herwise of the same dimensions. The skates
were laid face downward on the blocks with the clamping levers open;
then we marked the places where the clamping jaws touched the wood and
drilled holes at these points. The forward end of each block was also
tapered off to fit flat against the face of the skate. Then by inserting
the jaws in the holes and closing the levers, the skate was clamped to
the block, just as it would be to a shoe. The two 2-inch blocks were
bolted to the ends of the crosspiece, but the third block needed further
attention, as it was to be used for the rudder or steering runner.

[Illustration: Fig. 167. The Tiller.]

[Illustration: Fig. 168. Drilling the Mast Step.]

The rudder post was shaped from a block of hardwood 3 inches square and
10 inches long. Two inches from the lower end saw cuts were made in the
side of the block to a depth of 3/4 inch. Then with a chisel the sides
were split off, forming a large pin with a square shank 8 inches long.
Next the corners of the shank were cut off, rounding it to a diameter of
1-1/2 inches. The runner block was fastened securely to the head of the
rudder post with screws. A 1-1/2-inch hole was now drilled into the
backbone at the stern end to receive the rudder post. A tiller was next
cut out of a 1-inch board to the shape shown in Fig. 167. A slot was cut
in the end of the tiller, and the latter fitted snugly over the top of
the post, where it was held in place by screws threaded in through the
sides.

[Illustration: Fig. 169. The Mainsail.]

The mast of our boat was a pole 8 feet long, tapering from a diameter 2
inches at the base to 1-1/2 inches at the top. A step for the mast was
cut from a 2 by 4 block 8 inches long. A 2-inch hole was drilled into
the face of this block. We had no drill large enough to bore this hole,
but accomplished the same result by drilling eight 1/2-inch holes inside
of a 2-inch circle (Fig. 168), and then used a chisel to cut off the
projecting pieces. The mast step was firmly bolted to the backbone at
its thickest part, that is, just four feet from the forward end. The
mast was braced with stay ropes stretched from the top to the forward
end of the backbone and to the ends of the crosspiece. A 9-foot pole,
tapering from 1-1/2 inches to 1 inch in diameter, was used for the boom
of the mainsail, and for the gaff we used a 6-foot pole of the same
diameter.

[Illustration: Fig. 170. Jaws of the Boom.]

[Illustration: Fig. 1