Everlasting horse hair in Lapland

[Anastasia]

Has anyone heard of a few strands of horse hair between laps on a clinker. I just received a note from Dick Wagner of Seattle's Center for Wooden Boats who imported Rana boats from Norway in the 60s and 70s.

I have one of these boats and it seems one of her many previous owners put putty at the lap lands. According to Dick originally there was horse hair in there, maybe still is and that it is everlasting. I'm hoping to scrape the putty out with a warmed up putty knife and tighten the laps up by bucking the rivets.

I'm concerned about damaging the everlasting horse hair. Does anyone have any other suggestions in how to clean of the lands gingerly?

By the way, does anyone know, how that horse ever got in Lapland and why she so generously left those valuable strands?

[Pernicious Atavist]

Anastasia,
The people of "Lappland" are the Saami, my grandfather was a Saami. The region, which covers Norway, Sweden, Finland, and parts of Russia and Lithuania, is rightfully known as "Saamiland." The term "Lapp" is a term foisted upon the people by outsiders--Europeans--and is derived from the word "lappi," which means rags, and is thus considered deragatory. Just so you know--I, too, used the term Lapp until I learned otherwise. Thought you might find that interesting!
Now, as for the question about how the horsehair came to be there....well, it ain't the North Pole! So, obviously, horsehair would have been available many centuries ago.
If you're interested in learning more about the Saami, (spellings differ)I'd be happy to share with you, if you can turn me on the that Saami boat!

[Anastasia]

Ed, that response is certainly a jewel of incidental learning for me. I'll never call a Saami a Lappi again.

[Sakari Aaltonen]

Originally posted by ed maurer:
Anastasia,
The people of "Lappland" are the Saami, my grandfather was a Saami. The region, which covers Norway, Sweden, Finland, and parts of Russia and Lithuania, is rightfully known as "Saamiland." Lithuania? Come on.

Sakari Aaltonen

[Todd Bradshaw]

Some traditional norse boatbuilders used a tarred piece of some sort of string or yarn in the laps as calking (often the only calking) and I imagine it was often made from twisted wool. The same might be done with any hair fibers of sufficient length, so that might be the justification for horsehair. I don't recall ever reading about any type of norse seam putty, but don't know for sure whether they used it or not.

I always thought the Saami people had the coolest clothing on the planet. While googleing Saami stuff one day I also came across a link to this website, which has a few nifty items that are on my wish-list.
http://www.themoosehunter.com/marttiin.htm

[Oyvind Snibsoer]

IIRC, there used to be a "stitch & glue" type boat that was indigenous to the Kola peninsula, and thus also to the Saami. Well, perhaps not so much glue in there, but the strakes were stitched together with rawhide. There's one on permanent display in the boathouse at the Norw. Maritime Museum in Oslo. Pretty large, perhaps around 25', and fairly rough in appearance. They didn't spend a lot of time on the finish on that one smile.gif