If you’ve been following along, you know that we’re in negotiations with a gondolier who’s on his home turf and seems to have the upper hand. OK. He definitely has the upper hand. But let’s get back to what makes gondolas so unique and special. A gondola is a beautiful thing.
Gondolas are designed so that a gondolier can propel and steer the 36-foot long boat through narrow canals with a single oar while standing at the back of the boat.
Gondoliers can go straight while rowing on just one side because of the gondola’s unique design. The body of a gondola is curved, almost like a banana. Interesting, eh? Most people never notice the gondola’s asymmetric shape. But once you know to look for it, it’s not difficult to see.
Gondola Design 101
The design is WAY complicated. Gondola builders have tweaked it for hundreds of years, so now the degree of curvature is just right. One can imagine how specialized their construction techniques must be.
Gondolas are long. Both ends have enough length to be able to rise gracefully out of the water. Look at a gondola sitting in water and you’ll see that only the middle part of the boat touches water.
A large metal structure projects up from the front end of every gondola. It looks nice, but it’s there for another reason. It serves as a counterbalance for the gondolier standing at the back end of the boat..
Think of a long gondola with just the middle sitting in the water, weights placed at either end, and you can see how with just a little force from an oar, a gondolier can turn on a dime.
The Gondolier is Part of the Design
Each gondola is tailored for a certain size gondolier. The gondolier is really part of the design. Until he gets on and stands where he’s supposed to be, the gondola is unbalanced and out of whack.
The gondola oar rests in the “forcola”, which translates to “crutch”. It’s another complex design. Gondoliers use their oar in nine different positions to navigate Venice’s canals, so the forcola plays an important role.
Now that we know a thing or two about gondolas, let’s get back to the negotiations…
Negotiations Continue…
Based on the conversation thus far, our gondolier must think I’m a rich man. Most likely from Texas. Probably an oil man. From his point of view, it’s his job to share in the wealth as best he can. Picking up where we left off…
Gondolier — “35 Minutes for 100 euros, even.”
Me — “No way. 35 minutes for 50 euros.”
Gondolier — “80 euros.”
Me — “How about 35 minutes for 60 euros.”
Gondolier — “Let’s say 30 minutes for 70 euros. That’s as low as I can go.”
Me — “OK. Deal.”
Gondolier — “OK, but for such a rate as that, I need to have it OK’d by my sales manager.”
Me — “Sales manager??”
And with that, our gondolier promptly walked away. He went to a little shack that I hadn’t noticed until then. Another guy sat inside the shack, reading a newspaper and having a smoke.
Our gondolier entered the shack. The two spoke casually. Our gondolier lit up a smoke. It didn’t look like they were talking about business. I think they were watching the soccer game on a little TV in the shack.
Do gondoliers and car salesmen take the same on-line course in sales techniques? One can only wonder. After a while he returned…
Gondolier — “75 euros for 30 minutes is the lowest I am allowed to go.”
Gondolier — “The offer is good for a few minutes only because we have to leave right away if we’re going to go. You wanna ride?”
Me — “OK. Let’s go!”
To be continued…
Note:
Nice gondola photo at the top of this post, credit: Sassi Italy Tours
