By Their Ropes Ye Shall Know the Measure of the Sailor

As an on-going project here on DoryMan, Ive tried to mitigate some of the confusion about nautical terms with the glossary found at the top of the sidebar to your right - spent much of today filling in new entries. In fact, until Im dazed and confused myself. If you find any mistakes, let me know.

How often have I seen that glazed look on the face of a passenger or crew, the blank stare of one who hasnt understood a single word uttered? In mutual desperation, I have even found myself lately referring to the right or left side of the boat and "that green rope near your right hand". (incidentally, Belle Starr has color-coordinated lines to facilitate communication. Im trying, really am.)

Like I said, this is a project with no end. Every new entry begs another. Not one definition is self-explanatory. A lexicographer must be a very special species indeed. Please, if you have something youd like to contribute, dont hesitate. For now well stick to English, though nautical language the world over is a beautiful flower, music of the sea.

Your friend, Michael
mbogoger (at) gmail

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A Mad Idea Fueled by Gin

It started with Camp Tipsy. Alex and I started talking about what we could build, what kind of floating contraption would excite us.  We were unequivocally unanimous in wanting something like a tiny cabin that floats.  Something that we could escape to.


Or maybe it started earlier.  Maybe it started with the river floats.  For years, Id built homemade rafts and floated down major American rivers with friends.

On that first trip, when I was trying to rustle up friends to join the adventure, heres what I wrote "This is not white water rafting. Were talking rivers with class zero rapids. A floating river. A lazy hot summer day eating found apples sort of river. These adventures remain low on specifics, high on general concept, mood, and emotion. Part of an experiment and a belief in the power of boredom to inspire."

In 2005, a few of us set out on a punk rafting adventure, building a raft out of found and scavenged materials and floating for a week, Huck Finn-style, on one of the largest fastest rivers on the continent, the Missouri.

We lived to tell the tale (barely), and so year after year, we took longer and longer adventures, floating a handful of rivers on completely ridiculous homemade rafts. After that first raft trip, we invited others, launching with whole punk raft flotillas. The experience has been life changing.

Alex and Jen and I were at Camp Tipsy and it was Happy Hour at our camp and we were drinking gin and tonics and maybe the alcohol contributed to our grandiose and ambitious scheming, or maybe, honestly, Ive always been that way.

Camp Tipsy Hot Tub by ropersf

We were looking at all the bizzaro floating contraptions and nautical imagining.  We didnt want to go fast or swing or be propelled by some Rube Goldberg propulsion system or even soak in a wood-fired hot tub, so much, at that moment, as we wanted to sit peacefully on our own floating front porch and watch the madness of the rest of the world.

We decided to make a floating cabin, a shanty boat. 

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1959 C2 S S 34 by Swarbrick

We have discussed the S&S 34 before and also the model licensed for sale in the United States, the Palmer Johnson 34.  We dont know exactly how many of these popular boats have been built, only that in the first year of production at Winfield & Partners (later known as Aqua Fibre), 39 contracts were signed.

The boat shown here is yet another version, built by Swarbrick of Western Australia and designated as Sparkman & Stephens design #1959-C2.  The images shown are of a launch sequence of a new boat from the early 1980s.  We dont know exactly how many were built by Swarbrick at that time either.

Here is an interesting article from the Italian magazine Yachting Quarterly about the S&S 34 design in general, in Olin Stephens own words.

Any way, back to Swarbrick.  Did you know these boat are again in production and available from Swarbrick?  Heres a brief article about the subject from Cruising World magazine.  As always please double click for zoom.

More information can be obtained from the builders website by clicking here.

Principal Dimensions
LOA 33-6"
LWL 24-2"
Beam 10-1"
Draft 5-10"

Displacement 9,195 lbs

Ballast 4,800 lbs

Sail Area 484 sq ft

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