Sending Hay Downriver

We’ve had a dry summer so far here in New England, which is not so ideal for rice, our main crop, but it’s pretty good for making hay.  We’ve put up double our animals’ requirement in the barn, which is a record for this farm at this time of year.

Even in the middle of a busy growing season planning progresses.  I spoke recently with Nate Wallace-Gusakov, a young guy in the area adept at both farming and building, and we’re considering joining forces to execute the sail freight mission next year.  Nate is eager to sign on as first mate, or so he says. He should be careful, lest he find himself promoted to captain! Some local officials are on board as well.

One of Nate’s thoughts was about bringing hay downriver on the barge.  Hay is bulky cargo, but is worth much more in coastal markets than it is around here.  Maybe the economics could work.  We’re looking into it.

In researching the Thames rig, which is still a top contender for our first vessel, I came across this site on Thames Barge Model Building.

Featured on it are some beautiful photos of model Thames barges as well as full-size barges. I hope to learn some useful stuff to apply to the future task of rigging my much-less-attractive 1/8th scale model triloboat hull.