Boathooks

[Figment]

What do y'all favor as a boathook?

wood? metal? plastic?

long, kinda long, or reeeeeeeally long?

What's your preferred location for stowage?

[dasein668]

I favor a nice wooden pole with a metal hook, about 7 to maybe 8 feet long, stored vertically along the starboard side shroud.

Of course, that's not what I have... I have a short, chintzy, aluminum pole and hook. With a gross black plastic handle.

Yet another "upgrade" to put on the list... sigh.

[Tim]

Yup--me too. At the moment, I too only have a lousy telescoping aluminum one, which I store on the starboard lower shroud. Easy to get to, out of the way. It works--for now. Soon, the telescoping feature will fail, as they always do. Plus, it's ugly and boring.

2 winters ago, I was in Hamilton's and bought one of those nice bronze boathook ends on a whim. I never got around to making the handle, and was all set to this past winter. I found a place that sold nice hardwood dowels of various types, and was all set to order a length of mahogany dowel for the handle--till I found out that they wouldn't ship only one, because it might be damaged. I haven't been able to source a dowel locally, and haven't (still) gotten around to trying to make and shape my own. I even offered Nathan the chance to make it for me over the winter, since he expressed mild interest, but he got busy and couldn't do it. Fair enough.

A lot of people buy closet rod from Home Despot and use that. It's a fair option, but not as nice as a proper boathook.

Jamestown Sailing Gear sells a ridiculously overpriced version with wooden handle and bronze hook for something like $150 or more; you see it advertised in the backs of all the magazines. No thanks.

It might just be time, now that the boat is in the water, to laminate up a square handle and plane it to a nice round shape to fit my bronze end. I am sick of the el-cheapo. I think something between 7 and 8 feet long is probably the max; I haven't decided yet.

Something shorter will almost always end up leaving you--well--short. And longer ones are simply too awkward to use, and normally not necessary anyway.

Maybe in and around sailing and boat time this weekend I'll find time to glue up a blank for my handle. We'll see--but this thread has got me motivated now.

Tim

[dasein668]

What wood, say you? All mahogany? Or are you going to go with contrasting strips?

[Tim]

I'm gonna go all mahogany, I think. I don't really want a striped handle hanging on the shrouds. I think the solid color will look more appropriate, somehow.

Tim

[dasein668]

Agreed. I would definitely go solid...

[Figment]

Tim,

If shaping your own handle, I'd suggest that you don't bother to go perfectly round.

I've found that just about anything you hold in your hand is better if it's out-of-round. Think about it... hammers, knives, all manner of tools have out-of-round handles, not just because they fit your hand better that way, but because you have a 50/50 chance of holding it in the right direction without even looking.

In making my own canoe paddles and thwarts, and now oars, I can say from experience that it's MUCH easier to make a satisfying elliptical shape. When attempting to get perfectly round I found that I invariably always went a little too far in one spot or another, and the thing wound up being uncomfortably slender after fairing it out.

Actually, there's probably no need to even go elliptical. About a year ago I saw a wooden-handled old gaff in a friend's basement that was a simple square section with the corners rounded. Quite comfortable in the hand. Probably 10 minutes of router work at the most, I'd think. Then it would be a simple matter of spokeshaving the end to fit into your bronze hook.

Edit: Look back through your WoodenBoat mags. Wasn't there a how-to a few months ago on making your own totally-wooden boathook that had a squared handle?

[Tim]

Hmm. That's a good thought. Square with routed edges, especially if they're a large radius, might be just the ticket--and very simple to do, too. And it's no trouble to plane/sand the end to a perfect fit inside the hook end.

Maybe I actually will make this thing sooner than later!

Tim

[Tim]

STORAGE FOR UGLY BOATHOOK

Here's a fresh photo of my gross aluminum boathook in its stored position.



Tim

[Tim]

I was all set Friday afternoon to make up a couple boathook blanks. I was sure I had a couple mahogany planks in the shop, and I was motivated and ready for the job.

Well, it turns out the only mahogany I have is too short. I have two nice planks, but each is only 3 or 4 feet long. I didn't have any other suitable wood; the only long pieces I have are cherry, and that wouldn't be suitable for this use.

Oh well.

Tim

[Guest]

Here's an idea - how about making the handle square or rectangular with rounded corners, and then routing a shallow groove on one side - say the side from which the hook sticks out. Then when you have it in your hand you can tell that you have it pointed in the right direction without looking.

Although I guess it would still not work in the dark, ...unless you had glow in the dark dock lines..uhmmm...

[Tim]

Hey, good idea. I've actually heard of that before, but thanks for refreshing my memory!

I haven't felt like taking a trip to the wood store, so my boathook is still in the concept stage. Eventually....eventually.

[grampianman]

I took the boat hook off the end of the aluminum pole and put it on the end of a nine foot length of bamboo. The bamboo started about two inches in diameter at the bottom and was about an inch and a bit at the top. I had planed the segments so they were not as prominent, but could still be felt. It makes for a nice grip as your hands move up or down the pole. I found the point at the end fits into the clew of the jib nicely and so doubles as a whisker pole. I have a rope through a hole in the base to attach the pole to the mast. It works well, is light enough to float and I have it tied to my port shroud.

Cheers,
Ian