Shellac for Bungs?
Dear Dr. Jagels,
I read your piece in the November/December issue of WoodenBoat (No. 307) with interest, and I am writing now with a comment and a query:
You state that you “have also seen historical references to using shellac as a glue to hold wooden plugs over countersunk screws in ships.” Your phrasing suggests that you are not sure that this is correct, but I can assure you that it certainly is. My father was a bit of an amateur boatbuilder, and he often gave me exactly that job. I would pour some shellac in the lid from a wide-mouth jar, dip the bung in the shellac, align the grain of the bung with that of the plank, and drive it home with a single smart whack of the hammer. Then it was on to the next one. A day or two later, I would come back with a chisel and a hammer and trim the bung to make it fair with the plank. The time frame for this would have been 1950, give or take a few years, so it was practiced in relatively recent times.
I grew up in a home with white-oak flooring that was finished with shellac and then waxed. Even with the wax, it was somewhat susceptible to water stains. As a result of this observation, I would have thought that shellac should not be used in marine applications where appearance was important, but you seem to imply otherwise. Am I missing something?
Kenneth A. Smith
Beverly, Massachusetts
Richard Jagels responds:
Freshly mixed shellac created by dissolving lac in pure alcohol is very water-resistant. But mixed shellac ages and older shellac is less water-resistant. Also, a shellac finish ages and may lose some water resistance (boats were generally refinished annually). Finally, some so-called water stains on a shellac finish are actually caused by another solvent, often alcohol. Even a small concentration of alcohol in water will produce a white mark.
Azorean Whaleboats
Dear Matt,
It was good to see David Platt’s article on the Azorean whaleboat revival in the Nov/Dec issue. I’d like to fill one omission, and provide one addition, one correction, and one opinion: 1) the origin of this exceptional cultural phenomenon came from Dan Thorne, a maritime-heritage enthusiast, who had discovered a last abandoned hull in the Azores. He was connected with Lance Lee, who recruited Yvon Le Corre, the brilliant French maritime artist, to document it, and a recent Apprenticeshop graduate, Bruce Halibisky, to assist João Tavares in the building of BELA VISTA; 2) none of this would have happened without the interest and generosity of Dan Thorne whose support enabled the project and the subsequent construction of two more boats in New Bedford; 3) the book, with essays by Lance and Bruce, with reproductions of Yvon’s exquisite watercolors, was published in 1999 by Leete’s Island Books, Sedgwick, Maine, not Mystic Seaport Museum; and 4) as Lance has written in his recent Apprenticing: A Manifesto: “The arts and craftsmanship are of high cultural value for a single reason. They inspire. Such inspiration is not an accident; it is the result or yield of the spiritual qualities in the artist or craftsperson. That spirit is comprised of qualities wrought by the art, the skill, the demands of materials and process. Art takes on an inspiring quality from the artist. Equally true is that individuals, artists, are imbued with such qualities, such spirit, by the practice of their art. This viral, but elusive fund—the human—must be sustained.”
The inaugural sailors of the newly built BELA VISTA were veterans of early 20th century coastwise whaling in such boats; the hundreds of young Azoreans who this summer crewed the many boats illustrated in your article are vital extensions of that history and that spirit, quietly enabled by the power of authenticity and tradition. Maritime history is so much more than a catalog of one-offs, but rather a compendium of designers, builders, sailors, and participants in a vast community of those engaged with and by the sea.
Peter Neill
Sedgwick, Maine
Alden Schooners in the Fastnet Race
Dear Editor,
The WoodenBoat article about Ben Harris and Co. building an Alden Malabar IV notes that in 1927 TALLY HO won the Fastnet race on time against the Alden schooner LA GOLETA, a Malabar VIII that finished first but only by 45 minutes. What is not noted is that there were two Alden schooners in the stormy 1927 race among the 15 starters, and only TALLY HO and LA GOLETA finished.
There is another very interesting correlation between the 1927 entry and Ben Harris’s effort. I quote from LA GOLETA crewman Alf Loomis’s description of the race: “LA GOLETA had been built from an Alden design for an American residing in Chester, England, by a local shipbuilder who was unacquainted with yacht practices. What with foul weather on the passage down from Bangor, North Wales, she had arrived late at Cowes, with no time available for breaking in the racing crew—only one man of whom, besides (owner) Peverley, saw her mainsail hoisted until a few minutes before the race. Her decks leaked, her rigging had not been fully stretched, and she was unready.”
LA GOLETA may have been unready, but she finished the race. I hope Ben gets her finished and does the race. Tally Ho!
Thad Danielson
Cummington, Massachusetts
Misplaced Credit
On page 58 of WB No. 307, the image of Roger C. Taylor steering the tugboat C.L. CHURCHILL, with former Lake Champlain Maritime Museum director Art Cohn standing by, was misattributed. Taylor’s wife, Kathleen Carney, took that photo.
—Eds.
