Special Twine Decorative Lacing - Ross?

[jibes138]

When I first bought my boat the prior owner had laced the wheel completely with twine and at each spoke was what looked like a turks head or something. It was beautiful work. Over the years the sun and weather took its' toll and the nylon twine finally rotted out and I had to remove it. It lasted about twenty years. I would love to lace it up again but am not sure how it was done and especially the spokes. Has anyone ever seen this before or know how to do it. Ross, you seem a pretty good source for this kind of info...any ideas? I don't ave a photo but I left the lacing around the spokes when I removed the rest. I'll see if I can take a shot next time on the boat. Note the was no seam along the lacing anywhere but one spot you could tell was tuched under so they must have used a loop and pulled the other end under when finished like whipping a line. Also it was a continuous line so using say 1/8 it takes a lot of line to lace an entire wheel. Any ideas will be appreciated.

 

[Texas Lake Sailor]

fancy work

Find yourself a retired Navy BM (Bosin's mate) and ask him to do a little "fancy work" If you can find a copy of a Navy BM 3&2 manual it will have it in there. Used extensively to dress up quarterdecks and captain's gig's or admiral's barges.

 

[higgs]

Knot Craft

i did the wheel on my boat a few years ago using the same nylon polyester stuff we use for tie down. i think it is 1/8 inch. First, I used a French whipping around the rim and then added the Turk's heads afterwards. I really wanted to make the Turk's heads cover the gap caused by the spokes, but I could not get one to look good covering that large of a spot. With a metal spoke, you can cover the gap.

I used Des Rawson's "Knot Craft" and "The Morrow Guide to Knots" as reference for how to tie the knots This is a good off season project as I think I probably have 30 or 40 hours in it.

You will find guys on the web that do this sort of thing for money, and it ain't cheap.

 

[Ross]

Re: Knot Craft

Brian Toss Has several pages of fancy work and turksheads in the riggers apprentice.
http://www.sterlingnets.com/twine.html This is a good source of twine. I have bought several pounds from them. Ashley's Book of Knots is comprehensive and covers decorative rope work to keep a person busy for ever.

 

[catsailor]

I triedthe french whipping and 1/8" line, but I took it off in favor of something simpler.

I found the whipping uncomfortable and annoying when trying to let the wheel slip easily through my fingers. I also chose a thicker cotton/nylon line for better padding.

Nothing fancy on the spokes, because I have a modern cat where it would be, I think, out of place... and because I didn't know how. However, I would still stay with a plain tight wrap on the rim for comfort sake. Wet the line (shrinks when it dries), use a continuous length for the rim, and use rubber-faced gloves to give it a final VERY tight twist before each spoke is passed. A fancy wrap on the king spoke is good - I did that, but you can't see it.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fDLXryKUnCE/ShtQdf2AY8I/AAAAAAAAACQ/07z62Xsu6nM/s1600-h/IMG_4199.JPG

http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/

 

[Sonya]

Hi
I used masonary line on mine, it turned out real well, inexpensive and easy to clean with just soap, water and a brush
Sonya

 

[Ross]

Making a bobbin to hold the twine is a big help. You want one that should you drop it isn't going to unwind a half mile of string.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Turks head center marker

I french wrapped the wheel and added a Turks head knot to indicate the wheel being centered. Also added two Turks heads where the wheel is when on either tack. This makes steering at night a breeze as you can feel where the rudder is. I can also tell when the sails are trimmed well with someone else at the helm. Takes some of the embarrassment out of sailing with new folks when I can trim the sails and all of a sudden they are sailing great and the boat is moving well.
Took me about 4 hours to do the whole thing.

 

[higgs]

I find the French wrap quite comfortable.

 

[Ross]

When considering this project remember that a one ine diameter tube is about 3 1/4 inches around and number 36 twine runs about 12 turns per inch.. That means that a 30 inch wheel will take about 1130 turns or just a little over 300 feet of twine. Finer twine is more turns and more feet. if you use a tool like this it will help.

 

[CaptChuck]

I just refinished the wheel on my boat. I also used a French hitch using about 1/8 inch line I purchased at Home Depot. The last time I covered it I used a single strand. This time I thought it would be quicker if I used 2 strands. Twice the coverage each time arond the wheel. WRONG! Keeping the strands from twisting took 3 times as long. The ridge is more pronounced & I actually like it better. The book I used is "The Arts of The Sailor by Hervy Garrett Smith.