[Rhodes22-list] Ro, Ro, Your Boat...

[Todd Tavares]

Bill,

Gondolas have curved hulls.  Their natural track is a curve.  The "oar"
fights this natural turning tendency and the result is a sort of straight
track, but it is a mild zig-zag.  See pic

Todd T.

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: "Bill Effros"
  To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list"
  Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Ro, Ro, Your Boat...
  Date: Thu, 07 Sep 2006 13:01:34 -0400


  No, that's not right.

  They sometimes use their oars as poles, but many of the canals are
  far too deep for that, and the oars are specialized.

  There is a fulcrum at the rear that the oarsman puts his oar into.
  The motion of the oar is to and fro, similar to what you described
  in the Japanese boat. The oarsman can put his full body into the
  stroke from the pad on which he stands at the stern.

  It looks like an inverted version of the Japanese system, and it
  seems that the physics of the propulsion is similar.

  But the mass of the boat is much less than the mass of our boats.

  I have sculled with the rudder o n my R22 on windless days, and
  traveled miles. I have tried pulling my boat with my dinghy--that
  doesn't work if there is any current at all. In fact, my sculling
  may have been floating in the current for all I really know. I see
  people paddling their boats from the bow, but this has never worked
  for me. I have an electric motor, but I find I never turn to it in
  an emergency. I have a reliable outboard which almost always comes
  through. My sails are my back up. Then I break out the anchors.

  Just wondering if you knew the physics of gondolas. They move
  beautifully, not zig zagging through the water with a single oar.

  Bill Effros


  Robert Skinner wrote:
  > Bill Effros wrote:
  >
  >> Robert,
  >> How do gondolas work?
  >>
  >
  > Generally, they use poles, as the canals are shallow.
  >
  > http://www.bergercollection.org/artwork_detail.php?i=27
  > http://www.coasterville.com/Italia/ItalyPage3.htm
  >
  >
  >> Does the Japanese boat weigh a ton and half?
  >>
  >
  > Often more. The ro is used both alone at the stern, or
  > in some cases, multiple ros were used along the sides of
  > boats. The article that I cited showed a picture of one.
  >
  >
  >>> Reference:
  >>>
  >>> Wooden Boat Volume 192, Setember/October 2006, page 54
  >>>
  >>> "A Different Way to Ro -- Complex Japanese traditional
  >>> oar makes sculling simple"
  >>> If you want a copy of the article, contact:
  >>> Woodenboat
  >>> 41 Woodenboat Lane
  >>> P.O. Box 78
  >>> Brooklin, ME 04616-0078
  >>> 207-359-4651
  >>>
  >
  >
  __________________________________________________
  Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list

-- 
___________________________________________________
Play 100s of games for FREE! http://games.mail.com/

-------------- next part --------------
Name: gondola-1.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 100955 bytes Desc: not available
Url: http://www.rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attch/200609/07/gondola-1.jpg