Parrel beads what size will these do?

Hello Folks
I have been slowly working between other things on a sailing rig to sell with my wood strip canoes.



I have been following Todd Bradshaw's excellent book and am having a Standing Lug sail made to with a set of Morris style leeboards, a 10ft hollow mast,a boom,yard and rudder assembly that I have made to go with it.





I have recently taken order of some wooden beads that I thought might work as parrel beads. My Mast is about 2"dia at its max point and these beads are 10mm dia with a 2mm hole and they came with some leather thread.They are made from undisclosed hardwood possibly Lime.

On reflection I think the beads may be a bit small, am I right or would they be ok perhaps with a bigger hole drilled through them and thicker thread ?
Also they are unfinished so should I varnish them or oil them? I have varnished everything else.

Many Thanks

Alick

 

10mm seems a bit small to me, though I don't think there are any specific standards that I am aware of. For canoe stuff, I'd probably be looking for something maybe twice that diameter with a hole big enough to freely pass a hunk of 3-4 mm cordage. Traditional parrels were often slightly barrel-shaped, though these days it will probably be a lot easier to find round wooden beads. As for their finish, I'd probably oil them, since varnish rubbing against other varnish can be rather "sticky" for lack of a better term.

 

Great! Thanks Todd
They were fairly cheap in any case.
Love your book too, full of inspiration.
Many Thanks
Alick.