How to Build and Sail a Small
Boat— II.
By Stillman Taylor
{Concluded from May Issue)
��IN rigging the boat with a single sail, known as "cat-rig," the mast should be stepped well forward, say about i8 ins. from the stem. If a sloop rig is preferred, the mast is stepped farther aft, to make more room for the head-sail or jib. The cat-rig is the best for a small boat. It is faster and is much more easily and quickly handled. In any case, where the hole is cut in the deck, a mast-block must be screwed firmly on the underside of the deck, and a second block with a hole cut in the center for the heel of the mast to set in, is screwed to the floor directly under the mast-hole in the deck.
The boat should be painted with three coats of good paint, and to avoid the difficulty of reaching the extreme parts of bow and stern after the decking is on, paint these places as the work progresses, not forgetting to paint the bottom underneath the keel, and the inside of the centerboard trunk. A single coat of thick paint will suffice. The outside, or the entire coaming may be finished "bright" if desired, in which case give it three or four coats of good spar varnish.
The mast may be rounded by planing and tapering a spruce or white pine or cedar stick, 3 ins. by 3 ins.; or a natural pole of the required diameter may be cut in the woods. Make it 3 ins. in diameter from heel to deck, then a uniform taper to the top which should be 2 ins. Square the heel to fit the mast step, making a loose fit, to allow for swelling. A round spar is not at all difficult to make. Simply plane off the four corners, then take these corners off to make it six-sided. Now plane these six corners off and a nearly round spar is secured. Scrape round with a steel cabinet scraper, and finish with sand- paper.
The boom should be about 2j^ ins. in the center, tapering to 2 ins. at the
��foot (mast end) and about i>^ ins. at the other end. The gaff may be made 2 ins. in the center, tapering to 1% ins. at either end. Both boom and gaff should be made at least 6 ins. longer than the width of sail, to allow for stretching of the canvas. A goose-neck attachment may be used to attach the boom to the mast, or a patent sail hoist may be used for both boom and gaff. These are expensive, and the ordi- nary boom and gafT-jaws will answer. Jaws may be purchased with cleats and
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��Traveler
��^ Co
���last Band ^ ^ (S-\ r<±35>
Deck-Pulley
��Cleat
��Sister-Hook Pulley
��Bow-Chock
��These diagrams show the construction of several small parts of the boat
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