Life around boats can appear very easy and carefree. Looking beyond this blinkered viewpoint ~ there is often a mass of unseen labour going on behind the scenes.
When old short brass screws came loose holding the teak runner of the sliding window on the starboard side of the houseboat saloon; it was a good excuse to clean the sections up and find more suitable fastenings in the form of longer bronze slotted head machine screws.
As with many boat builders, before and since Ernest L Wood ~ Heather's builder made vertically sliding windows. Sliding windows are very simple and practical. Mr Woods went to the effort of adding a slight classical arch on the top of the window frame, adding more curvature to the rather squarish block of the houseboat.
Vertical sliding windows have been used on buildings since around the 13th century, if not before. Glass was produced in bigger quantities from the 17th century. At the same time building was increasing ~ even though a bizarre window tax limited windows on many houses. The old sliding window was particularly favoured in rural parts of Eastern Britain. Horizontal sash windows became vogue in the eighteenth century, becoming much more popular than the rather quaint vertical window.
Tim, Chris
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