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for the love of wooden boats
COMMON TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION
Carvel Plank-on-Frame This is an all timber construction where the outer skin of individual planks, or shell of the hull, is attached to a timber framework with either bronze screws, copper boat-nails or a combination of both types of fastenings. The frames may be constructed from either ‘green- oak’ or ‘rock-elm’ which, when steamed, are bent into the shape of the vessel whilst still hot around a temporary building jig set-up to the internal profile of the vessel. The frames may also be cut from solid oak to form ‘sawn-frames’. On larger vessels and typically found in large fishing boats and work boats, the sawn-frames, due to their large dimensions and extreme shapes, may be cut in sections called ‘futtocks’ with each section overlapping the next and bolted
together inside the hull to form a complete frame.
A less common method of making frames was by laminating them on jigs shaped from patterns taken at various stations within the hull. Laminated frames are commonly found in boats that have been repaired following collision damage or where rot degradation of some of the frames has been discovered where it was only necessary to replace sections of the existing frames. During a restoration where the deck has been removed, it is common to fit full-length steam-bent or laminated frames directly into the hull and wedged into place whilst they are fastened to the planking.
Traditional carvel planking is typically fitted neatly ‘edge to edge’ with a small bevel added to one edge which creates a seam
that will be caulked with boat- cotton and filled flush with stopper before being primed and painted. Alternatively, the planks may be tight edge-fitted to the adjacent planks and glued with either resorcinol or epoxy adhesives.
Many classic yachts now have their topside plank seams splined in order to stabilise the planks which also helps to stiffen the hull. Below the waterline, the planks seams are usually caulked in the traditional way. The sloop in the views below is ‘Roamer of Lochaber’ and is only one of three boats known to have been built to this design in 1937. She has pitch-pine planking on rock-elm frames and now has splined seams along the topsides and a traditionally caulked bottom. The secret of successful splining is to make sure the planking is of the correct moisture content before beginning the process.
Above, the start of a two-year restoration of Roamer, a 28 foot LOD Alfred Westmacott designed and built double-ended sloop and, the best day ever for sailing trials following completion of the project this summer. I carried out a survey of the vessel shortly after she arrived from the Clyde in 2016 and wrote a schedule of repairs for the boatyard. I then oversaw the whole project and, since she was minus a rig, the project included liaising with spar makers Collars Masts and sailmakers James Lawrence to design and supply a completely new rig which was based around the original sail-plan drawings.
56 | The Report • December 2018 • Issue 86
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