Hawseholes and Bulwarks

October 11, 2015  Hours spent building to date:  1,526

I’ve never had a boat shippy enough to have bulwarks (railings that run around the deck) or hawse holes (openings lined with metal to allow lines to go through the bulwarks).  Not even 50+ year old Memsahib was that traditional.

But little Tardis has small bulwarks at the aft end of the deckhouse and surrounding the foredeck.  So I ordered the requisite hawse holes to install in the small bulwark in honor of a visit by Eric and Mary Jo Brazil from Sacramento.  Eric was my City Editor at the Salinas Californian a mere 42 years ago.

The hawse holes came an outfit with the wonderful name of “Buck Algonquin.”  This company does beautiful bronze castings for all kinds of ancient undertakings, including wooden boats.  But I must admit, that name is just a little intimidating.  I think my father once said, “Son, never get into a bar fight with anyone named ‘Buck Algonquin.'”

I used the Lackey Method for the installation:  totally coat the bottom of the fitting with a copious amount of bedding compound and surround it with yards if masking tape.  The hawse holes produced a safe and satisfying amount of squeezeout once driven home with $12 worth of bronze screws,  and cleanup was not the sticky mess it usually is (although I did destroy two pairs of rubber gloves getting the tape up).  No pictures since my poor little camera is already encased in epoxy and did not need frosting with 3M 4000 UV.