Category: History

Delivering the mail by boat

Postman using a boat to deliver mail at Wisbech Postman using boat to deliver the mail at Poole, Dorset

 

Postman using boat to deliver mail at Badluarach in Inverness

Boat-borne mail delivery at Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, Poole in Dorset and Badluarach in Inverness. Photos used with permission of the British Postal Museum & Archive

These charming photos were found by intheboatshed reader and epoxy ply boat building guru Chris Perkins, who is now well known for his award-winning builds of Iain Oughtred-designed boats and for his involvement (as a boatbuilder) in Scottish Coastal Rowing.

They come from a Flickr set put up by the British Postal Museum & Archive.

Chris tells me he found them on a day when the wind and rain put him off making the journey to the little green boat building shed in his garden. Thanks Chris!

A charming little Auray punt on the Gulf of Morbihan

Small Auray punt on the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany Small Auray punt on the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany

 

Small Auray punt on the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany Small Auray punt on the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany Small Auray punt on the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany

Small Auray punt on the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany Small Auray punt on the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany Small Auray punt on the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany

It’s nice to see Auray punts still in use on the Southern Brittany coast more than a century since British yachtie Claude Worth first recorded them and suggested they would make good tenders. This one seems to be set up for both rowing and sculling.

Click here for a post on Worth’s observations, and here for more on Auray punts generally.

Julie’s 5ft 2in tall – which I guess makes this cute little child’s boat about 6ft long, or marginally longer.

What about that Frisian cow dazzle paint job though? Does it make it seem longer or shorter?

How to make a moustache, as explained by www.frayedknotarts.com

How to make a traditional bow fender from rope - http://www.frayedknotarts.com/grudinskas.html How to make a traditional bow fender from rope - http://www.frayedknotarts.com/grudinskas.html

I can’t remember how it came to me – perhaps Ed Bachmann is the man to blame (thanks Ed) – but Frayedknowarts.com has a splendid page about making a tugboat bow fender. Reading it I learned two salty words that were completely new to me,’thrums’ and ‘fagging out’ – follow the link to discover their wholly boat-related meanings.

For earlier intheboatshed.net posts about making fenders, puddings and moustaches, click here, and don’t forget to click on the ‘older posts’ link at the bottom, as it takes you to earlier posts that you might otherwise miss.