Zero stretch rope

[stuckinthemud]

I know all about the failure rate in bow building. Its a real buzz just to finish one that works. As to the sinew debate it would have been unusual in nothern europe as sinew goes a bit limp in damp conditions. The classic horn sinew bows like the Turkish and Mongol bows were all in dry climate locations.
Regards
John

Afraid this is incorrect. Excavations at Birka show Danish vikings were using horn bows, as were the Rus. The Chinese are well documented for having Summer and Winter crossbows. Of course hornbows were the gold standard- the Ferrari or Aston Martin if you will- for crossbows across the entire continent. Sinew was protected from moisture by fish and eel skin, birch bark and oil paint but sinew was used everywhere in Europe, damp climates not withstanding

 

[TRITON]

Stop it you have me looking at sailing boats!!

I look at them al the time but its 20 years since i sailed


About 5 years ago i very nearly bought a 71 1/2' Schooner. It needed a full refit, and probably would have taken every penny i have to rebuild

 

[stuckinthemud]

A shipwright I worked with in 2012 suggested a minimum budget of £1000.00 per foot for a yacht refit, so a decade ago you’d be looking at at least £70k for a refit in a boat that size

 

[mwinfrance]

A shipwright I worked with in 2012 suggested a minimum budget of £1000.00 per foot for a yacht refit, so a decade ago you’d be looking at at least £70k for a refit in a boat that size

And the rest !! I've charged more than that 20 years ago just to do fake wood ( burr / burl Walnut - to match the veneers in their BMWs ) around the bridge of one motor yacht where veneers wouldn't stay stuck down due to the heat from the sun pouring in through the bridge windows.I had about 9 or 10 sq metres to fake, some very silly angles and edges , required working twisted and on my back and arms overhead, or contorted, on some of it had to switch hands ( I'm right hand biased , but ambidextrous ) and at one point had to work looking into a mirror placed outside against the glass as I couldn't see directly where my brushes rags and horns etc were.Really well done fake surface, wood, stone, marble etc or Trompe-l'œil, decors, custom painting, gilding etc costs an arm and a leg per sq metre, at least that is what I charge , plus expenses, accommodation ( if need be ) and traveling etc. I'm guessing that Adam looks at it the same way, really rich customers don't often blink because you are too expensive, they are more likely to do so if they think you are not expensive enough.Plus, sometimes you might have to pay a "finders commission" out of your fee.

 

[Jameshow]

I look at them al the time but its 20 years since i sailed


About 5 years ago i very nearly bought a 71 1/2' Schooner. It needed a full refit, and probably would have taken every penny i have to rebuild

Just been looking a a jaguar 22 and a hurley 22.

Hurley the better boat but the jaguar is more trailerable?? Both projects and less than £1k

 

[stuckinthemud]

Make sure the sails are serviceable or you’re in for a couple of grand before you even jet wash it

For what it’s worth I always fancied the Hurley long keel yachts

 

[sometimewoodworker]

So "rope" is the new "sharpening" eh?

Not really (or maybe knot really) sharpening is relatively simple, though there are a lot of people with very definite ideas. There are a vast number of materials that can be turned into rope and we haven’t really touched on them. The sharpening is the knot and the aficionados, or otherwise, of a particular knot.

However though there are thousands of knots if the average person knows more than about 5 he is doing well, get to 15~20 and he is likely to be seen as an expert, by knowing a knot I mean can tie it reliably every time and it functions as designed. With the books I have I can do many more than 20 but that doesn’t mean I know them, by my definition. I am not sure exactly how many I really know, but if just having tied them counts (I don’t think it does) I’ve tied over a hundred, probably more than 300~500. Personally I don’t consider myself an expert, though being British I leave the judgement to others.

 

[HOJ]

Both projects and less than £1k

That just the start.

I see all these type's of trailer sailors in gardens and yards dotted all around where I live and work, close to the Broads and the east coast, they never move, I've sailed as crew and owned boats, and its the acronym that always rings true: BOAT, "bring out another thousand"...

 

[stuckinthemud]

Ordered a couple of metres of hemp rope. Spent a fun few hours learning/practicing eye splices. Be nice. Should I whip the tail ends?

 

[mwinfrance]

Ordered a couple of metres of hemp rope. Spent a fun few hours learning/practicing eye splices. Be nice. Should I whip the tail ends?View attachment 156981

just talk sternly to them

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Ordered a couple of metres of hemp rope. Spent a fun few hours learning/practicing eye splices. Be nice. Should I whip the tail ends?View attachment 156981

Those are looking good. There would be few cases where whipping would be useful as the eye splices of that length will will break at the loop before the splice get effected. The top splice would look a little prettier if you cut the splice rope ends a touch shorter and rolling them all under foot will smooth them down even more than now. If you are talking about the unspliced ends then short whippings will probably be a good idea, or you could try your hand at a back splice this depends on the intended use. IMHO the best material for whipping is the waxed polyester from Marlow ropes https://shop.marlowropes.com/en-gb/whipping-twine-whi these are the ones I’ve used for years.



FWIW. Here are the 2 knives I used for years as my camp knives. Apart from the knives themselves I made everything else and the sheath’s have mostly stood the test of time. The turks heads on the knives are functional, as the stop your hands slipping in the rain.

not ideal for a ship’s crew as they still have the original tips on them, these would have been snapped off by the boatswain or his mate on boarding.]