Comments for Heart of Oak

Comment on Cooking with Hardtack: Figgy Dowdy by Bethanny Allain

Bethanny Allain — Fri, 10 May 2013 01:00:32 +0000

Sarah,
Your hardtack pudding reminds me of the plum pudding my family would at Yule. We would put hard sauce on it.

Comment on First glimpse of belowdecks by Brian

Brian — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:21:39 +0000

Let me know if you need anything. She’s looking pretty danged spiffy so far!

Comment on Laying Heron’s Keel: Making Trunnels by Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 03:02:59 +0000

Hi; Ekk says – with the disclaimer that he is no expert – that he would use something with more resilience than epoxy for the trunnels, but trunnels should work okay. What you might want to do is ask around on an Atkins builder forum to see if anyone else has tried it with that design. ~Sarah

Comment on Laying Heron’s Keel: Making Trunnels by JIM DEREYNIER

JIM DEREYNIER — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 00:02:03 +0000

Would trunnels work on Alaskan Yellow cedar deck where frames are either doug fir or spruce ( Sitka?). I am drilling out iron nails ( actually use a core tool-3/8″ OD, Have been epoxying 3/8 dowels in but am concerned that movement will break to epoxy- This is a 33ft Atkin schooner- built 1957

Comment on Laying Heron’s Keel: Making Trunnels by Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:30:08 +0000

Hello! Ekk says he thinks the scantlings may be of too small a dimension for trunnels to work. (He says he might be wrong on that, but doesn’t want to recommend them just in case.) Trunnel construction usually means massive.

Comment on Laying Heron’s Keel: Making Trunnels by John Gatewood M.D.

John Gatewood M.D. — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 02:34:19 +0000

We are very interested in the trunnels. I am going to be building a wooden snipe sailboat. I am wondering if i could use trunnels instead of metal fasteners. What advice could you give me? Best wishes for your project, sincerely, John Gatewood

Comment on Adventures with Ship’s Biscuit (aka Hard Tack) by Brian

Brian — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 04:11:09 +0000

The most successful version I've made was using the recipe from the HMMS Richmond. These were the ones that made the fine dumplings. The LEAST successful one was using the recipe from the Royal Naval Museum. 420 degrees F was what caused the biscuits to crystallize. They shattered if you looked at them wrong. Again, they tasted lovely, but didn't keep intact. I also tried white and wheat and most recently, White Whole Wheat Flour. Well... It tastes great. The flour makes awesome bread, but the ships biscuit just wasn't right. Regular white flour worked the best of these, but I think for my next batch I'll try the mix of white and wheat flours. I'm thinking we'll be eating even more like sailors this season......

Comment on Adventures with Ship’s Biscuit (aka Hard Tack) by Elias

Elias — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:01:37 +0000

Hey…
I’ve made use of similar recipes, Baking once in a hot oven and then again at 250 for a long time seems to be the most consistent.
Twice baking is, after all why it is called “biscuit”
White only flour should probably be rolled thinner and cooked faster, more like crackers.
It would be “Officers biscuit” after all (at least before the idegerming process made the industrial processing of flour possible in the 19th century) since refined and bolted flour would be more expensive. I’ve found thinner cakes have better consistency, between 1/8 and 3/16 in thickness works well.
According to some Tudor era sources I’ve read ( admiralty complaints about the biscuit ) other, cheaper, flours would be mixed in, as the bakeries would use up the ends of bags of what they had on hand, and tossing in some rye or barley changes the texture a bit. IIRC they complained about oats and pulses being mixed in too.

Comment on The Burning of Kingston, October 14-16, 2011 by Ken Bohrer

Ken Bohrer — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:33:59 +0000

Sarah,

Check out my pictures from the Burning of Kingston reenactment http://www.americanrevolutionphotos.com/p849281891

Comments for Heart of Oak

Comment on Cooking with Hardtack: Figgy Dowdy by Bethanny Allain

Comment on First glimpse of belowdecks by Brian

Comment on Laying Heron’s Keel: Making Trunnels by Sarah

Comment on Laying Heron’s Keel: Making Trunnels by JIM DEREYNIER

Comment on Laying Heron’s Keel: Making Trunnels by Sarah

Comment on Laying Heron’s Keel: Making Trunnels by John Gatewood M.D.

Comment on Adventures with Ship’s Biscuit (aka Hard Tack) by Brian

Comment on Adventures with Ship’s Biscuit (aka Hard Tack) by Elias

Comment on The Burning of Kingston, October 14-16, 2011 by Ken Bohrer

Comment on So You Want to Sail with Us… by Terry Vossen