Gollum's boat??

[Gwathagor]

I like the coracle concept.

[skip spence]

Aren't you forgetting that Gollum had an invisibility ring? Anything the Goblins had he could have easily snatched, and they probably did have all the nessesary raw materials for a simple boat, even one made out of wood. I don't find it unlikely he had the skills to construct one either, since he was born near Anduin into a people most likely with boat-building skills. That he was an experienced river-man is also demonstrated by his ability to follow the fellowship down Anduin with only driftwood to keep him afloat. Someone not used to water and boats would hardly be able to do that I think.

[alatar]

So Gollum, in his boredom and using the One Ring, stole materials from the Goblins that he might sail the seven seas of his lake inside a cave. What did he even need the boat for? Hauling up his big catch? Hunting Moby Dick?

Was it like a ferry that he used to go to and fro from his island, and also a security feature that kept the Goblins from sailing over to find him? The more I think about it, the more hokey it all sounds (but the Hobbit is a little odd anyway).

And I care. My day hinges on this issue...

[skip spence]

Hokey? Nah!

I can easily picture him setting up a small workshop somewhere down in the dungeon. There, under a beam of pale moonlight coming from a hole in the roof, he would carve out oars from one piece of wood, cut logs into planks, plane them, and then nail them together. He would then have to tar his vessel to make it watertight and perhaps add a few features for comfort, such as a seat and a storage space with a hatch. Easy.

[alatar]

I'm becoming more unhinged...

It's surprising that he uses a log when pursuing the Fellowship down the Anduin, as I assume then that he couldn't steal a boat nor build something while he waited for the Fellowship to leave Lothlorien.

It's just striking - at least today - that an addict like Gollum is in some way shown to be a builder of something. Maybe he had a little hut on his island, a little mushroom garden just outside, lined with a fishbone fence next to the shiny stone pathway that led down to the dock on his lake.

[skip spence]

Originally Posted by alatar

I'm becoming more unhinged...

Glad to be of service.

It's surprising that he uses a log when pursuing the Fellowship down the Anduin, as I assume then that he couldn't steal a boat nor build something while he waited for the Fellowship to leave Lothlorien.

Oh but if he built one of his trademark boats he'd be caught, surely. A floating log among others doesn't catch anyone's attention, making it the perfect vessel for this purpose.

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by skip spence

I can easily picture him setting up a small workshop somewhere down in the dungeon. There, under a beam of pale moonlight coming from a hole in the roof, he would carve out oars from one piece of wood, cut logs into planks, plane them, and then nail them together. He would then have to tar his vessel to make it watertight and perhaps add a few features for comfort, such as a seat and a storage space with a hatch. Easy.

I can picture it- Gollum the mad scientist.


Yes, I always imagined it as a sort of coracle (but maybe it's just because I read a book that had coracles in just before-And when you think things when you're 7/8, they sort of stick, unless you have reason to change your view)

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Eönwë

I can picture it- Gollum the mad scientist.

Pet peeve, but not all scientists are mad (regardless of how they are portrayed in the media).

And Gollum chose a log because it was convenient. He, as an addict, was only thinking about reacquiring the One Ring - he'd have swum if needed - and so I don't see him as the constructive type.

In the entire time we read about Gollum, from the Shire to Rivendell to the Anduin to the Crack, what tool does Gollum use or what thing does he construct? To me, he simply lives off of the land, wears shorts (for our modesty) and carries nothing, makes nothing...with the exception of a plan to net two hobbitses.

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by alatar

Pet peeve, but not all scientists are mad (regardless of how they are portrayed in the media).

I didn't say that. But Gollum is addicted, which makes him sort of mad (well, not really, but he does act like that- thats the effect that the One Ring has on him).

edit: perhaps the One Ring secretes addictive substances.