t was then firmly
nailed to the backbone. The back of the chair was cut down so that it
just cleared the tiller.

A "LEG-OF-MUTTON" SAIL.

[Illustration: Fig. 222. Leg-of-Mutton Sail.]

[Illustration: Fig. 223. The Sailor's Stitch.]

[Illustration: Fig. 224. Laying Out the Sail.]

Everything was now completed but the sail. This was a triangular or
"leg-of-mutton" affair, of the dimensions given in Fig. 222. It was made
of light canvas, 30 inches wide, of which we bought 14 yards. Out of
this we took one strip 18 feet long, one 13 feet, one 8 feet, and one 3
feet long. We had no sewing machine, and therefore had to sew the strips
together by hand. The selvedge edges of the strips were lapped over each
other about an inch and then they were sewed together sailor fashion,
that is, each edge was hemmed down, as shown in Fig. 223. The strips
were sewed together so that at the foot each projected at least 21
inches below the next shorter one. This done, the sail was cut to the
dimensions given, allowing 1-1/2 inches all around for the hem. The hem
was turned over a light rope, forming a strong corded edge. At the clew,
tack and head loops were formed in the rope which projected from the
canvas, and at intervals along the foot the canvas was cut away,
exposing the rope so that the sail could be laced to the boom, as
illustrated. The boom was a pole 11 feet long attached to the mast by
means of a screw hook threaded into the end of the boom and hooked into
a screw eye on the mast, after which the screw hook was hammered so it
would close over the screw eye to keep it from slipping off. The sail
was raised by a halyard passing over a block at the top of the mast. The
sheet was fastened near the end of the boom, passed through a block on
the backbone, back of the tiller, and through another block on the boom,
and was led to a cleat within easy reach of the chair seat.

A SAIL THROUGH THE COUNTRY.

[Illustration: Fig. 225. A Sail on the Land Yacht.]

Our land yacht proved to be quite a successful craft in the flat country
around the school. Of course, we could not sail everywhere; a country
road is too narrow for any tacking when it comes to sailing against the
wind. We hadn't thought of that when we made our trial trip. A strong
east wind was blowing and so we ventured forth on a road that led due
west from our school. Off we sped before the wind for two miles, until
we came to a sharp turn in the road. Then we began