The yoke lines should be made either of solid brass or copper wire, and must be stout, and may be fitted thus : Having fitted a copper or brass thimble into each of the four eyes of the rudder and deck yokes, with powerful nippers, simply take the ends of the two wires, and, having passed them round the thimbles in the rudder-yoke, twist the ends round their own standing parts ; then at the fore end fit in like manner to two thimbles, making the wires of such length as will place these two thimbles at about one foot from the eyes of the deck yoke when it and the rudder are shipped in position. A small lashing line is now spliced to each of the fore ends of wire, and, being rove through the yoke thimbles and the wire thimbles, say three turns, makes a powerful but easily workable gear.
The wires would naturally thus lay along near the middle of the canoe; but to keep them clear of the canoeist, and also of the deck flaps, locker, &c., little brass studs are screwed into the deck, as shown at m and n in the deck plan, a single one opposite the fore end of well, and two diagonally placed, are put in abreast of the after end of the well.
One great advantage of this plan is that, for unrigging, simply the rudder-yoke and deck-yoke are taken off, and the wires folded round them. The lines do not lead down below through the deck, coaming, or bulkhead, and are not in the way when stowing or unstowing spars under the side deck. The yoke on deck is very handy for hand steering whilst kneeling up working at the mast gear.
In the case of foot-yoke only, the wires are fitted much in the same way as above ; but they have (before being fitted at the second end) to be passed through perhaps both coaming and bulkhead, in order to get a fair lead to the stretcher-yoke ; and the rudder-yoke ends should be fitted with snap swivels, so as to be detachable from the yoke.
The rudder-pin (a, Rudder Plan, Plate %XXVII.) should be, as shown, of the whole length of the sternpost ; the gudgeon metals (b) are so placed as to allow the rudder to travel up the pin when it strikes the ground. These rudder fittings—and indeed all the metal fittings of a canoe, should be of copper, or gun metal, or brass.