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purpose that of preventing the canoe from sinking, are provided with water-tight hatches... and alleviate the necessity of carrying perishable stores in an India rubber bag. Hitherto the India rubber bag has been a necessary part of every canoeist's outfit, and the bane of his existence. From six to twelve times each day it becomes necessary to unlace and relace the mouth of that bag; and there is no doubt that if Satan could have enticed Job into cruising with an India rubber bag, his victory over the patriarch would have been assured. (Job, it would seem, had heard of 'dry bags'.)
These hatches, when placed in position and locked, enable her owner to pack her with everything necessary for a cruise, and to send her by rail or steamboat to any destination as safely as if she were an ordinary travelling trunk. When cruising, one of these extra hatches is stowed below, while the other takes the place of an apron in protecting the captain from the drip of the paddle and from occasional spray.
In point of speed, the 'Shadow' is certainly more than a match for the 'Herald' in a stiff breeze, and is probably little if any inferior to her in light winds. In weight, there is nothing to choose between any of the four types of canoes, as any one of them, if not over fourteen feet long, will weigh not more than sixty pounds.
It is difficult to see in what way the 'Shadow' can be improved. As a cruising canoe she is nearly perfect. If some material lighter than wood, and equal to it in all other respects, should be discovered, a lighter, and therefore a better, canoe might be built, but within the materials now at our command the 'Shadow' can not be surpassed.
Within the 'Shadow', the furthest limits of the canoeable - to speak after the manner of the philosophers - can be explored. Her captain can cruise in the Sound and along the coast wherever a 'Nautilus' could venture, and has the comfort of knowing that should it become necessary for him to strike his masts, and keep his canoe with her head to the wind by means of the paddle, he will not be completely exhausted at the end of the first hour. He can challenge a 'Rob Roy' to explore with him the wilds of the Maine wilderness, knowing that at night he can sleep, in spite of rain, amid mosquitoes, while his comrade passes the midnight hours in alternately choking under his deck or delivering himself a prey to mosquitoes while he emerges for a temporary supply of air. He can run the rapids of the St. Lawrence as easily as the captain of a 'Herald'; and if both canoeists capsize, the 'Shadow' will float herself and her cargo, and support in addition the weight of the captain of the lost 'Herald' while he clings to her stern. The 'Shadow' is the consummate flower of canoe building, and must ultimately supersede all her rivals.
Wing Sail Question (BenF)
I was very interested in DennisD's swingsail (GOSSIP, Sept., 2000), if only because it looks easy and cheap. Could we have some more details, particularly what profile are the foils? Has he tried different configurations? (Over to you, Dennis - Ed.)
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