In MY March 4 column, I had a discussion about the fendering system on the bow of the 79-foot tug Mitchell Hebert that was on the hard at Platypus Marine Inc. in Port Angeles for a day while a marine surveyor did a hull sounding.
The fendering system is currently referred to as bow pudding and also is known as a moustache fender and tugboat beard.
Pete Leenhousts of Port Ludlow, a faithful reader of this column and a retired navy commander, contacted me and said his understanding is that the classic terminology for the rope work on the bow of a tug is bow puddening — or simply puddening.
Speaking of maritime terminology and tradition, rope work or marlinspike seamanship dates back to the age of sail, when a sailor often was judged by his ability to tie knots, splice line and make lashings.
The most basic of these skills is knot-tying, which is the gateway talent that opens the hatch to a world of rope work and fancy work such as puddening, McNamara Lace, monkey fists, lanyards, turks heads and knot boards — just to name a few.
For those of you who would like to explore the world of knot-tying and beyond, “Wooden Boat Wednesday” this week at Port Townsend’s Northwest Maritime Center & Wooden Boat Foundation will host a presentation by master knot tier — or “tyer” — Bill Dengler, who will share his knowledge for all boaters.
During this hands-on event, each participant will be given a length of line with which they can use to mirror Bill’s movements as they learn to tie a bowline, sheet bend, a turn around and two half hitches.
He also will teach everyone suitable substitutes for some of the old standbys that are fun to learn and easy to tie.
In addition, Bill will discuss where and when to use each knot to its best advantage.
Even seasoned boaters may pick up a useful tip or two from this segment.
Bill and his wife, Sandy — the Port Townsend Senior Association’s senior king and queen for the 2012 Rhododendron Festival — live in Port Townsend.
Bill is a longtime member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers, an organization based in England, and has taught knot-tying classes to Boy Scout groups and the Point Wilson Sail and Power Squadron, and at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival.
“Wooden Boat Wednesday” is a free event that begins promptly at noon Wednesday and typically lasts for 90 minutes.
Seating is limited and requires advance registration by phoning the Northwest Maritime Center, 431 Water St., Port Townsend, at 360-385-3628, ext. 101.
Or send an email to chandlery@nwmaritime.org.
Out for maintenance
Platypus Marine hauled out Gray Hawk last week and has her sitting on the hard at its facility on Marine Drive in Port Angeles.
She is a 42-foot DeFever that was built in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 1980.
According to Capt. Charlie Crane, Platypus director of sales and marketing, the yacht hails from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and he first met the vessel’s owners at the recently concluded Vancouver Boat Show in Vancouver, B.C.
Capt. Charlie said personnel will perform maintenance on Gray Hawk’s Naiad stabilizers, replace the zincs and power wash and paint the bottom before she heads back to Canadian waters.
Forest Service boat
Lee Shore Boats in Port Angeles has just completed construction of a 21-foot landing craft for the U.S. Forest Service.
According to Lee Shore owner Eric Schneider, the landing craft has an enclosed offset cabin and is powered by a 150-horsepower Yamaha outboard motor.
Eric said the vessel will be taken to Seattle, placed aboard a Northland barge and shipped to Sitka, Alaska, where she will be used in the waters of Tongass National Forest.
This is the second of this style of landing craft that Lee Shore Boats has built recently.
The first was also 21 feet long but had an open, walk-around console and was powered by twin Evinrude E-TEC outboard motors.
That vessel is now on Lake Pend Oreille and is used by the Forest Service along the shores of Idaho Panhandle National Forest to patrol and service campsites and related infrastructure.
Tug and tow
The 107-foot tug Henry Sause and her tow, Drakes Bay, a 387-foot-long tank barge, moored to the Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal 1 North on Monday.
The duo came to Port Angeles by way of Benicia, Calif., for a three-day respite dockside during which they took on stores and company personnel performed routine preventive maintenance on the barge and tug.
Port Angeles Harbor watch
Last Sunday, Tesoro Petroleum refueled Golden State, a 600-foot petroleum tanker that is flagged in Wilmington, Del.
Later in the week, she made her way from Port Angeles Harbor to the refinery at Cherry Point.
On Tuesday, Tesoro bunkered Polar Adventure, an 894-foot crude oil tanker that arrived in Valdez, Alaska, early Friday evening for another load of cargo.
Tesoro also on Tuesday refueled Delta Lindsey, the industry-funded emergency-response tug that is stationed at Neah Bay.
On Wednesday, Tesoro provided bunkers to SeaRiver American Progress, a petroleum-products carrier that is 575 feet long and 105 feet wide.
On Saturday, Tesoro had its refueling barge alongside Federal Skeena, a 623-foot cargo ship that made her way to Port Angeles after taking on a load of cargo in Prince Rupert, B.C.
Today, Tesoro is scheduled to bunker Stellar Eagle, a 3-year-old bulk cargo ship that is 623 feet long and flagged in the Marshall Islands.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats and strolling the waterfronts.
Items involving boating, port activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts are always welcome. Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.
His column, On the Waterfront, appears every Sunday.