Comment

Comment by Chris Breman on December 10, 2012 at 2:13pm

Hi Spud! The yellow poles are indeed for turning the cap, but it's not automatically. The fantail is more like the steeringwheel on a ship, I see the miller stop the wings, then turn the wheel to get the wings into the wind. He must be fit and healthy, climbing all those narrow ladders inside the mill, and when he can't get the sails right, he climbs the wings too to fix it. I climbed this mill once, on a summer day.

Comment by Idaho Spud on December 10, 2012 at 9:09am

Chris, am I correct in assuming those long poles going from the cap down to the gallery are used for turning the cap, and what appears to be a fantail on the gallery, automatically positions the sails into the wind?

Comment by Chris Breman on December 7, 2012 at 8:55am

Thanks, Sentient! Here you can read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_mill and if you want more pictures, just tell me, there are seven tower mills within spitting distance..

Comment by Sentient Biped on December 7, 2012 at 7:51am

Impressive technology!  I've never seen a Holland windmill.  I think they were part of re-shaping nature to suit human needs.  In a way that is much more "earth friendly" than much of today's technology.  Beautiful to look at as well.