The decorative rope work which adorns working boats has been developed over the last two centuries. While most of it is now for decoration, a lot of it started life with a practical application back in the days of horse boats. Nowadays some of that original usage has been lost.
I have heard say/read that a horse boat would get through a cotton tow line within a very short period, as short as a week in some cases. Just as a matter of interest I can remember a ‘rope shop’ just a short walk from the top of Wolverhampton locks in Snow Hill, where even as late as 1970 you could still buy tow lines of standard lengths. They sold the cotton lines, not by diameter, as you purchase them now, say 12mm dia, but by there ability to tow and went as one horse or two. One horse being half inch diameter and two horse being about three quarters of an inch.
Anyway back to my blog. As you can well imagine, most of the wear on a tow line would only be on the mid section where the rope rubbed on bridges, lock sides etc. as is clearly displayed by the scarring grooves worn in their brick or iron work. So when a tow line was worn out the first couple of yards from harness end and the last several yards from the Mast end would be practically brand new. This resulted in boatmen having many short lengths of brand new cotton line at their disposal and so to what to do with it. Obviously it would be used for generating the other ‘practical’ rope work required on a working boat such as mooring lines etc. but at some point, somebody must have washed and scrubbed this ‘functional’ rope work and so it became ‘decorative’. Now, some of these ‘decorative’ ropes can not be used for their original function as they would get dirty!
I am going to explore some of the most common decorative rope work. Here is a picture of a butty displaying most of the rope work I’m talking about.
I have heard say/read that a horse boat would get through a cotton tow line within a very short period, as short as a week in some cases. Just as a matter of interest I can remember a ‘rope shop’ just a short walk from the top of Wolverhampton locks in Snow Hill, where even as late as 1970 you could still buy tow lines of standard lengths. They sold the cotton lines, not by diameter, as you purchase them now, say 12mm dia, but by there ability to tow and went as one horse or two. One horse being half inch diameter and two horse being about three quarters of an inch.
Anyway back to my blog. As you can well imagine, most of the wear on a tow line would only be on the mid section where the rope rubbed on bridges, lock sides etc. as is clearly displayed by the scarring grooves worn in their brick or iron work. So when a tow line was worn out the first couple of yards from harness end and the last several yards from the Mast end would be practically brand new. This resulted in boatmen having many short lengths of brand new cotton line at their disposal and so to what to do with it. Obviously it would be used for generating the other ‘practical’ rope work required on a working boat such as mooring lines etc. but at some point, somebody must have washed and scrubbed this ‘functional’ rope work and so it became ‘decorative’. Now, some of these ‘decorative’ ropes can not be used for their original function as they would get dirty!
I am going to explore some of the most common decorative rope work. Here is a picture of a butty displaying most of the rope work I’m talking about.
Turks Heads, Swan’s Neck, Rockets, Ears, Hose webbing, Button fender.
First let’s look at their original functional uses:
First let’s look at their original functional uses:
Turks heads, these are just like a simple plaits like you would put in a girls hair using three pieces of hair strands ---- except there are no ends to these strands.
Turks head - Usually two on butty tiller bar
Ø To protect paintwork when placing on cabin top for lock work etc.
Turks head - around top of helms rams head
Ø To give added strength to rams head. and protecting from splitting where the tiller bar hole goes through due to excessive sideways pressure/leverage.
Rockets – more like Catherine wheels than rockets, this is where the ends of a string is coiled spirally around itself then tucked under its lines. (Incidentally both the Turks head and the Rockets, on a butty helm, should run horizontally and parallel to the water, not at 90 degree to the edge of the timber works as I’ve often seen.)
Rockets– around the bottom of the rams head
Ø The function of the Rockets are the same as the Turks head above.
Rockets on cratch and deck board.
Ø I think these are merely decorative versions of the top strings used to secure the deck cloth and the top cloths.
Swans Neck – a long fancy knotted section of rope running from the top of the rams head down to the tingles on the helm
Ø I believe decoration only.
Jump strings- go between the ring/shackle fitted to the butty’s helm top pintle and a hole which goes through the butty stern post
Ø To stop the butty helm jumping out of the pintles if it rides up on underwater obstructions.
Ears – a length of rope which has a fancy knotted section at each end, which is looped through the brass ring on the cabin top, behind the chimney collar (to chain the water cans and chimney to) and dangles down the cabin sides with ends of unequal length.
Ø Not absolutely sure, but I was told that they were for tying up the downhill runners, (a butty breaking system) to the cabin sides when not in use.
Mast dropper – about a foot long and hangs from the luby at the top of the towing mast.
Ø Young Charlie Atkins told me that this was used as a grab handle when climbing out of an empty hold (He also took great delight in telling me that it had a rather rude name referring to a Donkey’s sex appendage!)
Button fender – hung from the end of the tingles on the butty helm
Ø Originally to protect the helm when in locks etc.
Hose webbing – Lengths of old fire hose which is cotton and rubber lined, when scrubbed comes up white. A length is fitted around the butty helm tingles and another over the leading edge of the cratch
Ø Again I think purely decorative.
All the decorative rope work I have described above is made from one horse cotton tow rope which, when scrubbed with a good hard scrubbing brush and just clean water, every day, comes up snow white and looks a treat. If it’s not scrubbed then it looks a mess and why bother having it on a boat if your not going to keep it white. My feelings are the same for brass (portholes, mushroom vents, chimbly bands etc) if your not going to polish it then either don’t have it or paint it! Mushroom vents look just as nice painted in quarters with red-white-blue-yellow.
Producing this rope work is simplicity itself requiring very few skills to be acquired, for instance: Ears, swans neck, mast droppers, jump strings are all made using one knot over and over again. It’s called a crown knot and in another blog I might be tempted to explain how to do it along with Turks heads and an ocean plait.
Can't wait for the knot classes :) nor for your next post!
ReplyDeleteThe rope shop used to be on Worcester Street almost opposite the BT building (next door but one to my Grandad's old Iron Mongery shop). This terrace of shops have now been demolished but the rope shop is now situated on the corner where Temple Street meets Worcester Street.
ReplyDelete