Note:
This very
interesting article discusses the rationale behind
different canoe models during the heyday of canoe
cruising. There are also a few facts which I
haven't seen represented anywhere else. And the
existence of the canoe-like "Sinageewen" duckboat
(with reasonably clear construction detail) is a
pleasant surprise, adding it to the Delaware Ducker
and St Lawrence Skiff as canoe-like sailing boats
-- COD
IF
the doctrine of Darwin may
be applied to watercraft, the primitive "dugout" was
the origin and the source of all inspiration in
shipbuilding. And yet more primeval still -- if the
term admits of a comparative -- was the log itself, to
ride which must have been even more risky than the
performance which Josh Billings describes as the most
risky of all: "to straddle the back of a sixty-day
note." It was a stroke of genius on the part of some
ardent mariner to discover that he could excavate the
lo and put himself in the place of the surplus wood.
Once relieved from the danger of rolling over with the
log, his next discovery was that his craft would move
faster if both ends were sharpened. Then the question
of comparative speed brought up the problems of
freeboard, and sheer, and keel, until, through various
stages of experimenting, after hundreds of years, that
marvel of naval architecture, the ocean steamer, is
evolved. At every stage the same adaptation to special
ends is shown. The development has proceeded from one
craft to another because new wants and new conditions
have demanded new capabilities, until at last every
want and every condition appear to have been met, and
the development appears to be arrested for the
present.
If our parallel holds good --
that the steamer has descended from the log, after the
manner of man's alleged descent from the Ascidian --
then we must also admit that in the case of watercraft
as well there may be divergences or abnormal
developments which betray the fact that they are
offshoots, although they may have a generic, or even a
specific, resemblance. What is known as the
ornithorhynchus is one of these erring brethren among
the mammals; and some, not all, forms of the canoe of
today might well be classed with the lost and
wandering sisters of the floating craft. To ensure
beyond peradventure the survival of the fittest, and
to commend the good in canoeing, shall be our present
task.
Amateur canoeing is rapidly
changing from a science to an art. Indeed, there are
already professors of the art. Ever since the
formation of the Royal Canoe Club, in 1866 -- right
upon the heels of MacGregor's exploits with the Rob
Roy -- the tendency has been away from the simplicity
of knee posture and single-bladed paddle, and toward
the more comfortable accessories of seats, cushions,
and backboards, sails and centerboards. The movement
of canoeing -- like that of all the forces in nature
-- has been along the lines of the least resistance.
It was easy to convince the amateur paddler that his
knees were reserved for his devotions, and not for
bracing himself against the well so that he might
counteract and overcome the motion imparted to his
craft by the larger waves.
Once up from the floor -- the
center of gravity being also raised seat with a back
became necessary as a reminder of the comfortable
armchair which had been left in the parlor at home.
Then it was not difficult to go a step beyond and
persuade the paddler that it was all very well to keep
dipping his blade in the water; but, in order to get
along in the world, it was necessary to stop ad in
once in a while, and use the sail. From the sail it
was a natural and very requisite thing to adopt the
deck and centerboard; for the most troublesome enemy
of either the paddler or the sailor is the wind that
blows off the beam. Having thus begun to make the
Indian canoe retain no semblance, even in outward
form, of its original shape, the other luxuries of
airtight compartments, cushions, rubber bags, life
preservers, camp stoves. and provision canisters were
speedily forthcoming, until now, at this stage of the
development, the native savage might often be pardoned
for smiling at the effeminacy of the white
man.
There is much to be said in
favor of the primitive, canoe, not the dugout, but its
more airy successor, the birch bark. Very few can
exceed it in lightness. The frame is of white cedar.
The sheathing is of the bark of the white birch
(Betula papyracea), which can be used for all kinds of
camping utensils, furnishes a ready fire, and is
always at hand for the purposes of repairing. Spruce
roots, well boiled, serve for tying and sewing. The
crossbars are of hard wood. Could the construction of
any craft be more simple, or the description more
brief? It is the ideal -- as well as the necessary
adjunct -- of all aboriginal transportation.
The navigator in all modern
canoes faces in the direction of his movement, and he
is ready at all times to avoid danger or to take
advantage of either wind or water The tiresome pull
with oars he has neither to provide for nor to guard
against. Long portages are made with ease and surging
rapids are run with safety, in a word, the primitive
canoe still holds its own for river cruising, in spite
of most of the so-called improvements of later years.
The true paddler, no matter how much he may be allured
by visions of ease with sails and centerboards, must
agree with an ardent lover of the pleasure, who has
said: "In the present rapid growth of canoeing it is
hoped that the paddle will be the legitimate means of
propulsion, and not the sail. If men want to sail let
them get keelboats and open water. The canoe was meant
for lesser surfaces."
But there is a more practical
side to the question, as it is discussed by the
successor of the Indian upon American soil. The white
man has not the time -- nor is there the necessity in
his case to paddle up the stream. The same wise
arrangement which has located large rivers near large
towns has also laid out the courses of those rivers
close to the track of some friendly railroad, which
takes the canoeist up to the head waters, whence he
can paddle or float downward. Once at the mouth of the
river he must cross bays or arms of the sea or lake;
and his open canoe must be decked over to keep him
dry. It was this simple process, and the success of
the experiment twenty years ago, which entitled
MacGregor's to become the acknowledged pioneer in the
history of canoeing, and made the Rob Roy famous from
the North Sea to the rivers of Damascus. The
adventures of the plucky Scotchman gave a great
impetus to canoeing in the sea-girt isle, which was
soon felt on this side of the ocean.
The New York Canoe Club was
formed about twelve years ago, and since that time
clubs have sprung up in all the chief cities, from
Boston to San Francisco. These various clubs formed a
central organization, under the name of the American
Canoe Association, at Lake George, in 1880. Thirty
canoes were brought to this first meet. At the second
meet, in the same place, in 1881, forty canoes
appeared; and at the third meet there were one hundred
and thirty. In 1883 the meet was at Stony Lake, in
Canada, and nearly two hundred canoes were on hand.
The meet for 1884 was at the Thousand Islands, where
over two hundred canoeists put in an appearance. At
least three-quarters of the canoes were of the open
Canadian models, -- a fact which was accounted for by
the location of the meet. A great progress in
everything relating to canoeing was evident since the
meet of 1883.
A most interesting feature of
this remarkable demand for canoes has been the
revolution in building materials. The birch bark was
at once discarded; but, in its place, the "smooth
skin" was adopted by some. Between the inner and outer
skins, -- each one-eighth inch in thickness, and
running, with broken joints, across diagonally, or
fore and aft, cover of muslin was laid in paint; but,
sooner or later, the water penetrated to the muslin,
and the process of decay was rapid, it being
impossible thereafter to avoid leakage. These skins
were of white cedar, which weighs only twenty-one
pounds to the cubic foot; while birch weighs forty-six
pounds, and the harder woods, from that figure up to
seventy- five pounds. The experiment with white cedar
having proved a success, so far as the lightness and
freedom from splitting were concerned, the
rib-and-batten plan was tried, with better success. In
this, the planks of cedar were of uniform thickness
throughout They were cut as nearly as possible in
their correct shape, care being taken that the joints
should be as perfect as possible. Inside of the boat a
batten was then run over each seam, and nailed to the
plank on either edge. Ribs were so notched that they
would go over the battens. In this way it was
discovered that red elm was the best wood for ribs,
although oak was occasionally used. Hickory was soon
found to be too perishable a wood to be considered.
Thus, by degrees, it became
settled that oak took the lead over all the other
woods for the keel; white pine for the centerboard,
trunk, and the floorboards and bulkheads; hackmatack
(tamarack) for the knees, and for the stem and
sternposts; white pine for the planking, if white
cedar could not be found; spruce, pine, or cedar for
the carlings; black walnut, spruce, or pine for the
gunwales; black walnut or oak for the coamings;
mahogany, or Spanish cedar, for the rudder, deck, and
hatches; and white pine or spruce for the spars and
paddles.
In this way, by a selection of
the fittest, that canoe was, ere long, found to be the
best which was built of a dozen kinds of wood; those
of paper, tin, or galvanized iron having been found
unequal to the work that was put upon them. It also
appeared, early in the controversy, that the clinker
built (or lapstreak) canoes, with streaks sawed,
instead of twisted to place, offered the greatest
amount of strength with the least amount of weight. It
was also settled that airtight compartments, formed by
bulkheads or sealed canisters of copper or tin, were
necessary for the safety of the canoe and its
cargo.
There is, however, a much more
striking manner of tracing the evolution of canoeing
from the first attempts, of ten or fifteen years ago,
down to the latest efforts in this line, and that is
by the aid of diagrams which will show the midship
section, the sheer section, and the deck plan of a
dozen of the representative canoes.
The midship section is taken,
of course, at the point of the greatest beam, which is
usually -- or should be -- forward of the center, so
as to avoid crankiness. The sheer section is cut
vertically through the stem and the stem, and
lengthwise through the keel.
The deck plan shows the canoe
as it appears to the owner, when he steps aboard or a
cruise. In attempting to name and to classify what may
be called representative canoes, we are at once met
with the question, whether this one or that one is
intended for rivers, for general cruising, or for the
more ruffled surface of lakes, bays, and large inlets
of the sea. This triple-headed division must be
prominent all through our inquiry, and it is made
necessary by the fact that the canoes which are best
fitted for rivers are comparatively useless on lakes,
and vice versa. This fact will be demonstrated at
length, below. It is mentioned here, because almost
all of the river and lake canoes may also be classed
as general cruisers. The table of classes is as
follows:
|
River
...
|
General
Cruising ...
|
Lakes.
|
|
Herald
|
•
|
•
|
|
Peterboro
|
•
|
•
|
|
Rob Roy
|
Rob Roy
|
•
|
|
Traveling
|
Traveling
|
•
|
|
Juniper
|
Juniper
|
•
|
|
Stella
Maris
|
Stella
Maris
|
•
|
|
Grayling
|
Grayling
|
•
|
|
Diamond
|
Diamond
|
•
|
|
•
|
Shadow
|
Shadow
|
|
•
|
St.
Lawrence
|
St.
Lawrence
|
|
•
|
Ellard
|
Ellard
|
|
•
|
Nautilus
|
Nautilus
|
|
•
|
•
|
Princess
|
|
•
|
•
|
Sinageewen
|
The Herald is classed
as fit only for rivers, because it has no keel, no
rudder, and no deck of any consequence. The sheer
section and the sheer plan repeat, with great
exactness, the lines of the birchbark canoe. The
mistake of putting sails upon such a craft is
apparent. But the broad floor insures that lightness
of draught which is required for river cruising and
its frequent portages. The absence of a keel is an
advantage to,any canoe in descending rivers; for if a
swift current causes the canoe to strike an
obstruction sideways, the presence of a keel will
often cause an overturn.
The Rob Roy has a keel
of an inch or so, which is to its disadvantage in
shooting rapids. But in the use of the single bladed
paddle the keel helps to keep the canoe straight to
its course without such a decisive twist in the hand
of the paddler. The original Rob Roy of MacGregor's
was fifteen feet long, twenty-eight inches beam, and
nine inches deep at the cockpit, which was located
amidships, and was fifty-four inches long and twenty
inches wide. The owner, alter the experience of one
season, confessed that a length of thirteen feet and a
breadth of twenty-six inches would be more
satisfactory to him and we must believe him, because
he distributed tracts to the natives in all parts of
Europe. In a general article, written after a trial of
several summers, Mr. MacGregor's states that the
length may vary from twelve to fifteen feet; that the
beam may vary from twenty-six to thirty inches; depth
from ten to sixteen inches.
The American Rob Roy has
usually had a length of fourteen feet; a beam of
twenty-six inches; and a depth of eight and a half
inches. The length, in all of these cases, is, of
course the point of the stem to the point of the stem;
although the proposition to measure at the waterline
has been seriously put forth. The weight of an
average-sized Rob Roy ought not to be over sixty-five
pounds, as a weight much in excess of that makes the
canoe more troublesome at portages. As a paddling
canoe the Rob Roy served well enough in the bladed of
a pioneer. A seven-foot double blades being six inches
broad was an effective propelling instrument. The
single mast, rigged with a lug and sprit, was as much
as the egg-shaped bottom could carry, for the Rob Roy
was a poor sea-boat by the side of the later forms of
canoes. The India-rubber apron might keep the captain
dry, but there was no need of having his apron and his
deck constantly wet.
The American devotees of
canoeing were the first to discover that a modified
Rob Roy, with considerably more sheer, a trifle more
bearing, together with an increased depth, would be a
more seaworthy boat. With, these changes it was at
first known as the Rob Roy of American waters, but the
name was afterwards changed to the American
Traveling canoe. The length of the Traveling is 14
feet, the beam 26 inches, and the sheer from three to
five inches. The English canoeists in the mean time
had developed the Nautilus, of which further
mention will be made presently.
Before we leave the craft
which are canoes, strictly speaking, we must present
the Juniper, which is noteworthy for retaining
the shape of the birchbark, while the material and the
manner of construction are totally different. The
material is white cedar, matched and driven together
crosswise of the keel, which is generally a mere strip
of brass hooping, -- although some are built with a
keel of an inch and a half. The bearings are full and
broad, and the extreme lightness of the boat makes it
exceedingly desirable for rivers and for light
cruising. The deck is high and shapely, and the
cockpit is of generous proportions. A tandem Juniper
is fifteen feet six inches long, and twenty-nine
inches in the beam. The depth is ten inches, and the
sheer is nine inches. The cockpit is about nine feet
in length, reliance being placed upon canvas hatches
or aprons to keep the sailors and the cargo dry. The
latter is stowed amidships, between the two voyagers.
A single mast carries all the sail that the oval
bottom will resist without a centerboard; and the
construction of the boat is such that any addition
would cause extra timbers, thereby increasing the
weight. As a paddler the Juniper is a success, when a
head wind does not strike the bow. As a sailer the
Juniper, in the absence of a centerboard, must drift
at the mercy of the wind.
The Stella Maris and
the Grayling are the same, except that the beam
of the former is twenty-six inches, and of the latter
twenty-seven inches. The length of both is fourteen
feet. The sheer is six inches at the bow, and five
inches at the stern; and the broad bearings make the
canoe a good sailer, whether it is known by the one
name or the other. The addition of a centerboard, of
the folding variety, is necessary to supplement the
shallow keel; but even with this there is sometimes
trouble in beating to windward, when the prow is cut
away too far at the point where it strikes the
waterline. The curved sternpost offers additional
difficulties in the way of steering, which are hardly
compensated by building out the lower rudder eye with
a metallic triangle. These two styles of canoes are
almost perfect as they are; but, for sailing, another
streak should be added, which would increase the depth
from two to three inches. With these changes, and with
a straight sternpost, either the Stella Maris or the
Grayling would be hard to beat for general cruising.
The Ellard model meets some of these requirements, as
will be noted presently.
Now, to build up the Stella
Maris, the Grayling or any other variety of canoe,
means not only an increased depth, but an increased
beam also. The larger the beam the longer -- and,
therefore, the more wasteful of muscle -- must be the
paddle. To combine the advantage of a broad beam and a
short paddle, the Shadow canoe was devised.
Since that is an eminently seaworthy craft, a
description of it must be deferred for the
present.
The peculiar feature of the
Diamond is the abrupt tumbling inward of the
planking after the deadrise is well up above the
waterline. This "tumblehome" (which is much greater
than in the Shadow) gives a narrower beam at the well,
or cockpit, and allows the use of an eight-foot
paddle, where a nine-foot paddle would be required if
the deadrise were carried up to the level of the deck.
The forebody of the Diamond presents straight
waterlines; but in the afterbody the lines are too
angular to make a good finish near the stern. The
Diamond is, therefore, an easy paddler; and it is a
fairly safe canoe, although the beam has been narrowed
down to suit the use of the paddle. The tandem Diamond
is sixteen. feet long, and it has a beam of thirty-six
inches. The cockpit is ten feet long, and reliance is
placed on rubber aprons. With a centerboard this
tandem will carry nearly ninety feet of sail, thus
making it worthy to be classed among the canoes which
may be adapted for cruising upon lakes; but to insure
the dryness of the crew and cargo the sheer must be
increased from three to four inches.
We have now made the round of
the representative canoes which are fit for paddling;
the doors must be closed, so that an account of stock
may be taken. We have not attempted to enumerate all
of the varieties; for that would be tedious. Only
those, therefore, which have offered some new idea or
some new departure in canoeing have been mentioned.
According to the constitution
of the American Canoe Association, "A canoe, in order
to be placed on the association list, and to be
entered for races, must be a boat sharp at both ends,
and not more than thirty-six inches wide on deck. She
may be propelled by sails or paddle, or both; but she
must be capable of being efficiently propelled by a
double bladed paddle." Judged by this standard the
seven canoes which have been described comprise all
the new features that are worth noting. Other
innovations and so-called "improvements" have been
made one season only to be thrown away the next. Even
the subject of paddles has been agitated, back and
forth, between the single-blade and the double-blade,
until the latest verdict is in favor of the latter.
The length of paddles has been discussed, in view of
the fact that the long or short arms of the paddler,
and the broad or narrow beam of his canoe must settle
that question, regardless of theories. As to the
standard form of the canoe, -- chiefly for paddling,
-- that must always be a difficult matter to decide,
where the tastes and experiences of canoeists are so
varied.
There is a general agreement,
however, that the length of the paddling canoe should
be from 13 to 14 feet, and the beam not to exceed
twenty-seven inches. There should be no keel, but a
broad keelson not less than four inches wide. From
this the planking should be well rounded up, so that
the draught may be as light as possible. The rocker
should be very slight, otherwise an inch or two is
added to the draught. Three or four inches are ample
for the freeboard, and the sheer should never be more
than two or three inches at the bow, and an inch or
two at the stern. A craft of this sort, it need hardly
be observed, cannot be modeled after the early forms
of English, American, or Canadian canoes. The
evolution of canoeing has given us the Stella Maris
and the Diamond as the latest and best models for
paddling; and it is largely a matter of taste as to
which shall be chosen.
Six of the eight river canoes
we have classified as fit not only for rivers, but
also for general cruising. That is to say, they will
behave well if the expanse of water is not too large.
When rough water comes the Herald and the Juniper miss
the flat bottom and the keel, however slight it may
be, the loss of which is not compensated by their
increased sheer. The Traveling, the Rob Roy, the
Stella Maris, the Grayling and the Diamond, -- all of
them feel the need of more sheer and freeboard, which
of course means a proportionate increase of beam,
although most of them have the broad
keelson.
We must, therefore, look to
another class of general cruisers to find our best
models for canoes which will sail over the bays and
inlets with safety, and at the same time will ride out
a heavy sea. Among this class the Shadow was a
pioneer, and still remains one of the leading types of
sailing canoes. The length is fourteen feet and the
beam at the broadest part is about thirty inches. The
freeboard is apparently narrowed, because, not far
above the waterline the planking commences to tumble
home. This is a distinctive feature of the Shadow, and
it has been exaggerated in the Diamond. The advocates
of such a departure from the lines of the ancient
canoe feel justified in claiming that the new model
gives a flat floor and a broad beam for sailing, and a
narrow beam for paddling. The house is divided on the
question of whether or not the canoe is more stiff.
The sheer is made as large as is necessary, save in
the very heaviest seas, and the paddler is therefore
saved the "waste of tissue" in exerting himself
against a head wind. The straight sternpost of the
Shadow must also command a verdict in its
favor.
The controversy about the
"tumblehome" of the Shadow, led to the building of the
St. Lawrence, which is almost precisely like
the Shadow, save that the deadrise of the planking
continues to the gunwale, making a beam of thirty-one
inches instead of twenty-eight, as in the Shadow.
This, of course, is largely a matter of taste; but, if
the canoeist expects to paddle, the original Shadow
must be the choice of the two. The tandem St. Lawrence
and the tandem Shadow are made, with the length
increased to sixteen feet, for the use of two
persons.
Mention has already been made
of the Grayling, or the Stella Maris, enlarged by an
extra plank, thus adding three inches to the freeboard
and two inches to the beam. The length is made
fourteen feet and six inches, instead of fourteen
feet. With these changes the Snake, of the new
model known as the Ellard, became the champion
sailer of the meet of 1883; and further experiments
and trials of this model are anxiously awaited by the
fraternity of canoeists. The curved sternpost,
however, is doomed if the cruiser expects to use a
rudder to any advantage. An improved variety of the
Ellard, the Mohican, shows a straight
sternpost. There is blood on the moon while the battle
between the Shadows and the Ellards is
impending.
By its priority of development
the Nautilus should have been mentioned long
ago, as it was devised by an Englishman, Mr.
Baden-Powell, soon after the Rob Roy had turned the
heads of all the amateur navigators. We have preferred
not to speak of the Nautilus until now because it is
eminently a sailing canoe. It has the same general
dimensions with the other canoes, -- length, fourteen
feet; beam, twenty-eight inches, -- but its most
distinctive feature is a sheer so excessive as to make
most canoeists condemn it, -- the stempost and the
length of the sternpost being twenty-three and
nineteen inches respectively. These points are copied
from the kayak of the Greenlander, which can live in
any sea.
An 18-foot Nautilus, it will
be recalled, crossed the Atlantic; but any one who
will step inside the Old South Church museum, in
Boston, will see that the Nautilus, in that shape,
cannot be called a canoe. Even when it is cut down to
the proportions of a fourteen-foot boat, the high bows
of the Nautilus take so much wind that the paddle can
be used to no advantage. A modified form has therefore
arisen, which is known as the Nautilus No. 2, wherein
the exaggerated features of the original Nautilus have
been pruned down to the requirements of stiller water
and the paddle. The dimensions of this junior edition,
aside from the length and beam, are, sheer forward,
nine inches; sheer aft, four inches; depth amidships,
ten inches.
Of the thirteen representative
canoes included in the tabulated statement above it
will be seen that ten are classed as general cruisers.
This means that by the addition of a centerboard
(folding or otherwise) they may adapt themselves to
the new conditions that follow the use of sails. The
centerboard is impracticable in the Rob Roy, the
Traveling, the Stella Maris, and Juniper. In the
Grayling, and the Diamond, the lack of freeboard and
sheer makes the operation of sailing, with a
centerboard, rather too moist to be pleasant. It is
only when we reach the Shadow, the St. Lawrence, the
Ellard, and the Nautilus, that we find boats that are
really seaworthy, and in which the centerboard is so
useful as to make it worth while to be retained
through all the portages, rapids, and shoals of the
rivers. The four canoes last named are good sailers in
almost any weather upon the surface of any lake; and
by lake we mean something larger than Cayuga, or
Seneca, or George.
But in making them seaworthy
the tendency has been to make them too heavy and too
deeply keeled for shallow mountain streams. Is there a
compromise craft, one which will behave equally well
on the placid river and on the ruffled lake? If there
is it should be named. By whatever name it may be
known it is safe to say that it cannot vary much from
this description: length, not to exceed fifteen feet;
beam, twenty-eight to thirty inches; sheer, five
inches at the bow and three inches at the stern;
keelson, from three to eight inches; as wide a
freeboard as can be given with a depth of eleven
inches amidships; no hatches, but a generous cockpit
from which the water is kept by rubber aprons; a full
model insuring a light draught and plenty of room for
storage; and a folding centerboard of the lightest
weight, -- brass is the best for either salt or fresh
water. The way is open for the inventor who shall
combine all these desirable points in a single canoe
which will do the double duty of cruising on rivers,
and on inlets, and small lakes.
For the larger lakes there are
two other types of canoes which maybe propelled by the
double-bladed paddle, although not so "efficiently" as
those which have been already described. Both of them,
in fact, are decidedly of the sailing order, and they
are not intended for use on rivers, save when the
portages occur at rare intervals. It will readily be
inferred that they are heavier than the average canoe
that is intended for river cruising. The first is
known as the Princess, a product of Cincinnati.
It was designed by ex-Commodore Longworth. The length
is fourteen feet, and the beam, which is forward of
the center, is thirty-one inches. A larger size is
fifteen. feet long and thirty-six and a quarter inches
beam. The model is very full, and the keelson is
broad. Of course a centerboard is also required. The
record of the Princess under sail is a good one, and
it may be that this is the long-awaited canoe for
sailing purposes only.
The second of the two lake
boats -- and the last one upon our list -- is the
Sinageewen. Like the Princess it is possible to
paddle it fairly well; but a pair of very light oars,
with removable outriggers, is more satisfactory, the
paddle being reserved for short stretches of smooth
water, and the oars serving to raise "a white-ash
breeze." The Sinageewen is an enlarged duckboat from
the Detroit river. In its smaller form it is better
than the sneakbox, because it is sharp at the stern,
and can be paddled either way. In its larger form it
is lighter than the sneakbox; it will stand as much
banging by land, and it is more seaworthy.
The Sinageewen, single, is
only twelve feet long; but the beam is from thirty to
thirty-four inches. The keelson, instead of being only
seven or eight inches broad, is twenty-four inches
broad, and it runs each way toward the stem and the
stern on the arc of a circle whose radius is about
fifteen feet. The larger-sized Sinageewen -- for two
or even three persons -- is sixteen feet long, with a
beam of thirty-six to forty inches at the load line.
The keelson is twenty-eight inches broad, and the
radius of its arcs is about twenty three feet. The
keelson, therefore, forms a broad floor which makes
this style of canoe less liable than any other to
capsize.
A keel of two inches is run
along the bottom of the keelson, and this is
supplemented by a centerboard consisting of brass or
iron leaves, which fold up inside of a box standing
not more than four or five inches above the inside
floor. From the outer edge of the keelson the planking
has a deadrise at an angle of one hundred and forty
degrees, the planking itself being formed of two
streaks of basswood, which are rabbeted and fastened
with copper tacks; the outer surface is, therefore, a
smooth skin, and so is the inner, except where the elm
or cedar knees are placed to secure stiffness. The
freeboard is six inches, even with a heavy load; and
to this must be added nine inches of deck amidships,
before the oval cockpit is reached. Reliance for
dryness is had upon rubber blankets and
aprons.
As no great dependence is
placed upon the paddle the sheer is well developed,
being about seven inches at the bow and five inches at
the stern. This increased sheer leaves a generous
space at either end for the storage of tents and camp
utensils; while the sails, spars, oars, and paddles
are readily kept under the deck at the sides of the
cockpit. The stem and stern are equally straight, and
they are at the same angle -- one hundred and twenty
degrees -- with the keel. The fact that the bow
presents this angle to the water, instead of an angle
of from one hundred and forty to one hundred and sixty
degrees, as is the case with many other canoes,
insures the success of the Sinageewen as a sailer,
care being taken to have the mainmast well forward. In
fact, the Sinageewen will outpoint almost any one of
all the other canoes when it comes to a trial of
tacking. The safety of this style of canoe, together
with the comparatively small cost of building it,
gives promise that for sailing and canoeing purposes
chiefly it may be, in some modified form, perhaps, one
of the standard models. The only practicable sail for
such a large craft is the "leg of mutton."
Now, of all of the later
canoes that we have named, the Sinageewen ought not to
be called a canoe. It is the ornithorhynchus. It would
not be received into the canoe family by its founder,
the American Indian. What did the red man ever have to
do with sails and centerboard? and what a departure to
put them in his own craft! To adapt the model of the
craft to oars, centerboard, and sails is to make the
shape no longer that of a canoe. Our story, therefore,
has been not so much that of the evolution of the
canoe as it has been the history of "canoeing it," or
the various attempts to "do" the canoe. Our argument,
if we have any, must divide itself into two forks at
this point. On one we shall stick the proposition that
for river cruising the nearer the canoeist follows the
style and weight of the birchbark, the more
satisfactory will be his trip. Sails, centerboards,
and masts he should leave at home. On the other fork
we insist upon placing the statement that, for sailing
purposes, an entirely different canoe should be built,
the chief requirements of which may readily be
gathered from what has been said already. There are
not many canoeists who like river paddling and lake
sailing equally well. Let the canoeist choose "under
which king, Bezouian?" His own preferences should
guide him as to which kind of boat he must have; but
whichever it is let him procure the best. If he is not
able to choose, and if his time is ample and his
pocketbook plethoric, let him have one canoe solely
for the paddle and another solely for the
sail.
There is one mistake which is
often made by the amateur canoeist, and it is
sometimes made by boatbuilders who ought to know
better; and that is to expect the same model to behave
as well under sail as under paddle. To dream of such a
thing is to lose sight of all the scientific
principles upon which a boat is constructed. You might
as well insist on a railroad train keeping the track
when the speed is increased without the outer rail of
the curve having been raised, as to think that the
primordial canoe can go faster than a certain pace
without being swamped. If any one has doubts about
this let him "take a line" from a tugboat or from a
passing tow, and he will discover that even a sailing
canoe will not always carry itself right side up under
the increased speed. The lines of a sailing canoe,
constructed on scientific principles, differ as widely
from those of a paddling canoe on the one hand, as the
do from those of a steam yacht on the other. And it is
this question which will trouble the builder in the
future more than questions of weight and
draught.
We might continue our inquiry
so as to dwell upon the relative merits of "folding"
and of "oscillating" centerboards. We might also trace
the development of the sails of canoes from the
originals of the Rob Roy down through the "Ross
lateen" to the "batten lug", and the "Mohican sail."
To dwell upon them would be inconsistent with our
doctrine -- formulated above -- that the sailing canoe
is outside the family of canoes. We might also give
our "opinion" as to camping and fishing outfits, and
munitions de bouche in general; but every
canoeist at every "campfire" during the winter would
think his own experience was better. That is the
logical sequence of allowing him to think that his own
canoe is the best. To thrust our opinions on this
topic upon the innocent and unsuspecting fraternity
might act as a firebrand. We withdraw the firebrand
before it is offered, and are content to have already
advanced enough opinions to draw the fire of some of
the brethren who claim to "know better."
Whatever may be the future of
canoeing, -- whether or no it can be confined within
its legitimate sphere, -- the amateur must ever
remember his obligations to those fearless men who
have evolved the pleasure and placed it at the head of
amusements which combining out of door life with a
healthy muscular development. MacGregor's must always
stand as the pioneer. But among the names which
Americans more especially will delight to honor are
those of Guernsey, Alden, Norton, Neidé,
Bishop, Nickerson, Oliver, Monroe, Wilkin, Gibson,
Vaux, Fernow, Sears, Rand, Stevens, Whitlock, Rogers,
Wulsin, Barney, Hubbard, and the brothers
Wackerhagen.
