Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/635

 open Canoe Cruising

I. — This article describes the open, canvas-covered canoe, its economy in first cost and maintenance and its all- around possibilities as a paddling, cruising and sailing craft

By E. T. Kovsrr

��THESE wartime days have impressed many with the fact which a com- parative few realized years ago: that the abiUty to travel comfortably with light equipment, to keep dry and comfortable in wet and cold and to be able to cook a meal quickly and easily with little fuel and few utensils is an accomplishment.

And this accomplishment, which it is costing Uncle Sam months of time and thousands in money to teach his recruits, is what his first season of cruising gives to the canoeist.

The open canvas-covered canoe, con- sidering its carrying capacity and cruis- ing ability, is, both in first cost and in maintenance, the most economical craft built. It can be purchased so cheaply that it is hardly an economy to build one's own.

Give it a coat of varnish each season, and a little paint each alternate year and the canoe is good for an indefinite length of time.

For an afternoon on the w-ater, it affords more enjoyment than a row boat, as the paddler can see his course ahead without the neck-twisting process re- quired of the oarsman. As a cruiser, it wull go almost anywhere that the small launch or sailboat can navigate and into many nooks and waterways where neither may venture \vithout grounding. As a sailing craft, it affords all the sport and excitement of the small yacht at a frac- tion of the expense

For all-around paddling and sailing, sometimes single-handed and sometimes with a companion, a 17-ft. canoe is the best. For a small boy who cruises alone, a 15-ft. craft is better because it is easier to handle under paddle in a beam wind, while for continuous double cruising on waters where carriers are absent, 18 ft. is not too long. Generally speaking, however, the 17-footer has been found to be the best all around canoe. It is large enough to accommodate a crew of two vath their camp outfit, but it is not too

��large for one man to pull above high water mark, and it is of sufficient size to carry a satisfying sail area distributed in a double rig.

A model with a little deadrise (that is a midship section coming down to the keel in a slight "V" shape) holds up to the wind better and at slight sacrifice of cargo carrying capacity, as compared with the fiat floored model.

By all means choose a canoe with an outside keel which takes the wear and tear which the canvas covering would otherwise receive when beaching the boat or pulling it on and off the float. If pos- sible, see that the craft has wide outside

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Two layers of canvas sewed together in par- allel lines making pockets for cork filling

beveled gunwales which throw off a choppy wave that would otherwise climb aboard.

On a 17-ft. canoe, 15-in. decks at each end are long enough. Longer ones add to cost and weight and decrease the seat- ing and stowage space while adding very little to the weatherlines. An open woven seat, 10 in. wide at the bow and one at the stern, should be hung just be- low the gunwales; this allows one to sit with the knees at a comfortable angle. Some builders drop the seat lower, claim- ing increased stability, but the first lesson which the canoeist should learn is that seats are to be used only in calm weather. When things rough up one should get down on the floor cushion.

Paddles are made in two general types.

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