Nautical Research Journal 241


396. T e block holds the rod while one side is sanded fl at.


394. A brass rod has been machined with slots at constant intervals and depth.


397. T e result that works well.


395. T e rod is place at a perpendicular angle into a squared block of wood.


I chose to leave four evenly-spaced triangles at the skirt that wrapped around the gunwales (Photo 388), each with holes through which cinching lines could be attached. Photo 389 shows the fi nished and rigged lifeboat. Note that the pintles are visible, as are the davits and their rigging.


Davits also are diffi cult to make well. In this instance, the basic davit is a tapered metal pole, curved over its upper third. (Photo 390) T ere is a hole at the tip into which the pulley system fastens and both an attached and a stand-alone cleat. I began by placing measured lengths of brass rod into my lathe to create the taper, a task requiring considerable attention and patience. I used my caliper to obtain consistent diameters over the length of all eight rods. Next, I heated the top third of the rod to red heat to anneal it, removing its resistance to holding a bend. Once the bend was correct, I pinched the end in a vice


so that a hole could be drilled to attach the pulley system. I tinned the davit and the tiny cleat and, with a steady hand, soldered them together. T e trick is to prepare the parts with fl ux for an instant grip once the solder liquefi es. T e cleat itself was from annealed 0.8-millimeter brass rod fl attened with a gentle tap to a suitable punch. Photos 391 and 392 show an anchor point and its position on the davit. Two lines attach here to stabilize and adjust the rotation of the davit. Tiny, yes, and diffi cult to solder, yes, but with well-designed steady holds it can be done. Photo 393 shows he fi nished davits, painted and ready to install.


Finally, the blocks needed to be built. My method works well but is unconventional. Photo 394 shows a brass rod into which I machined repeated, equally- space slots of uniform depth. T e tail stock brace was needed to stabilize the rod as the cuts become numerous. T is rod then was fi tted into a wooden block at right angles in both x and y axes. (Photo 395)


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