BRONZE SHOE

THE BRONZE SHOES

The bronze shoes serve several functions.

They act as ground plates for the lightning conducting system. There is one sole directly below each mast, one at the port bilge and one at the starboard bilge.

I use a high tin alloy for strength. Being located between the bottom and the sides of the hull they protect the boat from chafe and make her bottom so strong that she can be dragged over concrete and rocks when handling her on land. Taking the ground will therefore be made with less worry.

The soles are mirror images of each other therefore I had to make two molds luckily I got their volumes very close the weight of the two soles differ by only 0.5 %. Their weights are 52.8 and 53.1 kilos respectively, totaling 105.9 kilos. They lower the center of gravity and acts as ballast. 12 % tin-bronze has a density of about 8.8. Lead with a density of 11.3 is heavier. Cast iron with a density of 7.2 is lighter.

Containing 88 % cupper they are antifouling a good thing when chafe wears away the bottom paint.

Bronze is the most expensive of these alternatives but its many other advantages made it a natural choice for me that always strive for perfection. However only comparing the price of bronze and lead would be wrong as there are many consumables and handling costs like making the patterns mold the work at the foundry and transport that would be the same. These soles will keep for thousands of years and may be an enigma to future archeologists.

Below are pictures. Click once or twice to enlarge.

To be continued…

Regards Yrvind.