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Notes on a General Purpose Boat for use in Polar Regions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

R. E. D. Ryder
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Extract

Few will dispute the fact that some type of boat for work in polar regions is an important requirement for all who live or travel there. As a corollary I think that few will agree about the exact type required. The reason for this is that the various regions of both Arctic and Antarctic differ widely, and it would be a mistake to suppose that the same set of conditions applies to all the coasts of the polar regions. With a view to provoking interest in this very absorbing subject, the following article describes a boat which was built in the Antarctic by the British Graham Land Expedition and was designed with the knowledge we had of that coast. Whether or not this boat would be suitable in other areas is better decided by those who may have a more varied knowledge of the Arctic and Antarctic foreshores and of travelling across sea ice.

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Article
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Polar Record , Volume 3 , Issue 22 , July 1941, pp. 399 - 406
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1941

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References

page 405 note 1 Eulowing in the Chinese method is done either over the stern of the boat with one oar or with one or two oars over the port quarter (see Fig. 10). It is different from sculling in that the oar does not work in a crotch. There is a hard-wood pad half-way along the oar with a hollow in it. The oar is worked with this hollow balanced on a round-headed bolt, which is smoothed and greased to form a frictionless pivot. The action is imparted to the oar with the right hand by pulling from side to side a lanyard which joins the top end of the oar to the bottom of the boat. The left hand rests on the oar to steady it and prevent it from slipping off the pivot. It is not easy for a novice to keep the oar on its pivot, but concentrated training overcomes the difficulty. The length of the lanyard, and the positions of the pivot and of the lower attachment of the lanyard must be carefully adjusted to obtain the best results.