By Dan Beard
Fig. 41.
Sticks of the Ship-Kite.
This is an entirely new form, designed especially for the boy readers of this book as a novelty for kite-time. The framework is indicated by heavy lines and the strings by light lines, and in Wing and Wing the sketches show the gradual evolution from a bow and a straight pine stick to a schooner under in full sail going wing and wing, topsail set, wind astern.
Take an elastic stick three and one-half feet long and bend if in the form of a bow, so that the bow string will measure two and one-half feet from A to B in the diagram. For a mast take a straight pine stick (C D) seven feet long, allow three inches to extend beyond the bow to form a keel at C. Fasten the mast to the exact middle of the bow and again to the exact middle of the bow string, as shown in the diagram.
Next cut two boom sticks, each five feet long, and be careful that they are exactly the same length; fasten the ends of the boom stick at E and F, a trifle below A and B, the ends of the bow. Allow them to cross the mast and each other at a point on the mast and one-half feet above the keel end of the mast stick, as G F and E H cross in the diagram.
The sprit sticks, L I and J K, in the diagram should be also exactly the same length; ie., six feet each, and should cross the mainmast at a point about four feet three inches above the keel end of the mast. At a point on the mast four feet nine inches above C, the keel end of the mast stick, put the yard 0 P for the 'square topsail. Five feet ten inches from C place the second cross stick, M N; square your yards, as the sailor would say--that is, see that they are neither tipping up nor down, but at right angles with your mast, D C.
Fig.
42.
The framework is now done and you must fix the "ropes," made of string, as shown in the diagram (Fig. 42). Your kite is then ready to cover. Feet and inches have been used in this description only for convenience; of course it is not necessary nor desirable, as a rule, to make a kite seven feet high, and very few boys, or even men, would be able to hold such a monster; but remember that when feet are used it is only to give the proportions; inches or half feet world answer just as well.
For instance, the main mast pine stick, C D, would then be seven half feet long, that is, three and a half feet. This will make a kite of very good size that a boy can manage. In other words, use the proportions given in the description, and not, necessarily, the same unit of measure.
To Cover and Paint it.
Select white paper for the sails and dark paper for the hull. Spread your paper on the floor and lay the frame upon it, holding it firmly with paperweights or books to keep it in place. Then, with a good, sharp pair of shears, cut carefully around the frame, leaving a margin of paper to fold over. At each angle cut a slit in the margin to the angle in the frame, and upon curves cut similar slits every few inches. This will prevent wrinkles and make a neat job.
Fig. 43.
Wing and Wing, the Ship-Kite.
With a good glue, cover the margin, section by section, turning each section over the frame and pressing it down with a towel or rag to make it adhere. Continue this until the whole frame is covered a, in the diagram marked " Wing and Wing " (Fig. 43).
When it is dry, with a small paintbrush paint the reef points on the sails with ink or black paint. Paint a white cutwater up the middle of the hull, and tie cross strings on the stays, rope-ladder fashion, where they show above and below the mast. All that is necessary now is to put a little flag or pennant on the topmast and your ship is ready to sail its course through the fleecy billows of cloud ocean.
Tail and Belly Bands
Attach a loop of string to the bull from either side of the keel and it will form the tail-band. Attach the belly-band to the two spirit sticks and allow it, like the sticks, to cross in the middle of the kite. Tie your kite-string to the belly-band and adjust it to the proper point by sliding up or down as the trial flight, of the kite may dictate.
Only the other day the author met a lady with a boy walking down the street. The boy carried affectionately in his arms a Man Kite larger than himself. This is mentioned only to show that boys can still build their own kites, for several points about this particular kite indicated that the lad who carried it had made it himself. If his father made it for him the workmanship was not above criticism, but for a boy's work it was first rate and it undoubtedly will fly.
