The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1883-05-11
A PaDcr Roat,.

During one of my summer vacations
among the lakes of Central New York,
| resolved to make, if possible. Il paper
boat which should be easy TO row and
paddle, light enough To be carried short
distances with comparative ease, and, at
the same time, safe and even durable if
managed with reasonable care.
1t was to be twelve feet long. | first
made Il framework on which to stretch
| the paper.
For this latter purpose bought about
eighteen yards of very strong wrapping
paper. II was of light cream color,
smooth ON the surface, and very tough
but neither stiff nor very thick; and, be-
ing made in long rolls. it could be OBJ
tanned of almost any length desired. II
was only about Il yard wide, SO that it
required two brcadths to reach arOucd
the frame in the widest part. cut
enough of the roll TO cover the frame,
and soaked il for ew.minutcs i'm water
then turned the frame upside down
and fastened the edges of the two strips
of paper TO it, by tapping them careful
ly on the under side of the bottom-b board
and lacking them To it, SO that the pap
er hung down loosely on all sides. II
was then trimmed, Tapped, and doubled
over rs smoothly Us possible 1T the ends
of the frame. and held in place by means
of small clamps. Along the edges it
was drawn tight, trimmed, and doubled
down over the gunwale, where it was
firmly held by slipping strips of ash just
inside of the gunwale. The sinkagc
caused by the drying stretched the pap
er, thus fastened, tightly over the frame.
work. As soon rs thoroughly dry, il
was vanished, inside and out. with as
phaltum varnish thinned with turpen-
tine, and, rs soon rs that had soaked
in, Il second coat of the same varniSh
was applied, but with less turpentine,,
and, finally, the laps or joints of the
paper were covered with pieces of mus.
lin stuck on with the unthinned varnish.
The loose strips of ash were now remov-
ed, and another layer of paper was put
on, and fastened along the edge of the
boat by replacing the strips as before.
When the paper was dry, and the whole
outside of the boat vanished several
times, until it presented a smooth, shin.
ing surface, ] covered the whole boat
with unbleacbed muslin, sewed at the
ends and tackled along the glInwales.
1t was then frightened by shrinking, and
finally received three coats of u mixture
of varnish and paint. then took some
split rattan, and, after wetting it, wound
it firmly around both gunwale and in
side strip. passing it through small hole.
punched in the paper just below the gun.
vale, until the inside and outside strips
were bound together into one strong
gunwale.
A double-bladcd paddle was ut first
used To propel il, and answered the piir.
pose, but was found To be awkward, the
boat being rather too wide. 1t was af.
ler"ard rugged with wooden, and final
ly with iron, rowlocks and light oars.
| also put i'm u movable seat. With
these improvements il was so satisfactory
that have since made no changes. Foi
carrying the boat, | also used II sort OF
yoke. which brings all the weight upon
the shoulders, and i'm that way Lighters
the labor
During the two years that have useO
my boat, have often landed il, through
heavy breakers, on u stony shore, be-
sides running it against fair number
of submerged snags and stones, some.
times with considerable force. but, owing
to its lightness and toughness, it never
received the slightest injury. ! have
been out in it i'm very heavy seas, and
have found it much easier to manage al
such times than heavier boat. H.
rowing parallel to high waves it is apt
to ship Il little water occasionally, unless
carefully managed, but all small boats
with low sides experience this difficulty
The approximate cost of the materi.
ais used in the construction of the canoe
was Us follows:
OTIS. Varnish. Sl.9O; Is yds. Paper.
$l.20; 8yds. Cloth, ~ cts; Bottom
board, 60 cts; Gunwales, 80 cts; Cross
boards, % cts; Paint, 80 cts; Split rat
ian, 25 cts; Nails, screws, wire, etc..
20 cts. Total, 36.l7.-St. Nicholas.