fill with water, and begin to sink, it should be turned over in the water. It is the air remaining under the inverted hull that gives the craft sufficient buoyancy to support weight.
Never overload a canoe. In one of the ordinary size—about seventeen feet in length—three persons should be the maximum number at any time, and remember never to change seats in a canoe when out of your depth.
Row-boats
There is a certain caution in the use of boats which you will always find among sailors and fishermen and all persons who are using them constantly. Such a person instinctively steps into the middle of the boat when getting in, and always sits in the middle of the thwart or seat. This is a matter of instinct with seafaring people, and so is the habit of never fooling in a boat. Only landlubbers will try to stand up in a small boat while in motion; and, as for the man who rocks a boat "for fun," he is like the man "who didn't know the gun was loaded."
Rowing
Row-boats are propelled either by rowing or by sculling; and rowing is either "pulling" or "backing water." The usual way of rowing is to "pull" and to do so, you sit with your back to the bow and propel the boat by pulling the handles toward your body and so pressing the blade of the oars against the water toward the stern, while pushing with your feet against a brace. In backing water you reverse the action of the oars, pushing the handles away from your body and pressing the blades of the oars against the water toward the bow.
Turning
To turn your boat to the right, when pulling, you row only with the left oar; or, if you wish to make a sharp turn "pull" with the left oar and "back water" with the right. To turn your boat to the left the action of the oars is reversed.
Feathering
To prevent the momentum of the boat from being checked by the wind blowing on the blades of the oars, the blades must be turned into a horizontal position as they leave, the water. In "pulling" this is done by turning the hands backward at
