CANOE HANDLING

 

 THE CANOE:

HISTORY, USES, LIMITATIONS AND VARIETIES,

PRACTICAL MANAGEMENT AND CARE

AND RELATIVE FACTS

 

BY

C. BOWYER VAUX

"DOT"

 

"Pas de lieu
Rhône que nous."

 

SECOND EDITION.
NEW YORK
FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING Co.
1888.

EDITOR'S NOTE.

I'd be pleased to have some biographical information on C.B. Vaux. I think he was Secretary of the American Canoe Association and also involved in the New York Canoe Club but frankly it may have been he was Secretary of the NYCC and a member for the ACA. His canoe "Dot" was well-known at the time.

Throughout the text, spelling has been changed to eliminate what I call egregious Anglicisms, and punctuation has been updated here and there.

The images aren't always as crisp as I'd like, which is due to the lightness of the original printing. I was lucky to find two copies of the book to work with so I'll try and save some high-resolution scans and diddle (a technical Web geek term) with them at a later time for more acceptable online quality.

 

AUTHOR TO READER.

 

the little book before you I have tried to state what I would have been glad eight years ago, when Canoeing was new to me, to have had someone take the trouble to tell me. The best source of information is practical experience. The experiences of others, however, are useful, even if they but verify the conclusions arrived at from your own.

The subject of canoe handling is not treated exhaustively by any means, and perhaps I have not gone into detail enough to greatly interest the Canoeist of several years' standing. It is not for him, then, that I write -- though I trust that even he may find some points to repay him for the time spent in perusing the book. To you who have but lately taken up the paddle -- or perhaps you are but thinking of wielding it -- I hope the succeeding chapters will help you to enjoy what has given me great pleasure. The enthusiasm I experienced my first year does not compare with that I now feel, after eight years of canoeing. At first I thought six months covered the entire canoeing season. Now my canoe is never out of commission, and there is not a month of the twelve during which I have neglected to get afloat in the canoe or failed to get enjoyment from such an outing.

You cannot learn to sail or paddle by reading. The utmost I can hope for is that what I have here told you will be of some help to you, and in a measure lighten the trouble you will have to bear in learning to handle your craft the first season; yes, and the second, too, perhaps. That you will get some help from what I have here written and profit by it is the wish of

THE AUTHOR.
NEW YORK,
May, 1885.

 

NOTE TO SECOND EDITION.

Three years more of canoeing have but strengthened my opinions expressed on the subject. The thought of a second edition is always pleasant to an author -- more so the reality. In looking over these pages again I find many of them greatly need polishing from the "style" point of view. The bald facts are all here, as many tests have shown.

The new ideas that have asserted themselves during these three years, and now need some attention, are touched upon and illustrated in the Appendix. That the little book may continue to be useful to the fraternity is the fond hope of

THE AUTHOR.
NEW YORK,
June, 1888.

 

CHAPTER I. CANOEING IN GENERAL.
• 1
CHAPTER II. THE CANOE.
History • What it is • Construction • Uses • Kinds of Canoes • Classification • Various Parts  • 14
CHAPTER III. PADDLING CANOES.
The Double-Bladed Paddle • Launching • Paddling • The Paddle • Single-Blade Paddling • 45
CHAPTER IV. CANOE UNDER SAIL.
Sailing Free • The Sails' Uses • Various Parts • Sailing Points • Sailing Appliances • Position of Crew • Keel or Centerboard and Rudder • A Short Spin • Reefing • Nautilus Reefing Gear • The Dot Reef • Carrying Sail • Monkeying • Part 1: 74   • Part 2: 98
CHAPTER V.  CANOE SAILING.
Paddling Races • Canoe Gymnastics • Sailing Races • Dress • The End of the Rope • 120
APPENDIX.
A Few Rules New York Canoe Club House Rules AMERICAN CANOE ASSOCIATION Extract from Bylaws Rules in General Paddling Rules Sailing Rules Racing Canoes, Sails and Gear
Bibliography • 165
Index • 166

ILLUSTRATIONS.

The Captain • His Craft

Table of Contents ACA and WCA Badges (head-piece) The Author (initial) Canadian Canoe (tail-piece) I. Esquimaux Kayak (headpiece) "In the Drink" (initial) Nocturne (tail-piece) II. Birch (headpiece) Paddle (initial) Rob Roy Canoe Nautilus No. 3 Canoe Canoe Section Canoe Plan Up Salt River (tail-piece) III. Decked Canoe (headpiece) Sea Horse (initial) Paddle, Seat, Footboard and Backboard "A Sail, a Sail" IV. Shadow Canoe (headpiece) Burgee (initial) Sails (mutton, standing lug, balance lug) Sails (lateen, Mohican settee, Stoddard's) Names of Various Parts of Sails Sailing Diagram Reefing Gears Device for Measuring Beam V. Before the Wind (headpiece) Tiller (initial) Whipping (tail-piece) ACA Flags (headpiece) Spritsail Canoe Kenwood Modified Balance Lug Canoe Lassie Pecowsic Three-Sail Rig Pecowsic Two-Sail Rig Atlantis Sail Reef Gear Atlantis Sail Reefed Knots (tail-piece)

 

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© 2000 Craig O'Donnell
May not be reproduced without my permission.