The other advantage is IMHO the fact that an amateur with very few tools could build one, easily and quickly.
History of San Juan Sharpie?
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Re: History of San Juan Sharpie?
The other advantage is IMHO the fact that an amateur with very few tools could build one, easily and quickly.Don't worry I'm happy
"The law is what we have to live with.
Justice is sometimes harder to achieve."
Sherlock Holmes -
Re: History of San Juan Sharpie?
In "Paper 25: The Migrations of an American Boat Type", Chapelle makes the point (I'm paraphrasing, having read it a few years ago), that the sharpie spread over a very wide area very quickly. Each area of course adapted it, which is what makes the story so interesting. Personally, I'd love to see someone build a Chesapeake Bay (or Maryland), fishing sharpie. It's another odd duck among sharpies.Comment
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Re: History of San Juan Sharpie?
Some of the reading I've chased thanks to this thread has got me thinking hard about what drove the rapid evolution of North American fishing boat types from 1850 to 1900.It's easy to see the evolution of boat types as a product of long periods of local adaptation, but I'm also struck by what a unique period of time the second 1/2 of the 19th century was, with growing urban centers, railroads, the ice industry, canning etc all combining to enable rapid growth in markets for perishable seafood, driving rapid development of fisheries beyond the older traditions of local sustenance/local market inshore fisheries and the older commercial fisheries for non-perishable products like salt cod, pickled herring, whale oil or here in the nw, dried salmon (funny reality of the most salmon dependent cultures developing inland up the Columbia, where fish met hot desert weather that allowed drying for year round use). Seems these new markets created competitive and specialized situations that drove rapid boat evolution (aided and abetted by the cultural mixing pot as immigrants brought their boat building traditions with them)- so while like many I've focused on new technology-especially the infernal combustion engine- as a homogenizing force reducing the diversity of working boat forms, more and more I'm also realizing what a strong role the new technologies and economies of the 19th century played in driving the incredible diversification of working sail we readers of Chappelle et al find so fascinating. The San Juan Sharpie may be an odd little dead end offshoot of that process- but dang what an amazing process. Curious what those with more of a sense of the evolution of work boat types in Europe make of this- was there the same rapid diversification from 1850 to 1900, or did shorter distances and older markets to load the tables of aristocracy for all those exotic 20 course meals mean older or more gradual development of local boat types? How much of the variety of Dutch boat types happened in a similar rush in the 17th century when some of the same forces converged there? Did areas that remained isolated and focused on local markets (West coast of Norway?) have slower evolution of boat types? For those biology geeks out there, it's Gould's punctuated equilibrium vs the gradualists... Anyway, thanks to all on this thread for helping fuel some intriguing musings.Comment
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Re: History of San Juan Sharpie?
It may be that those two sharpies pictured on that San Juan Island beach were simply an individual expression of one or two local builders, driven by chance personal knowledge, need, or economy, and as you say an "odd little dead end." An expression that may have been essentially in isolation and independent of any overiding cultural or technological processes taking place at that time. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Here on the internet we never know if folks are joking or have their tongues in their cheeks, but in any case I see no evidence in the photos to suggest that the boats were crude, disposable, or unwieldy in any way, for their particular time.Apple products have always been silly expensive,
no one told anyone to buy an iPhone, there are plenty fine cheep non apple cell phones.Comment
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Re: History of San Juan Sharpie?
Fun to see excerpts of our dialogue here show up in print in the last Wooden Boat. Curious if someone finds this in the future and has more specifics to add. Was just cleaning out emails and refound one from Mark with the Lopez Island historical society with a photo worth posting- not a sharpie, but one another unigue local boat- the earliest gillnetters with rollers....Comment
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On the trailing edge of technology.
https://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-John-L.../dp/B07LC6Y934
http://www.scribd.com/johnmwatkins/documents
http://booksellersvsbestsellers.blogspot.com/Comment
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Re: History of San Juan Sharpie?
For those of you interested in a real 'live' San Juan building project, here are some photos of my humble beginnings [a few to begin with]. I have now commenced the bottom planking. And decided to reduce the draft from my intended 3' to 2'6" with a long low sloping forefoot - so she should be able to nose into a beach this way Her name is "Dawn Treader" of Prince Caspian fame [CS Lewis]
I'm hoping to have the bottom planking completed in a month or so [I've a helper at present - a young joiner - keen to learn]. Then on to the topsides diagonal planking.Comment
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Re: History of San Juan Sharpie?
No problems The bottom planking's a bit slow [22x22mm square strips overlain by 12mm marine ply and the helper's deserted me ]. More pics will definitely follow though. So far I've glued and screwed about 1,000' of bottom strips. The bottom will likely require 3,000 - 4,000 ft I'm guessing at this stage. It's winter in the 'antipodes' so only about 3 hrs gluing time a day [approx 40' - 60' of planking strips]. I'll post some more pics when the bottom is substantially completed. I change sides each day to give the epoxy more time to cure.Comment
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Re: History of San Juan Sharpie?
Latest pics are now at this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/9806490...7635328745510/ The bottom has its hardwood planking completed plus a covering of 12mm ply. Once the side planking is in place, there'll be a final bottom ply layer of 7mm [to cover the edge grain of the topsides planking]. Then it will be on with the Dynel and HT9000 epoxy and bottom paint prior to turning the hull. Anticipating hull turnover early 2014. http://www.flickr.com/photos/9806490...7635219144856/ [Bottom planking photo]Comment
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Re: History of San Juan Sharpie?
Thank you for the kind words, Johnno. We're beginning our antipodean Spring now - expecting day time temps of low to mid 20's {C} - so I'm hoping progress will ramp up a bit now. I'm really getting into the swing of it with pretty much all of the materials I need to finish on site - even the sails Masts made, ditto rudder and tiller, bowsprit, booms, poles, interior modular joinery, windows, hatches, most fittings on hand, etc etc [even some traditional rope fenders, monkey's fists, ........... ]. I'm keen to press on. More pics soon.
Sept 5th. New photos posted, Johnno - beginning of triple laminated topsides planking at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9806490...7635396460333/ These are 9mm strips for a total 27mm thickness for the topsides - epoxy glued and screwed. The beginnings of the stem capping laminations can also be seen in the photos - so far a build up of 30mm of A bond plywood - yet to be edge faired [more to follow to narrow the stem ] The topsides planking is a mixture of hardwoods for stiffness and strength, including red ironbark, spotted gum, white oak, Pacific teak, etc - doesn't much matter as it will all be Dynel/Epoxy covered soon. The strips are random widths - whatever I could lay my hands on . A total of about 8,500 ft of strips has been machined to 9mm [neighbours sometimes weren't too happy, but it's done now; putting them on is quiet work]Comment
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Re: History of San Juan Sharpie?
Sept 5th. New photos posted, Johnno - beginning of triple laminated topsides planking at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9806490...7635396460333/ These are 9mm strips for a total 27mm thickness for the topsides - epoxy glued and screwed. The beginnings of the stem capping laminations can also be seen in the photos - so far a build up of 30mm of A bond plywood - yet to be edge faired [more to follow to narrow the stem ] The topsides planking is a mixture of hardwoods for stiffness and strength, including red ironbark, spotted gum, white oak, Pacific teak, etc - doesn't much matter as it will all be Dynel/Epoxy covered soon. The strips are random widths - whatever I could lay my hands on . A total of about 8,500 ft of strips has been machined to 9mm [neighbours sometimes weren't too happy, but it's done now; putting them on is quiet work]
October 4th - new photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/98064905@N04/Comment
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Re: History of San Juan Sharpie?
The starboard side planking is now completed - new pics athttp://www.flickr.com/photos/98064905@N04/ Latest pics show details near motor well aft of frame #10 [port side motor well will be identical]. Starboard Dynelling and Priming is complete since these pics were added. There are also a couple of pics from underneath showing 16mm galv keel bolts, bulkheads, frame gussets etc [these last have deliberately not been trimmed yet, as cabin uprights will slot into these once the boat is turned]. First lamination of topside strakes is now completed as far as frame 8 (moving aft from the bow) on the port side. Still looking for hull turnover early in 2014.
If anyone wants to monitor the progress - keep checking the Flickr link periodically. I'll post more pics as significant milestones are reached.Comment
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