had soaked in water for a day or so to render them pliable enough to be bent into place.  These hoops were split to a width of 1/2 inch, and secured first to the keelson, then to the longitudinal strips and finally to the gunwales.  Copper tacks were used for nailing the ribs in place, and these were long enough to be passed through the rib bands and clinched on the outside.  Forty cross ribs were nailed on, and at the center of the canoe they were spaced about three inches apart.  The center form was then removed and cut along the dotted lines shown in Fig. 106.  The semicircular pieces thus obtained were now strengthened with strips on their inner edges, and wedged in between the keelson and the gunwales, to which they were nailed, as shown in Fig. 108.  A pair of cleats nailed to the cross ribs served as supports for the seat of the canoe.  The frame of the boat was completed by nailing in place two deck beams of 1/2-inch square pine and four corner pieces between the gunwales and the bulkheads, so as to make an elliptical well hole or deck opening.  Before laying on the canvas covering the edges of the gunwales, keelson, deck beams, stem and stern posts were smoothed down with sandpaper.

[Illustration:  Fig. 108.  Center Braces.]

[Illustration:  Fig 109.  Top View of the Canoe Frame.]

[Illustration:  Fig 110.  Side View of the Canoe Frame.]

[Illustration:  Fig. 111.  Lacing the Canvas on the Frame.]

Stretching on the Canvas.

[Illustration:  Fig. 112.  Tacking the Canvas to the Keel.]

The frame was laid in the center of the canvas and the latter drawn around it.  Then with a large needle and strong twine we sewed both edges of the cloth together with long stitches, lacing the canvas over the frame as a shoe is laced over a foot.  This done, the boat was turned deck downward and the canvas was tacked to the keelson.  In each case, before driving in a tack a daub of white lead was applied, to water-proof the spot.  At the stem and stern a gore (narrow triangular piece) was cut out of the canvas so as to make it lie smooth on the frame, and white lead was painted in between the overlapping edges.  The canoe was then turned deck upward and the lacing tightened, while we carefully worked out all wrinkles in the cloth.  After tacking the canvas along the gunwales on the outside, it was trimmed off, leaving sufficient margin to be brought over the gunwales and tacked inside.  Two triangular pieces were cut out for the decks, and these were lapped over the outer canvas and tacked to the gunwales.  A narrow molding along the edge of the boat served to cover the tack heads and added a certain finish to the canoe.  A keel plate 2 inches wide and 1 inch thick was attached to the outside of the boat, and then, after wetting the canvas, it was given a coat of white lead and oil.  When this was perfectly dry it was sandpapered and the second coat applied.

The Rudder.