The dimensions of the mizzen sail
were: along the boom, 5 feet; along the yard, 5-1/2 feet; and at the
leach, 6 feet. The boom was attached to a strap of leather on the mast,
and was thus given freedom to swing around in any desired position. The
yard was similarly attached, and was raised by a cord, which passed
through pulleys at the top and at the base of the mast and extended to a
cleat within easy reach of the occupant of the boat. A double paddle was
fashioned from a board 1 inch thick, 6 in wide and 6 feet long. The blades
were shaved down to a thickness of 3/8 of an inch at the edges.
It will be observed that we used no iron in the construction of this boat.
Uncle Ed has warned us not to, because iron rusts out so easily and is apt
to damage both the canvas and the wood with which it is in contact.
A canoe is rather a tipsy thing to sail in, as we soon learned, and it was
lucky that we could all swim, else our vacation might have ended very
tragically; for the very first time Bill and I tried the boat an
unexpected gust of wind struck us and over we went. We were very poor
sailors at first, but it didn't take us long to catch on.
Lee Boards.
One thing that bothered us greatly in sailing was the keel of our canoe.
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