Posted by Claire on March 26, 2012 at 20:38:29 user Claire_Morgan.
In Reply to: Re: Gondola and Esperance too posted by Owen Roberts on March 26, 2012 at 01:24:55:
Hello Owen,
Thank you for your comments and for reminding me of that description of the houseboat in Winter Holiday. You are right that it supports the involvement of the Gondola in Ransome's houseboat ideas. It is reasonable to say that the inside of the houseboat is Gondola and the outside is Esperance. I will deal with that in more detail in my longer analysis.
I did not mention in my last post that my mistake in the number of windows in the houseboat is due to the very murky houseboat frozen in picture in WH. To many editions before mine darkened the plate, but I later saw a clear illustration that helped in my discussions with Geraint Lewis and our conclusions.
I was aware of the reconstructed condition of Gondola when I first rode on her in 1988, and it is why I referred to her as the replica Gondola in one of my picture captions. I learned on my 2009 trip that even if the hull had not rusted thinner in some spots, its original thickness did not meet current standards. Some trim items and the narrow deck atop the hull were reused, but little else. It also rides lower in the stern that the original, probably due to modern considerations concerning the boiler thickness, etc. It is still a magnificent boat and being on the water in her is a wonderful experience.
Claire