| Fancywork on the rails and stanchions |
| Last updated 2007-09-27 |
| Click on any picture to bring up a larger verzion! |
There was a time when you could go aboard a Naval vessel of just
about ANY Navy and never see a bare railing or stanchion. They were
all covered by coxcombing of one sort or another, whether crosspoint
or coachwhip work, turks heads or fancy round braids, as a matter of
course. If you DID see a bare rail, either the rail had just been
repaired or installed/replaced, or you were in the engineering spaces
or inboard a submarine.
Submarines did not (and still do not)
cover their rails and stanchions with
fancywork as it interfered with the
rapid transfer of personnel between
decks... submariners are known for
their habit of tucking the rail into the
armpit and sliding down to the next
deck. On a surface ship, this is
agressively discouraged as the danger of being tossed to one side
in a heavy sea and losing your grip is (on everything but an aircraft
carrier) an ever-present danger.
Instead, surface vessels usually had one or more of a variety of rope
wrappings on their rails to provide a secure hand-hold when
transiting from one deck to another. The complexity of these wraps
(or coxcombs) and the condition in which they were maintained was a
not-inconsiderable source of pride for the Deck Department and they
were usually quite assiduous about keeping them in top-notch condition.
The only place where you would commonly NOT find these
rail-wrappings was in the engineering department's spaces.
A "Deck Ape" would die before he volunteered to enter the "Black
Gang's" territories and no self-respecting "Snipe" would even think
of inviting an "Anchor-Clanker" down there... so the rails in Engineering
were usually polished for appearance. (In point of fact, most of the rails in the Engineering area would
eventually be replaced by brass tubing... acquired by that wonderful Navy form of barter called
"cumshaw".) I remember being sent aboard a crusier once with a package for the Engineering Officer
(hand-deliver) and seeing the rails in the engine room looking like burnished gold.
But: our focus here is on the rails found aboard the USS Zuni (AT95) which later became the USCGC
Tamaroa (WMEC 166). I got involved with Zuni in October of 2006 when I got billeted aboard by the
organizers of a knottying demonstration in Baltimore. Since then, I've contributed a few small items to
her upkeep and preservation and was fortunate enough to be permitted to take some pictures of the
rails as they presently exist aboard her.
As they presently exist, they're pretty sad. A lot of her rail work is still in
fairly good shape, but it's very old and should have been replaced twenty
years ago. If she was still a commissioned vessel, I've no doubt that they
would have been, but the USCG retired her in 1994 after ten years of basically letting her sit and die, so
all the railwork is well past it's prime. Some of the rails appear to have been done in the late Fifties or
mid-Sixties from the amout of paint on them. Horizontal rails in particular have been the worst treated
as the USCG stripped out the equipment they wished to keep when she was decommissioned and rails
were used as "sliding points", sometimes tearing up the work.
Still, even in their present condition,
they give a wonderful look at a vanishing skill and usage as most
(as I am informed by others.. subject to correction, of course)
modern Naval warships no longer have the work done, relying on
painted textured surfaces to provide a grip. It may be more efficient a
use of time and material, but it will never equal the beauty of the older method.
In particular, note the two pics above left on the rail going up to the Bridge from the Radio level: these
were done by an expert, fer sure. The workmanship is extraordinarily good and they've been painted
so many times that when first I saw them, I mistook them for "leathering" rather than ropework. (This is
a "Spanish Coxcomb" and the "comb" has been flattened out from thousands of hands gripping them
over the years.)
Here's a perfect example of something we find again and again in
older vessels: the original coxcomb was damaged somehow and the
damaged part removed, but there was no-one with sufficient skill
aboard to repair the damage, or they just didn't care about it and so
substituted a bit of "French" coxcombing in a different diameter line
to "fill in" the damaged area. Call me a purist if you will, but I'd have
been horrified if I'd been a Bo'sun aboard her.
Here we have a pic
of a stanchion down
in the after crew's
berthing area. This
was done as a decor-
ative item by the
crew, either while in-
port or after hours.
The upper stanchion is
done in a "French"
coxcomb with 3/16
manila line and so is
probably fromthe Zuni's
"Navy" days.
The lower (brighter)
wrap appears to be of
nylon line and is most
likely a repair since this particular stanchion is adjacent to the passageway leading back to the steering
gear compartment in the orlop. The whole has been varnished with spar varnish which gives it that
golden yellow colour (as well as being slopped onto the lower part of the stanchion below that
inordinately large turkshead). As you can see from the air duct at the top of the stanchion, the
varnishers were more enthusiastic than expert at their craft.
The pictures here were taken with a little P.O.S. Kodak camera, so don't expect too much from them for
clarity or depth!
Now that I've impressed you as a grouchy old fart, here's a nice story!
Zuni, when commissioned, had a lovely little wooden wheel for the helmsman to steer her by... it
disappeared into the myriad of re-models of the deckhouse which saw (among other idiocies) the teak
floor replaced by cement (think for a second what THAT does to your rolling moment... adding three
tons of cement to a point 28 feet above the waterline... interesting concept. Hand me the Dramamine,
please?) and she ended up with a little brass wheel about 9" across on what loooked like a half a
telephone booth. Not too pretty.
Harry Jaeger (Senior Chief Engineman and the Operations Director
of the Foundation today) was talking to a gent who did some wood-
work and mentioned that Zuni needed a wheel. The gent went back
to his workshop and, using only a picture Harry managed to find in
an old magazine, constructed a wheel similar in shape and diameter
to the wheel on Zuni when commissioned, but he also made it a work
of art. He used five different types of wood, made up a hub which
fit the steering shaft from an old pedestal from another "AT" whch
had been junked, and generally did a bang-up job for Harry.
When asked how much he wanted for the wheel, he replied quietly,
"I've already been paid."
Zuni/Tamaroa's Operations Director, USS Zuni (ATF 95) / USCGC Tamaroa (WMEC 166)
Harry Jaeger, ENCS, USNret. "The US Coast Guard's Only Submarine"
"Instructing a visitor."
GET INVOLVED IN THE EFFORT TO PRESERVE THIS PIECE OF HISTORY!
about ANY Navy and never see a bare railing or stanchion. They were
all covered by coxcombing of one sort or another, whether crosspoint
or coachwhip work, turks heads or fancy round braids, as a matter of
course. If you DID see a bare rail, either the rail had just been
repaired or installed/replaced, or you were in the engineering spaces
or inboard a submarine.
Submarines did not (and still do not)
cover their rails and stanchions with
fancywork as it interfered with the
rapid transfer of personnel between
decks... submariners are known for
their habit of tucking the rail into the
armpit and sliding down to the next
deck. On a surface ship, this is
agressively discouraged as the danger of being tossed to one side
in a heavy sea and losing your grip is (on everything but an aircraft
carrier) an ever-present danger.
Instead, surface vessels usually had one or more of a variety of rope
wrappings on their rails to provide a secure hand-hold when
transiting from one deck to another. The complexity of these wraps
(or coxcombs) and the condition in which they were maintained was a
not-inconsiderable source of pride for the Deck Department and they
were usually quite assiduous about keeping them in top-notch condition.
The only place where you would commonly NOT find these
rail-wrappings was in the engineering department's spaces.
A "Deck Ape" would die before he volunteered to enter the "Black
Gang's" territories and no self-respecting "Snipe" would even think
of inviting an "Anchor-Clanker" down there... so the rails in Engineering
were usually polished for appearance. (In point of fact, most of the rails in the Engineering area would
eventually be replaced by brass tubing... acquired by that wonderful Navy form of barter called
"cumshaw".) I remember being sent aboard a crusier once with a package for the Engineering Officer
(hand-deliver) and seeing the rails in the engine room looking like burnished gold.
But: our focus here is on the rails found aboard the USS Zuni (AT95) which later became the USCGC
Tamaroa (WMEC 166). I got involved with Zuni in October of 2006 when I got billeted aboard by the
organizers of a knottying demonstration in Baltimore. Since then, I've contributed a few small items to
her upkeep and preservation and was fortunate enough to be permitted to take some pictures of the
rails as they presently exist aboard her.
As they presently exist, they're pretty sad. A lot of her rail work is still in
fairly good shape, but it's very old and should have been replaced twenty
years ago. If she was still a commissioned vessel, I've no doubt that they
would have been, but the USCG retired her in 1994 after ten years of basically letting her sit and die, so
all the railwork is well past it's prime. Some of the rails appear to have been done in the late Fifties or
mid-Sixties from the amout of paint on them. Horizontal rails in particular have been the worst treated
as the USCG stripped out the equipment they wished to keep when she was decommissioned and rails
were used as "sliding points", sometimes tearing up the work.
Still, even in their present condition,
they give a wonderful look at a vanishing skill and usage as most
(as I am informed by others.. subject to correction, of course)
modern Naval warships no longer have the work done, relying on
painted textured surfaces to provide a grip. It may be more efficient a
use of time and material, but it will never equal the beauty of the older method.
In particular, note the two pics above left on the rail going up to the Bridge from the Radio level: these
were done by an expert, fer sure. The workmanship is extraordinarily good and they've been painted
so many times that when first I saw them, I mistook them for "leathering" rather than ropework. (This is
a "Spanish Coxcomb" and the "comb" has been flattened out from thousands of hands gripping them
over the years.)
Here's a perfect example of something we find again and again in
older vessels: the original coxcomb was damaged somehow and the
damaged part removed, but there was no-one with sufficient skill
aboard to repair the damage, or they just didn't care about it and so
substituted a bit of "French" coxcombing in a different diameter line
to "fill in" the damaged area. Call me a purist if you will, but I'd have
been horrified if I'd been a Bo'sun aboard her.
Here we have a pic
of a stanchion down
in the after crew's
berthing area. This
was done as a decor-
ative item by the
crew, either while in-
port or after hours.
The upper stanchion is
done in a "French"
coxcomb with 3/16
manila line and so is
probably fromthe Zuni's
"Navy" days.
The lower (brighter)
wrap appears to be of
nylon line and is most
likely a repair since this particular stanchion is adjacent to the passageway leading back to the steering
gear compartment in the orlop. The whole has been varnished with spar varnish which gives it that
golden yellow colour (as well as being slopped onto the lower part of the stanchion below that
inordinately large turkshead). As you can see from the air duct at the top of the stanchion, the
varnishers were more enthusiastic than expert at their craft.
The pictures here were taken with a little P.O.S. Kodak camera, so don't expect too much from them for
clarity or depth!
Now that I've impressed you as a grouchy old fart, here's a nice story!
Zuni, when commissioned, had a lovely little wooden wheel for the helmsman to steer her by... it
disappeared into the myriad of re-models of the deckhouse which saw (among other idiocies) the teak
floor replaced by cement (think for a second what THAT does to your rolling moment... adding three
tons of cement to a point 28 feet above the waterline... interesting concept. Hand me the Dramamine,
please?) and she ended up with a little brass wheel about 9" across on what loooked like a half a
telephone booth. Not too pretty.
Harry Jaeger (Senior Chief Engineman and the Operations Director
of the Foundation today) was talking to a gent who did some wood-
work and mentioned that Zuni needed a wheel. The gent went back
to his workshop and, using only a picture Harry managed to find in
an old magazine, constructed a wheel similar in shape and diameter
to the wheel on Zuni when commissioned, but he also made it a work
of art. He used five different types of wood, made up a hub which
fit the steering shaft from an old pedestal from another "AT" whch
had been junked, and generally did a bang-up job for Harry.
When asked how much he wanted for the wheel, he replied quietly,
"I've already been paid."
Zuni/Tamaroa's Operations Director, USS Zuni (ATF 95) / USCGC Tamaroa (WMEC 166)
Harry Jaeger, ENCS, USNret. "The US Coast Guard's Only Submarine"
"Instructing a visitor."
GET INVOLVED IN THE EFFORT TO PRESERVE THIS PIECE OF HISTORY!
