Some time ago Simon bought himself
a canoe, but unfortunately it was holed in a storm – sounds romantic but
actually it was tied down on the roof of the superstructure and something fell
on it! Anyway, it is now repaired and
this excellent weather has tempted Simon to christen it and take some photos of
the hull from sea level. The hull was constructed with two layers of teak
planking and covered by a sheet of ‘yellow metal’. This was Muntz metal - a
form of alpha-beta brass with about 60% copper,
40% zinc
and a trace of iron. It is named after George Frederick Muntz, a metal-roller of Birmingham, England
who commercialised the alloy following his patent of 1832. Its original
application was as a replacement for copper sheathing on the bottom of boats, as it maintained the anti-fouling
abilities of the pure copper at around two thirds of the price. It became the
material of choice for this application and Muntz made his fortune.
A notable use of Muntz Metal was in
the hull of the Cutty Sark and I believe that only three
vessels still exist which have the teak planks on iron frame with Muntz
cladding construction – Cutty Sark, Simon’s lightship and one other.
Simon’s canoe-based survey showed
that, in places, the Muntz is crumbling at the edges (aren’t we all?). There is a definite limiting line just above
water level – which would make sense.
In places the Muntz is in good
shape
and in others it looks like a patchwork quilt – or a piece of modern art!
On a more serious note, there are
areas of the hull that are in need of some serious TLC. Thank goodness these
are well above the waterline, but will need to be done nonetheless.
Some areas look fine, although still needing work.
David
No comments:
Post a Comment