Bob's Wood Boats

Construction

Upon deciding what boat to model, plans are purchased from a museum or plan service. Construction drawings are then drawn on the drawing and lofting board at the same scale as the model boat.

Frame drawings are also prepared from the construction drawings to be used in building the frames for the hull.

Vicki Lou


Drawing and Lofting Board	Construction Drawing	Frames drawing

Building the Frames

A transparent material is laid over the frames drawing (see the arrow in the picture) to determine the amount of wood required for each frame.

Wood for the frame is then cut for the port and starboard sides and marked right or left and with the frame number.


Determining material required	Frame assembly for both sides	Marking for lamination

Laminating the frames at the two corners and at the base provides for a very strong frame.


Using a scroll saw to cut material for lamination	Material being prepared for lamination	Assembly of frame material


Final assemble of frame - ready to be glued	A stack of laminated frames	Frame ready to be marked with lines

Frame line markings

The centerline, load water line, shear line, floor line, keel line, and the line for the notch in the keel (called the rabbet), are all now transferred to the frame material.

Construction supports are now added to each frame for mounting to the work board.


Adding supports	Attaching frames to work board	All frames attached

The keel is made, marked, and notched before beginning the frame structure. When set on the work board as shown in the picture below, all lines should match.


Checking the keel	Showing bottom floor beams that have been added to the frames

When frames are all attached to the work board, the keel is temporarily laid into position.

Keel in position

Beveling and Fairing Out the Frames

To develop a smooth surface for the planking, the frames need to be beveled. I use a flexible piece of wood or plastic and attach sandpaper with two sided tape.


Flexible sanding tool	Fairing out the frames

The now beveled frames are removed from the work board for cutting inside. A minimum width of ½" is marked to avoid protrusion of the ½" long brads used to fasten planks to the frames. Deck beam supports are also added at this point before reattaching the frames to the work board.

Planking

The frames are again mounted on the work board and the keel is permanently glued into place. A small piece of planking is used as a guide for finishing (sanding) the frames to match the rabbet in the keel.


Keel attached	Planking guide at arrow	Matching frames to rabbet line

This picture shows the frames with end supports, keel, etc, and is ready for planking. The hull shown is the Provider hull.

The first plank laid is called the garboard and fits in the rabbet of the keel. A piece of cardboard is cut and fit into place. Once the cardboard is trimmed to fit snugly in the keel, it is used as a template for cutting the garboard which is then nailed into place.

I have used several different methods to lay planking, depending on the lines of the boat. Perhaps in the future we will expand on these methods, but for now, I will close with pictures of how planks can be attached to the frames.


Add a lock nut to a gripping tool to keep proper tension on the nail and for ease in release	Push nail into the plank and frame with the gripping tool	Seat the nail (brad) with a slight tap on a punch tool

This last picture is the hull of the Provider. Planks were laid from keel and from the top of the boat to meet in the middle because of the severity of the shape of the hull.

The Provider

Logo by Dean Konop of DK Caricatures