Posted by Adam Quinan on March 25, 2012 at 18:03:23 user Adam.
In Reply to: Re: Gondola (was Trojan cinema advert) posted by Tom Napier on March 25, 2012 at 14:45:47:
I think it is Ransome's exaggeration rather than boat designers odd ideas. Certainly Nancy Blackett, the original for Goblin, only has a freeboard of about 3' max which means that Roger must have been a very small boy.
I wonder if Ransome's perspective comes from rowing up to a boat in a small dinghy when the side may look much higher than it actually is, especially when you have to scramble aboard.