en through it know what that means. I had been
through it, therefore I knew that for those delicately nurtured women it
was not to be thought of for a moment; our boat must be decked, that was
a certainty.

This decision led naturally to the question of one of the principal
dimensions--namely, the depth--of the proposed craft. She must be deep
enough under her deck at least to allow her occupants to lie down and
sleep in comfort. After careful consideration we fixed the depth at
five feet in the clear. With that as a ruling dimension it was not
difficult to decide that a suitable beam or breadth would be ten feet.
After much consideration we fixed the length at thirty feet on the
water-line, which, we decided, would afford sufficient room for
ourselves, our immediate and indispensable belongings, and a sufficient
supply of food and water to carry us to our journey's end. Taking
pencil and paper, we proceeded to draught out the boat, that we might
see how she looked, and estimate the quantity of material needed for her
construction.

Our first sketch showed the contours of a Thames punt, pure and simple;
but when we pictured her in a heavy seaway, and endeavoured to imagine
what her behaviour would be under such circumstances, we quickly came to
the conclusion that certain modifications were imperative. These we
proceeded to make forthwith; the final result being a craft of the
dimensions already determined upon, flat-bottomed in cross section, but
curved fore and aft, and with enough sheer to lift the fore end of her
well above water. Being flat-bottomed, she would naturally be of light
draught, and would consequently make a good deal of leeway when
close-hauled, unless some special provision could be made to meet the
case. We therefore decided to extend her two flat sides nine inches
below her bottom, so as to form two keels; and, thus provided, we
believed she would prove to be fairly weatherly. She was to be decked
all over, with only a small cockpit aft; and light was to be furnished
to her interior by four of the glass ports or windows to be removed from
the wreck. She was to be sloop-rigged. The completed and finally
approved design cost us an afternoon to produce, but when it was done we
were very well satisfied with it. We believed that the craft ought to
behave fairly well, even in heavy weather; while the design was so
simple as to demand no special skill in carrying it out, and such loose
timber