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 outsideof 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 atpage 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 ofwork. 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).
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 andthree 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 ashe 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 thismanner. 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.
Paddling.
In paddling a canoe sit near the stern, looking forward, and with the paddle on your right side make a long fair stroke; never mind the deviation of her head to the left; but just before you lift your paddle from the water, feather the blade of it by turning the right hand inward from the wrist, turn the right elbow outward, and draw the left hand inward across your breast; this will “port your helm” and bring her to her course again.
If you have a mate who handles another paddle this is less needful; but it is well to learn to paddle your own canoe practically as well as metaphorically, single handed.
The kroomen about Sierra Leone use a canoe pointed at both ends and with a great sheer; this, to a novice, is much more difficult to keep to a true course, but a single krooman tossing his paddle from hand to hand, without missing a stroke, will make her fly direct as an arrow the way he means to go.
In the gunning boats on the Norfolk coasts, when strict silence is not needed, and in canoes of some other countries, a double-bladed paddle is used. The pole is grasped by both hands, like the balance-pole of a rope-dancer, and equal strokes are given alternately, or the course is changed by a more powerful stroke on the other side.
We have occasionally found that the power of handling the native paddle has been of great service, for when we have wished to cross a river to secure some specimen of wading bird, and the bargaining over the hire would have occupied half a day, we have cut the matter short by stepping into the canoe, paddling to the other side, shooting our bird, and making the owners a sufficient present on our return; and, while we advise that all travellers should most scrupulously regard the rights of the natives, we must also intimate that they will not gain the respect of savages by submitting tamely to extortion, or showing themselves in any way afraid to maintain their own.
THE PROA.
THE PROA.
Proas.
The proas, or outrigger canoes, of the Malays and Indian islanders, are so proverbially swift that they have fairly earned the title by which they are generally known, of “flying proas.” We have seen and admired many varieties of these, as well as their fan-shaped sails, sometimes of matting—bright and yellow while new, and deepening to browner tints with age, and sometimes of snow-white cotton, or of white alternated with cloths of blue or pink, and gay streamers floating from the bending yards. The most common, and we may almost say the most beautiful of these, were the little proas sailed by one man only, as represented in our sketch. The hull consisted of a single log, perhaps twenty feet in length, and hardly as many inches in depth and breadth; the mast was about six feet in height; and the sail, of triangular form, was laced to a couple of bamboos nearly as long as the canoe; the thick ends of these crossed, and were lashed together at the tack of the sail, and were made fast, loosely enough to give them sufficient play, a little before the mast thwart; a loop attached to the upper bamboo, or yard, at about six feet from the tack, was hitched over a knob on the mast-head, instead of hoisting the sail by halyards, and the sheet was attached by loops like kite loops, or bowline bridles, to the lower bamboo or boom; in hauling to the wind, the simple gathering in of the sheet trimmed the sail nearly down to the gunwale, as seen in the distant proa, while in going free theslackening of it allowed the sail to rise to the wind, till in the distance it reminded us of the beautiful fan-shaped sea-shells, so often found upon the coast. Stability was imparted under this enormous press of sail by two bamboos twelve or fifteen feet long, and from four to six inches thick, kept parallel to the boat at six or eight feet from her sides by two beams of the same lashed across her gunwales, bending slightly downward, but the foremost less so than the after, so that the fore end of the outrigger might be raised slightly above the water, and not impede the boat. The rudder was just like that of our own boats, except in its fittings, which consisted simply of a rope grummet at its neck, by which it could be hitched on to a timber head on either quarter, and we believe it made so little difference that the boatman seldom gave himself the trouble to shift it from one to the other. Of course a tiller was used, as yokes and lines would have been inapplicable. We cannot tell exactly their rate of sailing, but they passed our swift and handy little schooner the “Tom Tough” with ease, even when the breeze was at its freshest. The hull is generally whitened with a mixture of chunam, or coral lime, and cocoa-nut oil, and the raised ends are ornamented with devices in red or green, and sometimes a red streak runs along the side. The tambanga, or waterman’s boat for passengers, has more beam, no outrigger, and a smaller though similarly shaped sail.
Some of these proas were much larger, being fifty or more feet in length, and then the sides of the log forming the bottom of the canoe would be raised either by other planks sewn on or by a framework of bamboo, with pieces cross cut from the leaves of the fan-palm, so that the leaf ribs should stand vertically, stitched to them to form the extra height of side, while a roof of the same was built over the centre where cargo would be stowed, or over the after end, to form a kind of cabin. When planks are used for raising the sides, they are not sawn like ours, with economy of time, labour, and material, but are laboriously chopped out of the solid; and, instead of being bent, are patiently dubbed down to the requisite curve with numberless strokes of the keen little Malay adze, projections being left on the inner side through which holes are bored to lash them to the timbers, while rows of holes along the edges admit of their being sewn togetherwith strips of rattan, and shreds of palm leaf laid along the seam and confined by the tightening of the stitches, help to reduce the leakage, which, if the vessel works at all in a sea-way, can never be entirely stopped. They have two large sails similar in form to those of the smaller proas, and sometimes a third, as a mizen. This is small enough to be hitched over the mast-head, as before; but the others have to be hoisted by halyards, and the long yards supported by propping them at some distance from the slings by bamboo poles. The stays were formed of slips of bamboo, and sometimes even of the poles, which, being well fastened, would not only resist tension on the weather-side as well as ropes, but on the lee would, by their rigidity, help to support the masts. The outriggers of these were more elaborately framed with a lighter set of beams, which supported stanchions and hand-rails, so that, when the wind freshened, men might run out upon the weather outrigger and, holding on by the hand-rail and stays, which lead from the mast-head, serve as a counterpoise to the immense sails as the boat dashed through the water. Reefing seemed never to be thought of, and our own men soon got into the habit of speaking of a one-man or two-man breeze, according to the number seen on the weather outriggers of the proas that flew past us. The appearance of these vessels when going wing and wing before the wind was very pretty. And others, in the fashion of the Chinese junk, or in every modification of European, engrafted on native form, afforded picturesque contrast, but need not be here described.
The professional pirate has the outrigger only on the weather-side, and this is frequently a log of light wood trimmed sharp at either end, so that while its specific gravity is small enough to keep it buoyant, it is still so heavy as not to be easily lifted out of the water, like a bamboo, and when requisite, men sent on it, as in the former case, will give it additional weight. But the chief peculiarity is in the hull of the vessel, which is only half a boat, the lee-side being perfectly flat, while the weather, or that toward the outrigger, is rounded as usual; they will be frequently more than fifty feet in length, and six or eight in breadth. We speak of the lee-side, because when the course has to be changed—say in beating to windward—they do not go about like a ship, that must go with her bows forward and besteered from the stern, and therefore turns to receive the wind on the other side. This would be fatal to the proa, as the buoyancy of the outrigger would not prevent her from capsizing; and therefore, while the steersman lets that end which is temporarily her bow fall off from the wind, the men who have charge of the tack run round with it on the platform to windward of the mast, the sheet is brought round to leeward, a steersman takes his place at the other end, and that which has been the stern now becomes the bow, and cleaves the waves at the rate of twenty miles per hour. But no one need fear a proa with a double outrigger, for she is not intended to lay alongside and board.
PROA WITH OUTRIGGER ON WEATHER-SIDE ONLY, TO SAIL WITH EITHER END FIRST, AS REQUIRED.
PROA WITH OUTRIGGER ON WEATHER-SIDE ONLY, TO SAIL WITH EITHER END FIRST, AS REQUIRED.
The engraving represents a proa with an outrigger only on the weather-side; and not only would the sail be made to traverse by shifting the tack to that end which, for the time being, was intended to go foremost, but the mast is also fitted to be inclined forwardby slackening that which happens to be the back stay, and tightening that which ispro temporethe fore. Those which serve for shrouds, being exactly abreast of the mast, are so arranged for the purpose of facilitating this.
The commander of the United States Exploring Expedition, Charles Wilkes, U.S.N., gives the following description of the Fejee canoes:—
Fejee canoes.
“They are superior to those of other islands. They are generally double, and the largest are 100ft. in length; the two canoes are of different sizes, the smaller serving as an outrigger to the other, and are connected by beams on which a platform is laid, 15ft. wide, and extending 2ft. or 3ft. beyond the sides. The bottom of each canoe is a single plank; the sides are fitted to them by dovetailing and by lashings passed through flanges left on each piece; the joints are closed by the gum of the bread-fruit tree, which is also used for smearing them. They have a depth of hold of about 7ft., and the ends are decked for 20ft., to prevent their shipping seas. Amidships[B]they have a small thatched weather house, above which is a staging on which several people can sit. The canoes of the chiefs are much ornamented with shells. The sails are so large as to appear out of proportion with the vessel, and are of tough and pliable mats; the mast is half the length of the canoe, and is stepped on deck in a chock; the yard and boom are twice as long as the mast; the halyards are carried over a crescent on the mast-head, they are bent on to the yard at a distance from its tack or lower end nearly equal to the length of the mast. The natives manage these vessels very expertly; they require much skill in beating against the wind, for it is necessary that the outrigger should be always on the weather-side,as, if it gets to leeward, no vessel is so easily capsized; in tacking, therefore, the helm is put up instead of down, until the wind is brought abaft the beam, then the tack of the sail is carried to that end which was previously the stern, but which has now become the bow, and the canoe is steered from the other end; they carry sail even when it blows heavily, by sending men on the outrigger to counterbalance the force of the wind.The canoes are of logs hollowed and built upon; they make long sea-voyages, and are provisioned only with yams; they are ornamented withCypræa-ovulashells, and carry white pennants; they carry water in cocoa-nut shells, and, with fire and an ‘ava’ bowl, are equipped for sea. The chief holds the end of the sheet, and it is his duty to prevent the canoe capsizing; the steer oar has a large blade. In smooth water they sail very swiftly, but the force of the sail strains them, and they leak badly, so that the men are constantly baling. The planks are kept in shape by small ribs as with us. The principal tool used is an adze, which is now made by lashing a European plane iron to a crooked handle; they are anxious to possess our tools, and especially the American axe. Their knives are made of bamboo, cut into form while it is still green; after being dried it is charred, which makes it very hard and sharp; a second charring, followed by grinding on a smooth stone, will even fit it for surgical operations.”
The balsas.
The balsas, at Guayaquil, as described by Sir E. Belcher, in his journal of the voyage of the “Sulphur,” are rafts of ten logs 14in. in diameter, and 60ft. long. The wood is a kind of bombax, called balsa wood, they bear fifteen or twenty tons independent of their crew, and bring fresh water down the river in jars of seven gallons each. Houses thirty or forty feet long, and twelve feet wide, are built on some of them, and families take passage or live permanently on board.
The balsas, at Arica, in Peru, are differently constructed; they are simply skins, stripped off the animal, with as little cutting as possible; the absolutely necessary incisions are then securely closed, the hides are inflated and allowed to dry and harden, and two being laid alongside each other a platform is laid across them, on which the cargo is kept sufficiently high above the spray or ripple, and brought dry ashore even through a heavy surf. Two ox-hides would make a very serviceable balsa, as would also a pair of the large seal, the sea-elephant, porpoise, or other marine animal of suitable size.
Cape waggon chests as rafts.
We will now endeavour to show how the chests that are usually carried in Cape waggons might be converted into a buoyant, roomy, and manageable raft. These chests are generally about three feet in length, and sixteen incheswide and deep; two of them, the fore and after chests, are indispensable, as the waggon cannot be kept in shape nor the cargo properly secured without them; sometimes more are carried, and others of smaller size are affixed to either side, but the objection to these is that in a densely-wooded country, stumps and stout branches are apt to catch the angles of the side chests, and damage or carry them away.
CAPE WAGGON BOXES SO FITTED AS TO BE AVAILABLE FOR A RAFT.
CAPE WAGGON BOXES SO FITTED AS TO BE AVAILABLE FOR A RAFT.
We propose that, in the waggon used by the traveller for his own conveyance, as many of these chests should be stowed as will stand fairly on the floor beside each other, say ten, as in the illustration (A,p. 142). Then, instead of the two usual square-ended side chests, we would advise that four should be fitted (Nos. 11 to 14), each of them having one end 16in. square like the other chests, but tapering at the other end to the mere thickness of the plank, and with the bottom also sloping, so that the narrow end should be only 8in. deep. Two of these with the broad ends together could be fitted on each side the narrow points passing well clear within the wheels. Care should be taken to have them water-tight; and, if made of well-seasoned plank and well oiled, they would remain so for a long time. When they are required for a raft, take them from the waggon and place them in two rows about three feet apart, and also with an interval of 3in. between the ends of the boxes in the same line—as shown in the illustration (B,p. 142)—with the tapered side boxes, as indicated by the numbers, forming the four ends. If you have been able to carry a couple of long stout bamboos, lay them along the inner side of each line of boxes, and if you have lighter ones to lay along the outer sides so much the better; if you have not bamboos, the dissel-booms and lifter poles of the waggons must be pressed into service, or poles sought in the nearest forest, as long and as straight as possible; then take the yokes of the oxen and lay them across in the 3in. spaces between the boxes, and passing the “reims” or other thongs cut from raw hide through the holes made for the yoke “skeis,” lash each yoke to the fore and aft poles, securing the boxes each in its own compartment by passing a few turns through the handles in the ends and round the yokes. When this is completed, you will have a very serviceable raft or double canoe. The hinges of the chests will, of course, betowards the centre, so that when opened the lids will fall inwards; and if other poles are now laid fore and aft upon the yokes, they will support the lids so as to form the deck, leaving the chests open, so that, if any of them should leak, the water may be at once seen and baled out; but should it be thought preferable to keep the boxes closed, the buik plank or floor of the waggon, or even its sides, may be made use of for the deck. If the traveller contemplates a long voyage, and requires a sharper boat so as to attain more speed, he may make four of his boxes (marked D 7, 8, 9, 10) tapering diagonally to 8in. at one end; but he must take care that they are made in pairs, so that he may be able to place the straight and the diagonal side of each in its proper position in the raft. He will then also find that they will be easily arranged so that each pair will stow square in the waggon; then the side boxes (D 11 to 14) must be made only 8in. wide at the larger end, tapering as before at the smaller, and, with a slight diminution of floating power, he will have a sharper and more speedy boat. The figures in the central spaces of B indicate the changes of position in the numbered boxes, and the dotted lines show the increase of sharpness at the ends. It is of importance that in the boxes which taper, one side should be straight and square with the end, and one only diagonal, as it might be necessary in a narrow stream, to place both the lines of boxes close together, and then the line of the inner sides being perfectly straight and the outer tapering, the whole would form one boat sharp enough at either end.
Some of the yoke “skeis” might be left in their sockets where required, as shown in the elevation, or other pieces might be cut to a proper length, to serve for tholes or rowlocks, awning stanchions, or belaying pins. If a mast were needed, it might be stepped by cutting jaws like those on the gaff of a cutter, and setting them across one of the yokes. The fork of a branch might serve; but as poles generally become thinner upward, and the natural position would be thus reversed, it would be less laborious to cut or fit on jaws to the butt of the pole, and leave the fork at top for the halyards to run over. Two back stays would be required, spreading at a considerable angle; and one or two fore stays, with sufficient spread not to interfere with the free motion of the yard; two, three, or four poles, set up as atriangle or sheer legs, would also serve, and then only one stay, stretching perpendicularly downwards between them, would be required.
In ferrying wheels over, the readiest way (if the breadth of the boat permits) is to keep each pair on their own axle, which is laid across the boat, with the wheels overhanging each side.
Even if the traveller be not provided with a waggon, he must have with him a quantity of stores, or materials for whatever scientific pursuit he is engaged in, as well as beads, calico, or other currency of the country, to pay for service, or purchase food; and if his boxes for containing these were all of uniform size, they would serve equally well as a raft; the copper boxes described at pages8 and 9are expressly designed for this service.
To float waggons.
In floating a waggon over without extraneous assistance, the buik plank or floor, the water cask, the fore and after chests, and the side boxes, will be sufficient, if tolerably water-tight—and if not, they may easily be made so, either by covering them with canvas, by caulking them or even laying them in the river all night to let the wood swell, which will generally have the desired effect. But it would be well, if this is at all doubtful, to remove the drag-chains, “reim-schoens,” and all easily detachable ironwork, and first float over only the under carriage and its wheels. If a line can be previously stretched across the river, and the oxen ready in their yokes on the other side attached to it, they may save much trouble by towing it across, while one or two men steer till the wheels take the ground, and it is drawn on shore in the natural way. The buik plank, with the casks and chests still fast to it, can be taken back for the rest of the heavy gear, and as much of the cargo as it will carry. If large hollow reeds—the drier the better—can be obtained, faggots of these can be fastened fore and aft, within the side chests, filling up nearly the whole space, except sufficient for the men to stand on in the centre; and a light platform can be laid above the top of the chests, on which to lay light goods which require to be kept dry. But bear in mind that the cargo a raft can carry above water is always small, and not at all like the mountain of treasure invariably represented on that of Robinson Crusoe.
About 1849 or 1850, while staying with our fellow-traveller, JosephMacabe, at Vaal River, an extraordinary drought prevailed; the great river could be crossed dryshod at the “drift” by means of stepping-stones, though there were long reaches above and below in which a good-sized vessel might have floated, and on one of the sand-banks then laid bare appeared an upright pole, belonging to a waggon which the owner had attempted to float over with bundles of green reeds, leaving the “rein-schoems” and drag-chains on as ballast, and previously removing the sides, the chests, buik plank, and everything else that could impede its passage to the bottom.
EXTEMPORE SHEARS.
EXTEMPORE SHEARS.
Extricating waggons from quicksands, &c.
Whilst gazing at this odd landmark, Mynheer appeared; with him came a goodly staff of tall athletic sons and nephews, attended by a numerous train of native helpers. On digging for the waggon, it was found to have settled so far below the sand that when the tallest of the family stood on the tire of the wheel his shoulders were barely at the surface of the water, and Mynheer had yoked his oxen and was attempting to draw out the waggon by a horizontal strain. We forbore to offer advice which would certainly have been rejected, but retired to the house, and when one of the sons visited us after the day’s fruitless labour, we rigged a pair of miniature shears, and, letting them incline over a weight, showed how easily it might be lifted by applying a horizontal strain to cause the shears to rise to a vertical position. The result of this was thatMynheer sent up a request that, as “een groote zee-water’s men,” we would come and give him a bit of advice. We accordingly suggested that, as the sand was not firm enough to set the shear legs upon, he should cut three good-sized beams, and laying one horizontally, cut mortices in the ends, while tenons were cut on the other two to fit in them, the apex of the triangle being firmly lashed with the “reims” or thongs of softened hide, used for spanning in the oxen. The triangle was now set up, sloping somewhat over the fore-stell or carriage of the buried waggon, and one of the drag-chains was fastened to the wheel and led over the top of the shears, whence, lengthened out by the other chain and spare rope, it was bent on to the “trek-touw,” to which the oxen were already yoked. At length the cattle bent them to the yokes, the gear tightened and strained, the dissel-boom, that so long had been our beacon, began to rise, when some fastening gave way and all came down by the run; the pole, however, remaining a foot higher than it was before. A native was desired to refasten the chain; and, sticking two fingers of his left hand into his nostrils in a manner no European could imitate, he settled down below the water, and worked with his right hand only. Piece by piece the waggon was hauled out during the succeeding days, after having been three years and three days imbedded.
In exploring countries covered with dense forests or difficult to be traversed, rafts are wonderfully useful for navigating lakes and rivers, or for conveying your goods. Dr. R. Brown, commander of the expedition in Vancouver’s Island, favours us with the following note:—
Trenneled rafts.
“We travelled long distances by rafts in Vancouver’s Island, and, in order to have facilities for making them, we caused an auger (2in.) to be constructed with a ring-head instead of the usual spike with a nut, so that, by a piece of wood being put through it, a handle might be extemporised. Generally speaking we could find dry fallen cedar (Thuja gigantea, Natl.) by the borders of lakes or rivers, or if not living cotton wood (Salix Scouleriana) will do; and in fact any wood, though pine is rather too heavy and apt to get waterlogged.
“Cutting two lengths of logs, the length of the raft required, sharpening the ‘bows’ off roughly, we laid them on the ground, parallel, andas far apart as we wished them. Then two cross-pieces, composed of a log split in two, were pegged by means of the auger across near the ends, over them was built a floor of split cedar boards. Two rowlocks were pegged in here and there according to the number of rowers required, and one pair at the end for a steering oar. Oars were soon extemporised by means of the axe, and the raft moved lazily along at about one and a half or two miles an hour on a lake, but the labour was infinitely easier than working through the wood with a seventy or eighty pound load on your back.
“Sometimes we constructed even ruder rafts than these. Mr. Frederick Whymper and Mr. Ranald M’Donald once descended twenty miles of a river on a little raft composed of the boards out of an Indian’s hunting lodge, tying it together with withes of cedar twigs, which are very tough, and used by the Indians for sewing their canoes and fastening their lodge planks together. The holes they made with pistol bullets.”
Principles of raft building.
The general principle on which all rafts are or ought to be constructed is nearly the same; that is, if they are intended to be worked or to make progress through the water, as in most cases is desirable. The exceptions to this are generally when it is merely desired to float down a stream, abandoning the raft as worthless when the voyage is completed, or when produce or manufacture of any kind has to be brought down from a higher country to a lower, and, from its buoyancy it may be collected into a raft, which, on reaching its destination, may be reduced to its component parts and sold; or where, as in still more exceptional cases, it is necessary to provide floating habitations for families or small communities without reference to locomotion, which is effected by other means.
In the first and most general case, the object is to obtain sufficient carrying power with as little resistance to progression as possible; and to this end the larger spars, on which the buoyancy of the whole depends, ought to be laid parallel to, and at such a distance from, each other as seems necessary either to insure the requisite stability, to give sufficient room on deck, or to suit the length of those that are to be used as cross-beams; but they should never be laid close together so as to present a broad united surface to be forced through the water,nor even so close as to convert that portion of fluid between them into dead water to be dragged like a solid body with the raft. We would say, if there be two or more spars of equal size, let the interval between them be at least three times as broad as their diameter, and generally let the width of your raft be not more than one-sixth of its length. If you have only one large spar, let that form the centre, or, as it may be called, the keel, and let the smaller ones, either singly or lashed together in bundles of convenient size, be laid parallel to it at proper distances on either side. Endeavour as much as possible to keep your cross-beams as high above the water as possible, for if these are submerged, their sides will offer as much resistance to your progress as if the whole raft had been filled up with solid logs. On this account, therefore, it would be advisable to lash or pin on the top of each of the main beams either a smaller one to increase its height, or short pieces at intervals, as chocks on which to lay the cross-beams.
Let the ends of the spars that form your floats be pointed to an acute angle by either sawing off wedge-shaped pieces of about 15° or 20° in the sides, or chopping them with axe or adze.
The cross-beams at each end and one in the centre must be securely fastened. Do not have too many, nor keep them too close together; but let the others cross diagonally in opposite directions, or even brace the frame thus formed by stout ropes stretched diagonally from corner to corner, and seized together with smaller lines where they cross each other in the centre, which will give great firmness and rigidity to the structure.
Let us suppose, for instance, the case of a stranded or waterlogged brig of about 200 tons, of which the lower masts and the wreck of some of the other spars are still available. If the masts can be got out so much the better, for they would be in the whole not much short of 60ft. long; but it is much more probable they would have to be cut by the board, and perhaps also below the hounds, which would still leave clean spars between 30ft. and 40ft. in length, and most likely 14in. thick. If the mast-heads were left on they would be at least 10ft. longer, but the tops should be removed, and the projecting portion of the hounds chopped down so as to offer as little impediment to progress as possible; the masts should be laid parallelto each other about 8ft. apart, and the main boom, lower yards and jib boom, or spare topmast, if available, lashed together as a faggot, and laid between them as a central spar. A short, stout spar, such as the heel of a broken topmast, should then be laid across at 6ft. or 8ft. from either end, and firmly lashed to them, and one, or at most two, more may be laid across in like manner near the centre; the intervals between these should be occupied by small spars laid across diagonally, or by cross bracings of rope as before described; it is of little use to peg or treenail the parts together, unless the water is very smooth, for the pegs would be sure to break with the working of the raft in a heavy sea. We have suggested the heels of the topmasts as crossbeams, because their thickness would help to raise the platform above the level of the sea, and this might be farther raised by laying a couple of studding sail booms fore and aft upon the masts under them, and laying the deck with short spars or pieces of plank across the booms. If tools can be got at or used, mortices may be sunk in the masts, or fore and aft spars, and handspikes or capstan bars set upright in them at intervals of 6ft.; these will carry a light rail to prevent men being washed off, and will serve to spread an awning when such a luxury can be attempted, and also as supports to which rowlocks can conveniently be fastened.
If the vessel is provided with sleeping bunks, which are sometimes lashed to ring-bolts on the deck, it might be well to secure at least one of them; if not an empty hogshead or anything that can serve as a place of temporary shelter for a wearied man, or for the commander to consult his charts and compass in, should be fitted on the platform. A sheet of iron, or non-combustible material of any kind, should be taken to form the foundation of a fire-place; and if there is choice of provisions, preserved fresh meat should be taken in preference to salt, with as much biscuit, vegetables, vinegar, sugar, tea or coffee, and fresh water, as circumstances permit. If canvas is at hand, sails will be easily made, if not, any flat surface, sheets of iron or planks, either separate or framed together, may be set up that the raft may sail free, or trimmed for her to go as near the wind as she will lie.
If three casks are available as floating power, make a triangle of studding sail booms, and lash each angle firmly on the top of one of thecasks, taking care to keep their heads pointing forward to that which is intended to be the bow; then on these spars build such platform as you need, and erect your mast and sail.