Gibban

[Dear readers: I'm sorry about posting so rarely during the past few months. Life's busy, as I'm sure you understand. Here's a quick one just to remind you that I'm here, and a promise to do a more substantial post as soon as I can. Thanks for your continued interest and your patience.] I've written before about the Dover Bronze Age Boat. This is my favorite ancient boat, mainly because I was among the first journalists on the scene, and it is the only marine archaeological excavation that I have experienced up close (an experience which filled me with awe). The replica of the boat that has been under construction (which I reported here as being a full-size reproduction, but which was, in fact, built at half-size) is now essentially complete, except that it doesn't float. As shown in the Kickstarter video, the replica's sponsors now plan to disassemble, caulk, and reassemble the boat in water-tight condition, and then to campaign it along England's ...

I recently received a comment from blog reader ManX who provided a link to his paddle project. The original forum post needed to be translated from Italian and from what I gathered, he split a plank from a log of Black Cherry ( P. Serotina ) wood back in 2012 and just recently finished carving a paddle inspired by the c1900 Antique Penobscot paddle posted back in 2011. Penobscot Carved Wood Paddle circa 1900 length: 77 inches His post features plenty more photos but here are few showcasing his work... P. serotina log split 2 cleaned planks End sealed with birch tar The completed paddle Grip Decoration closeup Completed Paddle Oiled In the end he opted for a more ottertail style blade in his final creation. It must have been very satisfying to go from log to paddle after a 3 year wait. Well done ManX!