Friday, August 08, 2014

Ohio River: Flatboats +

Capt. Berty:


http://www.panoramio.com/photo/36163871#c21005203
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Flatboat Crossing the Missouri(1870?)

This is a hot image. Look for hotspots to click on.

Details

  • WRFOM.JPG
  • WRFOMA.JPG Wagon and horses on right (front)
  • WRFOMB.JPG Wagon and men on left
  • WRFOMC.JPG Men on right with pole.
  • WRFOMS.JPG

  • Subject: Ferry crossing the river
    Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2000 04:14:40 -0500
    From: flatboatman@hotmail.com.
    To: bbott@ausbcomp.com

    Dear Bill:

    The boat looks like a ferry, not technically a flatboat. The ferry may be flat on deck and even flat on the bottom, but those facts do not put it in the class of boats traditionally reserved for the flat-bottomed boats used by both the settlers and by the merchants of 200 years ago.

    The settlers built boats same as we hire a truck to move our furniture. At the end of the voyage down the Ohio River (usually), the boat might be used for shelter until the first house is built. Then the lumber from the boat is re-used.

    Merchants built flatboats with a bigger cabin for protection of their cargo, usually barrels of whiskey bound for New Orleans.

    These flatboats were attempted to be controlled by means of sweeps either on the sides or on the ends. After several attempts to do so on our voyage aboard the flatboat "Spirit of Kanawha" in 1988, I concluded that control may be more efficient by dragging a kedge or a rock, and moving its line along the gunwales.

    A ferry could be controlled in a like fashion, resulting in great loss of distance. Consequently, the ferry crew must use the more tiring method of poling. A very few ferries were powered by a team of horses on board.

    For another lead on information about your picture, visit http://www.keelboat.com and send an Email to the host.

    Sincerely,
    Captain Bela K. Berty (513) 608 - 5224

    The Flatboat Project 
    P. O. Box 62156 
    Cincinnati OH 45262-0156

    Website access: http://communities.msn.com/PioneerAdventures

    or www.buckskinnerweb.com/flatboat/pioneer.htm.

    FlatboatCrew@yahoogroups.com for The Flatboat Project's weekly newsletter Flatboat Daze and discussions with other subscribers. Subscriptions are $52 per year for 52 newsletters and no charge for discussions. Send a check or money order for $52 made out to Bela Berty and send it to the Post Office box above. Thank you dearly!

    E-mail address for riverboating: flatboatman@hotmail.com

    E-mail address for personal affairs: bberty@cinci.rr.com

    Emergency E-mail address in case any of the above does not work: FlatboatBela@hotmail.com


    If you have comments or can describe or shed light on details of this picture please email me.
    mailto:bbott@ausbcomp.com

    http://ausbcomp.com/~bbott/winrr/wrfom.htm
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