"Average Shell Lasts About 10 Years", Says Boat-Builder of 45 Years' Practical Experience--Eight Weeks In Building

"The average shell here at Harvard lasts about ten years", said Bill Lutz, expert shell-builder and repairer in an interview yesterday. Lutz has been making and mending shells for 45 years, and has spent the last thirty-five at Harvard, working in Newell boathouse. "Of course", he continued, "if people keep putting their feet through the bottom, a boat doesn't stand a chance, but with reasonable care a shell will stand up for a long time.

"Most crew men don't know a thing about a shell or how it is built, although they are in a position to find out anything that they want to know", he said. "It generally takes me about eight weeks to build a shell, and the total cost is $900, although when we have shells built, they cost about $1500. When it comes to accidents to shells, it is singular to note that it is the experienced men who step through the bottom, and not the novices, simply because the former are careless and too sure of themselves. A University cox is also generally more apt to get in accidents while on practice rows than a greenhorn; a few years ago a University cox ran his boat right up on the float so that the number 2 man could step out on the dock with no trouble at all.

"A shell is 61 feet long and weighs 280 pounds", Lutz continued, "and is 25 inches wide and 10 1-2 inches deep. The frame is made of white pine, and all parts are mailed and not glued, as popular superstition would have it. The cover is made of solid pieces of Spanish cedar, and is also only one-eighth of an inch thick, and is mailed on, not glued. The deck is covered with waterproof silk".