The Ice Boat.

[Illustration:  Fig. 163.  The Backbone.]

School commenced on the 20th of September that year, so we hadn’t much time to spare.  Work was begun immediately on the ice boat.  Our first ice boat was rather a crude one.  A 2 by 4 inch scantling 14 feet long was used for the backbone of the boat.  The scantling was placed on edge, and to lighten it and improve its appearance it was tapered fore and aft from a point 4 feet from the bow end.  The thickness of the ends of the backbone was but 2 inches, as shown in Fig. 163.  To the under edge of the backbone, 5 feet from the forward end, a crosspiece was nailed.  This crosspiece was a 1-inch board 6 inches wide and 9 feet long.  Braces were then run from the ends of the crosspiece to the forward and rear ends of the backbone, and at the rear end several boards nailed across the braces served as a seat for the boat.

[Illustration:  Fig. 164.  Frame of the Ice Boat.]

[Illustration:  Fig. 165.  Runner Shoe.]

[Illustration:  Fig. 166.  The Rudder Shoe.]

Our next task was to rig up the runners.  For these we used skates, which were so arranged that we could remove them whenever we wanted to.  Three blocks of wood were used for the runner shoes.  Two of them were cut from a 2 by 4 scantling and measured a foot in length.  The third block was only 1 inch thick, but was otherwise 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.

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. 167.  The Tiller.]

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