Barnacle Bill Magazine March 2016 issue 3 | Page 27
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4. Stand the pipe vertically in a soup-tin (with the larger flared end, if there is one, at the bottom) and sitting
on a disk of wood. Pour a bit of absolutely dry sand around the outside of the pipe to maybe half its height
– enough to hold the pipe in place. (Cook the sand first if necessary to drive out any water it might contain
– it can explode otherwise if you spill some molten lead on it.)
5. Melt sufficient lead to fill the pipe, and do just that. I use a cast iron frying-pan with a pouring spout for
this, and a second handle fixed opposite the original one to help handle the weight. (It’s better to have a bit
too much lead than not enough, as you don’t want a cold joint half-way down. And of course use goggles
and thick leather gloves for safety’s sake whilst you are pouring).
6. As soon as you’ve poured the lead and whilst it is still molten, dangle the shackle pin first, into the lead until
just the end with the thimble, still loose on the shackle, is above the surface. Hold it steady until the lead
solidifies. (If you’re a belt-and-braces type who wants to be doubly certain the shackle won’t pull out, you
can dangle a short length of small chain from the shackle pin down the pipe before pouring.)
7. When everything’s cooled, take the new lead out and splice or seize your line round the thimble. (Use
braided line for this as it kinks less readily than standard.) Mark the line however you want, but make sure
you do it in such a way to avoid any slippage of the mark along the line. I use whippings round the line
and stitched through it. The markings can be at any interval you choose, but I’d use 1’ intervals as far as
your vessel’s draft-plus-freeboard. You can expect the lead to lie flat on the bottom when cast, so take your
measurements from the shackle. (There’s usually no need to use the traditional bits of leather, cloth and so
on at various depths unless you particularly want to, because you won’t want more than about 30’ of line at
most.) Splice or seize a wrist loop at the bitter end, to saving losing your creation on the first cast!
8. To make the lead even more useful, drill out a shallow recess in the bottom (or cast it with a recess when
pouring) so you can arm it with soap, Vaseline, or the traditional tallow before use to bring up a sample of
the bottom. Reference to the chart can then help make it easier to see where you are.
Left: a young sailor heaves the
lead fron H.M.S. Hood in the
1930s. ©David Wills H.M.S.
Hood Association
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