is thus half-decked, her owner is apt to imagine that he is in possession, not of a boat, but of a small yacht, and is likely to over-spar her, over-*ballast her, and over-canvas her, consequently to over-sail her. She will no longer be the sort of boat I am now recommending—one easy to sail and easy to row. The decking occupies more room than can well be spared in a small boat, and one is cramped on board. The decking is also weighty, and tends to make the boat topheavy, so that to counteract this she requires more ballast and becomes a heavy boat, difficult to beach, hard to pull, wet in a seaway. On many parts of the coast fishermen have a strong objection to decking even the bows of their small craft, and maintain that the deck offers great resistance to the wind, so that the vessel is pressed down, and is not nearly so buoyant as if she were open. It is certain that, other things being equal, the open boat is the liveliest and the best sea boat. The half-decked boat is only to be recommended when the craft is big enough to be practically a small yacht, with a cuddy under the decking forward. The above remarks, of course, do not apply to boats intended for racing. These, however small, must, as a rule, be heavily ballasted, and may be partly decked.
The following observations apply to small sailing and rowing boats of all classes:—
