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

[Chris Geankoplis]

Robert wrote: " However, some other references, among those I cited, refer
to Poles."

Jees Robert, everyone know those guys are from Italy not Warsaw.

Chris G
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Skinner" <robert at squirrelhaven.com>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 4:58 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Ro, Ro, Your Boat...


> Bill, Todd, et al:
>
> I sit mostly corrected.
>
> As I dug into more references after Bill's shot across my
> bows, I found a preponderance of cases siting sweeps rather
> than poles, the encyclopedia being the most major.
>
> Britannica describes a gondola as a "tapered, 32-foot-
> (10-metre-) long flat-bottomed boat historically associated
> with the canals and lagoon of Venice, carrying from two to
> six passengers. It is propelled from the starboard quarter
> by a single sweep (oar) manipulated by a gondolier standing
> on the stern cover, and it has an asymmetrical shape, being
> 9 inches (23 cm) wider on the port side..."
>
> Todd's picture is also compelling evidence.
>
>>
> /Robert
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Todd Tavares wrote:
> >
> > 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/
> >
>
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> > 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
> >
>
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