Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1889-10-04
EVOLUTION OF THE BOAT.
MANY IDEAS IN ITS CONSTRUCTION
COME FROM SAvAGES.
The Swift Catamaran-Sails Made of
Cocoanut Matting-The Center
board no Modern Invention.

Wifi. P. Pond says: GAS the flood left
only the ark of Noah in the world, it Is
fair to suppose that for time the ship
ping of the world was limited, and there
is no record CT any of Noahs family in
teresting themselves in that industry.
I'm the earlier records of Egypt and
China there is continuous mention of
river craft, but the Phpnicians, and after
them the Carthaginians, made great i'm
provements in the craft of the day, but
these consisted principally of galleys,
having the motive power of oars, assisted
by sails, to be used before the wind. Al
ter the fall of Carthage the art languished,
and it was not until the close of the
twelfth century that an impulse was given
to it by the introduction of the knOwl-
edge of the magnet. 1t is difficult to
trace the successive steps from this period,
and more than interesting to find that for
speed the craft of the so-called savage
races have always surpassed those of the
civilized nations. The catamaran, rightly
considered, is a marvel of ingenuity, and
there appears to be no reliable record of
its Introduction.
1T consists Of one long rather narrow
boat, with almost straight sides, carrying
an enormous sail and is only kept from
capsizing by smaller boat, which is
lashed by species of open raft IN a po-
sition parallel to the larger one. These
boats before the wind have lightning
speed, but they cannot ''tack" or sail in
any direction that puts the wind any
where but directly behind them.
The surfboat of the Cingalese is a
catamaran of a slightly different plan.
The hull is about thirty feet long, and
not more than eighteen inches wide at
any point; two curved arms hold in pO-
sition at the side sharpened log in
place of another boat, and huge sail
twelve by twelve, rugged on spirit at
tached to a bamboo mast, completed the
outfit. Manned by crew of three ma
tives, these fragile-looking craft sail
through the toughest surf, riding over
the breaking crests of the waves, where
an open boat would be swamped and a
large sailing vessel would break her back
in less time than it takes to tell it.
''From these two boats it is claimed all
our modern yachts have sprung by OBJ
tanning the necessary resistance given by
the outrigger, from an increase in depth
and breadth in the main craft, which do
ing away with the cumberson and awk-
ward second boat, also gave the power to
tack and reach, until, with the aid of
the centerboard, good yacht can almost
sail right into the wind instead of only
before it. The first step to this perfec-
ton is to be found in the double canoe of
At how l,o ;el
ands of the Pacific Ocean. This craft
brings the two canoes quite close togeth-
er, connecting them amidships by a
broad square platform, on which is built
a light frame house, the interior of
which is used as stowage, and the roof
takes the place of the bridge on a steam
boat, from where the chief issues his or
ders directing the course of the boat.
The two canoes are also decked over and
are used for sleeping places for the crew.
The sail of the Fijians is made of mat
ting, the material being obtained from
the leaves of the cocoa-nut palm, and,
strange to say, this is first woven into
lengths about two feet wide and twenty
feet long, and these are then joined to-
gether exactly on the principle that our
canvas sails of to-day are made.
1.-The centerboard is generally looked
upon as modern invention which revo-
lutionizes sailing yachts, but its principle
is as old as the hills. The Bosieman, or
Bushman, of South Africa, uses it in
swift currents, applying it to the human
body in swimming. His device consists
of light, fiat piece of board, which is
fastened to the right shoulder, and under
the arm. When in the water the point
is placed directly across the stream so
that the great force of water comes
upon it, while the swimmer, with the
left arm and feet, swims directly in the
teeth Of the current and while seemingly
wasting his strength in a direct combat
with the full force of water, slowly pro-
crosses to the opposite side. Even the
Dutchmen of the sixteenth century had
knowledge of this appliance, and
glance at one of the pictures of their old
galiots shows large triangular piece of
wood on the starboard side of the vessel,
which, in sailing on wind, was lowered
into the water. Many of our canal boats
of the present day, and also the English
coasting sloops, still have this piece of
wood on their sides, but it is immovable,
intended only as an ornament, and no
idea Of its one time use is known by the
sailor of the craft so decorated"