Our Tholes

We are at a fiddly stage with the build. Pretty much everything has been made and now we have a load of sanding, varnishing, polishing to do. Summer slipped quietly into autumn and then hurtled into winter - or what passes for winter down here: wind and rain, not really cold, but a bit miserable, mixed with a few days where sunburn is a risk.

The big step forward has been the construction of the tholes, or rowlocks, which, like everything else on this build, has been very satisfying as a few nondescript bits of wood transform into something that harmonises with the rest of the craft.

 Ply:

Plus mahogany:

The ubiquitous clamps:

All four in place:

When I started rowing, back in black-and-white, Karlisch, Doneratico and Stampfli racing boats were the most elegant and advanced in design. The holes drilled in the ply of these tholes is our small homage to them, bringing a critical weight reduction, as you would appreciate.

Since we took these pictures, Joe has shaped the tholes to take the capping and we are once again experimenting with the technique of steaming, which apparently does not involve violent mob action but, rather, trying to bend very unwilling bits of wood to shape. More of that later.

(By the way, the blue tape on the thwart cleats (supports for the seats in lubber language) is there to keep the epoxy off as these will be finished with oil, along with the thwarts themselves, the foot stretchers and the gunwales.)