cornish pilot gigs

[hacd]

any body know any thing about cornish pilot gigs ,especially building in cold moulded ?

I know W.B. has done a few articles on gigs ,and have them some where round here,and i know theres quite a bit on the web , but really need to know more ,to quote Baldrick- "i have a cunning plan"

[Meerkat]

I hope it's not one of Black Adder's half-asped ideas ;)

[John R Smith]

Er....

Cold-moulded? COLD-MOULDED?

Pilot gigs are clinker (lapstrake for you lot). And they are drop-dead gorgeous.

http://www.gigs.org.uk/photos/kerens.jpg

Here is a good link, folks -

http://www.cornish-pilot-gigs.co.uk/

Ralph Bird is the greatest living gig builder, based down on Restronguet Creek near Devoran.

John

[ 10-08-2002, 07:29 AM: Message edited by: John R Smith ]

[DougC]

John, greetings from Truro Massachusetts. Thanks for the link -- drop-dead gourgeous is right. Pete Culler Mentions a Cornish gig in his "Boats Oars& Rowing" Has a photo of a small gig therein, also lines and offsets for an 18 ft. x 37" "fast gig", though they're virtually illegible.
Doug

[John R Smith]

Doug

another Truro? I think your Ian McC has mentioned the existence of this parallel universe before. Does yours have a river with boats on it and a place called Sunny Corner? This could all get rather strange . . .

John

[Art Read]

John, "our" Truro does have a "river", Pamet, (really an estuary) with plenty of boats. It's also got a tidal range that limits their use at least as much as yours. (I've gotten myself stuck high and dry there more than once, but that's another story...) No "Sunny Corner" per say, but "Newcomb's Hollow" ain't far and "Corn Hill" is just north of the entrance. Corn Hill is where the Pilgrim's first stole from the "locals", btw...

[John R Smith]

Ha.

You blokes are making all this up, of course ;)

Prove it! Post pictures! There is only one Truro.

John

[Art Read]

Here you go, John...

http://www.virtualcapecod.com/chambers/truro/11.jpg

http://www.virtualcapecod.com/chambers/truro/06.jpg

http://www.virtualcapecod.com/chambers/truro/15.jpg

Truro Chamber of Commerce

Incorporated: 1709
Population: 1,573
Total Area: 26.32 sq. miles
Land Area: 21.06 sq. miles
Density: 75 per sq. miles

The Town of Truro is a small, rural community of Lower Cape Cod where the quaint and unique character of "Old Cape Cod" is preserved. Truro is rich in history and strongly tied to the sea. It is in Truro where the Pilgrims from the Mayflower found a spring from which they drew their first drink of water in the new land, and where they found a cache of Indian corn, at a place named Corn Hill, that saved them from starvation after their first year. Truro possesses beautiful beaches on Cape Cod Bay and some of the most magnificent beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. A source of inspiration to artists and beachcombers alike, Truro's beaches, dunes and landscape of rolling hills are an attraction to tourists and vacationers. Home to a diverse year-round population, Truro's permanent population includes fishermen, tradesmen and an ever-growing number of retirees. The town is home of the famous Cape Cod Light, Cape Cod's oldest lighthouse, which was first erected in 1797 and replaced by the current structure in 1857. The national landmark is in danger of falling into the ocean due to erosion, unless the town and area citizens receive support and cooperation from the federal and state governments. With over half of its land area within the Cape Cod National Seashore District, the residents of Truro are dedicated to preserving the special character of this seashore community.

(Actually, they've since moved the lighthouse back a few hundred yards...)

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=Truro&state=MA&country=US&zoom=7

[ 10-10-2002, 05:58 AM: Message edited by: Art Read ]

[John R Smith]

Well. . .

So your Truro is really a very historic and important place for the founding of the USA. Which implies that here must have been a few Cornish folks amongst the early colonists.

I am relieved to see that it's nothing like our Truro, though - I mean, we haven't got ONE little dink painted yellow like that ;)

John

[ 10-10-2002, 06:05 AM: Message edited by: John R Smith ]

[Alan D. Hyde]

John R, didn't Miles Standish have some ties to Devon or Cornwall???

Or am I thinking of someone else?

John, you might well enjoy a excellent fairly recent book on early American history entitled Albion's Seed by David Hackett Fischer who, among other things, has served as Harmsworth Professor of History at Oxford. Some tremendously good and very extensive research work on British families, and on local habits, customs, and folkways in various parts of Britain underlies this fascinating book.

Alan

[ 10-10-2002, 11:12 AM: Message edited by: Alan D. Hyde ]

[James R]

And there's also the town of Truro in Nova Scotia, Canada.

"Truro is positioned on tidal lowlands that provided seasonal food and shelter to the Mi'kmaq and upon which the Acadians had founded a small community before their expulsion from Nova Scotia in 1755. Both groups referred to the area around the Minas Basin as the Cobequid. The present settlement began in 1761 when Presbyterian families from New England sailed up the Salmon River to take possession of the 50,000 acre Truro Township, granted to them by the British Government. The early community grew slowly, but the relocation of the Court House in 1803 solidified Truro's position as legal, administrative and mercantile centre of Colchester District. Even in 1838 the majority of the township's 1500 inhabitants were Presbyterians employed in farming or agricultural crafts. Occupational, religious, ethnic and racial diversity came with the building of the Nova Scotian Railway in 1858 and its extension, both east and west, as the Inter-Colonial Railway in the 1870's. The new population required houses near the railway, enlarging the village, so that the name Truro came to be applied only to this built up area.

In 1875, with a population of 3000, the village was incorporated as a town. At that time, it already had an active Fire Brigade; the first kerosene oil had been developed from Debert-Belmont coal; a water system was introduced and shortly afterward, the first ribbed-knit underwear was being manufactured; the first condensed milk factory in Canada opened; the first railway workers union was organized; and the first school of agriculture in Atlantic Canada opened in 1885. By 1888, Truro had the first long-distance telephone terminus in Nova Scotia and the first incandescent lighting in homes and offices.

Truro was nicknamed the "Hub of Nova Scotia" more than 100 years ago when railways linking Nova Scotia met here. As road transport achieved importance, it also became the hub of the provincial highway networks.

Today, with a population of about 12,000, Truro is an important centre of transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, trade and education. Its central location has a direct bearing on its climate. Being just fifteen miles north of the halfway point between the Equator and the North Pole, Truro escapes the extremes in temperature and weather conditions often experienced in other areas."

[hacd]

thanks for salvaging my post , thought it had died a death in a sea of miscellaneous non boat related stuff.

i have toyed with the idea of building a gig for a number of years now , and was unable to find anyone really interested in even considering such an under taking ,until quite accidentalyjust recently found some one of the same mind(out of ?)

so maybe we are going to get somewhere

piloting was an important part of Bermudas past ,particulary for Blacks.
Unfortunatly not alot of information exists about the pilot gigs used here,although there is one remaing gig in the maritme museum in dockyard.

Gigs would be between 32 and 42 feet, locally built,of local cedar, most often carvell
planked .

i am interested in a hull of about 32 feet ,i would have very limited budget andto be realistic it would be impossible to find suitable local timber tobuild a traditional wooden hull,and difficult to get highly skilled help as well
the most practical thing to do is to build a wood epoxy hull.

who knows the sight of the thing afloat might stir enough interest/sponsor ship to spawn a "proper" boat

who knows ?i would be quite happy to rowup and down in a wood epoxy boat , i should imagine so would others.

[Mike Newmeyer]

If you realy want to go with cold molded contact some of the gig crew in midcoast Maine. I think there's 2 in Vinel Haven, 1 in North Haven, 1 in Belfast and another in Rockland. The Rockland team also has a traditionally built one built by the ApprenticeShop. Here's the contact info:

Station Maine
Muriel Curtis, Director
muriel@stationmaine.org
207-691-2037