tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466695305125791022.post5260844015995848263..comments2024-03-13T08:16:23.560-07:00Comments on Indigenous Boats: The Samoan Va'a aloBob Holtzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878339327766256094noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466695305125791022.post-8580731170709902682013-07-09T07:44:32.609-07:002013-07-09T07:44:32.609-07:00Hi Sandy. Thanks for getting in touch: I was unfam...Hi Sandy. Thanks for getting in touch: I was unfamiliar with the Chamorro or the project. Are you associated with Sakman Chamorro Inc. at the following URL?: http://www.sakmanchamorro.org/<br />...or with another organization? Please contact me directly at bob@yournameherecom.com. Thanks.<br />Bob Holtzmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05878339327766256094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466695305125791022.post-37064512067695768812013-07-08T20:11:58.960-07:002013-07-08T20:11:58.960-07:00Dear Bob Holtzman,
Your blog is a wonderful reso...Dear Bob Holtzman, <br />Your blog is a wonderful resource of seafaring history. I would like to bring up to you to the Chamorro seafaring tradition from the Mariana Islands in Micronesia. We have an inspired team of canoe builders who have constructed the ancient Sakman Canoe from 250+ year old drawings, revealing the fastest canoe of its time, and an impressive vessel still. We are driven by a desire to revitalize our culture, but realize that we also contribute to the world of seafaring history. Perhaps you can assist in helping us to connect with this community to learn from and share our work.<br /><br />With thanks, <br /><br />SandySandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14372841161730067776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466695305125791022.post-15921858058713437502013-05-09T11:30:35.032-07:002013-05-09T11:30:35.032-07:00Certainly possible Bob but where did the exquisite...Certainly possible Bob but where did the exquisite skill shown in putting these large boats come from?<br />They had to know what they were doing because any mistake could be irrecoverable. I do think they practise and took there scaling from smaller precursors. Smaller possible planks from a sewn boat have been found that could have been part of either a large or smaller boat.<br /><br />Edwinhttp://dark-age-boats.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466695305125791022.post-45464984838461585012013-05-08T12:19:43.803-07:002013-05-08T12:19:43.803-07:00Edwin: Of course Ferriby and Dover! I feel silly f...Edwin: Of course Ferriby and Dover! I feel silly for not having them come immediately to mind. <br />I suspect there were no smaller (canoe-size) sewn-plank boats in Europe because dugouts served the purpose there. No need for the speed of a lighter craft, perhaps because the nearshore ocean fishery was mainly groundfish? It was only when larger vessels for trade were desired that options to the dugout had to be explored.Bob Holtzmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05878339327766256094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466695305125791022.post-48385205115008916102013-05-08T09:33:19.686-07:002013-05-08T09:33:19.686-07:00Ferriby boats are Bronze Age and are sewn plank co...Ferriby boats are Bronze Age and are sewn plank construction as are the others such as the Dover. Only found in England. However we do not have evidence for smaller more canoe sized craft that I believe were precursors of the larger ships.<br /><br />I have experimented with blind sewing and it is possible by angling the sewing hole towards the outside but so angled so that they meet a similar hole drilled in the other plank forming a V. Both holes emerging in the top and bottom of the two planks edges respectively. I suppose one could ease the angle of the V by working a sand covered line through the channel formed making the stitch easier to insert and offering less friction to getting it tight.<br /><br />Good luck to Wolfgang with his sewn-plank project. I am hoping circumstance will soon let me begin mine again. Your Dalca entry is my current inspiration Bob.Edwinhttp://dark-age-boats.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466695305125791022.post-12214650250131921152013-05-08T05:05:03.870-07:002013-05-08T05:05:03.870-07:00Wolfgang: Please let us know what kind of sewn-pla...Wolfgang: Please let us know what kind of sewn-plank boat you settle on building, and keep us informed of its progress. I'm so pleased that this blog has served as inspiration to you.<br /><br />Edwin: i. I haven't come across the theory that sewn plank boats were used in Europe during Neolithic and Bronze ages. Can you steer me to any published discussions on that notion? ii. I can picture the button/V-perf. system you mention, but I've never seen it. (Seems like it would be easier to produce than blind holes on the inside surface.) Again, please give us a citation. Thanks.Bob Holtzmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05878339327766256094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466695305125791022.post-13383277666923664912013-05-07T14:17:56.430-07:002013-05-07T14:17:56.430-07:00Nice example, thanks, of a dugout constructing tra...Nice example, thanks, of a dugout constructing tradition that is able to a include sewn plank boats as and when there is a demand.<br /><br />For me this is another support for the idea that lighter sewn plank boats could have been constructed at the same time as dugouts in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages of Europe.<br /><br />I like their internal sewing technique which means no through sewing holes to be sealed. Puzzle why these did not seem to be used especially as some had buttons with V perforations employing the same principle.<br />Edwinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466695305125791022.post-2842957511590994242013-05-07T07:27:44.070-07:002013-05-07T07:27:44.070-07:00Well Bob, it took a while for the light to go on, ...Well Bob, it took a while for the light to go on, but you've had enough posts on stitched boats now that I'm interested in actually building one. As you know, I am an aficionado of skin on frame, which is an excellent technology but relies on a suitable skin to keep out the water. Stitch technology seems to answer the problem of how to hold the boat together when you have minimal tools and an inadequate supply of long boards. <br />Another comment on this particular boat is that the lines of it superficially resemble those of the Aleut kayaks except that the bow and stern are reversed. Part of this has to do with the weight distribution in the boat which determines how the boat trims. Skin on frame boats are usually so light that crew and cargo are the principal determinants of how the boat trims. Boats with any amount of weight, however, have a greater contribution to trim from the boat itself. Thank you for your continued determination to bring these older technologies to us.Wolfgang Brinckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08314364206955412017noreply@blogger.com