Comment

Comment by Lawrence E. Long on May 20, 2011 at 7:31pm

AJ  Sounds like you and the students are having a good time.  Too bad I can't be there in Wilson.  As to the "grommet".  This is a little hard to explain but a good book on knots shoulld show how to do it.  Take a length of 3 strand rope and "unwind" one of the strands off the rope. Whip each end of the strand to keep it somewhat together.  The strand must be atleast  three times the diameter of the gromet._ remember that stuff in geometry about Pi x d  .  Useing 1/3 of the strand crossing over the otherside of the strand and make a loop of thesize of  your grommet.  Start to lay the rope back on itself and twist it to conform to the orginal lay of the rope.  When you get back to where the strand meets the start of the  loop then take the other  end of the free strand and winde it back the other way to the starting point.  A hard laid rope is best for this.  That soft floppy nylon rope from a hardware store will  keep "unwinding" the strand as you work it.  I use common old manilla for the beckets on my seachests- keeps its lay better than slippery nylon.   Just get some rope and start fiddling with it.  When you learn how to do the becket  we can move on to the turkshead knot- makes a very fancy oar stop.  Is the old bar in Wilson still there?

Good Luck

Comment by AJ DeRosa on May 20, 2011 at 2:55pm

Rick and Lawrence,

 

Thanks for your interest in this project.  Rick the link to Lowells Boat Shop was a wonderful surprise to me.  Now we are really talking Wood and Tradition.  I love it.  I passed it on to the kids and hope that some have taken the time to research the history of their boats.  At this writting the boats are still in final finish mode.  Two are well into the initial oiling and one had a coat of primer as I stopped by this morning.  I expect at least tree boats, maybe four, will get their first taste of water next week at the Boat Show.  All boats will be at the show and those tha tare ready to launch will splash into the pond in front of camp as the river boats float down after the show.  This is very exciting for me and the kids are about to go nuts.

Lawrence, I have been intrigued by thole pins for a long time and have found some info about them.  My question is about what is refered to as a "grommet".  Seems to me to be a rope that is somehow fashioned around the oar and thole pins.  Seems you would need to keep the oars from slipping or bouncing out from between the pins.  These boats, or at least some of them, may be sold after the projectt.  I am very interested in having one and thole pins would be my choice.  The idea is simple enough but as ussual the devil is in the details.  Again thanks to you guys and all the rest of the gang for your interest and comments about these boats.  This project is going to be the star of the show this year and it couldn't be more appropriate for this great buch of kids.

Comment by Rick Newman on May 19, 2011 at 1:22pm

AJ, How did the Monday "splash" in the pond go? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

Rick Newman

Comment by Lawrence E. Long on May 19, 2011 at 6:03am

James/AJ/  Re  Oar(ore) locks.    In keeping with the traditional use of the Banks Dory- commercial fishing and clamming  by some poor, hardworking guys- they used wooden pins(thole pins) rather than bronze oar locks.  They could not afford a store bought item like a set of bronze oarlocks.  Stainless steel was not even "invented" back in those days.  My fathers Swampscott Dory ( like a Banks Dory  with a wide transom but curved plank sides) only had pins.  The best material  was Black Locust- very strong and very rot resistant.    As I recall they were about 1 !/2" at the top and tapered down to around 1" at the bottom and were 6-8" long and protruded above the gunwale  4-5". They were about 2-3" apart- depends on the oars thickness.  They used  leathers to protect the oar- sewn not tacked to the oar.  There is a very good book on oarmaking(out of print)  by an old guy- long gone - Culler.

Thes were not "fancy" boats, put together with  galvanised boat nails and "clinched" with an iron as the planks were joined  and some seam compound. They almost always leaked (ours did)  untill the planks swelled up and got tight.  I have seen some accounts how they were painted.  Dump a bucket of paint into the hull, slosh it around with a mop hang the boat up to drain out the excess-for the next boat.  Boat shops cranked dories out like model T fords.  The students  will  enjoy rowing - these are not "fast" boats but very seaworthy- I have been out in 4'-8' whitecaps.

Good Luck

Comment by Rick Newman on May 15, 2011 at 9:30am

AJ, my knowledge of these and other traditional wood boats is extremely limited especially in regards to Lawrence's however being well versed in Googling I found a nice link to Lowell's Boat Shop, the longest term builder of dories. Their home page has a nice picture of thole pins. Just the thing for class III and IV whitewater!

http://www.lowellsboatshop.com/banksdory.html

 

Rick Newman

Comment by AJ DeRosa on May 15, 2011 at 6:49am

I'll be bringing in some bronze oarlocks and a few sets of oars on Monday.  We will also discuss the use of traditional wooden oar pins.  These were used long before modern oarlocks.  If any of you East Coast guys can give us some info on wooden oar pins it would be great.  Lawrence, my money is on you.