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Carpal Tunnel
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brachiotomy: amputation of an arm brachypodous: short-legged bradyseism: slow up-and-down movement of the earth's crust branchiform: gill-shaped brassage: difference between cost of minting coin and its value bream: to clean a ship's bottom by burning off seaweed breme: fierce; cruel; keen breviate: a brief compendium; a lawyer's brief bricole: harness for humans to pull heavy loads brigue: to intrigue britska: open four-wheeled carriage brochette: skewer for holding food steady while cooking bromatology: study of food brontomancy: divination using thunder brumous: foggy; wintry buccal: pertaining to the mouth or cheek buckram: stiff-finished cotton or linen used for linings of garments bulbiferous: bearing bulbs bullary: collection of papal bulls bullyrag: to assault with abusive language; to badger bumpkin: spar projecting from stern of ship burgage: tenure in socage for a yearly rent burlap: coarse plain-woven jute or hemp fabric A very dull bunch - hope next one is better buttery: storeroom for provisions and liquors byssiferous: having tufts or threads cabas: woman's work basket or handbag cabrie: a pronghorn cachepot: ornamental container used to conceal a flowerpot cacodoxy: bad doctrine or wrong opinion cacolet: military mule litter caddis: worsted yarn caducity: being of a transitory or impermanent nature caesura: natural breathing space in a line of verse cakewalk: prancing stage dance with backward tilt calathus: fruit basket carried on the head calciferous: bearing lime calcographer: one who draws with crayons or pastels calico: plain white cotton calk: pointed piece on a horseshoe to prevent slipping callow: unfledged; inexperienced calumet: ornamented ceremonial pipe calvous: bald camber: slight arch or convexity to a beam or deck of a ship camelopard: giraffe camerlengo: papal treasurer campaniform: bell-shaped
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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In reply to:
bream: to clean a ship's bottom by burning off seaweed
So what is "to clean a ship's bottom by removing barnacles"?
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear WW: I suspect that the seaweed could cause the greater part of the drag that slowed the ships. In any case, removal of the seaweed would have been the first step. The barnacles would be much harder to remove. I didn't find anything about the specific measures needed to remove them. My guess would be that it would involve "holy stoning" - rubbing with the same stones used to clean and smooth the decks. Then of course, the wood was painted with a mix of tar, tallow, and sulfur. In modern times a special tin compound, the name of which I have forgotten, was very effective in prevention fouling of ships' bottoms. But recently it has been discovered that this tin compound is a serious environmental pollutant. I'll try to find name of the stuff, not sure I can.
Edit: As I thought, I could not locate the name of the organotin paint that was very highly acclaimed, until it was discovered that it was a serious environmental hazard, killing may things other than the ship bottom fouling organisms. Not clear what has replaced it. But with very big ships, the loss of speed costs very big bucks. So a lot of research will have been funded.
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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In reply to:
So a lot of research will have been funded.
You mean I gotta start payin' you for your info., wwh?
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Seriously, wwh, ships were careened once upon a time to remove barncales with some kind of scraping tool.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear WW: consider the problem of trying to scape barnacles off wood without removing more wood than barnacle. I think my idea of the holystone would make more sense. Incidentally, "holystone" got its name because you had to get down on your knees to use it. I told you about having to climb a large safety cable on the side of the troopship, and encountering both deep slimy algae and very sharp barnacles. If you've forgotten, I'll email you the yarn again on request.
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Have I got a site for you, wwh: http://members.aol.com/arthuswint/terms.html#CThis site provides a glossary of nautical terms among which is included careening, and apparently careening was done specifically for the purpose of removing barnacles. There's no mention of any speciic tool that was used. [2nd Edit: Another glossary on another site mentions careening for scraping barnacles and ship repairs.]I vaguely remember your story--and I remember that there was a prank involved? 1st Edit: Apparently the photograph links on the site have timed-out, but the definitions are still there. 3rd Edit: Just found a figurine online of an old salt scraping barnacles off his little boat with a brush and a chisel.
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
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From your URL: "the planks that make up the ship's sides are overlapped like the shingles on a house's roof. " Dear WW: whoever wrote that was a badword idiot. He would have been exactly right if he had said like clapboard siding.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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In reply to:
bulbiferous: bearing bulbs
Many plants are bulbiferous--but some are more bulbiferous than others. Daylilies come to mind--daylilies are bodaciously bulbiferous.
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I agree with you about clapboard's being a better term. Apparently the writer was clewsless.
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