Marine, Fowey and Adventures
Boat building, one of the oldest branches of engineering, is concerned with constructing the hulls of boats and, for sailboats, the masts, spars and rigging.
To build a boat, the type of hull used is of vital importance; for example, going to sea requires a hull which is more stable than a hull used for sailing rivers (which can be more flat/round). Some types include:
Smooth curve hull - As its name implies, the hulls of these vessels are rounded and don't usually have any chines or corners. Chined and hard chined hulls - These are hulls made up of flat panels (commonly made of plywood, or more traditionally with planking) which meet at a sharp angle known as the chine.
Chined hulls range from simple flat-bottomed boats where the side and bottom are two distinct pieces (such as banks dories, sharpies and skiffs) to multichine boats. Multichine hulls allow a round hull shape to be approximated.
Flat-bottomed hull - ability to travel in shallower water, though less stable. A chandlery was originally the office in a medieval household responsible for wax and candles, as well as the room in which the candles were kept. It was headed by a chandler. The office was subordinated to the kitchen, and only existed as a separate office in larger households. Whether a separate office or not, the function was naturally an important one, in a time before electric light, and when production of candles was often done privately. It was closely connected with other offices of the household, such as the ewery and the scullery. With this use, the term is largely obsolete today but can refer to a candle business. As such, a "chandler" is a person who sells candles.
Soap was natural byproduct of candlemaking and by the 18th Century most commercial chandlers dealt in candles and soap, although even then many were becoming general dealers. Americans used the term chandlery for these ship-chandleries, but tended to prefer the term chandler's shop. Both terms are still used. Fowey is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,273.
Fowey has thrived as a port for hundreds of years, initially as a trading and naval town, then as the centre for china clay exports. Today Fowey is busy with trawlers and yachts.
Popular legend has it that Jesus visited Fowey as a child, along with Joseph of Arimathea who was a merchant visiting local tin mines in which he had a commercial interest. At the entrance to the River, on the eastern side below the cliffs to the south-west of St Saviour's Point, there is a cross to commemorate this supposed visit. This cross is marked on very early charts and was maintained by monks from Tywardreath. The cross is known locally as "Punches Cross", supposedly derived from the name of Pontius Pilate.
Each year a regatta is held in the third week of August and a Christmas Market over the first weekend in December.