THE " PEARL" CANOE.
Canoeists are by no means agreed as to the best form for canoes, and Mr. E. B. Tredwen, one of the most successful canoe sailers of the R. C. C. has taken a great departure from the Nautilus racing type in building the " Pearl" canoes. Mr. Tredwen contends that a flat floor rather than a rising floor is better for canoes. With a flat floor the canoeist sits lower, and can sit farther to windward when the canoe is heeled, and consequently assist the stiffness of the canoe; and, more over, the flat-floored canoe will draw less water, and so is to be preferred for cruising in shallows. Mr. Tredwen has done a great deal of cruising in open water in the Pearl, and no doubt the design shows a very buoyant and good " all round " canoe. Mr. Tredwen says, " As to the various modes of building, the double skin is the least satisfactory, for the water gets between the planks, and the boat soon rots out, while leaks are frequent and very difficult to stop. I prefer the ribband carvel, but used brass screws throughout instead of copper nails." The lines shown on Plate XLIII. are those of a very successful canoe Mr. Tredwen built in 1878. So far as the shape of the water lines go, both ends are alike, and this peculiarity will be found in the " Pearl " canoe for 1880 (Plate XLIV.) Mr. Tredwen says he adopted
this design in consequence of an experiment he made in building two canoes on sections or moulds of the same shape, but differently placed, so that one had a short bow and long stern, the other a long bow and short stern, the displacement of both being about equal ; in fact, the lines in the fore-body of one were nearly the same as those in the after body of the other. These two canoes, rigged and ballasted alike, have been sailed against one another in every variety of weather, and the results obtained are that the long-bowed canoe performs the better in light winds, or when heavily loaded with ballast ; but the short-bowed canoe always comes to the fore in a strong wind, or when carrying only a small quantity of ballast, or sailed entirely without ballast. Mr. Tredwen says that the Pearl of 1880 is a " compromise between the two, and should have a fair proportion of the good qualities of both, and therefore make a good all-round performer." Mr. Tredwen designed all the fittings for the Pearl, and some of them are remarkable for the ingenuity of contrivance. These fittings are shown in the drawing (Plate XLIV.), but a more detailed account of their arrangement and uses will be necessary.