i once read, that english ships, (in the age of wooden ones) were the best, because the english used the naturally shaped right angle, from where the trunk, turned and became a root, to re-enforce there lower hulls.. because the fibers of the wood actually made the angle, not 2 peices of wood in a joint, it was many times stronger.

I don't have smithsonian handy-- tell us more about what a cruck is.. is it from the root, or from naturally shaped branches?


my other obsession