Anyone know where the custom of putting a coin under a mast started?
What's it for?

Under my main mast I have a 5 dollar coin from the Bucket of Blood
casino, and under the mizzen a JFK 50 cent coin.

What coin is under your mast?

Joe

On Nov 4, 1:43 pm, Joe wrote:
Anyone know where the custom of putting a coin under a mast started?
What's it for?

My Swedish step dad commercial fished the PNW all his life said, you
put a silver dollar under the mast for good luck. He also said a boat
painted any other color but what was trying to hid something. When I
was running some DC wire in the ceiling of my 1979 Freya I found a
1979 penny glued to the over head. I smiled.

When I pull my mast this winter Im going to glass in an 1879 silver
dollar for the same reason I:
1) removed anything with the boats original name on it.
2) completed a de-naming and christening ceremony.

Bob

Under my main mast I have a 5 dollar coin from the Bucket of Blood
casino, and under the mizzen a JFK 50 cent coin.

What coin is under your mast?
Joe

Bucket of Blood??? Humm, my mom welded WW2 Liberty Ships for JA Jones
in Miss. She talked about a place called the Bucket of Blood. Same
place?

Joe wrote:
Anyone know where the custom of putting a coin under a mast started?
What's it for?

To pay the crew's toll for the ferry on the Styx River when she goes
down.
Pleasant thought.
Those old timers were really a lot of pessimists.

Bob wrote:
My Swedish step dad commercial fished the PNW all his life said, you
put a silver dollar under the mast for good luck. He also said a boat
painted any other color but what was trying to hid something. When I
was running some DC wire in the ceiling of my 1979 Freya I found a
1979 penny glued to the over head. I smiled.


heh heh when I bought a 20+ year old Lightning to sail & restore, I
found the the previous & only owner of the boat, a very wealthy man,
had drilled through pennies to use as washers. There were at least 120
of them all through the boat.

When I pull my mast this winter Im going to glass in an 1879 silver
dollar for the same reason I:
1) removed anything with the boats original name on it.
2) completed a de-naming and christening ceremony.


Which one? There are several floating around. When we changed the name
of our boat, we simply re-christened it. No bad luck so far, but then
the previous name was so childish & repugnant that I'm sure the gods &
goddesses of the sea never took it seriously.


Under my main mast I have a 5 dollar coin from the Bucket of Blood
casino, and under the mizzen a JFK 50 cent coin.


Bucket of Blood??? Humm, my mom welded WW2 Liberty Ships for JA Jones
in Miss. She talked about a place called the Bucket of Blood. Same
place?

Could be, but it's been a really long time and the Gulf casinos have
attracted some big money owners, none are in WW2 era buildings.


Why not get a real gold doubloon? In boat money, they're relatively
cheap.
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Escudos-Gold-C...QQcmdZViewItem

or
http://tinyurl.com/2lovk7

I may get one for my next boat.

Fresh BReezes- Doug King

On Nov 4, 4:21 pm, wrote:


when I bought a 20+ year old Lightning to sail & restore, I
found the the previous & only owner of the boat, a very wealthy man,
had drilled through pennies to use as washers. There were at least 120
of them all through the boat.

Wow he must have been filthy rich Doug..That's over 1.20..

Dimes make great #8 washers and cheaper than SS.

Joe

On Nov 4, 4:23 pm, Joe wrote:

Wow he must have been filthy rich Doug..That's over 1.20..

Dimes make great #8 washers and cheaper than SS.

Joe

Yea.......... whats that all about?!?! I used nickles as spacers when
I was rebeding deck hardware cause it was cheeper to use money that
buy flat washers??!?!?!?!?!

Whut up wit money worth less than a washer??
Bewildered Bob

Bob wrote:
Whut up wit money worth less than a washer??


That's what happens when short-sighted whores are put in charge of a
nation's fiscal system.

Not the first time, either.
"Those who do not learn from history will be forced to repeat it."

DSK

found the the previous & only owner of the boat, a very wealthy man,
had drilled through pennies to use as washers. There were at least 120
of them all through the boat.



Wow he must have been filthy rich Doug..That's over 1.20..


You're pretty good at math, Joe!

I said that he was very wealthy not because of the washers, but
because his house was on 2 blocks of property in a very expensive old-
money inside-the-beltline neighborhood. His house & yard was bigger
than many university properties.


Dimes make great #8 washers and cheaper than SS.


I think you'll find that they have a lot of creep & distort too much
at high loads. However if you don't mind tightening the bolts every
time you sail and replacing the dimes every year or so, they'd be
great.

Look up the relative strengths/properties of the materials before
making cheapo substitutes.

I guess that's why there's a demand for real engineers.

DSK

wrote:

found the the previous & only owner of the boat, a very wealthy man,
had drilled through pennies to use as washers. There were at least 120
of them all through the boat.




Wow he must have been filthy rich Doug..That's over 1.20..



You're pretty good at math, Joe!

I said that he was very wealthy not because of the washers, but
because his house was on 2 blocks of property in a very expensive old-
money inside-the-beltline neighborhood. His house & yard was bigger
than many university properties.



Dimes make great #8 washers and cheaper than SS.



I think you'll find that they have a lot of creep & distort too much
at high loads. However if you don't mind tightening the bolts every
time you sail and replacing the dimes every year or so, they'd be
great.

Look up the relative strengths/properties of the materials before
making cheapo substitutes.

I guess that's why there's a demand for real engineers.

DSK

Well, I've got 2P 'washers' under the nuts holding the pintle and
gudgeon onto the transom of my Albacore. No problems with dishing or
sinking into the wood. Untill the coins were fitted, there were always
problems with the fittings working loose. Bronze fittings so stainless
would be not so good. Our recent 2Ps are cupronickel over steel so one
has to go through one's change with a magnet if selecting washers :-(

NB 'Defacing the coinage of the realm' was an offence over here under an
act of 1861, no-one seems to know if its been repealed, and as I dont
want to be transported to Australia, I dont know how the 2Ps ended up
with holes in them, Honest Guv ;-) (The Queen's head and the portcullis
on the obverse were carefully sanded off before they were drilled, no
point in inviting trouble.)

--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
[at]=@, [dash]=- & [dot]=. *Warning* HTML & 32K emails -- NUL:
'Stingo' Albacore #1554 - 15' Early 60's, Uffa Fox designed,
All varnished hot moulded wooden racing dinghy.

On Nov 4, 10:09 pm, wrote:
found the the previous & only owner of the boat, a very wealthy man,
had drilled through pennies to use as washers. There were at least 120
of them all through the boat.
Wow he must have been filthy rich Doug..That's over 1.20..

You're pretty good at math, Joe!

Thanks, as long as you do not stick letters in the math questions I do
OK.

I said that he was very wealthy not because of the washers, but
because his house was on 2 blocks of property in a very expensive old-
money inside-the-beltline neighborhood. His house & yard was bigger
than many university properties.


Most likely made the money on his own, and knows the value of work and
being thrifty when needed.

Dimes make great #8 washers and cheaper than SS.

I think you'll find that they have a lot of creep & distort too much
at high loads. However if you don't mind tightening the bolts every
time you sail and replacing the dimes every year or so, they'd be
great.

Depends on the application Doug, attaching 1/4" wood paneling would
be an example where a high load would not be experienced. Nickles
would be best for high loads, once you get above nickle size you need
to switch to washers. BTW if you do not have a gasket for your wear
plate on a Jabsco pump, a dollar bill can be made into a nice strong
long lasting gasket.


Look up the relative strengths/properties of the materials before
making cheapo substitutes.


Sounds like over engineering IMO, some of us could use simple logic
and do not need written proof from some black tie pencil pusher in a
cubical.

I guess that's why there's a demand for real engineers.


Well there are times when they come in handy.

Joe

DSK

On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 16:23:59 -0800, Joe
wrote this crap:

On Nov 4, 4:21 pm, wrote:


when I bought a 20+ year old Lightning to sail & restore, I
found the the previous & only owner of the boat, a very wealthy man,
had drilled through pennies to use as washers. There were at least 120
of them all through the boat.

Wow he must have been filthy rich Doug..That's over 1.20..

Dimes make great #8 washers and cheaper than SS.

I find it strange to use copper pennies. When two different metals
are placed together in salt water, there is terrible corrosion.




I'm Horvath and I approve of this post.