Leather Claque
Description
Section of leather strap with four holes in a horizontal line at one end and four holes in diamond shape in centre. Dark brown in colour, curved at both ends.
Leather Claque, this formed part of the pump head. The pump was an essential piece of equipment on board ship used for emptying the bilges of water. Smaller hand pumps, similar to those used onshore, were placed near the mainmast and used to pump water from the sea for cleaning and firefighting. The pump casing was made from a bored out elm tree and contains a fixed valve box. The simple handle could deliver 25 gallons per minute with a pumping action of around forty strokes a minute. It was a slow and laborious method.
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Object Detail
Width: 70mm
Depth: 8mm (5/16")