Re: HOW DO YOU SKULL [scull]?

From: Tim Spofford (tims@spof.org)
Date: Mon Mar 13 2000 - 17:29:41 PST


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At 04:18 PM 03/13/2000 -0500, you wrote:

>I am not certain that I know exactly what you are driving towards,... but
>I was
>taught that when in a tough spot (say in irons and heading for an eddy or the
>rocks) and you have lost the small amount of speed necessary to maintain
>stearage,... the helmsman should skull with the rudder. This involves a
>controlled, yet very rapid, back-and-forth motion on the
>tiller. Certainly not
>something that should be done to go more than 10 yards or so (else the
>helmsman
>will be very "winded")!

Sculling with an oar, not a rudder, is fairly relaxing since it requires
minimal muscle power, just a fairly gentle figure-8 with the blade of the
oar, off the stern. (You'll need to secure the pivot point some how; I
suppose you could lash it.) If you're not familiar with it, think of a
Venetian (not a Venusian <g>), in a striped shirt, black boater, and red
scarf, propelling a gondola. That's sculling. The only problem I have
with using it for regular propulsion on a Potter is that the oar you'd need
to do it effectively will be longer than you can easily store. You can
scull with a paddle but it's not nearly as easy or as effective.



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