The Scientific American Boy | Page 7

which was connected by a short stick to another spar

tied to the mainsail about eighteen inches lower down. The sail was
strengthened with an extra strip of cloth along the lower spar, and the
tie strings were applied in the usual way. The connecting stick, or
topmast we may call it, was hinged to the lower spar by means of a
short piece of leather strap, which was passed round the spar in the
form of a loop and its two ends nailed to the bottom of the topmast. The
topmast extended above the upper spar a short distance, and to this we
fastened the flag which our society had adopted. A couple of strong
cords were secured to the center spar to provide for fastening the sail
onto the skater. Tied to the lower corners of the mainsail were two
sticks which were used for guiding the sail when in flight.
The different methods of sailing with this rig are shown in Figs. 17-20.
When sailing with the wind the skater would stand very erect, bending
backward in proportion as the wind blew fresher. By inclining the sail
in one direction or the other, the skater could tack to port or starboard.
When moving against the wind by skating in the usual way, the body
was bent forward in such manner that the sail lay horizontal, so that it
would not offer a purchase for the wind.
[Illustration: Fig. 17. Before the Wind.]
[Illustration: Fig. 18. Topsail Lowered.]
[Illustration: Fig. 19. Skating against the Wind.]
[Illustration: Fig. 20. On the Port Tack.]

Bat's Wings.
One more sail deserves mention. It was Bill's idea, and it came near to
ending his career the first day he tried it. It had no spars at all, but was
merely a strip of cloth of somewhat triangular shape. The upper side
was tied to the head, and the two corners to the wrists, while the lower
portion was tied to the ankles. This converted him into a huge
white-winged bat. Bill had to try it at once, even though the rest of the
sails were not finished, and a very comical spectacle he made as he

flapped his wings in his endeavors to tack. When the wind was too
strong for him he had merely to drop his arms and thus lower sail. At
length he became tired of holding his arms out at full length, and I got
him a stick to put over his shoulders and rest his arms on. But that stick
was Bill's undoing, for coming around a sudden bend in the canal he
caught the full force of the wind, which knocked him flat on his back
before he could disentangle himself from the stick and lower sail. It
took us some time to bring him back to consciousness, and a very
scared lot of boys we were for a while. However, the lesson was a good
one, for after that we were very cautious in experimenting with sails
that had to be tied on, such as the Danish rig and the lanteen rig, before
Reddy invented the mast step.
It was not until the day after Christmas that the sails were all completed,
but then there was scarcely any wind blowing and we could not attempt
the expedition to the island.
[Illustration: Fig. 21. Bat Wing Sail.]
CHAPTER III.
SNOW SHOES, SKIS AND SWAMP SHOES.
The next day, Sunday, it began to snow, and we realized that our
chance of skating up to Willow Clump Island was spoiled. All the
afternoon it snowed, and the next morning we woke to find the ground
covered to a depth of eight inches and snow still falling. But who ever
heard of a boy complaining because there was snow on the ground?
Here were new difficulties to overcome, new problems to solve, and
new sports provided for our amusement. There was no disappointment
shown by any of the members of the S. S. I. E. E. of W. C. I., as they
met in the woodshed immediately after breakfast to discuss
proceedings for the day. There seemed to be but one way of reaching
the island, and that was by means of snow shoes. Bill had only a vague
idea of how snow shoes were made.

Chair Seat Snow Shoe.
The first pair was made from a couple of thin wooden chair seats which
we found in the shed. They proved quite serviceable, being very light
and offering a fairly large bearing surface. The chair seats were
trimmed off at each side to make the shoes less clumsy, and a loop of
leather was fastened near the center of each shoe, in which the toe
could be slipped. This shoe possessed the disadvantage of being too flat
and of picking up