Period Camping

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Depends alot on where you are and where the pallets are made. I live in the Missouri Ozarks where oak of almost every description is every where. Hickory is getting harder to find due to over-harvest for BBQ wood and other things. Nearly every sawmill hereabouts cuts RR ties and builds pallets out of oak. We also have a never ending supply of ROCKS if anyone needs them...come on over and bring a big truck! But the hickory will work just as well if not better than oak. Ash is good too.

Capt. Bo

[Patrick Hand]

See what happens when you go back through older post in Twill.....

With the discussions for the 1720 Careening camp at PiP, I figured I'd bump this one...........

[CaptainSatan]

Made from seasoned oak pallet boards, they are fairly strong and durable. Take some copper plumbing pipe cut into 1" peices and drive/fit them down onto the tops to prevent splitting,

Any images of yer home made stakes available?

-CS

[Patrick Hand]

Well I'm back to looking at the pictures and instructions on how to make a Proque..... If I make one this year, it would only be plywood,, but it would be fun to go up to one of the lakes after all of the snow melts, near the end of June, so I have time to make it.....

I do have the bow and stern post made..... so that's a start.....

I've got to try finding another crazy person that wants to play Buccaneer, so we can go cannoe?/proque trecking this Summer.... Spicer Meadow Resivour has a section that is off limits to motor boats, and it's about six miles long.... figure there should be plenty of places to explore......

[Cuisto Mako]

I stumble on this thread while searching on lantern, very interesting... so...did Hawkyns ever posted his pictures of his minimalist camp?

[Dutchman]

just an observation from last weeks event in Charleston. It blew and it rained... lots. Almost all the tents (around 30) ended up leaking but any fly or tent made of painters tarps hit the ground over the course of the weekend. They seemed to wick water then bellowed more than conventional fly canvas in the wind causing them to take off like kites on may day. On the other side of that, few were well made or rigged properly. Not poo pooing the painters tarps, just an observation- i'll still use mine as needed, but will be more cautious about its rigging.

[Jack Roberts]

Just too add to your observation Dutch. I have a painters tarp and have made my tents out of 10oz canvas. There is a difference.

The painters tarp seems to be much looser in weave and less dense than 10oz canvas.

[Tartan Jack]

I wonder if the tents were heavy weight canvas and shrunken before hand om Charleston.

Oh, and I showed up for family vacation on Monday, just in time to see the ships and boats leave from Sullivan's Island. GREAT sight!

- I had forgotten that it was that weekend till Sunday night, or I would have come several days earlier . . .

[MarkG]

Just too add to your observation Dutch. I have a painters tarp and have made my tents out of 10oz canvas. There is a difference.

The painters tarp seems to be much looser in weave and less dense than 10oz canvas.

I've noticed that. I have some canvas tarps I bought around 20 years ago and they worked fine as a ground cloth or fly. I still use them as ground clothes. They work fairly well, even at Hampton (until a drunk slept on one and got wet). I've tried the things they currently sell as painter's tarp. They are very light and not waterproof in the least. A friend with a big house uses the modern ones as curtains for her porch.

Mark

[Silkie McDonough]

I am guessing that it all depends on the type of painters tarp you have. I have one that I got from my father (a painter by profession) that is fantastic, very water proof. I don't know about the kind sold at places like Home Depot and Lows but perhaps if you try places like Sherwin Williams and others that cater to the professional you may find what you are looking for ...and they don't have metal grommets. lol

[theM.A.dDogge]

depends on what grade of painter tarp your geting......higher grades have a tighter weave...and are coated on one side...to "paint" proof it....lower grades are only used as a dust cover.....

course if ya spendin the money for a higher grade...might as well get the better canvas....and use the lower grade as a sun shade

[Shay of the Keys]

Can anyone advise as to how appropriate a tarp overlaid with palm fronds would be for the 1669 Buccaneers Camp? I'm still searching primary resources, but would appreciate any advice. I'm traveling light, but would like to be able to haul some native fronds in, and later remove them when PIP is done. Is it PC? Is it allowed in a State Park? - Treva

[MarkG]

Something I've noticed in 17th century woodcuts of military camps - tents often had planks resting on them. I assume that the canvas that they had leaked so they would scrounge whatever planks they could find to try to keep water out. This shows up in several woodcuts so it must have been standard, especially on the Continent. To me, that justifies using other items to help waterproof tents.

Since no one was doing woodcuts of buccaneer camps, military camps are probably the best documentation available.

Now, if you want to be really authentic, leave the ends open.

Mark

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Here's my favorite camp setting; John Law's Biloxi settlement. The drawing is from 1720 after his ponzi land scheme fell through, but the artist had obviously been there when it was inhabited at it's peak. Check the details and notice there are no embellishments as in contemporary drawings from the same period.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/JohnLawCamp-Biloxi-1720.jpg

And here is a French "Potteuax en Terre" reconstruction done here in Missouri from descriptions and drawings of the Jesuit missionaries when they were coming into this part of the country in the 1670's:

Bo

[MarkG]

Those A-frame buildings in the link you sent are interesting. These might be examples of an "English Wigwam". This was a house that was dug into the ground, lined with wood, and roofed over. There have been several interpretations of this. Pioneer Village in Salem, Mass dug their reproductions into a bank that was over five feet high and put a shallow roof over it. Plimoth Plantation did a different interpretation with a shallow pit and a thatched A-frame over it. They called theirs a "hovel". Unfortunately, they put the door in the side using a form of thatching that was invented by a particular thatcher in the 19th century. I think that this house has been replaced.

A friend and I tried constructing one of these around 20 years ago but we didn't have any proper thatch so we didn't get it finished. Along the way the friend corresponded with Sir Ivor Noel Hume (prestigious archeologist at Williamsburg) who agreed that this form is a leading candidate among archeologists for the English Wigwam. I believe that he sent the linked picture and said that he suspected that these were pit dwellings.

Anyway - the progression seems to be that canvas shelters were the first thing built but anytime someone was going to stay for a while they would throw up something more substantial. This might be a pit house with a roof over it or just a shack made from some planks, thatching, or anything else handy. If you were a colonist then you would live in this temporary structure while you built a house. This picture seems to have a mix of all three.

It would be interesting to see someone represent some semi-permanent buildings in a camp sometime. I've never had the extra room to transport extra lumber.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/JohnLawCamp-Biloxi-1720.jpg

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

When I am not trekking and want to stay comfy while at an event, this is my preferred rig:

It's a Don Strinz 1757 7X7 bell-back w/42" bell. We have a 12X12 wedge, with 10X10 fly and some other canvas, and a 10X7 plow-point wedge/fly w/door-flaps too. This one is my favorite though. I've had it for about twelve years now.

[William Brand]

That's a beauty. Someday you'll need to season it with salt spray, pine needles and rum at PIP.

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

The Thatchers have already done that for me, this is one of those that were used last year.

Bo

[JaniceSeptember]

I've noticed that. I accept some canvas tarps I bought about 20 years ago and they formed accomplished as a arena bolt or fly. I still use them as arena clothes. They plan adequately well, even at Hampton (until a bashed slept on one and got wet). I've approved the things they currently advertise as painter's tarp. They are actual ablaze and not waterproof in the least. A acquaintance with a big abode uses the avant-garde ones as curtains for her porch.

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Edited September 7, 2009 by JaniceSeptember