Turks Auction Viewing

This blog visited the Turks auction of boats used as film props in Chatham today, in the company of Mr Intheboatshed.net and the ever-charming Mrs Intheboatshed.net. It was a grand day out looking at some fabulous boats and, as an unexpected bonus, ferreting through one of the finest collections of boat junk maritime memorabilia in the world.
The collection includes some luscious examples of Victorian craftsmanship that will be posted in the next few days but first I want to alert boat nuts to the fact that Turks is clearing a vast quantity of fittings from binnacles to fairleads, and the Turk family is open to offers on the lot.
The biggest collection is rowing gear. There is an incredible variety of oars on racks, from huge sweeps for barges to little paddles for miniature canoes. Condition varies from a bundle of about a doz unused Plastimos to some shards of wood that must have been oars at some time in the distant past. There is even a rubber oar that must have been made as a background item for a film set but would make a superb prop for a jape.
As you see, Mr Intheboatshed.net bought a pair of nice blades and I acquired two pairs of short oars, one for Simbo and the other because they will probably come in handy some time. The lot put me back 25 quid.
Other rowing stuff includes riggers from old shells, brass rowlocks, sliding seats, stretchers and even a selection of coach's megaphones. There is a rich choice of presentation oars for forgotten bumps races, and a few bows from defunct eights with mounting plates ready for hanging on the clubhouse wall.
Turks are moving out of the shed because they have received 'an offer they can't refuse' from a riverboat operator who needs a place to service their fleet, so the whole lot must go. Get down there now!
Footnote, Lot 114:

There is a fine stuffed chavender, a chavender or chub,

Hangs in our local pavender, the pavender or pub,

Wherein I eat my gravender, my gravender or grub.

Clint Chase, Boatbuilder

Clint Chase writes from Portland, Maine, having stumbled on my recent post about his new Drake rowboat:

I just saw Drake on one of your Blog posts. I don't know how I missed that. You've been linked on my website. Great blog, keep it up. How do we cross link our blogs? Mine is www.clintchaseboatbuilder.blogspot.com.

I plan to post more on water and rowing stuff. Also, FYI, I am developing a line of wood-composite oars that I think may be popular. They'll have spruce looms with carbon fiber, epoxy infused blades. Pretty snazzy. More coming on this front.

Also, you mention liking Gartside's work. I love his Flashboat design. Have you rowed one? I am eyeing that boat as a potential one to do in composite if there might be a market here in the States. The kevlar guideboats are a hit, so I don't see why Flashboats wouldn't except that they are from across the pond so may take a little longer to catch on.

Cheers,
Clint Chase

Clint's blog is excellent, and I have linked to it right over there -------->
Wednesday's post is particularly insightful, I think, with a couple of really nice pics too. Clint takes two pairs of oars with him when rowing. One pair is long with wide blades for maximum oomph in flat water, the other shorter with narrow blades for rowing through a chop, especially upwind. They allow a higher stroke rate, and the narrow blades mean you don't need to feather.
I really like Clint's combination wood/carbon fibre oars too.
Carbon fibre shafts bend alarmingly and, frankly, are pig-ugly. But wooden blades are heavy and delicate. So an oar with a lovely varnished spruce shaft and a light but tough carbon fibre blade really appeals. And once the blade is painted the neighbours need never know.
Clint is developing a vacuum infusion process (VIP) for making the blades, in which the carbon fibre mats are held against an inner core in a vacuum bag. The resin is then allowed to enter and is drawn through the carbon fibres by the vacuum, to create a blade with no bubbles and little wasted resin. The result should be an oar with the loveliness and strength of wooden shafts and the lightness and indestructibility of carbon fibre blades. I want a set already...
I have never rowed a flashboat, but they are hugely popular in Cornwall where they are raced with total Cornish aggression. A bit tippy for popular taste, I think, but slippy as hell.
Flashboats arose at a time when race rules were relaxed, allowing boatbuilders to go bonkers in the pursuit of speed. So a kevlar flashboat would be entirely within the flashboat ethos, I feel.

More on oars

One of my favourite boats on the great HBBR row down the Thames was Tony Waller's Isabella III, built to Joel White's Shearwater design. The picture shows him easing through Radcot Bridge heading for the pub.
Later, Tony was pushing against a lock wall with his oar and it slipped into a crack, breaking off the end.
Continuing to row, he expected to feel the boat tipping over due to the imbalanced thrust of the oars, but interestingly the break made very little difference. He lashed up a new end to the blade with duct tape (what would we do without it?), not to restore performance but to protect the ends so the bits could be epoxied back in place when he got home. Here he is by Wallingford Bridge with the ghastly evidence.Just goes to show that the length and size of oar does not really matter, within limits. What really makes the difference is a comfortable rowing position and the right gearing (except when racing, of course, when milliseconds can make the difference between glory and goathood).