An irregular ongoing series of interesting facts related to boating.

Toredo Worm:

The Toredo worm (ship worm)has been the bane of wooden ships, boats,
pilings and retaining walls since man has ventured to the sea. A type of
clam, the Toredo worm has two shells, enclosing only the front end of
the body which function as a tool rather than a protective covering -
they are a boring clam.

Each shell has toothed ridges which shave away bits of wood into smaller
pieces and then those are ingested. Toredo worms have been known to
achieve a length of up to 2 ft long, although the shells remain only
about a foot long.

The British and Spanish navies estimated that a wooden hull in the
Carribean in the age of sail was ten years.

Mariners as early as 500 BC tried to protect their wooden ships by
various combinations of arsenic, sulfur, tars and oils. The British Navy
experimented with a sacrificial covering of wood covering tar, but it
wasn't successful. It wasn't until the invention of copper hull plating
that the Toredo worm became less of a problem.

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 12:03:40 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

An irregular ongoing series of interesting facts related to boating.

Toredo Worm:

The Toredo worm (ship worm)has been the bane of wooden ships, boats,
pilings and retaining walls since man has ventured to the sea. A type of
clam, the Toredo worm has two shells, enclosing only the front end of
the body which function as a tool rather than a protective covering -
they are a boring clam.

Each shell has toothed ridges which shave away bits of wood into smaller
pieces and then those are ingested. Toredo worms have been known to
achieve a length of up to 2 ft long, although the shells remain only
about a foot long.

The British and Spanish navies estimated that a wooden hull in the
Carribean in the age of sail was ten years.

Mariners as early as 500 BC tried to protect their wooden ships by
various combinations of arsenic, sulfur, tars and oils. The British Navy
experimented with a sacrificial covering of wood covering tar, but it
wasn't successful. It wasn't until the invention of copper hull plating
that the Toredo worm became less of a problem.


Sounds like you're reading the Patrick O'Brian series. Great!
--
*****Have a Spectacular Day!*****

John H

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
Mariners as early as 500 BC tried to protect their wooden ships by
various combinations of arsenic, sulfur, tars and oils. The British Navy
experimented with a sacrificial covering of wood covering tar, but it
wasn't successful. It wasn't until the invention of copper hull plating
that the Toredo worm became less of a problem.

Copper plating?
That would kinds dull their fangs, I'd imagine...

"Tim" wrote in message
ps.com...

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
Mariners as early as 500 BC tried to protect their wooden ships by
various combinations of arsenic, sulfur, tars and oils. The British Navy
experimented with a sacrificial covering of wood covering tar, but it
wasn't successful. It wasn't until the invention of copper hull plating
that the Toredo worm became less of a problem.

Copper plating?
That would kinds dull their fangs, I'd imagine...


Mariners long ago discovered that one of the natural properties of copper
was it's ability to kill off bacteria preventing it from growing on it's
surface. Copper plating was used, later replaced by anti-fouling paint with
very high copper content (until it was banned).

Makes me wonder about any potential health hazards due to the increasing
practice of replacing copper pipes with PVC in the water supply side of new
homes.

Eisboch

JLH wrote:
On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 12:03:40 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

An irregular ongoing series of interesting facts related to boating.

Toredo Worm:

The Toredo worm (ship worm)has been the bane of wooden ships, boats,
pilings and retaining walls since man has ventured to the sea. A type of
clam, the Toredo worm has two shells, enclosing only the front end of
the body which function as a tool rather than a protective covering -
they are a boring clam.

Each shell has toothed ridges which shave away bits of wood into smaller
pieces and then those are ingested. Toredo worms have been known to
achieve a length of up to 2 ft long, although the shells remain only
about a foot long.

The British and Spanish navies estimated that a wooden hull in the
Carribean in the age of sail was ten years.

Mariners as early as 500 BC tried to protect their wooden ships by
various combinations of arsenic, sulfur, tars and oils. The British Navy
experimented with a sacrificial covering of wood covering tar, but it
wasn't successful. It wasn't until the invention of copper hull plating
that the Toredo worm became less of a problem.


Sounds like you're reading the Patrick O'Brian series. Great!

Already have.

They sucked.

Eisboch wrote:
"Tim" wrote in message
ps.com...
Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
Mariners as early as 500 BC tried to protect their wooden ships by
various combinations of arsenic, sulfur, tars and oils. The British Navy
experimented with a sacrificial covering of wood covering tar, but it
wasn't successful. It wasn't until the invention of copper hull plating
that the Toredo worm became less of a problem.
Copper plating?
That would kinds dull their fangs, I'd imagine...


Mariners long ago discovered that one of the natural properties of copper
was it's ability to kill off bacteria preventing it from growing on it's
surface. Copper plating was used, later replaced by anti-fouling paint with
very high copper content (until it was banned).

Makes me wonder about any potential health hazards due to the increasing
practice of replacing copper pipes with PVC in the water supply side of new
homes.

One word - cheaper.

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
Eisboch wrote:
"Tim" wrote in message
ps.com...
Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
Mariners as early as 500 BC tried to protect their wooden ships by
various combinations of arsenic, sulfur, tars and oils. The British
Navy
experimented with a sacrificial covering of wood covering tar, but it
wasn't successful. It wasn't until the invention of copper hull
plating
that the Toredo worm became less of a problem.
Copper plating?
That would kinds dull their fangs, I'd imagine...


Mariners long ago discovered that one of the natural properties of copper
was it's ability to kill off bacteria preventing it from growing on it's
surface. Copper plating was used, later replaced by anti-fouling paint
with very high copper content (until it was banned).

Makes me wonder about any potential health hazards due to the increasing
practice of replacing copper pipes with PVC in the water supply side of
new homes.

One word - cheaper.

2nd word - easier.

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 21:02:46 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

JLH wrote:
On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 12:03:40 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

An irregular ongoing series of interesting facts related to boating.

Toredo Worm:

The Toredo worm (ship worm)has been the bane of wooden ships, boats,
pilings and retaining walls since man has ventured to the sea. A type of
clam, the Toredo worm has two shells, enclosing only the front end of
the body which function as a tool rather than a protective covering -
they are a boring clam.

Each shell has toothed ridges which shave away bits of wood into smaller
pieces and then those are ingested. Toredo worms have been known to
achieve a length of up to 2 ft long, although the shells remain only
about a foot long.

The British and Spanish navies estimated that a wooden hull in the
Carribean in the age of sail was ten years.

Mariners as early as 500 BC tried to protect their wooden ships by
various combinations of arsenic, sulfur, tars and oils. The British Navy
experimented with a sacrificial covering of wood covering tar, but it
wasn't successful. It wasn't until the invention of copper hull plating
that the Toredo worm became less of a problem.


Sounds like you're reading the Patrick O'Brian series. Great!

Already have.

They sucked.

It's a shame. Did you come to that conclusion after reading all 21? It took
me about three books to really get into it. It takes about that long to
learn all the terminology, unless one memorizes each term.
--
*****Have a Spectacular Day!*****

John H

JLH wrote:
On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 21:02:46 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

JLH wrote:
On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 12:03:40 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

An irregular ongoing series of interesting facts related to boating.

Toredo Worm:

The Toredo worm (ship worm)has been the bane of wooden ships, boats,
pilings and retaining walls since man has ventured to the sea. A type of
clam, the Toredo worm has two shells, enclosing only the front end of
the body which function as a tool rather than a protective covering -
they are a boring clam.

Each shell has toothed ridges which shave away bits of wood into smaller
pieces and then those are ingested. Toredo worms have been known to
achieve a length of up to 2 ft long, although the shells remain only
about a foot long.

The British and Spanish navies estimated that a wooden hull in the
Carribean in the age of sail was ten years.

Mariners as early as 500 BC tried to protect their wooden ships by
various combinations of arsenic, sulfur, tars and oils. The British Navy
experimented with a sacrificial covering of wood covering tar, but it
wasn't successful. It wasn't until the invention of copper hull plating
that the Toredo worm became less of a problem.

Sounds like you're reading the Patrick O'Brian series. Great!
Already have.

They sucked.

It's a shame. Did you come to that conclusion after reading all 21? It took
me about three books to really get into it. It takes about that long to
learn all the terminology, unless one memorizes each term.

I never cared for the Aubrey series. Just not as interesting as the others.

"Don White" wrote in message
...

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
Eisboch wrote:
"Tim" wrote in message
ps.com...
Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
Mariners as early as 500 BC tried to protect their wooden ships by
various combinations of arsenic, sulfur, tars and oils. The British
Navy
experimented with a sacrificial covering of wood covering tar, but it
wasn't successful. It wasn't until the invention of copper hull
plating
that the Toredo worm became less of a problem.
Copper plating?
That would kinds dull their fangs, I'd imagine...


Mariners long ago discovered that one of the natural properties of
copper was it's ability to kill off bacteria preventing it from growing
on it's surface. Copper plating was used, later replaced by
anti-fouling paint with very high copper content (until it was banned).

Makes me wonder about any potential health hazards due to the increasing
practice of replacing copper pipes with PVC in the water supply side of
new homes.

One word - cheaper.

2nd word - easier.

easier == cheaper.