Quant Pole ends

[magnetman]

I think Timleech's suggestion earlier that you use one of these poles as a sort of lever to get away from the bank is an interesting idea. Lash the pole to the front of the boat, at an angle facing forward then by pulling the boat (by horse) the front will be sprung out away from the bank. Then the boat steerer retrieves the pole.

 

This would explain why there are lots of broken ones, near ferries where horses, after crossing the River, would be required to take the full strain of a motionless barge which may also be pinned to the bank by wind. This force would easily be enough to snap the wood if the iron 'shoe' was deeply wedged.

How else would it be possible to get the barge out into the channel away from the side?

 

Also explains why it is a fork. This allows sideways movement with less likelihood of breakage.

 

Its a primitive bowthruster

 

 

I'm going to fit a handle to one and try it

[magnetman]

 

 

I think a ryepeck specifically for mooring would be more likely to have a single straight spike so it could be more easily driven deep.

[magnetman]

The Docklands Museum description also mentions 'setting poles'

 

This comes up in google searches

 

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NXtbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=thames+barge+setting+poles&source=bl&ots=SZi266YRQ5&sig=wN6uwPT9xi8KyKYjvwH_E3yjAr0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QuAEVNOdHsfraNq9gLAG&ved=0CC0Q6AEwBQ

[magnetman]

 

And with my anorak on again I can state that i found 3 single spike hand forged iron ryepeck pole shoes at Wraysbury close to where the Skiff and Punting club was just up from the Bells of Ouseley. With a magnet. They would have been on poles around 2 inch diameter and used for anchoring punts or marking start and end points for races.

 

So...

 

I would say that the op has 'setting pole shoes' and not ryepeck pole shoes because of the size and the fact they are for such large diameter poles.

 

I know the op might not be looking at this topic now but information might be useable by others

[Matt B]

Hi Magnetman

 

Still here, lurking around, thanks for the link and info (will have a read when im not supposed to be working). I was thinking about the way the ferry might have worked across the river, when the river was in flood im sure that there would have been demand for a ferry. If one end of the setting pole was fixed about the pivot point on the ferry and the business end was set onto the bank downstream the current could be used to push the ferry away from the bank. I wonder if they used a rope or chain to operate as a pendulum ferry, may have been possible in flood conditions when there was unlikely to be much traffic?

[magnetman]

That sounds like a good theory.

 

I thought the ferry would be going all year because it was the point where the towpath changed sides so the horses had to get across the River.

 

The old Thames ferries are quite an interesting subject imo. I don't know that much but I thought most of them were for horses not pedestrians.

 

Superb boat you have btw

[Matt B]

Thanks, we think so too.

Chatting to one of the chaps who's been here a while, the ferry chain was removed only a few years ago.

Matt