Building a Boat in Cramped Quarters

Next steps were to attach the keel, the stem and breast hook, and the transom.

The keel is mahogany with a layer of plywood laminated to it, to prevent splitting. To get the proper length, two pieces of mohagany had to be scarfed together. On John's boat, we used a manual planer to scarf the plywood together; never again. This time, we built a form for our little table saw to clamp the wood to, giving us the recommended 12 to 1 ratio. Two runners on the bottom of the form ride in slots on the table saw platform to keep it aligned.

Here is the scarfing form on my table saw, which I bought after John's caught fire.

Scarfed joint, with plywood laminate at the bottom

From underneath. The plywood had to be joined too

Stem and breasthook
Keel, not yet attached to the stem The notches in the frames, which the keel rests in, had to be cut deeper with a router, due to the thickness of the keel

Keel, bolted and epoxied.

...and after a ton of shims, clamps and screws, a few smashed fingers and toes, the transom is up!

<== Previous......Next ==>