That Rubbing Spot

photo by Tamás Fehér

There are so many things to mention about what we see in this photo:

- The shot was taken in the morning, before the gondoliers showed up to uncover their boats.  It's no secret that blue is the undisputed favorite when it comes to boat covers in Venice.

- The gondola in the background has floorboards in a very nice blue and yellow.

- An impressive gold-leaf carving relief can be seen on the sides of the pusioli (those arm-pieces) on the gondola in the foreground.

- Highly polished cavalli (seahorses) are present, as well as red and white ropes and pom-poms.

- Inside the passenger area of the gondola in the foreground, we see an impressive feature that I've only seen on a few gondolas: a varnished wood finish between the rail ("corbolo") and the sub-rail ("sotocorbolo").

- And then there's that "rubbing spot". There are many beautiful things to admire on both boats, but even the most awesome gondola can fall victim to friction.  It's clear that wherever this vessel is regularly parked, she rubs against something less forgiving than her hull paint.
We can see that whoever painted her, chose a light gray undercoat.

I've seen the undercoat showing through on a number of my boats as well, so I'm just as guilty of having "rubbing spots" on my gondolas.
The solutions are of course - a couple fresh coats of paint, and not mooring the boat where she will rub.
A quick touch-up coat on the exposed area can restore the perfect appearance of the gondola until she's ready for haulout.
Despite the "rubbing spot", this is a gorgeous boat.