The Anathemata
The Lady of the Pool (continued)
’T will soon be on us, cap’n
it’ll soon be here.
Flora’s late come soon gone
in Cronos-meer.
You’d best weigh
you’d best be off, skipper
you’re wrong side the Pillars
for this tide o’ the year
you in y’r carvel-built—an’ look at
her fished spars!1
Lorks! you ancient man
you’d best weigh!
I’ld make a whale of a mere-maid, captain, had I scales to m’ belly.
David Jones notes
1 Carvel-built in contrast to clinker-built ships, and composite yards or other spars, in contrast to spars made from a single length of timber, characterized Mediterranean in contrast to northern shipping. To lash lengths of wood together to form a single spar is called ‘fishing’.
additional notes
DJ note 1: Carvel built wooden boats and tall ships are made by fixing planks to a frame so the planks butt up against one another. In Clinker built (or lapstrake) hulls the planks overlap along their edges. In a Carvel construction a smooth hull is created, that is stronger than a clinker built hull. However more caulking is required between the joints in carvel than in a clinker construction. The framing gives a carvel construction a stronger hull, meaning it can carry a full sail plan, and can have a longer and broader hull.
Clinker built vessels are lighter because they have less internal framing, meaning they move faster because they displace less water. Clinker vessels are less rigid then carvel constructions; this limits the type of sailing rigs the vessel can take.
comments