What is a "whaler"? How does it differ from a "hog's trough"?
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What is a "whaler"? How does it differ from a "hog's trough"?
Last edited by derekleffew; June 21st, 2010 at 01:27 PM. Reason: punctuation
Kyle Van Sandt
Production Coordinator
The Egg
Van Sandt Designs
"Pull rope, push box, push button, get a banana."

Students-only until 06/28/10, please.

Alright, I suppose I'll let the students go first.![]()
Terry Dana Jachimiak II
Assistant Professor of Theatre
Westminster College
New Wilmington, PA
Any students want to take a stab at this?
"There is a great deal of difference between an eager man who wants to read a book and the tired man who wants a book to read." - G. K. Chesterton


Um, duh, a whaler is someone (preferably with a gray-ish beard,) who throws harpoons at large ocean mammals, while a hog's trough is something that you dump slop into so the piggies can eat. Like, totally duh!
Oh, wait, we were supposed to let the students go first? Sorry, guys.


Is this a rehash of the strongback vs hogs trough debate?
One must first know and understand the rules of theatre before one can break them.

Does a hog's trough have anything to do with a trough strip light?

Whaler = low- profile stiffeners for steel framed flats – a steel hog trough [1]
hog trough = "angle iron" made of wood. L shaped piece of wood [2]
So a Whaler is used to made the set panels flat and thinner than a hog trough support/framing. The whaler differs from the hog trough use steel/metal not wood that a hog trough use.
So is this even close?
sources
[1] Technical design solutions for theatre: the technical brief collection By Don Harvey, Yale School of Drama. Dept. of Technical Design
and Production (page 150) http://books.google.ca/books?id=hQVV...heater&f=false
[2] Scenic design and lighting techniques: a basic guide for theatre
By Chuck B. Gloman, Rob Napoli http://books.google.ca/books?id=9HQR...page&q&f=false (page 179)
Last edited by otherwho; June 22nd, 2010 at 05:51 PM. Reason: had a fatal error: Cannot redeclare goldbrick_hook_google_complete() error when the sources were added

Yup, thats it! One of my professors in college wrote that article, I have spent more days talking about hogs trough then I care to mention. Otherwho, care to add whaler to the wiki?
Kyle Van Sandt
Production Coordinator
The Egg
Van Sandt Designs
"Pull rope, push box, push button, get a banana."


i have not ever used a whaler, added to that i'm have both dyslexia and dysgraphia, therefor probability not the best person to write the wiki. I can not describe when/how to uses for whaler/ hog trough.

Otherwho I don't think it really matters what you have, though I am a little bit puzzled as to how dysgraphia will affect your typing. We aren't talking about a 5 page paper on whalers, heck you could probably just copy what you wrote above. The beuty of a wiki is that anyone can contribute, but every article must start somewhere.
Hey, if you don't want to write it just say you don't want to no need for excuses.

Pure speculation as to the origin of the term...
See the two maroon stripes running horizontally on the side of the boat?
http://www.kerstin-tarach.de/Fotosat...sur_Island.htm
Intended to reinforce the hull, they are known as "whaling boards" or "whalers."
Which would kind of indicate that they should be flat and not on edge. In wood, with flat, Broadway flats, would simply be called a "stiffening batten" or "stiffener," and possibly attached with keeper hooks.
Last edited by derekleffew; July 19th, 2012 at 12:03 PM. Reason: repaired picture

Interesting.
I've never heard the term "hog trough". I've always heard the term "whaler" or "stiffener" used for both metal and wooden items.

I agree with Tex. Never heard of "hog trough" - or if I have it's somethin I never used either but considered as the same...dismissed as a non-proper term. I'm also yet to ever use a wooden whaler on a steel or aluminum framd set piece. What's going on here? Someone trying to re-define the terms in making them less than localized persay? This given a Texas and Illionois objection to what's above said - and there is real differencs between the two countries in most everything else. Wikopedia crap, get a text book. If not in it, get another. If found but not confirmed after three, get more. For me the two are the same, one is more prope but I would assume of the other. Now how you gonna make a L-Stiff into a Hog Trough without adding another board? This from my rememberance (possibly wrong) of what such a thing is. L-Stiff more better term if the case on the other hand.
Have a nice day![]()
Last edited by ship; July 13th, 2010 at 10:50 PM.

I and many of my workers learned a wood L stiffener is "hog trough", so maybe it's a west coast thing (and I too have always wondered how it's a trough without being a U shape). I wouldn't look down on "whaler" as long as everyone knew what we're talking about (love nautical in Theatre, my desk loft here in the shop is the wheelhouse).
Tom R. Earlywine
Technical Director - Douglas Morrisson Theatre