Posted by Laurence Monkhouse on September 27, 2007 at 12:24:43 from 82.27.18.250 user Laurence_.
In Reply to: Re: Scarab's Moorings (Existential Swallow sightings) posted by Ed Kiser on September 26, 2007 at 13:35:20:
I wonder about the capacity of the Beckfoot boathouse. There is AMAZON, the launch, the rowboat. Maybe the rowboat comes out, and winds up upside down on some supports, like the Dixon's boat in WH, but nothing is said as to the disposition of the existing vessels already there at Beckfoot.
The implication is that there was no spare room once the launch was present and this was probably the case - Windermere launches as described in SD are big. And I don't think that the rowing boat could reasonably have been stored on land. Windermere rowing boats as are described in the books are also big - they couldn't be casually hauled out between each use - it took the doctor and seven children to haul her out in WD, and anyway repeatedly taking a heavy clinker boat in and out of the water does it no good at all.
But we know that Amazon comes out of the water for the winter (WH Chapter VII), and if she had been stored upside down at the water's edge, like the Dixon's rowing boat (Chapter I) and the Beckfoot rowing boat (Chapter VIII) somebody surely would have pointed her out to the D's when they landed at Beckfoot. There seem to have been quite a number of buildings which would have provided undercover storage round the old stable yard - perhaps Amazon was stored there out of season - perhaps Scarab would also come out of the water and go there in the same way whenever the D's leave the District. During the fairly short periods while the D's were using her she would not really have needed to be kept in covered accommodation.