A lot of the macrame fancywork one sees on a boat actually has some purpose other than just looking pretty. A turk's head knot might be tied on the wheel to indicate when the rudder is amidships. Or, a stanchion may be decorated with coachwhipping that coincidentally protects the tiller when it smacks into the stanchion. One I really like is when they make a turk's head mat that sits on deck under a deck-mounted block to absorb the noise and protect the deck when the block flops around.
Awhile ago I built and installed doors for our companionway to be used when drop boards were not necessary:
When first installed, the starboard door's hinges were kind of tight. The door would stay in whatever position it was put. But the hinges have loosened up and now, when the doors are opened, both doors flop all the way open. The port door is no big deal because it just hits the edge of the dodger. But the starboard door was flopping into the compass:
It wasn't hitting the glass dome but rather just the plastic frame. But the sound was jarring and the wood on the door was beginning to show a little scarring. So, taking a leaf from the old mariners' book, I decided to try to solve the problem with a little bit of style.
Using some scrap small stuff, I made a tiny little turk's head mat and then tacked it to the door. Now, when the door hits the compass it just makes a nice easy-going little thud.
No comments:
Post a Comment