cannon sponge

[Silver]

i was looking at an old book from the 1600 called the "SEA GUNNER INSTUCTIONS" it can be found on the web. it stated that a gunner should have plenty of old shourds to be used as sponge. does anyone have any thought on how this is used?

[Captain Jim]

i was looking at an old book from the 1600 called the "SEA GUNNER INSTUCTIONS" it can be found on the web. it stated that a gunner should have plenty of old shourds to be used as sponge. does anyone have any thought on how this is used?

Hey, Silver.

From the Schoonerman's Web Site.

Highly recommended, by the way.

"Baggywrinkle: - chafing gear made from old ropes

Baggywrinkle is the "scruffy-looking padding used on shrouds to prevent chafing. chafe against the spreaders or shrouds, wearing away the sail to the point where it could rip in a big blow.

All you need is a ball of marline and some old rope. Middle a twelve foot piece of marline , hook it over a nail in your work area and secure the bitter ends about a foot apart. Now chop up any rope you have into piece of about 6". Careful separate the pieces into strands. Now placesa strand crosswise underneath the marlin bring each end up and over though the center as shown. Now grasp both end of the rope strand and pull them towards the nail. Each strand is jammed close to the proceeding one. When you have made enough trim the strands to an equal length. It is applied to rigging by seizing the end in position and winding it spiraling the desired distance"

Of course old shrouds in the time would have been made out of fairly large but not the biggerst line on the ship. This worn, old rope would have been ideal for making baggywrinkle as shown above. Now look at the baggywrinkle applied to the shroud (vertical line in the right of the illustration) and substitute a stout wooden rod instead, tacking the ends in place. Arrr, cannon sponge!

Edited November 3, 2008 by Captain Jim

[Hawk the QM]

Yaaar Jim,

Could just be my computer, but that link was not working for me. I got the dreaded 504 gateway time out.

[Rev.Sam]

i was looking at an old book from the 1600 called the "SEA GUNNER INSTUCTIONS" it can be found on the web. it stated that a gunner should have plenty of old shourds to be used as sponge. does anyone have any thought on how this is used?

Do we mean on how th' spounge was used, or how you would jimmy rig a few shrouds t' a pole to make a squeegee...eerrrr sponge?

[Silver]

i was looking at an old book from the 1600 called the "SEA GUNNER INSTUCTIONS" it can be found on the web. it stated that a gunner should have plenty of old shourds to be used as sponge. does anyone have any thought on how this is used?

Do we mean on how th' spounge was used, or how you would jimmy rig a few shrouds t' a pole to make a squeegee...eerrrr sponge?

the baggywrinkle would work as a sponge, i looked at so old drawing on the web and saw that the sponge look like a brisle brush. how would it be attached to the pole?

[Captain Jim]

Wound about and tacked, I would say. The earlier link in the raw: http://www.schoonerman.com/sailingterms/baggywrinkle.htm

[Rev.Sam]

i was looking at an old book from the 1600 called the "SEA GUNNER INSTUCTIONS" it can be found on the web. it stated that a gunner should have plenty of old shourds to be used as sponge. does anyone have any thought on how this is used?

Do we mean on how th' spounge was used, or how you would jimmy rig a few shrouds t' a pole to make a squeegee...eerrrr sponge?

the baggywrinkle would work as a sponge, i looked at so old drawing on the web and saw that the sponge look like a brisle brush. how would it be attached to the pole?

Wound and tacked, I think is the consensus. Which on a ship should be easy, given the supplies a well stocked ship would carry

[Stynky Tudor]

Considering everything is made out of rope, I'm sure there are all several self-tightening knots that could have done the trick of securing the brush once it was wound around. Though it would be cool to know what was commonly used.

Thanks Jim for the diagram - it's great.

[MorganTyre]

Considering everything is made out of rope, I'm sure there are all several self-tightening knots that could have done the trick of securing the brush once it was wound around. Though it would be cool to know what was commonly used.

Thanks Jim for the diagram - it's great.

Constrictor hitch the end of the line and it would hold as well as a tack. Good knot, that. Can even use it as a hoseclamp in a pinch and with practice you can tie them in a single second (seriously). Not to be confused with the inferior strangle hitch.

[Silver]

Considering everything is made out of rope, I'm sure there are all several self-tightening knots that could have done the trick of securing the brush once it was wound around. Though it would be cool to know what was commonly used.

Thanks Jim for the diagram - it's great.

went to work on the spouge project. made the baggywinkle and drilling some holes in the pole attached it to the pole with knots. wish i had a picture, i think it looked very good and period. the only problem was i had more sponge then cannon bore(13/4in), it would have been great for a 4in bore. so i started to trim it down and down and down. by the time i got it to fit the the bore there wasn't much left of the baggywinkle it was mostly the rope with a winkle here and there. tried a couple of different adjustment different size winkles and attachment rope, even wire. nothing seem to work as well as the first one i made. so i backed up and took another look at this, i have decided to drill a series of 1/4in hole in a spiral patten through the pole and push the baggywinkle shourd thought each one. it will give me a small but brislly looking sponge.

[Stynky Tudor]

Constrictor hitch the end of the line and it would hold as well as a tack. Good knot, that. Can even use it as a hoseclamp in a pinch and with practice you can tie them in a single second (seriously). Not to be confused with the inferior strangle hitch.

went to work on the spouge project. made the baggywinkle and drilling some holes in the pole attached it to the pole with knots. wish i had a picture, i think it looked very good and period. the only problem was i had more sponge then cannon bore(13/4in), it would have been great for a 4in bore. so i started to trim it down and down and down. by the time i got it to fit the the bore there wasn't much left of the baggywinkle it was mostly the rope with a winkle here and there. tried a couple of different adjustment different size winkles and attachment rope, even wire. nothing seem to work as well as the first one i made. so i backed up and took another look at this, i have decided to drill a series of 1/4in hole in a spiral patten through the pole and push the baggywinkle shourd thought each one. it will give me a small but brislly looking sponge.

Seems like you would be weakening the wood an awful lot by drilling all those holes - I can just see them acting as a sort of a perforation .

I only recently got a copy of "The Art of Knotting and Splicing" - Though I highly recommend it, I wouldn't know what to use.

But maybe MorganTyre can school us with a demonstration picture or diagram. ? .

[MorganTyre]

But maybe MorganTyre can school us with a demonstration picture or diagram. ? .

Here's just a quickie on the constrictor hitch. As I said, with practice this can be tied in less than a single second.

Step one: Toss a bight in the line with your hands oriented as pictured. Note the line on top is the one leading to your left hand.

Step two: Release the line with your right hand, flip your hand over, and re-grab the line as you had it before. It's hard to describe but the picture will show the final orientation. Note the position of the right hand.

Step three: Now, while holding on to the line flip your right hand back to it's original position to end up as shown.

Step four: Take the two bights of line (loops on the left and right side) and fold them together towards you. Congratulations, you've made a constrictor hitch. Place the two bights over anything round (such as my thumb in the picture) and draw tight. This is the single most important knot in fancywork. Hell, I consider it second really only to the bowline in terms of general usefullness.

[Stynky Tudor]

Here's just a quickie on the constrictor hitch. As I said, with practice this can be tied in less than a single second.

Step one: Toss a bight in the line with your hands oriented as pictured. Note the line on top is the one leading to your left hand.

Step two: Release the line with your right hand, flip your hand over, and re-grab the line as you had it before. It's hard to describe but the picture will show the final orientation. Note the position of the right hand.

Step three: Now, while holding on to the line flip your right hand back to it's original position to end up as shown.

Step four: Take the two bights of line (loops on the left and right side) and fold them together towards you. Congratulations, you've made a constrictor hitch. Place the two bights over anything round (such as my thumb in the picture) and draw tight. This is the single most important knot in fancywork. Hell, I consider it second really only to the bowline in terms of general usefullness.

Cool! Very nice - thank you.