Punt build

[Old farrier]

this is my first time also on pw I have read all the posts and found them very interesting your punt look excellent and I am sure it will grace any river or estury it go on it also remined me of the time I had two punts myself on breydon water at a time when there were several on there then also half a dozen house boats and boatsheds now they are all gone and seeing a punt on there is a rare occasion so thanks for bringing it all back to me hope the spellings aint to bad as I am getting a bit long in the tooth

Glad I brought back a memory for you thanks for your comments maybe you would like to post a tale or two from your times on the water

All the best

Of

[Old farrier]

This has been a fantastic read from start to finish, it looks amazing, hope you get some real good shots on the estuary in her. When will the first outing be? Let us know how you get on with the ducks or geese!

Thanks for your reply sir but as I said all the way through the build was for phisiotherapy

The launch is planned for next month with a bit of a naming ceremony then the summer for freind to learn how to row

[marsh man]

thanks for your reply old farrier the first punt I had was in the late fifties one of the early memories I have was the 1962 63 winter me and my mate were laid off work through the snow and ice which was quite bad at the time the top end on breydon the ice was 2 to 3 foot thick and there were 2 swans stuck in it so we thought we would go and try and get them out it wernt to bad going up as we were rowing between the ice flowes which at times were a foot out of the water when we got there we sooned realised it was hopeless as we were 60 or so yards from them and they were completely surrounded by thick ice we didn't think of our own safety until the tide started to change and we could hear the ice started to move making loud crunching noices so we turned the punt round and the two of us started to row back as we were about 3 miles from our boat shed when the boat was safely tied up we watched the ice comeing down breydon nocking all the marking posts down one by one so if we had got stuck too then I don't think I would be telling you this now if you arsked me now would I do it again if I was the same age then yes

[Old farrier]

thanks for your reply old farrier the first punt I had was in the late fifties one of the early memories I have was the 1962 63 winter me and my mate were laid off work through the snow and ice which was quite bad at the time the top end on breydon the ice was 2 to 3 foot thick and there were 2 swans stuck in it so we thought we would go and try and get them out it wernt to bad going up as we were rowing between the ice flowes which at times were a foot out of the water when we got there we sooned realised it was hopeless as we were 60 or so yards from them and they were completely surrounded by thick ice we didn't think of our own safety until the tide started to change and we could hear the ice started to move making loud crunching noices so we turned the punt round and the two of us started to row back as we were about 3 miles from our boat shed when the boat was safely tied up we watched the ice comeing down breydon nocking all the marking posts down one by one so if we had got stuck too then I don't think I would be telling you this now if you arsked me now would I do it again if I was the same age then yes

[Old farrier]

Wow that's a fair adventure I'm so glad you shared the story

All the best

Of

[islandgun]

hello Marsh Man. Good story I remember 63 in Essex i was 10, The creeks in the Blackwater estuary were frozen, all rivers were solid and we had drinking water delivered by tanker, a lot of wildlife died that winter. proper winter though!

[marsh man]

thanks old farrier and islandgun for replying you said about the wildlife dyeing well on the foreshore the mudflats were rock hard so the waders couldn't probe there beaks in and every time the tide went down it left dead birds round the tideline it wasn't till nearly the end of the seasean that w a g b I put a hard weather ban on by then a lot of fowl were only skin and bone also the coypu rat at that time was nigh on out of control but by the end of the winter a large amount of them were dead so when coypu control started up again the end of them was in sight by the way we sold there skins if they were good enough for about 40 pence each and got 5 pence for the end of the tail off the ministry as proff we had killed one it wernt bad money then as we were only earning a few quid a week

[islandgun]

thanks old farrier and islandgun for replying you said about the wildlife dyeing well on the foreshore the mudflats were rock hard so the waders couldn't probe there beaks in and every time the tide went down it left dead birds round the tideline it wasn't till nearly the end of the seasean that w a g b I put a hard weather ban on by then a lot of fowl were only skin and bone also the coypu rat at that time was nigh on out of control but by the end of the winter a large amount of them were dead so when coypu control started up again the end of them was in sight by the way we sold there skins if they were good enough for about 40 pence each and got 5 pence for the end of the tail off the ministry as proff we had killed one it wernt bad money then as we were only earning a few quid a week

Hello mate, You could have look at another post in off topic about coypu theres a few blokes from your neck of the woods would be interested in your experiences

[Old farrier]

Oars nearly finished made a couple of paddles as well first out of ply off cuts to be honest they wer rubbish to thick couldn't feather them in the water

So I made some more out of pine

Hope your all well

Of

[Old farrier]

Just from another angle need to paint them now

All the best

Of

[Penelope]

All coming on very nicely.

[fenboy]

Looking good OF

[House Boat]

For the first time in my life I have oar envy Come on old farrier spill the bean's (please) what are they made from dimensions etc. etc.

 

HB.

[Old farrier]

Hi house boat do you want the dimensions for the oars or the paddles ?

I did ask in a earlier post if anyone wanted a step by step on how to make them thought it may help potential builders to develope tool skills and get a feel for wood

There didn't appear to be any interest if there is I'm happy to post a thread on ( how to make them )

Or you can send me a pm if there isn't almost a sham to paint them

All the best

Of

[marsh man]

morning old farrier your oars and paddles are comeing on a treat keep up the good work, ill tell you how we got a sail and a pair of oars once ,we were going to have a look on duffels rond which was on the north side of breydon when we got there we saw a clinker built dingy washed up on the shingle bank when we looked inside there was a sail oars and a pair of rollocks we stuck em in our boat for safe keeping cause there were some doggie people about then I took the owners number off the licence so I could give him a ring when I got home I rang him to tell him we have found his boat he thank us and said it came from a holiday cruiser he had hired out he arsked me if I could him a hand to get it as his towing boat wont go over shallow water yea no problem , we arraneged a time the next day so me and my mate went and got it and towed it across the mud flats to him he thank us and gave us a small drink not once did he mention the contents and we forgot to tell him well any how we said our good byes and off we went in them days if you found something and no one claimed it in three months it was yours so when the time was up it was ours what we didn't know was you had to report you had found it in the first place well there you go its to late now it was over forty years ago

[Penelope]

Another good tale in the John Knowlittle mode.

 

morning old farrier your oars and paddles are comeing on a treat keep up the good work, ill tell you how we got a sail and a pair of oars once ,we were going to have a look on duffels rond which was on the north side of breydon when we got there we saw a clinker built dingy washed up on the shingle bank when we looked inside there was a sail oars and a pair of rollocks we stuck em in our boat for safe keeping cause there were some doggie people about then I took the owners number off the licence so I could give him a ring when I got home I rang him to tell him we have found his boat he thank us and said it came from a holiday cruiser he had hired out he arsked me if I could him a hand to get it as his towing boat wont go over shallow water yea no problem , we arraneged a time the next day so me and my mate went and got it and towed it across the mud flats to him he thank us and gave us a small drink not once did he mention the contents and we forgot to tell him well any how we said our good byes and off we went in them days if you found something and no one claimed it in three months it was yours so when the time was up it was ours what we didn't know was you had to report you had found it in the first place well there you go its to late now it was over forty years ago

[Old farrier]

Hi marsh man

So it was you nicked my oars all those years ago great tale though

Tell us about the stalks the big shots or small and the guns you used

All the best

Of

[winchester79]

Hi first i must say what a beautiful job you have made of the punt, i am in the process of building a 23ft double punt to take my 1.5" 1lb gun

i am a fanatic wildfowler and have always wanted to punt on our estury, now that things have come into place i have thrown myself in at the deep end

and am learning all the time, for the gun could you advise me of what rope to use and the diameter? there are so many so not sure whats best

i would be very greatful for any advice on the rope and the subject overall.

best wishes,,,,ian

 

south solway

[Old farrier]

Hi

The roap I used 3 strand mostly hemp based 2..1/2 inches across it is supposed not to stretch bit I am going to drag some heavy iron about the field to tighten up the lay and the splice on it but please ask other punt gunners as my experience is limited to building the punt ( not in fireing big guns )

How far are you into your build don't be shy post some pictures

If you struggle getting roap in your area say and I can send you a length

I take my hat of to you for having a go at a build and wish you all the best and a speedy and sucksessfull build

All the best

Of

[Old farrier]

[black powder gunner]

Just be care full when using hemp or traditional materials for the gun rope if not kept in good condition it will rot .A big gun going off when you are laid flat out trying to aim the gun while not moving a muscle is quite a task .The last thing you want is that rope breaking as you will need more than a good dentist to put you back together. I would use a good quality nylon rope that will not stretch or rot when wet .I do not like rope and on my gun I have a spring system built on the gun attached to a metal post which goes through the deck on to a oak block that is tensioned by two bolts and springs and attached to the front of punt when the gun is fired the first spring takes most of the recoil the rest by the oak block. My gun is a double barrel 4 bore firing half a pound out of each barrel even when you fire both of at once the stock will move no more than a inch.

[Old farrier]

Hi

Many thanks for your input the roap is part of the traditional build and I don't expect to use it as the gun is a slipper recoil ml however I built the punt to take a bigger gun thanks for the warning I will make sure the roap is changed regularly as for my teeth I will leave them in the glass in the bathroom

And warn the new owner of the danger I'm glad your recoil system works for your gun however even metal can become fatigued and break so looking at the big picture the risks are similar

Post a picture or two I'm sure there would be a lot of interest from the young fowlers

Thanks again for your input

All the best

Of

[Wildfowler]

I just put a quick post on my thread about rope but just in-case as might be of some interest, I used polyhemp (or similar) to avoid the issue with rotting but maintaining an authentic look...

[Old farrier]

Hi many thanks wild fowler

Same stuff as I sourced hemp based spun with poly ( something ) don't rot very minimal stretch towed some logs today to tighten lay in it I'm pretty sure it will be ok and a lot less Strachey than nylon

Your box looks

I good put button magnets in mine stopped the

lid rattle amazing what you can make from leftovers

Hope the rest of the season goes well for you

All the best

Of

[winchester79]

Hi

The roap I used 3 strand mostly hemp based 2..1/2 inches across it is supposed not to stretch bit I am going to drag some heavy iron about the field to tighten up the lay and the splice on it but please ask other punt gunners as my experience is limited to building the punt ( not in fireing big guns )

How far are you into your build don't be shy post some pictures

If you struggle getting roap in your area say and I can send you a length

I take my hat of to you for having a go at a build and wish you all the best and a speedy and sucksessfull build

All the best

Of

hello thank you so much for your advice, i have seen stuff called polyhemp which is not as prone to rot and looks a good colour for the job. as far as photos are concerned i have loads but however hard i try cannot upload them to the site? it always says file to big even for just one picture? i have made the punt from marine ply using 18mm for the ribs 9mm

for the hull and 6mm for the decks, so after i paint the inside and undersides of the punt i am planning to glass her to give strength as there are a lot of old flounder net poles lurking

under the surface ready to tear the hull right off.