 deal, cut into one 1½in. and two ¾in. planks, would give fourteen ¾in. planks, of which nine would suffice for the two flat sides, two for the gunwales, 4½in. wide, and three with the spare piece mentioned above for the stringers and ribbands, while the 1½in. 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 ⅛in. to ½in. 0 9 0

2 screw-drivers, large and small 0 3 6

2 screw-wrenches 0 9 0

1½in. 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 2 0 0

Ditto 50 fathoms, 1½in.

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 4s. 6d. 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 ¾in. planks, for flat sides, gunwales, and stringers.

Five deals, each to be cut into six ½in. planks, or equal to 230 running feet of plank, to stand, when cleaned, not less than ⅝, and 630 feet not less than ⅜.

5000 copper boat nails, 1¼in., with rooves.

28 lb. iron nails, assorted, from 1½in. to 3in.

2000 iron screws, from smallest size to 3in.

90 ½in. screw-bolts and nuts, 6in. grip.

200 ¼in. 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 17s. 6d. 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 2½in. 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.

“Of course there must be an opening between the deck planks, to allow of its rise. Such a boat will carry at least a ton and a half of cargo, if made sufficiently flat in the bottom, and it will require a very stiff breeze and large sail even then to submerge the lee boat. There is this advantage, too, that it cannot be done so quickly as to prevent the remedy by luffing up or otherwise with ordinary vigilance. Your goods and tarpaulins will be quite safe 6in. above the gunwale.

“Yours very truly, “Charles Bell.”

Just before returning from South Africa we found that the clever author of “A Painter’s Camp in the Highlands” had also gone through nearly the same course of experiments, and had arrived, like us, at the conclusion that the double form of boat was the most safe, convenient, portable, and roomy on deck; and also that it was objectionable to have the inner sides rounded, for the reasons before given. He therefore finally adopted the flat inner side, and making his boats 30ft. in length and 4ft. apart at the stem, increased the width to 4ft. 1in. aft, so as to let the inclosed body of water glide away more easily. He found, however, that after working out his own idea for his own use, he was served with a notice for infringing a patent of which he had not previously heard; and in like manner, after our return from Africa, a description of a patent tubular life raft was submitted to Captain George, at the Royal Geographical Society, and he immediately saw that this was nearly identical with our own plan.

Making inflatable boats safe.

About 1853, a friend in Graham’s Town, with whom we left our model of the inflatable boat, subsequently used in Australia (see p. 48), made one for his own amusement, on a small river. He had but two tubes, each of them with a flat side toward the centre, with a small platform between raised on crossed struts, one pair of which on each side were very ingeniously made to carry the rowlocks, as in the next sketch (Fig. 9). And, as he was doubtful of keeping the canvas of his boats sufficiently air-tight, he either filled them, or proposed to do so, with the bladders of oxen previously inflated, so that, even were air to escape from the tubes which formed the boats, they could not collapse. This, in itself, would be a hint which a traveller, who must either shoot game or kill domestic animals for his followers, would do well to bear in mind.

Skiff of iron or copper.

Iron, whether plain or galvanised, is sold in sheets of 2ft. by 6ft., while those of copper are 2ft. by 4ft. We recommend only the copper; but economic or other reasons may very possibly compel the traveller to use iron.

We have, for facility of construction, chosen the form of a Norwegian praam, or wherry, with both ends alike. A semicircular section slightly flattened at the bottom, without a keel, and rising with an easy sheer to a sharp point at either end.

Eleven sheets of iron would be required; the central one being left of its original shape and size, while the five at either end are cut to the forms shown by the outer lines, and to the dimensions indicated by the figures marked along the lower edge: thus, in No. 1, from the centre there is no perceptible curve along the 6-foot side, but the ends are sloped off, with straight although diagonal lines, so that the side nearest the centre remains 6ft., while the farthest is reduced to 5ft. 9in.

In the next sheet, or No. 2, the side nearest the centre curves very slightly; the segment taking off only one inch at either end, the curved side (supposing we are now working from the centre forward) overlaps the edge of No. 1 two inches, and it is therefore cut, not to 5ft. 9in., but to 5ft. 10in., as No. 1 would be of that breadth, a couple of inches back; the front side is left straight, but is reduced in breadth to 5ft. 5in., and the after side of No. 3 is so much more curved that the segment cuts off three inches. The figures in the diagram will render the progressive diminution to the end sufficiently plain. It will be seen that the end remains one foot wide; this is usually filled in with a semicircular piece of plank, being quite sharp enough for all practical purposes, and affording room for a rowlock for a steering or sculling oar, or for a hole through which the boat’s painter may be passed. But, if desired, another piece of iron, which may be called sheet No. 6, may very easily be let in to continue the curve quite up to a point, as in the dotted end of Fig. 2. The half section is given on the side marked iron of Fig. 3, the outer line standing for the two edges of the central sheet, where the skiff is 4ft. wide and 1ft. 10in. deep. The next line, 1½in. smaller all round, is the section at the overlap of sheets Nos. 1 and 2; the third line, two inches within the last, is at the edges of Nos. 2 and 3; the fourth, three inches smaller, is at the contact of Nos. 3 and 4; the fifth, six inches less, is at Nos. 4 and 5; and the sixth, diminishing by nine inches, is the end of No. 5, which is filled in by a semicircle of plank about five inches in diameter.

The eleven sheets laid side by side would, of course, present a length of 22ft., but the overlap and the segment of the curve cut from those near the ends would reduce the length of the boat to 19ft.

Our diagram is on a scale of a quarter of an inch to a foot, but this is somewhat small for the needful accuracy; therefore if anyone intends to build, we would advise him to copy it on a scale of at least one inch to a foot, in which case the halves will represent six inches and the quarters three, and if he has a rule divided to one-twelfths, his work will be much facilitated.

It would be better to make, as we have done in preparing this description, a model block on which to test his work; indeed we would advise this in all cases of intended boat building. If the boat is to have a bow and stern distinct from each other, the model must be of the whole length, but may be of only half the breadth. If both ends are to be alike, it may be half the length and breadth, or one quarter of the boat.

In the present instance, take a piece of deal, as clean and straight-grained as possible, 19in. long (or 21in. if you wish the ends to come to a point), 4in. wide, and 3in. deep. Having smoothed this, draw a line along the centre of the top and bottom, connecting them by perpendiculars at the two ends; then on the top set off the line of one-quarter of the gunwale, or outer line, taking the breadths from the section in Fig. 3 (p. 119), and their distances from the centre, from the elevation in Fig. 2 (p. 119), bearing in mind that the centre means not either of the edges, but the middle of that marked as the central sheet. It will save trouble to cut out a piece of card to the size of this quarter, and trace the corresponding ones on the top and bottom of your block; then copy the elevation given in Fig. 2, and trace this, as before, on both sides. Now fix the block, with one end up in a bench vice, and with a narrow frame saw cut along the gunwale lines nearly to the centre, but do not cut them quite off, or you will lose your elevation lines (if a friend helps you by guiding the other end of the saw to the line on his side, you will be more certain to cut truly); then turn the block one-quarter round, and cut the line at top and bottom. Now place the other end uppermost, and repeat the process; and lastly, finish the cuts, and detach the superfluous pieces.

Take a piece of card or thin stuff, and draw on it the midship section, and cut this away, leaving a corresponding hollow; round off the edges of your model until she fits this hollow, and of this size 2in. of the centre must be left. Do the same with the diminishing sections, forward and aft; then cut eleven sheets of card 2in. by 6in., mark a central line across each, and also along the bottom of the model; lay one sheet uncut across the midship section, and tack it there; mark each of the others after the outlines given in the diagram (Fig. 1, p. 119), but test them in their places before cutting them. Take care also that as you go forward each sheet overlaps that which is behind; but as you work aft, insert the front edge under the one before it. You may think this operation would be tedious; but having once gone through it, you will build your full-sized boat with confidence. And let us again assure you that time spent in obtaining a preliminary certainty of your plan is saved over and over again when you come to actual work.

The sheets having been cut to the proper shape, set the two points of the gauge ¼in. apart, and so that the centre of the space between them shall be exactly 1in. from the shoulder, and gauge these lines all round the sheets, then, commencing from the centre of the longest side, mark off spaces of 3in., and with a flat-ended punch, and a dolly or matrix, or, in lack of that, a hard block of end wood, drive ¼in. holes on all the sides except those which are cut with a curve. Then lay the centre sheet on the rib or mould, which, like the rough frame on which bricklayers construct an arch, gives it its proper curve, and, under one edge, lay the curved edge of the next sheet. Mark where the holes should come; remove it and punch them, and fasten the two sheets together temporarily with three or more of the screw bolts. Do the same with the successive sheets towards each end, and you will find that the copper shell, even without ribs or strengthening of any kind, will assume its proper form and will be tolerably stiff. If the sheets are truly cut, the result may be attained, even without a mould, by driving one hole in the centre of the curved side, bolting it to the straight edge of the other sheet, and then bending both round till the curved edge coincides with the straight one. In this condition you may decide on increasing the width of your boat by forcing the sides farther apart; this will increase her sheer or elevation at either end, and will diminish her depth, or you may incline to reduce her beam, which will give her greater depth and will reduce the sheer till the elevation of the gunwale presents nearly a straight line. It would be better, however, if circumstances permitted, to adhere very nearly to the form given in the drawing, and set up such a frame for working on as is shown in the illustration on the next page.

Drive as many rough stakes into the ground as the number of sheets in your intended boat requires. Let these near the centre be three and a half or four feet high, and these at the ends slightly lower. Stretch a chalk line fore and aft, and see that all their centres are in true alignment and 1ft. 10in. apart. The line should be fastened to two posts in the same line as, but beyond these required for, the boat. Let it come low enough just to touch the central posts, then measure downwards from the line the amount necessary to be cut off those towards the ends, so as to give the proper sheer. Next, commencing from the centre, face off with a saw, or otherwise, as much of each post as is needful to let each frame lie truly against it, noticing that as the bottom of each is farther from the next than the top or part near the gunwale, it is more convenient to face that side of the post which looks towards the centre; then, with any rough slabs or planks, form two moulds the exact size and form of your midship section, just as bricklayers would do if they were building an arch. Nail these to their proper supports, and on them bend the strips, 2in. broad by 1/4in. thick, you intend for ribs, letting only one edge rest on the mould, while the other projects so far that you may have clear space to bore through the centre the holes for your screw-bolts. Do the same with all the others towards the two ends, confining them with a temporary ribband where the gunwale is afterwards to be; or, still better, leaving their ends 6in. too long, so that this ribband may not interfere with the completion of the boat. Have a chalk line stretched near the ground, along either side, parallel with the centre one above, so that any deviation from the proper form can be measured and corrected. Then lay on the sheets, insert the bolts, and screw them up, adding a keel or centre batten, bilge streaks, and gunwales, externally, and bottom boards to prevent the occupant treading on the copper, and stringers for the thwarts inside. The projecting ends of the ribs can be left where required for rowlocks, or cut off where they are not.

The same process, with attention to the different dimensions, will make you a copper boat, consisting of nine sheets, 2ft. by 4ft.; and this will be 16ft. long, 3ft. 3in. wide, and 10in. deep; but if the gunwales were made of plank, 4½in. wide, or half the width of a deal, the skiff would be quite deep enough to carry three or four persons in moderately smooth water.

If you wish to build the same boat of wood, ⅜in. planks (not more than 4in. wide) will be stout enough. The lines radiating from the centre in the sectional drawing are given for the purpose of showing the progressive diminution of the planks in width, from the central section towards each end. These should be tested by cutting strips of card and tacking them, like planks, on the block that serves as your model.

This would be a very handy form for a dingy for the traveller’s personal use, as it might be taken to pieces, and the sheets laid flat, occupying a space of 2ft. by 4in. in extent, and less than 1in. in depth, or they might be rolled up in three bundles, of which each must weigh less than 24lb., as the weight of the whole nine sheets of copper before being cut would be only 72lb. The screw-bolts would weigh probably more than the sheeting, but they could be divided into packets of any convenient weight for carriage by native porters or otherwise; and we should think that half a day would be quite sufficient to put the whole together when wanted, or take it apart when done with. The boat would pull or paddle, and would sail well enough off the wind, but would not compete with a keeled boat close hauled; if the iron sheets were used, she would, of course, be larger and heavier, and the material would be less portable.

In the boat built for Mr. E. D. Young, for use on the Shire river and Lake Nyassa, thin sheets of steel were at first proposed, but as these could not be readily obtained, the best iron was used, and the edges of these being turned upward and inward, formed the ribs of the boat, each sheet being connected by bolts passing through this inward edge to the next sheets before and behind it. This form of construction combines all the elements of lightness, simplicity, and strength; but we do not recommend it to a traveller who has to work up his own material, because none but a skilled workman could turn inward a broad segment of a sheet of metal, the outer surface of which has to present a curve. If anyone doubts this, let him try it by folding half an inch of the edge of a sheet of paper to a right angle with the other part, he will then find it impossible for him to impart a curvature to the sheet without tearing the upturned edge if he bends it outward, or wrinkling it if he gives the contrary curve. If he wished to adopt this form of joining the parts, his plan would be to cut up his sheets of copper into planks 4ft. long, and 8in. broad, then gauging a line all round 2in. within the edge, cut out the squares at the four corners and turn up the borders all round, he would thus have out of one sheet of copper 4ft. by 2in., three planks 4in. wide, and 3ft. 8in. in length, a waste of material that hardly any circumstance could justify.

Metal boats.

In 1858 we made a model of a metal boat, about thirty feet long, by six feet beam, to carry a crew of sixteen men, each of whom, when it was taken to pieces, should not find his share of the load to exceed 50lb. each of the thwarts; and the bow and stern sheets were continued downward so as to form a water-tight box, the lower outline of which coincided with the section of the boat, so as to supply the place of ribs and convert her into a lifeboat. Indeed, we would advise that in all metal boats some such portions should assume the form of lockers or of reservoirs of air, so that, should the boat be swamped or become leaky, she might not sink even when filled with water.

Our model was approved by Captain Washington, R.N., the Secretary at that time of the Lifeboat Institution, and the builder to whom we submitted it estimated the weight of the sheet copper and bolts of the same to be employed in the hull at 260lb. and the cost at 60l., while the internal fittings, somewhat less in weight, would cost 40l. This expense Dr. Livingstone considered to be too great; but, when we reached the Zambesi, it was a matter of frequent regret that we had not some form of boat portable enough to be carried over rough country to rivers we wished to explore.

BOAT BUILDING ON THE LOGIER RIVER.

One of the most beautiful little vessels we ever saw was built by the wrecked crew of a French steamer. She was 40ft. long and 8ft. or 10ft. beam, clinker-built, with thin and narrow planks, without a joint in their whole length, sawed out of the mainmast, and flexible ribs about a foot apart and not more than one inch in breadth or thickness. Her deck beams were, of course, somewhat more rigid, to sustain the weight of the men who crowded her. She was said to have sailed eleven knots.

Wattled boat.

Our friend, Mr. Wilson, an experienced African traveller, recommends a wattled or basket-work boat, and in a country where rattans, osiers, or flexible twigs, or green reeds, are obtainable, such a boat would be both light and durable; but it would be open to objection on the score of unavoidable roughness, and inequality of outer surface, which would impede its progress through the water, and expose parts of the canvas covering to constant liability to chafe whenever it touched the ground. Even if a traveller intends to purchase or hire native canoes, it is indispensable that he should have some small portable boat of his own, sufficient at least to show the natives that he is not totally helpless on the water and dependent on them.

In the case of our copper boat, illustrated at page 53, we have already remarked that the difficulties of the road, and the mortality among Mr. Chapman’s cattle, obliged us to leave behind eight of the sections. The method we adopted with the other four is shown in our full-page illustration, representing boat-building on the Logier River.

On account of the danger from the tsetse, or poisonous cattle fly, our friend’s waggons could not be taken to the banks of the Zambesi, and everything had to be carried by the Damara servants and hired natives to Logier Hill, about eighty miles below the Victoria Falls, which we had selected as the first place from which continuous downward navigation was possible.

The building of the house will come more properly under its own heading, and we will now only treat of what concerns the boat.

About the 3rd of October, or towards the close of the dry season, we cut down a motchicheerie tree, which divided a little above the ground into two tolerably straight logs of manageable dimensions. These were first notched with the axe on the side we intended to “fall” them; the cross-cut saw was then “put in” as far as it would go without nipping from the pressure of the wood, and a notch being made on the other side, the saw was used freely, the weight of the tree on the “falling” side opening the cut as the work proceeded.

Fresh reports, however, caused us much uncertainty whether the Falls of “Moambwa,” or the rocks, were not still below the station, and some time was therefore spent in exploring the river down to Sinamane’s Island, when, having ascertained that the rapids and other difficulties appeared not quite impracticable, we set up the bow and stern sections of one boat, connecting them by the ribbands of red deal we had been able to carry up, and fitting at short intervals a series of frames on central posts, as described at p. 122, and further supported by shorter posts on either side, in a line with the gunwale streak, testing the accuracy of all parts where correctness was required with plumb line and level, and leaving the rest rough.

Our bench consisted of ten stakes, nearly 3ft. high, driven into the ground, and two long straight poles laid fore and aft in their forks; smaller poles were laid across these as closely as possible, and lashed with the inner bark of the young branches of the “kookomboyon”—a kind of stercuhia, which, while still moist, answers very well, but becomes brittle in drying. The large smith’s vice was firmly lashed to the stoutest upright with raw hide, and forked poles were set diagonally to resist the forward strain to which the bench was subject when wood was being planed up.

It was just possible to get thin poles that would bend, but none were sufficiently flexible to take the true curve required for the ribs, and at the same time strong enough to bear the strain when they became dry. Therefore we had to cut crooks out of the motchicheeries, the wood of which looked something like coarse short-grained cedar; and first burning away the light stuff from the tree cut down a month ago, we found a great many available forks and curves.

We had great difficulty in selecting wood of a suitable size for plank; trees too small, or too crooked, or of unsuitable wood, were in abundance; while those of the wood we wanted were mostly too large and unmanageable. Sometimes, at a distance, one would appear to be small enough, but when we came near it would prove three or four feet thick and sixty or eighty feet high, and had only seemed small by comparison with those around it. One group of motchicheeries had grown to maturity, throwing a wide-spread shadow around them; and a young sapling had shot straight up from near their roots towards the air and light; this was 9in. thick at the base, and 4in. at nearly 30ft. up; it proved impossible to “fall” the top outward, and it was very difficult to clear from the other trees. We would have saved labour by floating it down stream to our building-yard, but the wet season was coming on, and the sap had by this time risen in the wood, so that a small piece sunk when thrown into the water. The labour of sinking a saw-pit would have been great, and besides this the expected rains would have kept it always wet. We therefore erected trestles of primitive construction; two triangles of forked poles, 6½ft. long, supported the ends of a stout cross-beam, firmly lashed to them with buffalo hide, and for greater security lashed also to the stem of a tree. The second trestle was destitute of this support, and therefore had to be shored by longer poles, the forks of which took the necks of the opposite triangles, while their hands were stopped by wedges driven into the ground; for additional firmness, lashings were passed at the points of intersection. Two stout poles were laid fore and aft upon the trestles, and shorter pieces across served to rest the log upon; there was some difficulty in lining the lower side, but by cutting notches in the cross-pieces large enough to let the chalk line pass freely, and “springing” it only by short lengths at a time, this was accomplished. It was difficult to teach a young Dutch lad, strong as an ox, and nearly as stolid, to saw with us; but at length the “sapling” was cut, and one of the larger logs lifted gradually up by forming an inclined plane with strong poles, and supporting it whenever we gained a few inches of elevation by forks of various lengths lying ready for that purpose. This having been felled before the sap was up proved much easier to saw, and we had so far overcome the difficulties in our way, that we had commenced laying the bottom plank of the first boat, when the difficulty of providing food, owing to the retreat of the wild animals to the pools which the rainy season was filling all over the desert, and the fever among the people, seven Damaras, mostly women and children, having died in Chapman’s camp, and one of the most useful men in ours, obliged us, for the sake of saving the rest, to retreat to the highlands of the desert, and on the 3rd of February, 1863, we hauled down our colours at Logier Hill, and commenced our return journey.

General hints on boat building.

Two general rules in boat building should be borne in mind. First, that clumsiness is not necessarily strength; and, secondly, that it is much easier to build a sharp swift boat with moderate sheer, and clear lines of entrance and run, than a short one with great beam, bluff bows, and wide overhanging stern. The stem and stern post should rake considerably, or even form parts of a curved line connected by the keel, as if they are made too upright, not only is the boat more difficult to steer when sudden alteration of the course is necessary, but, if she is built of wood, so much curvature is required in the ends of the planks that it is difficult for an inexperienced hand to lay them. A rudder cannot be nicely fitted to a curved stern-post, but if you decide to steer with one instead of an oar, make the stern-post straight, and if you wish to diminish its “rake” or inclination, make it one foot wide below and only a few inches at the top. A rudder is much more convenient in ordinary cases; but, when great quickness and power is required, nothing is equal to the steering oar.

In constructing a clinker-built boat some practice is required in clinching the nails. First, a hole is bored with a gimlet of such a size that the nail requires some driving, but very little, to force it through. This prevents any lateral curvature, which would be fatal to any attempt at clinching. A roove is then put over the joint and driven home to the surface of the plank, and the end of the nail is nipped off nearly close with a pair of cutting pincers. If you have a spring-handled hammer to screw on to the plank so that the face of it just rests on the head of the nail, so much the better, if not, you must hold your heavy hammer with your left hand or get a mate to do so; while with the edge of your little clinch hammer you tap as sharp and lightly as possible on the centre of the cut end of the nail, causing its sides to overspread the edges of the roove, when it can be nicely smoothed off with the face of the hammer. When one plank has been laid, the outside of its upper edge should be bevelled off so as to let the lower edge of the next lie truly against it in the position required by the curvature of the boat’s side; and, to retain it in its place, several pairs of “nippers” should be used. These are made of two pieces of wood—say sixteen inches long and two inches square—cut a mortice ½in. wide by 3in. long in each, and pass through them a piece of hard wood fitting the mortice loosely and 12in. long, so as to project 4in. at either end, in each end of this bore three ½in. holes, not quite in the central line, but one a little on one side of it, and the next on the other, so as to avoid the risk of splitting two into one; have pegs of hard wood or iron to put through these at the distance you may require, then having adjusted one end of the nippers on the planks you wish to hold together, drive a wedge between the other ends till the grip is tight enough. A pair of these is shown in our illustration at page 106. We believe that the traveller will find it generally most advisable to build his boat bottom upwards.

Cape-waggon boats.

We should think that a traveller in South Africa, using the common ox-waggons of the country, might easily, and without additional weight, carry up with him all the wood necessary for the purposes of boat building. The floor or bed-plank of the waggon is about thirty-six inches in width, and from twelve to eighteen feet in length. Four deals might be laid down for this. If they were twenty-one feet long, they would project considerably behind. It is not considered expedient to have the fore and hinder wheels too great a distance apart; but then the projecting ends need not be loaded. The usual holes for the fastenings of a waggon bottom should not be bored in them, but they should be secured by lashings of raw hide, and the parts liable to be chafed should also be protected with the same material. They might be previously sawed into planks or battens of the required size, and then tightly lashed together by thongs of raw hide, especially near the ends, which would otherwise be liable to split with changes of weather and rough usage. The waggon sides are usually a little more than two feet high in front and three or more behind, and the framing of these is an elaborate piece of work. Three deals 9in. wide would give 27in. in height all along. These might be cut into ¾in. or ½in. plank, and again bound up with raw hide, like those of the floor, and thus the traveller would have in one waggon nine deals, or more than sufficient, if he built his boat of copper; while, by raising the sides to 36in. with a couple more, he would have enough to construct her entirely of wood.

In building the waggon-tent or tilt, as it would be called in England, two methods are adopted in the Cape. The first is the kap-tent (E on next page), which is regularly framed by the waggon builder with stanchions about five feet high from the floor, neatly fitted to the sides, at intervals of two feet or thirty inches; with bows of flexible wood, forming a flattened arch about nine inches higher, across them, and fore and aft battens, half-checked in, so that the whole presents a smooth external surface to receive the inner sail, or cover of painted canvas, which is laid on before the outer sail, or snow-white neatly-fitted tilt, is drawn over all. The second is that which any competent waggon driver can extemporise for himself with a sufficient quantity of bamboo split into laths two or three fingers broad, stout Spanish reeds, common hogshead hoops, or an adjacent forest, in which flexible poles can be cut. His first care is to lift and shore up his waggon so as to set free one or both of the hinder wheels, on the circumference of which the flexible rods he intends for his bows are bent and fastened down, and in doing this some care is requisite. The rod must not be grasped by both ends and suddenly forced into the curve, for one part may be weaker than the rest, and it may break there, or be forced into an unsightly prominence; but, after having been steamed, if possible, or, as is more commonly the case, laid for two or three days in water or wet earth, the part intended for the centre of the arch should first be bound tight and flat upon the tire of the wheel, then the ends should be gradually pressed down by two assistants, the principal watching the inequalities of the curvature, and reducing them by passing turns of raw hide tightly over any parts that have a tendency to irregular projections. The bows, which should be about twelve or fourteen feet in total length, are now set up. Care having been taken that the waggon sides stand truly, the front and aftermost are first fixed, and the driver, if a man of average height, stands on the centre of the waggon floor, holding the bow as fairly as he can, with the crown of its arch about the level of his eye, say five feet six from the floor, while his assistants, standing outside, fasten the ends with screws or thongs of raw hide, to the styles or stanchions of the waggon sides. The lifter, the dissel-boom, or other straight and heavy pole, is now laid fore and aft upon the bows to keep them in a level line, and also somewhat to flatten the crown of the arch and expand it laterally. The laths or battens, fore and aft, are now lashed on, and the result is a less sightly but stronger and more durable roof for the exigencies of travel than the kap-tent. In the rear of the tent (letter N) are shown the ribs of an ox or buffalo slung to the roof to hang the saddles on.

CAPE WAGGON TENT (E) TO BE TAKEN OFF AND USED AS A BOAT (G).

Such a tent as either of these might be easily constructed so as to be available for a boat whenever it might be required. First let the stanchions, screwed or lashed to the waggon sides, rise to the usual height of about five feet, and let the bows forming the flattened arch across them be of any flexible material, but preferably of straight-grained ash, such as is used for the better kind of tubs or casks. The hoops of American flour barrels would answer well; they are somewhat thin, but three might be laid together, and would be much more flexible and strong than if one piece only was used.

Of these, supposing nine bows were used, three in the front and three in the rear might be permanently secured to the stanchions, as in the illustration (E, p. 131), while the three central ones should be so fastened as to be readily cast off. The laths or battens, on the contrary, should be securely fastened to the central bows, so as to lift off with them, and only slightly to those at either end.

When the boat is required, it would be but an hour’s work to cast off the temporary fastenings. Take off the movable part of the top frame, draw the ends of the battens together, as shown in the illustration (G, p. 131), inserting at pleasure three or four smaller bows at either end, and then taking the under sail—which is generally of oiled canvas—fold down the corners so as to narrow it at either end to the shape of the boat, and stitch or lace it with eyelet-holes to the gunwale. A second thickness of unpainted canvas might always be kept upon the roof between the inner and outer sail; and if this were also laced on the boat, previously reversing the ends of the two parts of canvas, so that if any portions had been chafed while on the waggon they might not coincide with each other, the boat would be as impervious to water as wooden boats generally are.

A few spare laths, previously lashed beneath the front and aftermost bows of the tent, so as to remain there when those required for the boat were removed, and perhaps two or three duplicate bows, would prevent the necessity of leaving the vehicle destitute of cover while the boat was being used.

Sculling.

Very often the explorer may find himself alone in a boat, or he may wish to cross a river or pass from ship to shore or back again without calling other men from their duties, and in such cases he who has the power of managing a boat with a single oar, has a great advantage over one who must ask the aid of another. We have been on boat trips where the scientific officers have cheerfully manned the oars and pulled against the stream all night, and when we volunteered to take our turn, the answer was, “No; you can scull, and none of us can. Keep the steering-oar, and help us onward with it.” The first great difficulty of the novice is to get the blade of his oar under water and keep it there, and to make the loom rest firmly in the rowlock; the natural tendency of the wood to float will at first seem insuperable, but as soon as he has acquired the proper motion of the wrist he will wonder that he ever had the slightest trouble in keeping the oar to its duty.

To learn to scull, go into a boat that is either fast to the shore or vessel, or have a comrade to pull the other oar with you should you fail. Then stand on the stern-sheets on the starboard side, so that the right hand may be toward the bow of the boat; plant the left foot on the starboard side seat, and advance the right to the middle of the aftermost thwart; grasp the small end of the oar with the right hand, and the loom with the left about eight or ten inches from it, so that when the blade of the oar is horizontal the back of the hands and arms may be uppermost and also in a horizontal line. You will find that when the blade is supported by the water, the loom will not lie in the rowlock; but now depress the wrists a little, raise the hands till the blade forms an angle of 40° or 45° with the horizon, the edge farthest from you being the highest; push the oar from you as far as you can without losing your balance, then, as your first stroke ceases, drop the hands and raise the wrists till the blade inclines as much the other way, the raised edge being then nearest you; pull the loom towards you, bending backwards at the same time as far as you safely can, and you will find the arms in the proper position, with the elbows at the side, the wrists lowered, and the hands ready to rise for the stroke from you. Make short strokes at first, and do not hurry. Never mind which way the boat goes, or whether she goes at all; stick her nose in a mudbank, if you like, till you can keep your oar below the surface, then give her her head; if your oar keeps under water she must go forward, and by making a stronger sweep to starboard or to port, you may steer her at your will. If you have a long narrow boat, she will keep a straight course, but with a short dingy, she will incline at each stroke a little to the right or left, and if you use the oar regularly, her wake will show a series of graceful and equal curves.

In default of an oar, the bottom board may be taken up and used by being laid on the point of the stem, the boat going then stern first. Lightermen, on the Ouse, frequently scull their horse boats in this manner. We have sculled a whale boat with one oar over the quarter, i.e., in the crutch of the stroke oar, much as a gondolier does; but tholes or rowlocks cut in the streak above the gunwale would not admit of this. We give no directions for this or for the use of the plank. When the novice can keep his oar blade under water, he can easily learn how to adapt his new power to any emergency.