Source for 7x7 galvanized?

[dpincus]

Hey there,

I called Brion's shop today and they're looking into possibly getting some. Whalerman, I need about 500 feet, and I assume you need about that amount also. Maybe we can go in together (or even get some more folks) and get a larger order all together.

David

[whalerman]

dpincus,
were you thinking to use the 7 x7 for lifelines and halyards? I was thinking that 1 x 7 would be better for standing rigging. After beating my head against the wall for days now looking for the stuff and seeing plenty of 7 x 7 go by I'm considering switching. I've noticed a few industrial type wholesalers out there but no one that seems ameniable to small orders. So, do you think 7 x 7 is good for shrouds, and is it friendly to splice?
I'm building a tancook whaler and trying to get into as many of the traditional methods as I deem practical.

[dpincus]

I want to use 7x7 for my shrouds. she's a bit smaller than yours, 42 lod, but she's also a Nova Scotia schooner, built in 1950. From all that I've read 7x7 is best for shrouds of my type. Running rigging should be more flexible, 19 stranded. 7x1 is a bear to splice and too stiff.


I'm going to go for high modulus line for lifelines because I like my hair, might go coated stainless.

Cost is paramount for me as my boat is workboat rough, not much brightwork , but pretty to me


Dave

[Bob Pingel]

I should know more about traditional craft -- does a tancook whaler imply some Nova Scotia lineage -- as in Tancook Island?

Bob

[dpincus]

Yup! Tancook island scooners have a fairly unique shape. Mine is more Downeast style but was made in extreme northern Nova Scotia. I'm trying to figure out exactly who made and where my boat was built. I'm going back and forth with the guys from the NS Schooner Assn.

BTW there is 1000' of Loos 7x7 on ebay right now, I wonder if we should go in together. Maybe he'd send me a sample.

Dave

[whalerman]

I'm sold on the 7x7 now. I need to loop the masts and splice around thimbles and don't want to try that with 1/8" diameter stands. A local supplier has Asian stuff for $.40 a ft FOB in LA. I've been warned about knowing where the stuff comes from and I can't say I do when it comes to Asian suppliers. The local supplier says that the good stuff is only on the East coast and is at a premium price. Is that what you've discovered? Any news from Brion's shop?

Russ

Oh, and Tancook Whalers hail from Tancook Island, Nova Scotia, or at least they did. They were handsome, rakish double-enders in general use there at the turn of the last century till the transomed variation, the Tancook Schooner, displaced them. Their rigs were distinguished by the use of a loose-footed foresail with a club at the clew and by the fisherman staysail.

They re-emerged for the public imagination when the Maine Maritime Museum's apprentice program researched and built the 'Vernon Langille', which served at 'The Apprentice Shop' out of Rockland Maine as one of their seamanship training vessels. Roger Taylor has owned and written of the type very favorably.

It's my experience that the type is getting more popular, most likely because of their overt salty-sexiness. The challenge involved with converting such a utilitarian 'pickup truck' into something practical for modern times is daunting, however.

[whalerman]

Dave,

I've been to ebay to see the spool. It looks like the real deal. I could use about a third of it, maybe more.

Ok, so here I am in CA, there you are in MA, and there it is in SC.

What now?

[Bob Pingel]

There is nothing wrong with Asian wire per se, I have used some fine Korean 1x19 SS. I'd check with Brion's shop for some pointers and references...

Bob