Double sets of braces or cross strips are arranged inside the hoople, and, where they meet at the middle, laps are cut in the sticks so that they will fit flush, as shown in Fig. 12.
The sticks are placed seven inches apart, and are five-eighths of an inch square; under the lap joints a plate of wood nine inches square is attached by means of screws or steel wire nails, to strengthen the unions of the cross sticks as well as to make a platform, at the under side of which the hub is arranged. A plan of the hoople, the cross sticks, and the location of one boat is shown in Fig. 13.
The boats are placed so that the outer edges of the bottoms rest on the top of the hoople. The inner edges rest on two of the cross sticks, where they are securely attached with long, slim screws passed up through the sticks and hoople and into the bottoms of the boats.
A block of wood four or five inches square and six inches long is to be shaved down at one end so that it is round and about one inch and a half in diameter. This is attached to the under side of the plate, at the middle of the hoople frame, so that the small end projects down; and through it a half-inch hole is bored.
An iron pin half an inch in thickness and eighteen inches long is to be driven into the upper end of a post over which the hub and hoople frame will fit. The upper end of the iron pin is threaded and provided with two nuts. One of these should be screwed down tight on the other with a washer between to act as a lock-nut, so that the revolution of the merry-go-round will not tighten or loosen them when once adjusted.
The boats are ten inches long and three inches wide at the middle, but they taper fore and aft, as shown in Fig. 13 A. They are cut from pine or white-wood two inches thick, and painted in gay colors. The masts are fifteen inches high, and the sails are provided with booms, gaffs, and jib-booms, also with rings which hold the sails close to the masts. The rigging is of copper wire, as the constant motion would soon wear out string or line and the sails would fly loose.
Each boat must be in good trim to keep the motion uniform, and if the sails wear out too soon, tin ones should be made or the muslin ones may be given a coat or two of white paint. Pennants at the tops of the masts will add to the effect.