Freydis: We used to have six of these back in the day, for storage and for seating around our table in the evenings; but left them behind in BC, not expecting to need SCA gear out here. Now we are replacing them. These
are based off the Oseberg and Gokstad rowing chests. We copied the
Gokstad proportions fairly faithfully, and after using them for close to
ten years, found them a solid, practical, and lightweight chest. One of
our biggest changes was to make the front and back out of
tongue-and-groove pine wainscotting boards. One package makes one chest,
with actual proper boards for the top and sides; the bottom, which of
course is usually not visible, is just some plywood. The
top and sides provide the bulk of the strength, while the wainscotting
front and back provide lateral stability while keeping the weight down.
These are surprisingly light! You will notice as well
that the sides extend down into legs, keeping the bottom slightly off
the ground. This seems to have been a pretty standard design for Norse
rowing chests (they sat on these sea chests, rather than benches), and
it allows for water to slosh along beneath the chest while still keeping
the contents dry. When camping, they keep the contents out of the damp
and mud; and are more stable to sit or stand upon than one with the
entire bottom in contact with uneven ground. Also, the
sides and back are not completely vertical; they kick out at five
degrees. This makes them more stable, and allows them to stack. Empty,
we've had them stacked as much as five high, and they could probably go
higher; it's just hard to reach after five. Even full, we've had them
four high. Once we get a second coat of varnish on, we
will add rope handles either side. The handles have a loop in them that
allow a pole to be threaded through for carrying between two people,
over the shoulder. Not really needed when there's just garb in there;
but handy if it's full of portable holes. The loop prevents it from
slipping sideways. Originally we had six: Two for
garb; one for lanterns; one for feast gear; one for non-refrigerated
food; and a last one, lined with styrofoam, that was a cooler. We hope
to make at least four for War Camp; we will need the seating as well as
the storage, as our family has grown since the last time we did this! And here's the old chests in action! Wassail!  |
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