The Ferryboat
longways for eight

Chorus - a more complicated one featuring something to do with the staves.

Start facing across the set.

On the first step, everyone turns so that the tops are facing down (they turn in and down); the bottoms are facing up (they face in and up) and the middle four face out of the set (they turn towards the centre of the set 270-degrees to face out).
 

 
Then the couples cross the tips of the staves and dance a short way in that direction, before turning on the last step so that they are in two lines at 90 degrees to the original axis of the set, facing each other (four bars).

Then turn to make arches in couples, and dance clockwise in a small circle with the tips of the staves touching (hereafter called "arch rounds") for four bars.
 

 
Now return the set to its original orientations: the original tops and bottoms make arches and dance out of the set back to places, whilst the original middles turn and dance in, also making arches (four bars). In places, tops and bottoms do arch rounds whilst the middles do arch rounds on the sids of the set.

Figures - after that we'll use simple figures as a contrast

Note that each figure repeats: the middles lead each repeat, the first time turning to their left to dance with that couple (eight bars), the second time to their right (eight bars).

Casts:

Ends face in and dance in towards each other, ending in the centre of the set. The middles move aside to give them room, stepping on the spot.
 

 
Then the ends cast in towards each other, so that the staves turn out behind them, and dance back to places, turning out in place on the last two steps.

Now the middles turn 90 degrees to face up and down the set, and dance towards the ends of the set, outside the middles.
 

 
The turn in and dance back again outside the middles, to face in towards the centre of the set again.

Arch Rounds and Pinwheels:

Okay, I admit it, I lied about that last figure being simple. But it was simpler. This one is simple. Start with the top and bottom couple making arch-rounds and going round anti-clockwise twice, whilst the middle two couples put the tips of the staves into the centre of the block of four and move round clockwise once round to places - a four-person version of the 'pinwheel stars' we did for three at the beginning. (four bars).

Then segue seamlessly into pinwheel stars anti-clockwise at the top and bottom of the set (four bars) and from there into arch-rounds clockwise at the top and bottom, with anti-clockwise pinwheels in the middle. Finally, segue into pinwheels top and bottom clockwise, to places.

Arch and Through:

The second and fourth couples make arches across the set, facing up the set, whilst the other two couples bring the staves off the shoulders and hold them close to horizontal in from of them, like pikemen charging in all those (English) Civil War films. Attempting not to spear anyone, they dance forward until they meet the arch, then dance back to places (4 bars).
 

 
Then, 1 and 3 arch, 6 and 8 arch, whilst 2 and 4 go between 1 and 3, 5 and 7 go between 6 and 8 (4 bars), then 1 and 2, 5 and 6 arch, whilst the others dance up between (4 bars), and lastly 2 and 4, 5 and 7 arch with 1 and 3, 6 and 8 dancing between and back to finish.

Grand Chain:

Tops face down, second couple face up, third couple face down, bottoms face up. Start he hey by passing right shoulders, dance all the way round to places passing alternately right and left and crossing at the top and bottom of the set.