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Hi All, Sept 27, 2012
I am strictly a land lubber. But my 1914 2600+ page Webster's Dictionary
has two nautical definitions for spar; 1) A general term for any yard, mast,
boom, gaff or the like 2) In the English timber trade, a piece of timber of
less diameter than a mast.
It is my understanding (don't know where I heard this) that White Pine
was in high demand for masts but was not used for smaller spars and this may
the basis of the trade usage;#2 .
Yt, DW
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dusan Soudek" <soudekd@ns.sympatico.ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Cc: "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 5:44 PM
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] spar vs. mast?
> Jim,
> spar is a general term that includes masts, booms, spinnaker poles;
> i.e., any stick-like items you find on a sailboat or sailing ship.....
> Dusan Soudek
>
>
> ---- "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@eastlink.ca> wrote:
>> Dave or Paul or anyone, my trusty dictionary was no help in
>> differentiating between a spar and a mast or boom or ? Can you
>> please help? I am not at all shy about displaying my sheltered
>> life! Cheers from Jim in Wolfville, and have a great Autumn!
>>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>> > From: David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
>> > Date: September 27, 2012 8:57:56 AM ADT
>> > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>> > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] old oak
>> > Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>> >
>> > Hi Paul,
>> > Your reference to spars must then be a lost tourist who got on
>> > the wrong train of thought; an oaken train.
>> >
>> > Last evening I came across an interesting item about wood in an
>> > old Smithsonian: Question-- What do you do for termites ? Answer--
>> > Give them small wooden sandwiches.
>> > Yt, DW
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: Paul MacDonald
>> > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>> > Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 10:02 PM
>> > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] old oak
>> >
>> > Hi Dave
>> > Did someone say oak was used for spars?
>> > Never saw that.
>> > Have a nice day
>> > Paul
>> >
>> > From: David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
>> > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>> > Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 9:30:27 PM
>> > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] old oak
>> >
>> > Hi Paul & All, Sept 26, 2012
>> > Someone who knows about the days of iron men & wooden ships may
>> > know better but I think the spars (not masts) were usually made of
>> > Spruce. Oak was for ribs, brackets & planking but not for
>> > superstructure.
>> > And on the subject of slow growing trees some good examples can
>> > be found on the barrens between the Clyburn River in Cape Breton
>> > and Two-Island Lake. I camped there a few times, in a previous
>> > life, and one dead hip-high spruce tree about 100 years old and 10
>> > mm diameter would boil a pot of water for oxo or tea; almost solid
>> > wood.
>> > Getting back to Oak, it may sound counter-intuitive, but wood
>> > from a rapidly growing Oak (probably all trees) is stronger than
>> > wood from a slow growing tree. I suspect this is because wood from
>> > a tree with wider rings is more supple, i.e. can bend without
>> > breaking whereas wood with mostly thick-walled cells is more brittle.
>> > Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: Paul MacDonald
>> > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>> > Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 3:37 PM
>> > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] old oak
>> >
>> > You started a very interesting discussion Heather
>> > Nothing anyone said rules out a 400 year old oak. Documented
>> > trees 300 plus leave quite a bit of variation possible in the
>> > dying age. The half life will be much less of course but ones
>> > at the end of the scale might easily get over the 400.
>> > Oak in the 1800 - 1875 period of wooden ships were sought
>> > wherever they could be found. The beautiful fall foliage made it
>> > hard for them to hide! And the lads were good at handling big logs.
>> > They didn't get spars at the building supply store.
>> > They removed most of the large oak at that period especially
>> > where it was easy to do - PEI for example, no stones, hills not too
>> > steep
>> > and lots of horses and a good demand.
>> > I would be susprised if you could find one there over 200 years old.
>> > And to see some of the things I see in the deep woods make me
>> > believe there wasn't much of NS left to chance for a big tree.
>> > Spruce or oak!
>> > Have a nice fall
>> > Paul
>> >
>> >
>> > From: Heather Drope <heather.drope@ns.sympatico.ca>
>> > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>> > Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 2:15:41 PM
>> > Subject: [NatureNS] old oak
>> >
>> > As we speak, it could be being up rooted. I had not realized how
>> > big around this tree was before the land was sold or I would have
>> > documented the size for the Big Tree listing on NatureNS web site.
>> > Too late now.. I am not going to trespass on to this land.
>> > Heather..
>> > Heather Drope
>> > Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society
>> > www.nswildflora.ca
>> > 902-440-5032
>> >
>> > We do not see nature with our eyes,
>> > but with our understandings and our hearts.
>> > W. Hazlett
>> >
>> >
>> > No virus found in this message.
>> > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>> > Version: 2012.0.2221 / Virus Database: 2441/5289 - Release Date:
>> > 09/24/12
>> >
>> >
>> > No virus found in this message.
>> > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>> > Version: 2012.0.2221 / Virus Database: 2441/5292 - Release Date:
>> > 09/25/12
>> >
>>
>
>
> -----
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 2012.0.2221 / Virus Database: 2441/5294 - Release Date: 09/27/12
>
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