was still in a good condition, but the
ruptured portion of the hull was a broken up and splintered mass, so
that it would require considerable work to prepare it to receive the bow
part which was now to be grafted on.

It had been originally sixteen feet long, with a five-foot beam. Harry's
plan was to increase the new vessel to a length of twenty feet, and its
extreme breadth six and a half feet, and in order to give greater
security and carrying capacity, it should have a depth of two and a half
feet.

"How much are you calculating on for the weight to be carried on the new
boat?" was the Professor's question.

"I am estimating that the passenger weight will be 400 pounds and the
weight of the boat itself at 500 pounds."

"That is a very liberal estimate. Have you considered the mast and
sails?"

"That is something entirely beyond my knowledge. I do not know what kind
of sail; or how large it shall be; nor the length or size of the masts.
If I knew something about the kinds of sails used for vessels I might be
able to decide on that as well as the other parts."

"The term ship, as usually applied, has reference to a vessel furnished
with a bowsprit and three masts--a mainmast, a foremast and a
mizzenmast; and these three masts are each composed of three parts,
namely, a lowermast, a topmast, and a topgallant mast."

"The bowsprit is that mast which projects forward from the bow, isn't
it?"

"Yes. In small vessels the cutter and the sloop have single masts, the
difference being that in the cutter the jib-boom has no stay to support
it."

"What's the difference between the jib-boom and the bowsprit; they both
project out from the bow of the vessel?"

"The bowsprit projects out only a little forward of the bow, and the
jib-boom is attached to the forward end of the bowsprit."

"Well, if we are to have only one mast, should we have a bowsprit?"

"It is not necessary, for the reason that in a small boat the boom, as
it is called, to stretch the foot of the sail, runs out directly from
the foot of the mast to which it is pivotally hinged."

"Then it would be better to have a single mast and a triangular sail,
one side of the sail to be attached to the mast, and one of the other
sides to the boom?"

"Yes; excepting that the sail must not be attached to the shaft, but to
a cable which is run up the mast."

As the vessel was intended not for speed, but for safety and for ease of
management, it was finally