UC-NRLF

^
Nine Motorboats
AND

How TO Build Them

Second Edition
A Book of Complete Building
Plans and Instruction, which
contains all necessary informa-
tion for the amateur who
wants to build his own boat.

NEW YORK
THE MOTOR BOAT PUBLISHING COMPANY
iio-iia WEST 40th STREET
 o>

-K"'

^/;^^5^

Copyright, 191 3- by
THE MOTOR BOAT PUBLISHING COMPANY
New York, N. Y.
c
 *'
Pop-Gun
" —^A Twenty-Foot Runabout
DESIGNED BY C. G. DAVIS

little runabout, named Pop-Gun by one who saw paper will do if a clean board floor is not available to
a model of her, is a 20-footer of such simple con- draw them on.
THIS struction that anyone can undertake her construc- Take the shape of the middle mold, No. 2, for exam-
—
tion with certainty of success that is, anyone who knows ple. Draw a straight line horizontally across the paper
enough of the use of tools to build a box. All that is or floor and with a large, steel carpenter's square draw
needed is a knowledge of how to use a saw, how to plane a center line, which we show here dotted at right angles
the edge of a board straight, and how to nail lumber to- to it. Each side of this center line measure off 2 feet
gether. There are very few curved cuts to be made, and 4>^ inches, which represents the width of the boat at the
nearly every cut is along a straight line that may be deck to the inside of the planking. Eighteen and one-
snapped with a chalk-line or drawn with a straight edge.
—
quarter inches below this the distance given in the plans
In fact, the designing of a boat like this is the hardest —
of the molds draw another horizontal line and measure
part, and that is done. f out two feet each side^—that distance, i8j4 inches, repre-

Simplicity in every feature has, of course, been the sents the vertical depth of the side plank, which of course,
if measured on the angle will be a fraction longer; 19
leading object in designing Pop-Gun, but simplicity is
quite possible in a very good little runabout, and Pop- finches it really is. Four and three-quarter inches below
Gun will prove a handy, serviceable, sturdy boat that will the second line draw another short one representing the
carry several people easily, and travel along at about keel and measure out three inches each side, the keel being
six inches wide. By drawing lines connecting these spots
eight miles an hour with a 3-hp. mot6r.
The construction of a round-bottomed boat requires you have the outline of the mold. The- others are found
considerable skill other than that necessary to use the in exactly the same way, using the distances marked on
tools. The shaping of each frame and plank is quite an the plans. Wooden patterns have to be made of these
art; but in this boat the construction is so simple that three molds so that when properly spaced and set up the
anyone should succeed in producing a good boat. We planks forming the boat can be bent around them. This
will take each piece of wood in turn and tell you just causes quite a little strain to come on the molds, so do
how to shape it. not build them so flimsily that they will give or break
First come the three patterns, or molds, that give you under the strain, and cause your boat to be built crooked.
the desired shape. These are shown clearly and with all in Figure I I have .shown one method of putting to-
the necessary dimensions marked on them for repro- gether a mold, and in Figures 2 and 3 other ways are
ducing them full size. A
large sheet of brown wrapping shown. It matters little which way you build them: the

f/<i'4

(i/hen fhe s mou/a/s

<5fef>i, fransom anef kee/ are a/Zrea^y:
a ^/ra/<ffff //ne h rct/£^ cfou//? fhe//oor, /:/ja

apac/rit^ of fhe tvou/tifj /J- mea^uree/ e^anafeac/;

r^oif/a^
/^ set up an<^ j ecure// braceaf ar^af //jen //}e kee/ /o danf oy^er
fhem ar7af fajferJi/ a/oufn To /As a^rire' /t u//// /a^e., the s/e/n ao^:/
/h& fra/i50/n he/'r)^ prei//ou^/y bo/fe^ fb 't
1 i.3 e » ^
 /•-S'/i 2--A'/z

Mould No- 1. /iou/d No-2.

Transom
Mould No-5
one that cuts up your available wood to best advantage A strong, neat joint can be made by dowelling these
is the one to use. Cleat the various pieces securely to- two together. Lay the two pieces of the transom flat on
gether and nail a brace about 4 inches wide by i inch floor and rule about four straight lines across both; but
thick across the heads of each mold. Mark the center be sure to have them square to the seam and parallel with
line at top and bottom to assist you when you come to each other (Figure 6), not staggered, as in Figure 7.
set the molds up along a center line. Don't cut up ex- If they are put, as shown in Figure 7, you can never
pensive wood for molds, for they are only temporary drive the two together as the dowels will bind and pre-
affairs that will be thrown away when the boat is built. vent this. The holes must be very carefully bored so that
The transom is to be cut out of l^-inch oak to the they will not run and come out through the side of the
size and shape given. Try to get good dry, seasoned oak board. Clamp one piece of the transom in a bench vise
and, if possible, a piece wide enough to make the tran- if you are using one or get down on your knees, as nine-
som in one piece. If you can't get this, make it of two tenths of the amateurs have to, and hold it between yoiir
pieces but keep the seam between the two well up, so that knees. By looking squarely down on it you can tell pretty
it will be out of water most of the time, and therefore not
be liable to leak. Saw it out to the given shape with
square edges. The bevels necessary to let the plank lay
flat on it can be planed off later, when it is set up, by

bending a board over the molds so that it touches the

transom and then planing off the after edge until the
plank lays flat on the transom. (Figure 4.)
If the transom must be made of two pieces, plane up
the two edges that are to meet so that they make a per-
fect fit. You can soon tell whether they do or not by hold-
ing them up to the light of a window or lamp (Figure 5)
and the light shining
through the crack of '-Transofn
the seam will soon
show you where the aencM
high spots are. Mark
them and run a shaving
off, and then try again.
c i'A'AU'fc^ttU'1^4'
-

Keep at it till you make

a perfect fit. The ama-
.^^'
teur is very apt to try ..^^'
to do this with a short

The amafeur ^enem/Zy /?as plane ;

most amateurs rie,-8
show a preference for
MO i}ench i//j&. he aefi cs^au^r?
the smoothing plane but
c/o/jis fences antf /loMs //<^
if they will take a long //le /ra/iso/n
^oaraf betu/een them co^'^^ a/o/1^ ytpu ca/^ ^ee- /jf
"jointer" plane they
/ic boi'es a ho/e.. will get better results.
 a
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10
accurately whether the bit is running true or not. A twenty feet long, six inches wide and iJ4 inches thick
good way to get the bit started true is to tack a straight- that one can have sawed for him at the lumber yard
edged stick against the face of the board opposite the where he buys the wood. Be sure to get a sound, clear
hole. With this guide you can keep the shank of the bit oak board.
true by your eye. Figure 8 illustrates this point clearly. The stem is built just as ninety-nine out of a hundred
Bore in to a depth of about four inches into each side. skififs are built —
of two pieces, and' this greatly simplifies
—
Don't try to make the bit cut too fast just press on the the work. There is no rabbet to be cut. Just get a piece
handle of the bit with one hand and after you have cut of dry, sound oak, 28 inches or more in length and 3J^
in a couple of inches pull the bit out and run your hand inches square. Twenty-eight inches is the exact, neat
down it to sweep the shavings out of the worm of the length required, but if you get it out 3 feet long it will be
long enough to reach the floor so you can brace it se-
curely and then saw it off after you turn the boat over.
Down the side that is to be the front edge draw a center
line and ^
of an inch each side of it draw lines parallel
to it; this represents the J^-'nch face that is to be left
square, as shown in figure 10. With draw-knife and plane
cut this stem to the wedge shape shown.
FIGl-9 To secure the transom and stem to the keel, cut out
two knees of 3-inch oak or hackmatack so that the grain
follows, in a measure, the shape of the knees and is not
so crossgrained as to split off easily. Cut them accurately
Jboardc. to the angles given
ria///n^ jur/ace /arMe s/i/as aff^ Ga//dn7 in Figures and 12,
1 1

and be sure haveto

screw. If you feel the steel is quite hot you know you the edges square and
are crowding the bit too fast. Crowding too hard is what true so that when
causes the bit to run out to one side and may cause the the stem is riveted
point of it to come out through the side, disfiguring your to the keel they will
transom. Some people lay on a brace and bit and put all stand square and not
their weight into it and then wonder why the bit gets bent be off to one side, or
or cuts crooked. Give the cutting point time to do its
crooked. If you have
work. A bit isn't a conductor's punch ,to be pushed
—
through by force turn it. Dip the ends of the dowels
ever done any rivet-
ing these knees can
into some liquid glue before you drive them into the be riveted to the
transom.
keel, stem and tran-
In order to give a' better nailing surface to the side and som by some J^-inch
bottom planks, take some pieces of the ij4-inch oak about
galvanized iron rod,
F/d'//
three inches wide and screw it fast all around the edge
Shape of knee, fhaf
riveted over clinch
of the transom. Use about ij4-inch brass screws and
rings. you have
If
bore so that their heads go in about J^ of an inch. Set not done any of this /}o/cZ5 ffzf/jsCfH Fo Aee/.
kind of work, I
would advise bolting them fast with galvanized iron
carriage bolts, putting washers under the nuts. Set
the heads in just flush with the outside of the keel and
stem, but at the transom let the heads in far enough
(^ of an inch will do) to allow a wooden plug being
inserted to hide the bolt head. Dip the bolt into varnish
or paint it with red lead if you cannot get the galvanized
iron bolts and are forced to use black iron.
You will find that now is the time to bore the shaft
hole through the keel, as you can see both inside and out-
side of the boat, and line up the angle you want your
shaft to run with a chalk line stretched along the edge
of the keel plank. Get out a shaft log of clear, sound,
of jfen?. 4-inch oak and fit it to the under side of the keel as it is
r/a-zo bent over the molds. To do so you will have to cut out
part of the mold but that is of no consequence.
When you have scribed and cut this shaft log so that it
makes a perfect fit, lay a piece of heavy muslin painted
with rather thick white lead paint between the log and
keel and with boat-builders' screw-clamps screw the log
firmly in place until you have bored and bolted it fast with
a row of carriage bolts along each side. Take care to
F/G'/Z leave the center clear of bolts so that the shaft hole can
be bored through.
To bore this hole looks like a momentous question to
these re-enforcing pieces so they extend out beyond the the amateur, and if he tries to do it without proper pro-
edge of the transom so that when you come to bevel the vision beforehand he will find that it is diflficult. First of
transom to take the sides and bottom planks there will be all, get an auger of the proper diameter for the hole you
wood enough to do so and it will not be as in Figure 9. want to bore. This diameter varies with the engines and
Round up the top edge of the transom two inches higher depends upon what make of engine you decide to instal.
in the center than it is at the sides to give the necessary Take that auger to a blacksmith and have him weld on
crown to the deck. The keel is a parallel oak board. a long handle, five feet from the end of the auger to the

11
 20 '-
5" hn^.
< ^
•^
•^

P/an of s/'c/e p^anM$ 3o/h /op ar7j boffo/r/ ea'^es are ^eac^ ^/ra/c^M //^es.

crank, and let him bend a crank to turn it, with 7 inches When that little cutting has been done, proceed to fasten
throw. the side planks into place. This part of the work is very
You cannot bore from the inside out and to start the interesting to the amateur, as in a short time he sees the
bit outside, clamp on, temporarily, a block of oak
on the boat rapidly take shape and begin to look like a real boat.
just so that the bit can start into it and get cutting true
If the side planks cannot be gotten in one width they
before it strikes the slanting keel. By so starting the bit can be made of two narrower ones. The frames that are
will bore clean and true through the keel and so on fitted inafterwards will hold them securely together and
through the deadwood, or shaft log. the seam can be caulked and made water-tight. This
To hold the auger true while starting to bore, rig up seam will be above the water level, however, so it is not
a couple of temporary uprights with a score cut in them likely to leak.
just enough to steady the auger or bit as shown in Fig- Let the side planks extend an inch or so beyond the
ure 13. stem and transom and saw them off flush afterwards.
With this much done, the troublesome features of the Fasten thft side planks with either Ij4-inch galvanized
construction are practically over and the rest is plain boat nails or i>4-inch brass screws to the stem and tran-
sailing. The sides, in localities where wide lumber is som. To make a neat job the heads of the nails or
obtainable, can be made
of one board to a side. ^-inch A screws should be counter-sunk about J4 or 3-16 of an inch
cedar or pine board 20 feet 6 inches long, 24^^ inches and the hole either filled with putty or a wooden plug.
wide forward arid i4j/$ inches wide aft will do. Both The lower edge of the side plank must have an oak
top and bottom edges of this side plank are dead straight batten along its edge to give a greater nailing surface for
lines, requiring no shaping whatever, which makes the the bottom boards. To put this batten in, saw a notch
work of building such a boat much easier for a novice. out of the corner of the molds and then bend -in the bat-
He can lay out his plank with a chalk line or straight ten, which should be of oak about ^-inch thick and 2J4
edge, and so long as the planks are 24^^ inches wide at inches wide. Either rivet this to the edge of the side-
one end and 14^^ inches at the other in a distance of plank or screw it fast from the inside, letting the edge-
20 feet 6 inches, he cannot go wrong. By bending such a e-xtend down far enough so that it can be beveled off to
plank around the molds you can soon see how the edge take the bottom boards, just as the re-enforcement for
of the transom will have to be beveled so that it fits flat. the transom was put on.

FIG- 13.

7^e ^cz/o/^r/d ^ ai/(^er /i:<fe/y

//-
ri^/7/7//7(^
^/-iie to f/)£ ///7e a^

12
 A "Pop Gun" buiU by Smith Kennerson of Rochester, N. Y.

PART II need some %-inch cedar boards about 9 inches wide and
next step in the construction of Pop-Gun is to 19 feet long.
The plank each side of the keel, called the gar-
THE get out a lot of strips of oak for frames ^-inch by
2 inches wide and rivet them across the inside of the board,
first
have to have a slight bevel planed on its
will

side planks in the form of frames at intervals of every edge next to the keel, so that the seam will not stand
twfo feet. You can rivet them in or nail them fast from open too wide. It must be wider open on the outside
than the inside, so that the caulking will wedge in tight
the outside, setting the nail heads in for either putty ot
as it is driven in, but not So wide open as a square edge
wooden plugs.
on the board would make it.
At each up-and-down-side frame so riveted in on the
You will find a straight plank will, when it is put on
side planks, fit a floor frame of the same size so that it
over the floor frames, touch the keel forward and aft,
notches into the chine piece alongside the frame and is
and amidships it will stand away Ij4 inches, but the
nailed diagonally through it into the chine piece, the other
end beveled so that it fits flatly on the inside of the keel, plank can be shoved in edgeways, so -that it will fit tightly
all along the keel.
the two butted together in the center. Screw the end of
The second plank on the bottom will not be quite so
the frame fast to the keel and when all the floor frames
long and can be edge-sprung the same as the garboard
was, and a third plank on each side will complete the
bottom. Cut the edges of each board so ii is flush with
Fic- 14 the side plank and either screw fasten .or nail them to
the edge of the side planks and frames. If you have
bought clear cedar plank you will not have much plug-
ging up of knot holes to do, but absolutely clear cedar is
almost impossible to get. Try all knots that look loose
and knock them out, filling the hole by driving in a pine
or a cedar plug and sawing it ofif flush outside.
The loose knots are usually distinguishable by a fine
^2fmbtr ^a ' black ring of bark around them. Ream out all of the
black stuff so that clear wood shows, for if you leave, it,
it will only rot
away and your plug will then be loose
are in fit in some i-inch thick sawed Hoors as shown in the and liable to come out.
midship section. Fit them in alongside of the 'frames and Plane off the seams so that they are smooth and even,
nail them fast to the frames and keel. and with medium sandpaper folded over a block of wood
Where the deadwood, or shaft log, is riveted fast to just large enough to be held in the hand easily, scrub
the keel the floor frames cannot, of course, go across the
crossways across the grain and then with fine sandpaper
boa-t, and to secure them at this point various means are rub it fore and aft with the grain. Before you give it
resorted to. Some builders cut a dovetail jog in the shaft
log and dovetail heels of the frames into it others
simply butt the frame up against the log and rivet it to
the keel but a better way than either of these is to cut
;

out some small oak knees and rivet them alongside of

;

/I jfra/if/if
Sottom Soan/

boan^ <M» i;arM'er /he /fames

3
u//if fifei af M& ati/s anifiiiM/ a/i
•the frames and screw them fast to the shaft
log, as in opsmn^ of /Vf /f/cAat //i //k /rr/t/d/e.. iruf/Ae 6aar</can iepuj/isi/up ^/a//t.
Figure 14.
To carry the engine a couple of heavy floors are fitted the final rubbing, the bottom planks should be caulked.
across high enough to fit onto the chine pieces and The amount of cotton necessary for this will vary with
securely riveted or bolted to them. By being fastened to the size of the seam you have left between the boards.
the chine pieces and keel in this way they distribute the The seam should be perfectly tight inside and opened
strain of the engine over sufficient area to prevent its about an eighth of an inch on the outside, but some of
straining the hull in any way. Be sure to cut a groove our amateur builders may be dismayed to find a plank that
or limber hole, as it is called, across the underside of all was put on perfectly tight has, at the end of a few days,
floors down near the keel -to allow any bilge water that shrunk so that it is opened a sixteenth of an inch or so.
may collecet to run aft, where it can be pumped out. It is for this reason that the seam is made wider
open
When all these floors are securely fastened in you are on the outside, so that the cotton you are caulking with
ready to plank the bottom of the boat. For this you jams tighter and tighter as it is hammered into the wedge-

13
 sTiaped seam. But if the seam is wrongly beveled, that round wick, but any number of these cords can be sepa-
is, so that the seam
wider open on the inside than the
is rated. Take outthree, four, five, or as many strings as
outside, you can readily see you cannot keep the cotton will be necessary to fill the seam and twist them up a
from falling through, and as all the pressure is on the little before you hammer or roll them into the seam.
In caulking, where you come across a hole larger than
^Dei^ 'U'uyi'Sf'n^ori:^'''' the general run of the seam bunch the cotton up as
showjj
in Figure 18 by loopmg it into loops. When these are
hammered into the seam it will fill the hole.
The caulking should all be driven in so that it is at
least an eighth of an inch or so below the edges of the
planks to give room for the putty. To hold the cotton
into the seam and to form a holding-on for putty, paint
the seam over the cotton. You can do this with a narrow
chisel-pointed brush, but the edges of the boards will get
as much paint as the seams. Take a handful of shavings
or a piece of cloth and wipe off the surplus paint if you
'an ^otom 7s'c<!i^ar
have to use such a brush. There is a special brush made
i-^,'/^.
for this purpose, called a seam brush, consisting of a sin-
/^/DJM/P 5£CT/0N SHOM/Ve; CO.VSr/fUCTJOH
gle row of bristles set in a thin wooden handle. When
this paint is dry, mix up some putty and putty all the
outside, if it is beveled as first described you can see it
seams and nail heads or screw heads not covered by
is being pushed in against the bevel of the plank.
The seam is not apt to be open the same amount all wooden plugs and then paint the bottom with some anti-
fouling paint. Green looks very pretty with a white top
along and to even this up somewhat various methods are side.
resorted to. One way is to take a sharp-edged caulking
iron (Figure 15) and drive it in the same distance all
When the bottom
is dry, knock all the braces loose from
the and molds, transom and stem. Get a couple
floor
along to even the seam. Another way is to make a of men to help you and pick the boat up by the ends and
"beetle" out of hard white oak. A beetle is nothing more
than a round or oval piece of oak about 4 inches long, turn her over right side up onto a couple of boxes or
2 inches diameter if round or about ij^ by 2 inches if heavy timbers.
The bottom being complete the next step is to build the
oval, with a wedge-shaped tongue cut across the long way
of it, as shown in Figure 16. By being cut on a bevel as frame for the deck. For a shelf to lay these <1eck beams
shown, you can insert this beetle in one end of a seam,
and by driving on the beetle with a mallet send it along
the whole length of the seam, making it of uniform width
F»G- 18.
and bevel, as the cedar will readily compress when the > > » .^g^
beetle comes to a narrow place. Another way, but one
that requires metal wheels, is to have beveled edge wheels k4jen you sfr/ke. a ie//a^e /:>/ac&^
set in a handle about 15 inches long (Figure 17). By
rolling this wheel along the seam it can be opened in a
few moments.
of oak — yellow pine will do
The cotton used in caulking boats comes rolled up in a
on you want two if
ball already spun into a band about as thick as your oak is hard to get —strips inches
I "4 thick, 3 inches wide and
thumb, but that, you will find, will readily split to any 20 feet long. Nail these fast to each of the frames so
desired thickness. Take off a string of it large enough
that the upper edge is about ij^ inches below the level
•.to pack tightly into the seam and either hammer it in of the edge of the side planks. If there were no round
with a hlunt caulking iron or roll it in with a blnnf-edge
or crown, as it is called, to the deck beams, which are
roller; the sharp ones you used to open the seam will cut
2 inches deep and I inch thick, this shelf would be put
the cotton all up. Where spun boat cotton cannot be
obtained take the ordinary cotton and pull it out into a just 2 inches below the side line, but to allow for the
sort of string and roll it under the palm of your hand arch-up of the deckbeam, which is about J/2 inch at the
inner edge of the frames, the shelf is raised that' much so
over your knee. You will find it is very apt to break
the underside of the deck beam will rest on it and the
apart, but by simply laying the ends together and rolling
top of the deck beam will come even with the top of the
MAK/NG /fiav •
CAiXWS fffO/^ iVOOOFA/jrAnOPFmK-^ll^fi C/ti.K/Nsr IVH^t side plank and not half an inch or so below it, as in Fig-
ure 19.
To get out the oak deck beams you must first make a
pattern of the curve wanted. A
flat deck made of straight
deck beams spoils the looks of any boat. In your haste,
to get the boat done do not be tempted to use flat deck
beams.
I have shown a crown of 2j^ inches in 5 feet on the

plans. You can sweep such a curve by taking a batten

15 feet long, drive a brad through one end as a pivot and
hold a pencil at other end as you sweep an arc of a circle
on the floor or on a thin board you are going to cut as
a pattern. The measurements of such a curve are given
in Figure 20.
aM/iirfi fo/vr SLUVr/VMT A -MOUS 3/iMFfoer Of
Z- SHoK/s DiuNT evce OF
With this pattern you can mark out as many beams as
ii^eeL
wro
nfu tm corran
Tf/f3fn/-r you want and saw them out by hand with a rip-saw,
planing them up smooth afterwards. If you have no cir-
them they will unite again. On very small seams cotton cle plane to go around on the inside of the curve, clean
wricking that can be purchased in balls is used. This con-
it with a spoke shave. Get out two beams of ij^ inches
sists of several cotton cords loosely twisted intg__one in thickness, one to go across at the forward end of the

14
 the after end. The first is fitted in one hatch setting in on cleats, screwed fast to the sides of
cockpit and one at
of the third frame from the stem, the other at the coaming and which can be removed bodily to get at
alongside
the second frame from the stern. the engine. Such matters as these are of minor impor-
to rig it up to
In the general construction plan one style of deck fram- tance, and any man will use his ingenuity
considerable cutting and fitting, suit his own taste.
ing is shown that requires .
of the shaft will,
. r -ii

bu^ a far more simple way is illustrated in Figure 21. placing of the engine and lining up
The
The sill piece is of i^-inch wide by 2 inches deep oak of course, have to be figured out from the engine, diameter
or yellow pine—oak if the beams are to be jogged into it,
yellow pine will do if not.
In Figure 21 there is no cut- FIG-19
the is bent parallel with the side
of
ting to do; sill piece
the boat one foot in from the outer edge and riveted to
the underside of two beams forward and two aft. Brace
are cut and fl/Iou/ance /nusf ie. S'
it up temporarily until all the short beams
////!ej/?e///^/ouf
Then ma^e /or //?e can^e
riveted into their places, as shown on the plans. c/ecfr /rw///
of its length, and oraraw/? a/ //le i/ee/: ei/fe tf///e
fit one permanent brace, about midway
if! //! /^^ cofne. "Tm /an/ af f/ie.
fasten it to a crossfloor below to stiffen the deck, should
pa/f//7a

anyone sit on it along the sides.

Nail the beams into the shelf with 3-inch gal-
down
vanized wire Fit a V-shaped block of oak across
nails. of propeller, etc., which you intend to install. It is really
from side to side away up in the extreme bow, resting on these points which govern the boring of the shaft hole.
the after side of
top of the shelves and butting against To determine the proper height for the engine bed, stretch
the stem, thick enough (about 2>4 inches) to allow you a chalk line very tightly from temporary braces in such
to cut the proper crown of the decks on it so the decks a way that it centers perfectly at both the inner and outer
will .ay flat on it. This not only stiffens the boat but gives end of the shaft hole. By leveling across from this chalk
you wood to screw a flagpole socket or bevel low chocks line you can determine the height and grade for building
fast to. 1
up the beds to which your engine is to be lag screwed.
Fit another similar block between the beams of the for- On the outside of the boat, aft, this line will give you the
ward deck as shown on the plans to receive the screws heights for the strut, which should be put there to support
holdmg a cleat, and aft in the corner formed by the side the shaft, just forward of the propeller. All you need for
and the transom fit a small knee to stiffen it. this is the angle. Cut one end of a thin pine board so
The deck should be either of Ya or ^-inch pine or cedar that it fits against the keel in such a manner that it forms
or varnished as suits
put on in wide boards and painted a right angle with this shaft line and mark across it the
one's taste. I would not advise having the boards too wide ;
line made by the chalk line. With this as a templet, you
can make a pattern and have a strut cast, or take a piece
^ of about ^-inch brass about six inches wide, bend it
FIG-20. 5M
around either a piece of iron pipe or a piece of wood,
'
I
f I
t i i —
L I, U 1 < ^ i ' * 1
^..~~ about Ya of an inch greater in diameter than the shaft
//you ^ai't n/ room ro iswee/) a<3 /artfe a c/rde, you i:an /a/ which comes with your engine. Rivet it together, and
oJ/ your aecA ijsa/ns /rjf?^ f/ieje //(^ures
then spread the other part out in the form of two legs,
which can be flanged and bolted fast to the bottom plank-
that is, twelve or fourteen inches. Keep them down to ing; by putting a shaft through this loop so formed in this
about six inches in width, for the reason that the expansion sheet brass, and pouring babbitt metal around it, you can
and contraction of a very wide board will cause the seams babbitt such a bearing and make one that will answer all
between them to open too wide. Fasten the deck to the the requirements as well as a cast strut would do.
beams with about ij4 or iJ/^-inch galvanized wire nails, The rudder is of the simplest construction. Take an oak
with heads punched in about a quarter of an inch, and the board about Ij4 inches in thickness, saw out just such a
holes filled with putty to match the wood in color, if it is rudder as you would make for any kind of a small row-
to be varnished, but not necessarily so if you are going boat, and attach it to the stern by two screw eyes in the
to paint it. For the sake of simplicity in construction, I transom, two in the rudder, and a rod dropped through
have shown the forward end of the cockpit cut off V- them, forming a hinge. Fit a wooden yoke across the
shaped instead of a half-circle, which would require the head of this rudder and attach tiller lines by which the
steaming and bending of the coaming. This V shape can boat can be steered, either by hand as a rowboat would,
be cut out of straight stuff, the joints reinforced with a or if you want a more shippy arrangement, you can lead
block of oak behind the seam, and to which each of the it
through screw eyes or fairleaders in the deck over brass
pieces of coaming is screwed fast from thq outside. The sheaves to a steering wheel which can be screwed fast to
coaming should be at least J^ of an inch in thickness, and the bulkhead at the after end of the engine space.
one can use his own judgment as to height. It is scarcely necessary to go into further details on this
On the plans I have shown what I consider a fairly boat, for all complications have been avoided, the main
good layout of coaming and sort of cabin over the engine. object being to tell how to build the hull in the simplest
This cabin consists of two flaps, hinged along the side, that possible manner. The deck fittings and other things can
can be lifted up, exposing the motor, or simply built as be arranged to suit the owner's individual taste.

15
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10
 A 25-Foot Cabin Cruiser
BY FREDERIC S. NOCK
such readers as will be interested in building a that the lower edge of all of them sets to the sheer line
small cruising motorboat, I am going to try and de- on each mould. Where more than two pieces of wood are
FOR scribe how to proceed to construct a 25-foot boat, and used to make a mould, you can cleat them together, taking
if these specifications are carefully adhered to, those who care to keep the cleat well in from the edges in order not
build will be surprised to find what a handly little craft to interfere with the frames, etc., if any of them should be
it will make. close to the mould. Cleat the lower part of the moulds
The engine for which the boat was designed is a two- with a piece of spruce or some such material about 2x2
cylinder, two-stroke, rated at 6-hp. and the weight alldwed inches, so that vou can use this to fasten the mould to the
for same is 350 pounds. Therefore, if you do not use one keel
of these engines you at least should bear in mind that in If the cross pawls are set true, it is a great help in
order to get the best results, you should install an engine setting up, as you can level same, and again I would call
of about the same weight and power, irrespective of your attention to the necessity of marking the center line
whether you desire a two- or a four-stroke engine. Do on each mould. I believe that in a case of this sort it is
not install a high-speed, high-powered engine if you want also a good plan to mark on the moulds the waterline, for
a cruiser, and bear in mind that this craft is not designed by so doing you can easily ascertain whether the moulds
for a speed boat. Eight (8) miles an hour can be de- are all set up correctly or not before starting to put on the
pended upon with the outfit mentioned, and that is speed battens. The practical builder could tell this at a glance,
enough for so small a cruiser. but it is not always so with the amateur.
It is almost a moral impossibility to cover all the de- When you have completed your moulds, you can pro-
tails in the specifications even though they are much more ceed to mark out the keel. For this you will need a nice
comprehensive than such as I should furnish to a practi- piece of oak. about 21 feet long. 3 inches thick and 12
cal builder, but I will try to explain as closely as possible inches wide; carefully smooth the sides and mark out on
how to proceed same the shape, and the stations, cut to the lines and after
When you have laid down the lines full size,you can carefully trimming the keel run in a line through the cen-
proceed to get out the moulds. For this you will need ter of the upper side, and, with your square, mark the
about 100 feet of hemlock, spruce or some such material. stations across the top. Select a good piece of oak for
Saw to shape and don't forget that the lines are to the the stem, mark the shape on same and cut to the lines. It
outside of the plank, therefore if you mark your moulds is a good plan to make a thin wood
template of the stem
the same as the lines, you will have to take off of an ^ as you can use this template to mark out the shape and
inch around same, as these moulds are to represent the also the rabbet line. To do this, you can bore a number
inside of the planking and the planking is to be J4 of an of small holes along the line of the rabbet, and with a
inch in thickness. Of course you can take this amount off drill or awl you can easily reproduce this on one side of
the outside when you lay down the lines if you prefer, and the piece of wood you have previously cut to shape, re-
bv doing so. you will save yourself considerable labor. verse the template and mark the other side, draw a center
A practical boat builder seldom uses all the moulds, but line down the face of the stem *and a line ^
of an inch
wouMyjrobably use Nos. 2, 4, 8, 16, 20. and 22, and spacing on each side of same, which allows J^ of an inch for the
them 4 feet apart except the two end ones, you can pro- face of the stem. Trim from the rabbet line to these two
ceed in this manner and have good results provided you outer lines and then proceed to cut the rabbet, using a fid
use good strong battens to make a fair curve and hold the (Fig. 3) to get the bevel. If you want to get the rabbet
frames in place without bending the battens. on the stem absolutely correct you can do so by marking
The lines as laid down usually show but one side of the on same the waterline and cutting the rabbet to the exact
mould as both sides should be alike, therefore you will bevel, but I do not think you would save much time by
find it easier to mark out one side of the mould on a piece doing this, for when the stem is in position and you start
of board, fasten this to another pieee and saw the two of to place the battens, if the rabbet line needs
fairing in
them out at the same time this applies especially to the
;
places you can easily accomplish same, having the battens
case if a band or jig saw is available. Mark and cut out to work to.
all your moulds in this manner and then proceed to fasten If the
engine you decide to use is of the dimensions as
them together. There are many different methods in the one called for on the plans, you can rest assured that
vogue, but one that is about as good as any for the the line of the shaft will not differ, and therefore
you can
amateur is to put the cross pawls in such a position proceed to get out the shaft-log. For this you will need

17
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Body Plan Plan of One-half Transom

LAYING DOWN TABLES for LINES -N9 156

/ H

All Dimenaions ciuen in Feci, Inches, and Ei ghiSf and Ahoue Base Line £ —6
LeZou/ ^Xie L.W.L. All Lines h oufsicfe of Ploi^k

SfaHons
two pieces of oak, 3J4 feet long, 3x3 inches, plane them taper one end. Then lasten in a vise and hammer a head
smooth and with your gauge mark a center line on lone on the oth^r end. Bore through the shaft-log with a 5-16
side of each piece, and another line ^ of an inch out on inch diameter bit, and into the keel with a J4-inch
either side, scribe a half circle with a radius of of an ^ diameter bit or auger. Set the horn timber in position,
inch on either end, and proceed to cut this halfround piece and, after .carefully fitting same, secure it by clamps or
away. If you are so situated that you can obtain the use some other convenient method, and proceed to fasten it ;

of machinery, this job would be simplified by running a if you start at the forward end it would be well to bore

few saw scarfs through same to the required depths then, ;

with a gouge, cut away the superfluous stock, finishing it

smooth with a round plane. In some cases the boat
builder will run a saw scarf through the center line of
both pieces, clamp them together and with a spur auger
of the right size, bore the hole through, but no matter how
much care is given, the spur is liable to run to one side or
the other, and not follow the saw scarf, and if this happen;
you will spoil your shaft-log. If you happen to have an
auger of the right size, it would do no harm to run it
through the center of the log after you have cut the two
pieces out to shape, for in this manner you can rest assured STEM
that the hole is the correct size and round. Do not try to PATTERN
spline this shaft-log, as there is but little stock on either
side for the fastenings and by putting a stop water at
either end and calking between them you can make the
seam tight. The horn timber can now be gotten out, the
specifications call for this to be sided 3 inches. Select a
nice piece of oak, mark and cut to shape, draw a center
line along the upper side and then proceed to get out the
knee for the transom. This can be an oak or hackmatack
knee, a natural crook is to be preferred, to be about 3
inches in thickness. Cut to shape but do not fit until you
are ready to set up the keel.
You will need another knee to connect the stem to the
keel, which same can be a natural crook or cut from a
plank, mark it out on the plank so that the grain runs
from point to point in order to get the greatest strength,
it is to be 3 inches in thickness. When you have cut it
to shape, cafefully fit same, taking due care to see that
all joints are close and when fitted to the stem and keel,
the stem does not lean forward or aft, but is the same
position as shown on the plans. Clamp the knee in posi-
tion, bore and bolt together with }i inch diameter gal-
vanized iron, sink the heads of the bolts well into the out-
side of the stem and keel so as to allow for covering same
with wooden plugs. The inside ends should be riveted
over galvanized iron washers, or if you prefer, you can
fasten the knees in position with galvanized iron screw
bolts; if a washer is put under the nut, you can draw the
pieces together in good shape.
When the stem is fastened to the keel you can proceed
with the shaft-log. Set this in position and bore
through
each side about 4 inches from the forward end, and bolt
through keel with 5-16 inch diameter bolts, counter-
sinking the heads in the underside of keel and drawing two holes about 4 inches from the end. Bore these holes
up with nuts on washers on the upperside of the log. through the horn timber, shaft-log and keel with a 5-16
inch diameter auger in such a position that they will be
on either side of the shaft-hole. Countersink the under-
side of the keel for the heads and use 5-16 inch diameter
bolts and nuts set up on the upper side of the horn timber ;

you will find that you may have to trim the wood a trifle
in order to get a good bearing for the washer as the top
of the timber is at an angle to the bolt. You can put in
two more bolts about 10 inches further aft, and "Btill an-
A Hol f Siding of 3tttn other two about 10 inches aft of them, and then the horn
3 ,
PqcK KohU^ h^1gr3gdl(^r^of inaid* o f "PlanK with 3tewi timber, shaft-log and keel are well fastened together, but
C KQ^itct Lint outside .- » »
you have not as yet fitted the stern post in position,
although the keel is cut for it.
Fig. 3 Select a piece of oak that will work out 3 inches square
e and about 15 inches in length, and cut to fit the space
Bore and put in two more bolts of the same size about 8 allowed for same. When you are satisfied that it fits
inches from the after end of the log, although in this case
properly you can fasten it in position with 5-16-inch drive
it would be better to use drive bolts about 12 inches in bolts.
length. For these you will need some 5-16 inch diameter The transom, whi' 1 the specifications state is to be of

galvanized iron cut to length and with a hammer slightly

;
oak, is ij4 'inches tl-ick. You will need two pieces -30x36

20
inches, and inasmuch as it might be a difficult matter to
procure oak 30 inches wide, you will probably have to use
two narrower pieces and bolt them together, or, if you
prefer, you can use mahogany for the transom. There :s
little or no difficulty in obtaining this material
30 inches
wide, but it would cost a trifle more than oak. Thfr-^rfans
show one half the transom with all dimensions marked on
it. You can set this out direct on one of the pieces of
stock for transom if you desire, and saw it out and mark
the opposite side for same. Or you can saw the two
pieces at one time with a band saw. Trim carefully to
shape and get out a couple of cheek pieces of oak i inch
thick and about 3 inches wide set these almost out to the
;

edges of the transom and fasten with galvanized screws,

these pieces are to be trimmed to form a back rabbet to
fasten the ends of the planking to, and you will
probably
have to fair them to some extent when you start to
put
on the battens.
You can now proceed to set up the frame. Draw a
chalk line on the floor where you intend to set
up the boat
and to the edge of this line set up 4 pieces of spruce
3x4
inches, each oiece to be one foot longer than the height
on the table of offsets of ^ase line to keel bottom, at sta-
tions 2, 8, 14, and 20. Nail a strip of wood to the sides
of these upright, so that the upper edge will
represent the
base line, and if the floor is level, it will be one foot above
same. Set this strip of wood level, using a
long spirit
level to ascertain that neither end is The forward
high.
side of these posts will represent the stations Nos.
2, 8,14,
and 20, and you can measure up on from the upper
edge
of the strip representing the base line and see that the
dimensions correspond to the heights of keel bottom above
the base line on table of offsets. These
uprights must be
well braced forward and aft and also at the sides in order
to keep them upright and sustain the weight of the boat.
It is not
necessary to obtain any special size stock for
these braces, as most any stock from i to 2 inches thick
will serve the purpose if
properly fastened. Set the keel
on the uprights and ascertain that it is in the right posi-
tion measure from the base line to the waterline on stem
;

and see that it is 2H feet above the base line as per plans.
Plurnb the stem and securely brace it from overhead if
If you are sure that it is correct,
possible. you can fasten
some wooden cleats to each side of the uprights and also
fasten to the keel.
The knee and transom can be fitted and fastened, using
plenty of fastenings but taking due care not to get any
nails or screws where they will interfere with the rudder
port, which will have to be bored and time spent looking
out for this will mean a saving in the end, as nails and
screws are apt to spoil an auger or bit. Place your level
against the side of the knee and when vertical, stay the
transom either to the rafters or some other convenient
place. Then take your chalk line and stretch it from the
center line of the transom to the center line of the stem,
haul taut, and drop a plumb-bob from same (see Fig. 8).
If the point of the bob touches the line on the center of
the keel you can rest assured that the stem and stern are
in line, but do not be satisfied with one trial,
try the
plumb-bob at diiYerent points and if any of them are out,
sight along the side of the keel and if this is not in a
straight line fore and aft you must brace it until it is
perfectly straight and the plumb-bob must intersect the
center line at any point. When you have it correct, you
can fasten the stays or braces strongly, so as to keep it
in position.

21
 "Consort," Built from Mr. Nock's Plans and Instructions

PART II. stem and stern, it should also intersect with the waterline
you begin to set up your moulds, it would be on each mould. If it does you can rest assured that your
advisable to finish the rabbet line, as you have only cut moulds are set up properly. Fasten some stays from one
BEFORE
the stem. The rabbet line is supposed to be marked on mould to another and start to bend and fasten on the bat-
the keel on either side, and inasmuch as the upper side of tens. For these you will need some nice, clear pieces of
the keel as far aft as the shaft-log represents the inside yellow pine or fir about i^xiJ/2 inches; if you get them
of the planking, it is not a difficult matter to trim this long enough to extend from end to end in one piece so
rabbet at intervals, taking the proper bevel at the different much the better, otherwise you can use shorter lengths
stations from the lines you have laid dovvn. Then fair up and let them lap by one another. Fasten the end of one
the places between the points you have spotted, or cut to of the battens in the rabbet on stem, bend carefully
the proper shape. Where the rabbet line crosses the knee around the moulds and fasten to same with long thin
and connects with the rabbet line on the stem you must screws, putting washers under the heads of same to pre-
he very careful to get it correct. vent them pulling through the battens. Set the first
It would be advisable to get two pieces of oak. i inch batten so that the lower edge touches the mark represent-
thick, about 6 feet in length, to fasten to each side of the ing the sheer line on each mould; when you get to the
shaft-log and horn timber they should be cut to the curve
;
transom you will probably find that the bevel of the cheek
of the rabbet line and the proper bevel, and securely pieces does not allow the battens to bear the entire width,
fastened. Cut out places in the lower edges of these and in that case it must be pared until the batten has a
pieces to receive the heels of the frames; of course you good bearing, and the same thing applies to the other bat-
will understand that these pieces are to form a back tens where they are fastened to the transom and stem;
rabbet for the garboards or the plank nearest to the keel you must also see that there is the right bevel cut on the
and should be cut to the proper bevel of the inside of the edge of the transom. It would be advisable to put about
plank. six battens on a side, space them about the same distance
Having finished cutting the rabbet line along the keel, apart. If you have been careful in making and setting
etc., you can now proceed to set up the moulds. Starting the moulds, you will find that the battens touch each one
with No. 2, set this in position so that the forward side and at the same time have a nice fair curve.
of the mould intersects with station No. 2 on the knee. The frames, or timbers, should be cut from straight
Cut it over the knee and set it down so that the lower grained white oak; if you can procure some stock that
part of the mould intersects with the back rabbet measure
;
has not been dried you will find it much easier to bend
up from your base line to the L. W. L. on the mould and when it has been steamed than the seasoned stock. Under
if it is 2j^ feet up, screw through the block into the knee no conditions should you try to use kiln dried stock; it is
to hold the mould, plumb the face of the mould and when almost an impossibility to bend it, and even if you do
you have leveled the cross pawl you can secure the mould succeed in bending it you will find that it has a natural
with stay-laths. Moulds 4, 8, and 12 can be set up in the tendency to straighten instead of retaining its shape. The
same manner with the forward sides of the moulds inter- specifications call for the frames to be i}ixiys inches,
secting with stations 4, 8, and 12 on the keel, but the spaced 9 inches center to center. You will need 30
moulds 16, 20, and 22 are to be set with the after side of frames for each side. If, however, the frames from sta-
the moulds intersecting with their respective stations. tion No. 4 to the forward end of the shaft-log are in one
Perhaps it might be well to explain the reason for setting piece from sheer to sheer, it will reduce the number of
them in this manner and I would call your attention to frames. You will need nineteen frames to run from
the fact that the edges of the moulds are cut at right sheer to sheer, and as you are liable to break some of
angles to the face and the shape of curve of the boat com- them, it would be advisable to get out twenty-six. The
mences to narrow up from station 12 forward and from longest frame will be about 14 feet, but you had better
station i6 aft; therefore these moulds are so placed that get 16-foot lengths; there are twenty-two short frames
the edges which the battens spring against are in a direct required, and if you are using 16-foot stock you can cut
line with the stations for which the moulds were made. the pieces ia two and use for the short frames. Don't
When all the moulds are properly stayed, it is a good plan forget that you may break some of these and that it is a
to go carefully over them and see that they are perfectly good plan to get out a number of extra frames even ;

plumb and the cross pawls level, and if you stretch your though you do not break a great number they will not be
chalk line fore and aft in a line with the L. W. L. at the wasted as they can be used for the floors.

22
 Mark off on the keel the spacing of the frames, taking the battens, you will have to twist them so that they fit
care not to measure along the top of the keel but in a close to each side of the battens. The frames aft of the
straight line, and it is a good plan to mark the position forward end of the shaft-log will have the heels fitted in
of the frames on the center and upper batten as this will the mortises in the cheek pieces and fastened to same.
save considerable time when you are bending in the These frames will also have to be twisted to get the right
frames. Put some of the frames in your' steam box and shape to make them set close to the battens with width of
let them stay until they are well saturated, and are soft the frame, and a large monkey wrench would be of valu-
and pliable. It will probably take from 20 to 40 minutes, able assistance in twisting the frames. When you have
according to the amount of steam you have, and bear in finished framing you can put in the floors. These are to
mind that you do not require dry steam, it cannot be too be i%xiyi inches and should be about 3 feet in length.
wet. Having satisfied yourself that the frames are suffi- Beginning at station No. 4, all the floors should be on the
ciently well steamed you can proceed to bend the frames after side of the frames until you reach station No. 14,
to the battens. If you have put in some of the long and from this point aft all floors should be forward of the
frarries you can start anywhere along the widest part of frames. Bend in the floors and fasten to the keel, then
the boat, gradually spring the frame down until it touches put three fastenings through the side of floor and frame
the keel then, bearing your weight ,Qn same, work up-
;
on either side of the keel. For this purpose it is a good
wards on either side, fasten the frame to the keel with plan to use a galvanized wire nail, if the fastenings are to
galvanized iron boat nails and clamp it to the battens, tak- be of galvanized- iron as specified for this boat. The
ing due care to see that it fits closely to the battens and floors aft of the shaft-log are not bent to shape, but are
stands perpendicular. There will be no trouble about it to be cut out of iJ/^-inch oak; cut them so that they fit
"being perpendicular if you bring the edge to the mark on over the upper side of the horn timber and the shaft-log and
the battens. There is no need for me to tell you that this shape the underside the same as the frame; fasten to the
part of the work would be a great deal easier if you can horn timber and shaft-log and also through the sides of
iiave someone to assist in bending and fastening the the frames. It is a good plan to cut a piece out of the

clamps; it will also save you considerable climbing up and corner of these cut floors or else bore holes through same
•down, for the best way to bend these frames is to get so as to allow any water that may run in aft to find its
inside of the framework and bear your whole weight on way to the lowest point, and now that I have brought up
tbem. If you have only a few clamjw you will probably the subject of limburs, I will call your attention to the
Tieed them for the next frame, and if so you can remove fact that there has been no provision made for same in
the clamps one at a time, and fasten the frame to the this boat, the frames and floors are small and to cut a
"battens with a wire nail through each batten. By the limbur in them that would be of a suitable size would ma-
time you had bent in a few of the amidship frames — terially weaken both the floors and frames and I would
—
which are the easiest to bend in you will have grasped suggest that you do not cut in any limburs, but when the
the situation and find that there is nothing very difficult boat is planked, take some Portland cement and pour in
about this part of the work. The frames at the forward each bay until flush with the top of the lowest frame and
end will require a little more care as they must be cut to in this manner you will have a clear passage for the
iit the sides of the stem and as thev do not set square with water and no obstructions. This is an advantage in a
 motorboat, for enables one not only to clean it out
it
planks are put on, I am going to suggest that you start
easily, but also when the craft is laid up in the Fall, it is to put on the sheerstrake first; select
much easier to your plank and
remove the surplus oil and grease that will plane to }i inch thickness, and before you can proceed to
collect in the bottom of a boat of this mark the shape of the sheerstrake, you will have to find
description, no
matter how careful one may be. If, however, your mind out the shape of this plank, and in order to do so, it is
is set on
having limburs cut in the frames, this is the time necessary to take a spiling. To do this take a piece of
to do it, before you start to put on any plank, etc.
pine or cedar about 3-16 or j4 inch thick, 6 to 7 inches
When you have completed the frames you can proceed wide and about 26 feet in length, this is called a
spiling
to get out the planking. Fig. 9 shows a half section of batten or staff, and can be made up of two pieces fastened
the boat at station No. 12 and you will note that I have if these are easier to obtain than one length.
together
shown thirteen planks on each side from the garboard to Bend this naturally around the moulds below the marks
the sheerstrake. It' is not
necessary to use exactly this representing the sheerline, and with some small wire
number of planks to a side; some builders prefer wider brads secure it in position, taking due care that the
edge
planks and of course there would not be as many if they of the staff does not cover any of the marks
were wider. However, it is better to use the narrow representing
the sheerline take your jpencil
;
compasses and set them to
plank. The garboard, or plank next to the keel, is usually such a width that the radius is
slightly in excess of the
the widest and the planks narrow from that point to the widest place between the edge of the staff and sheerline.

Method of Bending Frames

turn of the bilge upwards where they should all be of one place the point of the compasses at the sheerline on each
width with the exception of the sheerstrake, which is mould and sweep in an arc on the staff, mark the end of
usually made wider than the next four or five planks the staff where it intersects with the rabbet in stem, re-
below it. The specifications eall for yellow pine planking move the staff and fasten it to the plank you intend to
and if you use this material, there is no reason why you use for one of the sheerstrakes, and with your compasses
should not have it in lengths of about 28 feet, or long draw an arc, the point of the compasses being set on one
enough to reach from end to end without any butts. If side of the arc on the staff. Then put the point of the
you are unable to obtain the requisite lengths, the planks compasses on the other side of the arc on staff and draw
can be butted, and again if you cannot procure yellow another arc on the plan. This arc will cross the first
pine or fir, you could use cedar, cypress or white pine. one drav^n, and where these two arcs intersect or cross is
Either of these materials would make good planking. the point you must work to when you draw the line repre-
As it is easier to put in the engine bed before the lower senting the upper side of the sheerstrake. You must re-

24
 Su'iliwg Bo'Hen

Fig. II.
— How Spots Are Transferred to Plank

peat this process at each place where you have drawn then another one 5 inches below that. This will repre-
an arc on the staff, and when you have them all marked, sent the sheerstrake. Now start at the keel and mark 8
remove the staff, select a good batten and bend -to the re- inches up, from this mark 7 inches upwards, and another
quired shape so that a line drawn along the edge of same 6 inches, and the remaining spaces you can divide equally
will cut through each of the arcs you have drawn where into nine spaces. These will represent the greatest widths
they intersect. Fig.lo will help to explain this a trifle of the planks, and you should proceed to mark on the stem
more clearly, and Fig. ii shows the staff fastened to the the height of the upper edge of the garboard and the
plank and the arcs marked on» same and also the plank. lower edge of the sheerstrake which should be consider-
To obtain the shape of the lower edge of the sheerstrake ably narrower at this end than at station No. 12. The
you can mark at the center the extreme width, which I transom should be marked in a similar manner and then,
have figured at 5 inches, then mark the width at each end, if you desire, you can mark out on each mould the widths
bend a good strong batten to these points until you have of the planks; of course the garboard and the next two
a fair line and cut to same. Bear in mind that you need strakes will be wider in proportion than the others, but
two of these pieces and therefore it is advisable to saw it is a simple matter to figure this out and have a good
out another one for the opposite side before you begin curve to all the planks.
'-to fasten it to the frames. The sheerline as shown on The professional builder does not always lay out his
the plans represents the height to the top of the deck and plank in this manner, and some of you may know a much
though this is short, it should be taken into consideration. better method this article, however, is not written for the
;

The deck plank is to be % of an inch in thickness, there- practical boat builder, but for the amateur. Inasmuch as
fore the sheerstrake should be 7/% of an inch below the you are not going to fit in the garboards at present on ac-
sheerline marked on the moulds. Fit the forward end to count of the engine bed, we can at least work to the width
the rabbet on the stem and fasten it, taking due care that laid out for the garboards and other plank and proceed to
the upper edge touches the marks ^ of an inch below
the sheerline; hold it in position with clamps and fasten
get out the next plank below the sheerstrake. You can
take a spiling from the lower edge of the sheerstrake in a
to the frames, countersinking for the nail heads so as to similar manner to the spiling of the sheerstrake, except
allow of their being covered with 7-16 inch diameter wood that in this case you work from the lower edge of the
plugs. The after end must be carefully cut to fit the sheerstrake in sweeping in the arcs on the staff. Be sure
bevel of the transom and be well fastened to the cheek to make some marks on the sheerstrake and staff so that
pieces on same. It is a good plan for the amateur to when you have cut out your plank you cam bring them to
mark on the edges of the moulds or frames the width of the same position as you had when you took the spiling.
the planks. Fig. 9 shows a half section at station No. 12 Mark the widths of this plank at intervals, bend a batten
and you will note that there are thirteen planks to a side to it, draw a fair curve through these points and you have
including the sheerstrake and garboard; the upper a line reoresenting the lower edge of this plank. Cut out
strakes, representing the raised sheer, I have not taken two planks to this shape. If you take this plank and bend
into consideration as you are working from the sheerline. around the moulds in order to see that it fits, you will
Starting from the sheerline on the mould representing most probably find that the seam is open quite wide in
station No. 12, make a mark % of an inch below same, the center of the boat but it closes at the stem and "the

A • /Moulds

Fig. 10. —Shape of Spiling fpr Plank and Garboard

25
 or p»-
is aot aeoessuy at
lo f« ia dbe Ci«|iM
jhTfrs. aad liK fact dot
Meadk siAe dnrii
he 9BQf ttn cMcIiJ is
il is ahn^s htst to i

or tKistBd. Fa
tdhe laiUB vitti slajlalks aad aCttr yos
ttttt ag >iMi has MK
SB lew^ wtA jva cas procma to pal i&

tothc
«he
Cdoiittte
For tihese jfoo mM meed two of oak
3 mclKS to tfcaiii ss, aknt 5 feet loae >< 11
.,

TW ccator ine of dK slafit aril he 4Eree^ over Ike OBtocr

iae of dK hedl. a^ as }«a have aheadlf hored tike skaft

of wood acrass d^ hale to Ae stem fast, cat a aotch

v9 he £re£djp ia dK ocaAer of dK hol^ fas-
of voy stra^^ §1
lead the odxr csn Ihnwigh dK ~smit
33lnr. Cany il lw*aid ahaaft ay to stodm No. la;
:.
pMoe of aioad aooss Ae fcatoes at sock a _ I

tagjhi over dK top of smbc is di iw lly .

wi& Ike joM ia dK sUe of dtt skaft4oe. f H

ritB< ~
nt comedy 23k fint ti^K^ 3paa v3
kzvc to ivse
Jk~ futaaid cod iHflflyoa aore stoe nat it b ^toto
Iso ia fiae vidk dK cxaaer liae of kecL Tke
Ae oeator Bae of Ite skxft aad yoar
'fee he tafaea feoto it. Fiist asoeitoia dK
? ig»c eapbe »kere > ihiiJd west aa tike
it . -aTfeid oto dK «staace €rato <ke
fcr F ft to dK aadcfside of ikc^hasc of
ae a ^^of dKha5ehehwffdKi

teaiers. SSeasare o
-flxxiktf dKwi*]
r^ aad anke a

(F» ^«l k tol

«B

36
 A i( 'B Hcmjii-ood
Wed^ts.
Fig. 13

temporarily. Now take your level and bring it up so that

it just touches the under side of the line, see that it is

horizontal and make a mark on one end of this template;

repeat the operation at the opposite end, draw a line
through the point, and you have the line of the center of
the shaft marked on same.
You can now proceed to get out the two bearers, add-
ing to the size marked on the template the thickness of
the frames, or better still, a quarter of an inch in excess
of same, to allow for trimming, or, if you prefer, you can
get out a template to fit exactly over the frames and
floors and mark the shape of these bearers from same.
It is simply a matter of choice which method you use. If
you cut the underside of the bearers to the shape of the
template, set in position, mark both sides with the com-
passes in order to get the height of the frames on the
inside and outside, then mark the frames and floors, re-
move the bearer, cut to shape, and see that it fits properly ;
repeat this operation on the piece of stock for the other
bearer, set in position, clamp it so as to keep it from
moving and ascertain that it fits properly and is in line
both fore and aft and also in a vertical position. If there
is any part of these bearers that extend below the under

side of the frames, you can easily remove the superfluous

stock when you have the bearers fastened in, before you
start to plank. The cross logs are 2^ inches thick, and
for these you will need one piece of oak 6 feet long and
I foot wide, and another
piece 5 feet long and about 8
inches wide; set these pieces on the keel and the places
indicated on the plans, or to suit the base of your engine
if it is a dififerent make or style, fasten them
temporarily
and mark out the shape of the underside of same on the
forward and after sides; if you do this properly yoH can
cut to the correct bevel the first time, and they will fit
close to the inside of the plank where this part of the boat
is planked. Cut the forward pieces to a depth of 5 inches
to allow the fore and aft bearers to fit into same for that
depth, fasten them securely to the keel, and then put in
the fore and aft beai-ers, cutting them over the cross logs,
securely bolt to same, and fasten up through the under
side of the frames into the bearers. If the under side of
the flange of the engine bed is below the center line of the
shaft a certain distance, the bearers will have to be cut
away that amount in order to have the shaft in line, and
if the under side of the
flange is above the center line of
the shaft, the bearers will have to be raised; this should
be ascertained before the upper sides of the bearers are
finished. One MALr SccTiow AT Station N» \t

Fig. 9
 ''*
*- _* .

Another View of "Consort"

PART III (Conclusion) ten to the mark you have made, pare and trim until it fits
The keelson can nowbe gotten out and fastened in posi- the rabbet perfectly, and then it is no trouble to mark
tion. For this you will require a piece of oak, or yellow around same with a pencil, and you have the shape of the
pine, 2x4 inches, 12 feet in length. Trim the forward lower edge of one of the garboards. The shape of the
end so that it fits the scarf in the stem, and bend to the other edge is obtained in the same manner as the lower
frames. If any of the frames at the forward end have a edge of the sheerstrake, mark the greatest width, the
tendency to keep the keelson from bearing tight on the width at the forward and after ends, and a couple of in-
frames and floors directly over the keel, you will have to tervening places if you so desire, bend a batten to same,
trim the keelson and when you are satisfied that it fits strike a fair curve and cut to shape.
properly, proceed to fasten it, using through fastenings You will have to exercise considerable care in fitting
at the forward end and at each alternate floor. the lower edge to the rabbet, chalk the inside of the rabbet,
The bilge clamps can be fitted and fastened to the frames and when you have clamped the garboard in position, if
before the planking is fitted, and it would be as well to do there are any places where it needs trimming to make a
this part next. The specifications call for the bilge good fit, don't slight it, but spend time enough to have it
clamps to be of yellow pine i^ x 4 inches amidships, fit all along the rabbet. Mark on a board a duplicate of
tapered to i>4 x 3J4 inches at the ends. This taper the plank, cut and fit as carefully as the first one and,
should be about 7 feet in length. Select some straight when they are ready, steam them well and start to fasten
grained piece of stock and have it milled to the re- one of them, beginning at the stem. Drive the plank tight
quired dimensions, and finish with a hand smooth. Mark into the rabbet, bore a hole Ji or 7/16 inch diameter, to
on the center frames the location of the bilge or clamp take the wood plug to cover the head of the fastening.
on either side, also the stem and stern, bend the bilge This should not be over J4 inch deep; then bore a hole a
clamp down in the center and fasten with a screw clamp trifle smaller than the nail through the planking into the
and then work the ends to the required position, or as a stem, and fasten with galvanized boat nails. The fasten-
good bearing on the frames, bore and fasten to the frames, ings should be about ij4 inches apart where the garboard
putting one fastening through each frame at the upper connects with the stem and in the keel they should be
and lower edges of the clamp. These fastenings should about 2/'i inches apart. There should be three fastenings
be either riveted or clinched Over the frames. Having in the width of the plank at each frame and floor, two of
fastened in the two bilge clamps, you can continue your the fastenings to be through the frame and one through
planking and I would suggest getting out the garboards the floor, unless you make the after end very narrow, and
first. You will proceed in a manner somewhat similar to in that case you would not need more than two fastenings
getting out the sheerstrake, but owing to the fact that this at each frame and floor.
is more difficult, I will explain it so that you can proceed When you have finished fastening the garboards, you
without any trouble. can proceed to get out the next plank; cut to shape and
Take a piece of pine or cedar about the same dimen- fasten to the frames, etc. Before you continue to plank
sions as your spiling batten or staff, but don't use that one any further, I must call your attention to the planks which
as you will need it for the balance of the planking; tack are to be used around the turn of the bilge. These planks
this over the frames close to the rabbet in the keel, take should be cut out of stock that is thick enough to allow
your compasses, and setting them to a radius of about one- of the inside being coped or planed hollow to fit close to
quarter of an inch mbre than the widest place between the frames. When you have removed sufficient of the
the rabbet and the edge of the staff, strike in a number inside of the plank to admit of its fitting closely to the
of arcs at intervals of about one foot apart until you get frames, set your gfauge to ^
inch and run a score along
to the short turn at the stem, where the marks should be the edges of the plank, then plane to this line, but not for
quite close in order to get the shape more accurately. the entire width of the plank, as you can easily plane this
Make some marks on the keel and batten in order to en- when you finish the outside of the planking.
able you to get the batten back in the same position again. You can now cut out and fasten in position the next
Fig. 10 shows the staff in position with marks showing five strakes,and when you have finished with them yott
the spiling, and if these marks are transferred to the piece will be ready for the shutter, for such is the name given
of plank to be used for the garboards in the same manner to the last plank to be fitted. It is necessary to take a
as suggested for the sheerstrake, there will be no difficulty spiling on both sides for this plank, and be sure to get it
in making them fit, but it may save you some lumber as large enough. Having satisfied yourself that it is the
well as considerable labor if you first cut the spiling bat- required shape, fit the forward end to the rabbet in stem

28
 directly over the top of another, but break
stem and continue to all joints by
and drive it in place, fasten to the
it fits close to the frames and fasten to at least three between, if the butt is between
drive it in till placing planks
same as fast as you drive it in place, for in this manner the same frames.
you will prevent it from springing out when driving. The When you have finished planking the boat, take a jack
plane and roughly plane the outside, then the boat
is ready

lor calking. It is much b^^ter to have this done by a man

who makes a business of it, as there is a great deal more
in a boat than merely driving in cotton. If you
calking
desire to try your hand at this, you should procure some
good spun cotton. You will also need some calking irons
—
and a mallet one of these irons will be needed for open-
ing the seams and the other for driving in the cotton.
Look
carefully over the seam you intend to calk, and
if you de-

cide that it is open enough to drive, in the cotton, select a

piece and start it in with the iron, using the calking
mallet
to strike the iron. Do not stretch out the cotton and drive
back a trifle, then drive; keep on doing
it
this — butmakes
in,
it
bring
a
it

and thus makes a much thicker bunch

lap
to drive in. Set it down hard and keep it about J4 of an
inch below the surface. Experience will help you more
than any explanation I can give you, and you will find as
you progress just how much cotton to put in the seams,
and how hard to drive it. If you want to find out just how
easy, or how difficult, it is to calk a boat, just watch some
of the men calking a small yacht or vessel, then go back
and try it. When you have the hull calked, the seams
should be painted with a thick lead paint; a long narrow
brush with short bristles, known as a seaming brush, is the
best thing to use to run the paint in the seams. This paint-
ing of the seams makes them hold the putty and also form
a ridge which prevents the cotton from working out, as it
would have a tendency to do when there is much jarring
on the boat such as would be occasioned by riveting in the
deck clamps, etc.
The deck clamps and raised deck clamps can now be
gotten out and fastened in position. The clamp is to be
of yellow pine, ij4 x 4 inches, the upper and lower edges
to be chamfered from the forward end to the bulkhead
at the after end of the cabin. Set the upper edge
of^this
clamp the same height as shown on the construction'plan
How and fasten to the frames. It is a good plan to fasten
Chain Clamp Is Used
through the sheerstrake, frame and clamp, at each frame,
petting these through fastenings alternately at the upper
cutting of the after end of the plank to fit the rabbet in and lower edges. The raised deck clamp is to be of yellow
the transom must be done before the fastenings are put
pine 1)4 X 3>4 inches. Chamfer the lower edge and fasten
in the last few frames; finish fastening in frames and
transom and fit the shutter on the opposite side. A
well-
fitting shutter tends to tighten up" all the planking,
and if
you have kept the widths of the planks about equal, it is
hard to distinguish the shutter from the other planks.
The planking of the raised sheer can now be gotten out
and fastened in position, and as I have already explained
how to obtain the shape of the planks, there is no need
for me to explain the operation as there are but three
planks to be gotten out for either side of the raised sheer.
I have figured that all the planking you will use will be
full length, but for the benefit of those who are unable to

procure the long lengths or prefer the shorter planks, I

would 'state that the method of planking would be the
same, the only difference is that some of the planks would
be in t.wo or more pieces. All that is necessary is to make
the butts come between the frames and fasten them se-
curely. Fig. i6 shows the usual method of fastening a
butt. Tbp butt block should be of oak about i inch thick
and of sutficient width to lap over the edge of the plank
on either side J^ of an inch. The forward and after ends
of these blocks should be chamfered on the side nearest
to the inside of the plank so as to allow any water, that
might leak in to run through, instead of collecting on top
of the block.
Fit all blocks tight between the frames, and if properly in position. Take care to have the upper edge of the clamp
fastened, the plank is stronger at this point than elsewhere. at the correct height for the entire length, and when you
If you have butts in the planking, bear in mind the neces- have" put in a few fastenings it is advisable to ascertain
sity for distributing same. Do not make one butt come that the upper edges are true, and the same height on

29

^
PROPOSED CABIN PLAN FOR THE NOCK 25 FT. CABIN CRUISER

80
both sides of the hull, and if so, you can finish fastening wood varnished, you will have to calk the seams and fill
same, adopting the same method of through fastening as them with white lead putty or marine glue, if you prefer
suggested for the clamp at the normal sheer. that material. Provided you intend covering the cock-
If you intend to finish the exterior of the hull before pit deck with canvas, the plank can be of either pine or
doing any work on the interior, you can proceed to get cypress; tongued and grooved stock is better for this
out the two knees for the stern; these are to be cut from purpose than the square edged material if it is not to be
oak plank i^ inches in thickness. Fit a piece of oak calked. When you have finished laying the deck you can
i%xi^yi inches across the inside of the transom at such a proceed to cut out the rabbeted pieces of oak. The curve
height as to catch the ends of the deck plank, and then of the staving is so slight that this strip can be worked
fasten the knees in position, securing same to the clamp, out of straight stock and sprung to shape. Twenty feet
sheerstrake and transom. in length will make enough for the two sides and across
You will note that there are but three deck beams shown
on the plan; these are to be of oak, sided ij4 inches, ©
moulded ij4 inches, and cut with a crown of i^ inches
in 5 feet. Mortise the ends of the two forward frames
into the clamp and fasten to same. The after beam is _3^ [I]
to be halved into the knees and fastened. Between the
two after beams you can fasten a piece of oak 8 inches
wide and i^i inches thick to receive the lower end of the
towing post or bitt, and then proceed to plank the deck.
You will need some nice, clear white pine for this plank,
and unless you can obtain the pine already cut with the
edge of the grain on the flat side of the plank it will be
best to purchase 2-inch plank and have it sawed and
planed to the required thickness. The edges should be
planed so as to have a bevel of 1-16 inch on each edge,
and when these planks are placed edge to edge it will
show a seam of about % inch iti width. Draw a line
through the center of the beams, and after cutting the end
of one of the pieces of plank to fit the transom, bring
the edge of the plank to the line and fasten. Add planks
on either side until you have the entire deck covered, tak-
fH
ing due care to draw them close together. Calk the seams,
and pay them with thick lead paint. The filling of the
seams with white lead putty and planing the deck can bet-
ter be finished when you have the boat nearer completion.
Now start at the opposite end and fit in at the stem
an oak breast hook or knee, fasten to the clamps, sheer-
strake and stem. The plans show seventeen beams for
the raised deck; these should be of oak, sided Ij4 inches,
moulded i^ inches. They can be either cut with a crown
of S inches in 7 feet or steam bent to that shape. The
lower corners can be chamfered or rounded, and the
beams finished smooth. The next thing is to make a
strong back to set these beams on, and for this you can 8 Slot
take a piece of board about J-i inch thick and about 8 o •site -IT
to 12 inches wide; set this so that the upper edge is the <0

height of the under side of the beams, fasten both ends

securely and proceed to cut the ends of the beams into the
clamp, fasten to same and to the heads of frames. Cut
out the covering boards, which are to be % inch thick
and 3 inches wide, spring around the edge of the sheer
and fasten to the beams and sheerstrake. Mark a center
line on the beams and proceed to lay the plank, which is
to be of cypress % inch thick, 3 inches wide. Fasten
-H
them from above into the beams and also toenail, as this 1"
will tend to draw the planks tight and make them close on
H D
the under side. Plane the upper side smooth and then fit
in the grub beam, which is to be of oak 2x6 inches, the
upper edge of which is to be rabbeted to receive the stav- Detail Drawing of Rudder
ing at the after end of the house. This beam should be
fastened very securely, as it will prevent the hull from the front of the seat. Take your spirit level and set it
spreading. The beams for the cockpit deck can be gotten against the inside of the clamp, ascertain that it is phimb,
out; these are to be of oak, sided lyi inches, moulded then make a mark on the cockpit deck plank continue ;

iJ4 inches, spaced 18 inches or fastened to each alternate doing this at intervals on both sides until you have a
frame. It is a good plan to nail a strip of yellow pine or sufficient number of points to strike a line through with
oak about 1x2 inches to the frames at such a height that a batten and make a curve that corresponds exactly to
the ends of the beams will rest on same, and the beams the inside of the clamp. The line thus marked shows the
should be fastened to this stfip as well as to the frames. outside of the staving, and as the pieces of oak you have
Set stanchions under the centers of the beams to make rabbeted to receive the planking are 2 inches wide, you
them more rigid and to help support the cockpit deck. will have to set the outside of this piece of oak i]/i inches

Lay the cockpit deck plank in strips of pine the same closer to the frames, as the staving is %
inch thick, and
width and thickness as for the deck at the after end of you want to set the staving perpendicular. If the deck
the boat. If you intend to finish this deck in natural is covered with canvas, simply lay the oak pieces in thick

31
white lead and fasten closely to make it watertight, but which you can now proceed to do. The canvas should be
if you intend to have the deck
bright, it would be ad- lo-ounce material, 8 feet in width and 14 feet long. This
visable to set the oak pieces on a strip of calking cotton must be well stretched and fastened closely around the
as well as using white lead. When you have set the'se edges with copper tacks. The usual method of laying a
oak pieces you can proceed to set up the cockpit staving, canvas deck of this description is to cover the upper side
which is to be of cypress J-i inch thick, 2 inches wide, of the plank with a thick paint, stretch and fasten the
tongued and grooved, and the edges bevelled on the in- canvas, and then dampen the canvas with a sponge and
side or face. Cut the lower ends so that they fit the apply a coat of paint. The claim is that the moisture
oak pieces, set in white lead and fasten to same, and also tightens the canvas and the coat of paint prevents it from
fasten to the clamp. Leave the upper ends of these relaxing. Owing to the diversity of opinions upon this
pieces of staving longer than you really require, as you subject, I am going to state that I either set the canvas
can cut them off to a fair line when you have finished the in thick white lead paint and -yvhen stretched apply a
staving. The staving at the after end of the cabin being of good coat of oil paint, using no water, or else I cover
the same material can also be set in position. The lower the plank with Jeffrey's marine glue, and when the can-
ends are to, set into a rabbet on the grub beam, and the vas has been stretched it is made to adhere to same by
upper ends are to be fitted to the under side of the raised being ironed with hot flat irons. Men who are well versed
deck plank, where it projects over the beam, and are to in the handling of canvas or duck tell me that the oil
be fastened to the raised deck beam. A filler piece of (linseed) destroys the cotton, and they ought to know.
spruce of some such material i inch thick and 2^ inches The edges of the canvas, where fastened, should be cov-
wide can be fitted in between the upper edge of the stav- ered with a ij4-inch half-round moulding.
ing and the inside of the planking. The top of same is Now that you have the deck finished you can remove
to be the same height as the under side of the cap, and the piece of wood you used for the strong back and pro-
when you have fastened in these pieces securely you can ceed with the interior.
proceed to get out the cap. The specifications- call for Set the beams for the floor and lay the planking. There
the cap to be of oak 1% inches thick, 5 inches wide; this should be three strips thr6ugh the center of the floor
will allow for yi an inch overlap on the outside of the which will not be fastened to the beams but cut up in suit-
planking and afeo the same amount on the staving. Round able lengths and cleated together on the under side. These
these edges and proceed to fasten in position. You will you can remove at any time to clean out the bilge'.
most probably find that you cannot bend this piece of oak The blocks for the lights are to be of cypress, lyi inches
to the proper shape without steaming it, and therefore it in thickness the sizes vary from io>^ to 12 inches square,
;

would be advisable to steam it in the first place. Put in according to the diameter of the glasses. The diameter
plenty of fastenings, the filler piece and the edges of of glass in the clear is 8 inches for the two after lights
the planking affording good places to fasten to. The heads on either side and 7 inches for the forward ones, if you
of the fastenings should be counter sunk and covered with intend using fixed lights. If you have decided to use
wood plugs, as should all the heads of the large fasten- composition open ports they should be smaller; purchase
ings in any part that is to be finished bright. those with the round frames, as they do not have to be
The coaming for the cockpit hatch over the engine is to cut into the planking, and present a much better appear-
be of oak; work this out to shape as per plans, allowing ance than the hexagonal frame light. If you can obtain the
for a waterway between the forward end and the grub use of a lathe or get the blocks turned, you will save con-
beam, and fasten to the deck and beams. Rabbet a piece siderable work, and while they are in the lathe you can
of oak 1J/2X2 inches to fit the upper edge of the coaming; cut a rabbet ^4 inch deep on the face to receive the
this piece is to be used for the frame of the hatch. Halve ceiling. Mark on the outside of the plank the position
the corners together and proceed to cover with %x2-inch of the different lights and saw out the circle, then fit the
white pine strips as you did with the cockpit deck; if you blocks from the inside, cut to the shape of the planking
desire to finish bright, calk and fill the seams and put a and use plenty of screws or nails to secure them to the
small oak ribbon around the outside to form a finish and planking.
cover the wood ends. If covered with canvas this ribbon The specifications call for the ceiling to be of cypress-
should cover the fastenings. ^ix2 inches, tongued and grooved, edges bevelled. Start
The seat at the after end of the cockpit is not com- the first strip close to the under side of the raised deck
pleted, and you can finish same before proceeding with clamp, fit around the rabbet in the blocks and fasten to
the cabin. The specifications call for the top of this seat same and to the frames. After you have fitted four strakes
and the lazy back to be of mahogany, but it is simply a you will find that the next strake will have to be cut at the
matter of choice what you use ; mahogany stands the forward end for a certain distance, as it will bear against
weather and warps but little, but I have seen some very the upper side of the clamp, and the next two strips will
fine looking seats and backboards made of cypress. Al- be shorter in length for the same reason. If you fit
low for part of the top of this seat to open, as there is them carefully you will find that it looks well. The
valuable space under it that can be used for storage, and proper way to ceil this space would be to take a spiling
you might have to get under the after deck at some time and shape each piece so that there would be the same
or another to renew the tiller rope, etc. Set in the lead number of pieces at one end as at the other, but so that
scuppers at the after corners of the cockpit, and it is they would decrease in width as they neared the stem.
practically completed. These scuppers should be about There would be little or no advantage in ceiling a boat
1% inches inside diameter, the flange on the upper side of this description in such a manner unless you were par-
should be set flush with the deck and the lower end of ticular, but that is the proper way to put in a ceiling.
scuppers flush with planking. It will be necessary to cut Work in the ceiling from the under side of the clamp to
a rabbet in plank to receive the flange. The fastenings the upper edge of the bilge clamp and, with the exception
in the lead scuppers should be of copper. of the toilet room, it will cover the inside of the frames.
The towpost and forward bitts can be gotten out and If you want to make the interior look well you can ceil
fitted. These are to be of oak or locust 4x4 inches and from the under side of the bilge clamp in the toilet room
12 inches long. The part that fits the deck is to be trimmed to the floor.
to'3j5x3j^ inches; a hole is to be cut through same, and The companionway slide, runs, door frame, etc., can now
they arc to be driven in position and secured on the be gotten out. They do not need any explanation, as the
under side with two oak or locust wedges. The towpost plans show the section of the hatch, etc. The specifica-
can be set up, but the forward bitt cannot be fastened tions call for them to be of mahogany, but if you prefer
in until you have covered the raised deck with canvas, —
some other material, well and good use it; but don't

32
use any wood that is apt to warp out of shape when the size of the rudder stock and it will make a good
I don't wish to convey
exposed to the elements or you will have a leaky com- stuffing-box for such a rudder.
panion way slide. The doors, to look well, should be the impression that a stuffing-box made in this manner is
panelled and made of ii^-inch stock with panels at least as good as having a proper one made, but, it is something
Yz of an inch thick. that can be purchased most anywhere, and therefore would
The rubstreaks can be of oak or teak, 2 inches wide. appeal to the amateur. The port should be carefully
If shaped as shown, it presents a better appearance than threaded into the knee and horn timber, and if you cover
if it were half round. Fasten well through the planking the thread with white lead and have it fit tight into the
into the frames and take care to have a fair curve, as wood it will not leak. Fig. 6 shows, the dimensions of
the apipearance of such a boat can easily be -spoiled when the rudder, and a simple way to make this is to buy a
the rubstreaks are set in position if they are not in a nice. piece of hard rolled Tobin bronze % inch thick and cut

ITT^

* '*'

LOCKER

Another Cabin Arrangement for the Nock 25 Foot Cabin Cruiser

fair line, and there is really no excuse for them being it to the required shape. For the stock you will need a
otherwise, as you have your sheer line to work to. piece of Tobin bronze i inch diameter, 3 feet 8 inches in
When you have arrived at this point you have prac- length. Have a machinist mill a slot in this stock to
tically completed the hull. Fit a piece of ^ inch half- receive the blade square the head above the stuffing-box
;

round brass to the stem, to protect it. and bore for th; to receive the quadrant and turn the lower end down to
rudder port if you have not already done so. For the }i inch diameter for a distance of Ij4 inches to form
rudder port you will need a piece of i inch brass steam a pintle for the shoe to hold the lower end of rudder
pipe 18 inches in length. Have a locknut thread cut in stock. You can either have the machinist rivet the blade
the lower end 5 inches in length, at the upper end you in place or do this work yourself, as it is not difficult. A
will require a thread 2 inches in length. For the stuffing- rudder made in this manner is well suited for so small a
box you can purchase a standard i-inch brass cap and craft. The shoe you can bend up out of a piece of brass
also a small locknut of the same size. Bore the cap to or bronze, but it is better to make a pattern and have this

33
cast. The quadrant is a standard article with d radius of sink to supply the water for cooking and washing, and,
12 inches and can be purchased from any well-known if one required it, a small folding lavatory could be fitted
dealer in boat hardware. For the steering wheel you in the toilet room.
can use either a drum steerer or one of the auto steerers The specifications mention the principal fittings, all of
if you prefer to haVe a horizontal wheel; in either case which can be purchased from any reliable dealer in boat
you will need a tiller rope about ^
inch diameter, and hardware.
this can be led either between the staving in the cock- The finishing of the boat is quite important, the top
pit and the frames or else under the beams of the cock- sides and under body should be planed smooth and fair,
pit deck. Wherever this wire rope, if you use wire, makes then sandpapered and primed. Before the second coat is
a sharp turn, it should run over a wheel with a diameter applied the first coat should be well rubbed down with
of not less than 2j^ fine sandpaper, and the same treatment to be applied every
inches.
The interior can now be finished, and as I have shown time before you apply a coat of paint. The under body
two cabin plans, you can please yourself which you use, should be treated in a similar manner, only in this case
or perhaps you may have an idea of a cabin arrangement you should apply either copper or some anti-fouling paint.
which would meet your requirements much better. Un- The designed ivater line,- Or the line shown on the plans
der any circumstances it is not worth while my explain- as the L. W. L. is supposed to represent the line of the
ing how to set up staving, bulkheads, seats, etc., for if water when the boat is afloat, and it is a good plan to
you have finished your boat up to this point you will mark a waterline on a boat of this size i^ to 2 inches
find that such work as this is of no trouble whatever. If above this line and paint up to this point with the same
you require any great amount of panel work, it would be paint you use for the bottom, as it keeps the sides clean
cheaper to have this made where they have machinery, and adds to the appearance of the boat. This line should
but I have purposely made the interior plain, thereby be marked on while the boat is in the stocks and scribed
making it easier to construct. in with an awl, as it makes it easier to cut to such a line
A word about the engine: if you intend to install it, when painting.
take just as much care in making up the joints on the All the bright work, such as rubstreaks, cockpit staving,
piping, etc., as you would in making the joints in the hull, companionway, etc., should be treated. to one coat of
for it is of the utmost importance, and no matter how filler, rubbed down and then have three coats of spar

long it takes, if done properlv, you will feel well repaid composition applied, each coat being rubbed down before
for your trouble. Use a seamless, drawn bronze or copper the next is laid on. The canvas should receive one coat
pipe for the gasolene supply, as this material does not de- of canvas filler and two coats of deck paint. The in-
teriorate like brass pipe or crystallize like block tin pipe. terior bright work should have one coat of filler and
The proper methods of installing engines have been two coats of a first-class interior varnish.
thoroughly explained in Motor Boat before in detail, When you have completed the boat she can be removed
therefore it would be useless for me to go into the mat- from the stocks and launched, and there is no need for
ter. The gasoFene tanks figured for this boat are cyl- any explanation how to proceed to launch this craft.
indrical in form, lo inches diameter and 48 inches in Without doubt there are many minor things I have not
length. They are to be situated under the cockpit deck, mentioned that will have to be done, but I have gone into
well out on either side of the engine. A small water the matter in such a manner as I believe will make it
tank can be fitted under the after end of the berths in plain to those who think of building a boat of this sort
the cabin if desired, and a pump could be set up at the and have some fair knowledge of the use of tools.

Specifications for Construction of a 25-foot Cabin Cruiser

BY FREDERIC S. NOCK, EAST GREENWICH, R. I.

Dimensions Horn Timber

Length, overall 25 feet o inches To be of white oak, sided 3 inches, shaped as per plans, to
Length, waterline 23 feet 4 inches be securely fastened through shaft-log and keel with 5-16-inch .
Breadth, extreme 7 feet o inches diameter bolts.
Breadth, at waterline 6 feet 5 inches Stern Post
Draught, to Rabbet l foot 4 inches To be of white oak, sided 3 inches, shaped as per plans, to
Draught, extreme 2 feet I V2 inches be carefully fitted and well fastened to the keel, etc.
Material and Workmanship Transom
In carrying out these specifications, there are to be used To be of oak, 1 14 -inch thick, to be connected fo the horn
only the best materials and workmanship. Proper care to be timber with an oak knee or hackmatack knee sided 2}^ inches
given to the details of construction, fastenings, etc. All wood and fastened with J^-inch diameter bolts. Cheek pieces of
shall be sound, clear and free from all defects, all pieces to oak I inch thick are to be securely fastened to the inside edge
be cut fair with the grain, and all knees, etc., to be natural of the transom to form a back rabbet and fasten the planking
crooks, all fastenings not otherwise specified to be of gal- to.

vanized iron. Frames

Keel To be of white oak, i^xi^ inches, spaced 9 inches center
To be of native white oak, sided 3 inches, moulded as per to center, frames wherever possible are to extend from gun-
plans and to be in One length, mill dressed to a uniform thick- wale to gunwale in oiie piece, and to be securely fastened to
ness and finished smooth. the keel, frames aft of forward end of shaft-log are to be
Stem mortised into a cheek piece of oak 1 inch thick which same
To be of white oak, sided 3 inches, moulded as per plans, is to be well fastened to the keel and shaft-log and the lower
to be connected to the keel with an oak knee sided 3 inches, edge cut to form a back rabbet for the garboard.
to be properly fitted- and fastened with ^-inch diameter bolts Floors
clinched over washers, heads to be countersunk and covered To be of white oak, ij^xi^ inches, to be securely fastened
with wood plugs. to the keel and through the sides of th{ frames, floors aft of
Shaft-Log forward end of shaft-log to be sawn -to shape, carefully
To be of white oak, sided^*3 inches, built up of two pieces, fastened to the keel and through the frames.
bored for shaft and to be securely fastened to the keel with Bilge Clamps
5-16-inch diameter bolts.
To be of yellow pine 154x4 '"ches amidship, tapered at

34
 ends to l]/2X3'/2 inches, length of taper 7 feet, to be securely to the grub beam, hatch frame to be of oak cut with a rabbet
fastened through frames. to fit the coaming, and covered with white pine x 2 inches,^
Deck Clamps seams calked as per deck or covered with canvas as desired,
To be of yellow pine i}4x4 inches, upper and lower edges if canvas covered there is to be an oak nosing around same
to be chamferred from forward end for a distance of 14 feet, to cover the fastenings.
to be securely fastened through frames and at each athwart- Cockpit Staving
ship frame to have one fastening through clamp, frame and To
be of oak or cypress, ^x2 inches, tongued and grooved,
strake, heads of fastenings to be sunk in strake and covered edges bevelled, to be well fasfened to the clamp and lower
with wood plugs. ends set into a rabbeted piece o'f oak as per plans and securely
Raised Deck Clamp fastened, forward end of cockpit seat and after end of house
To be of yellow pine 15^x3;^ inches, lower edge bevelled, to be staved up in the same, material, a filler piece of spruce
to be well fastened to the frames and at each alternate frame or some suitable material is to be worked to shape and fitted
to have one fastening through cjamp, frame and sheerstrake. between the upper ends of staving and strake and securely
PlankiNg fastened, and to this is to be fastened the upper ends of the
To be of yellow pine in long lengths, to finish J4-inch staving.
thick, where butts occur same to be reinforced with oak Cap
blocking and to be securely fastened, heads of fastenings to To
be of oak, i]4, inches thick, 5 inches in width, edges
be covered with wood plugs. All fastenings to be of gal- rounded, to be fitted over top of staving and upper strake and
vanized iron chisel point nails clinched on the inside of the to be well fastened, heads of fastenings to be covered with
fromes. Seams to be tight on the inside, and planed with a wood plugs.
suitable bevel for calking, seams to be calked with yacht cot- Cockpit Seat and Lazy Back
ton, payed with white lead and finished flush with white lead To be of mahogany %-inch thick, top of seat to be arranged
putty, exterior to be carefully planed smooth and fair, and to lift up, lazy back to be removable.
sandpapered before being painted, inside of plank to be coped Cabin Doors, Frame, Companionway, Hun and Slide
to fit the frames wherever necessary. To
be constructed as per plans of mahogany.
Keelson Forward Bitt and Towpost
To be of oak or yellow pine, as desired, 2x4 inches, to be To be of oak or locust 4x4 i,nches, to be 12 inches in length,
scarfed and fitted to knee at stem, and to be well fastened 6 inches above the deck, and the part that passes through
through floors and into keel. deck is to have a slot mortised through same and to be
Engine Bed wedged up K) the oak blocks with oak or locust wedges, there
To be of oak, constructed to meet the requirements of the are to be two rivets in each bitt below the opening for wedges.
engine. Fore and aft bearers to be sided 3 inches, carefully Rubstreaks
fitted over frames and securely fastened to same, athwartship To be of oak, 2 iiiches wide, and about ^-inch thick, shaped
bearers to be sided 254 inches, to be carefuUy fitted to the as per plans, to be well fastened to the plank and frames.
plank and securely fastened to the keel and fore and aft Blocks for Portlights
bearers. To be of cypress, 1Y2 inches thick, shaped to fit the inside
Deck Beams of the. planking and to be securely fastened to same, face to
To be of oak, sided i!4 inches, moulded i^ inches, spaced be cut with a rabbet J^-inch deep to receive the ceiling.
as per plans, to be cut with a crown oi lYz mches in five feet, Ceiling
ends to be mortised into deck clamp and well fastened. To be of cypress, fSx2 inches, tongued and grooved, edges
Raised Deck Beams bevelled, to be well fastened to the frames and to extend from
To be of oak, sided i54 inches, moulded ij4 inches, spaced the underside of the raised deck clamp to the top of transoms,
9 inches, crown of beams S inches in seven feet, and to be etc.
either sawn to shape or steam bent as desired. Ends of Cabin Floor Beams
beams to be cut into clamp and securely fastened to same and To be of oak, sided 1% inches, moulded i54 inches, spaced
heads of frames. 18 inches, ends to be well fastened to frames and supported .

Raised Deck Covering Boards in centerwhere necessary.

To be of oak, J^-inch thick, 3 inches in width, sprung to Cabin Floor Plank
shape and securely fastened to the beams, clamps and sheer- To be of yellow pine ^ of an inch thick, laid in strips 4
strake. inches wide, the three center strips are to be cleated and cut
Raised Deck Plank
up in short lengths to make suitable traps for access to the
To be of cypress %-inch thick, 3 inches wide, tongued and bilge, the balance of the plank to be well fastened to the
grooved and edges bevelled on the underside, to be well beams.
fastened to the beams, the top planed smooth and fair and Forward Bulkhead
covered with lo-ounce canvas properly stretched and bedded To ^x3 inches, tongued and grooved,
be of cvoress staving,
in white lead, edges to be fastened with copper tacks and
edges bevelled, door to be of the same material to be well
covered with i54-'nch half round oak moulding. cleated to prevent warping.
'
Deck Plank Center Bulkheads ^
To be of white pine ^X2 inches, to be well fastened to the To be of cypress staving, ^x3 inches, tongued and'grooved,
beams, heads of fastenings covered with wood plugs, seams edges bevelled.
I calked, payed with white lead and finished flush with white Transom Fronts
lead putty. To be staved up with JS^x3 inch cypress, mopboard 4 inches
Cockpit Deck Beams wide of cypress, and facing strip of either cypress or oak 3
To be of oak, sided xYi inches, moulded 1^4 inches, spaced inches wide.
18 inches center to center, ends of beams to be fastened to the Transom Tops
frames and supported on stanchions in center. To be of cypress 5^-inch thick, to be supported on beams,
Cockpit Deck Plank and suitable traps to be cut in same to admit of using space
To be of white pine ^x2 inches, to be well fastened to the under berths for storage.
beams, heads of fastenings covered with wood plugs, seams Galley, Etc.
calked with yacht cotton, payed with_ white lead and finished Sides of lockers, front of stove locker, ice-box, etc., to be
flush with white lead putty, or if desired, deck to be covered built up of ^x3 inch cypress staving, locker doors of same ma-
with lo-ounce canvas properly stretched and bedded in white terial, ice-box top, shelves, etc., to be of ^-inch cypress, ice-
lead. box to be sheathed with 54-inch spruce and lined with zinc,
Grub Beam stove space to be lined with zinc. An enameled iron sink
To be of oak, 2x6 inches, upper edge to be rabbeted to re- 12x16 inches is to let into the top of the ice-box and fitted
ceive the- %-inch staving at after end of house, ends to be with a lead discharge pipe to drain overboard. Lockers on
well fastened to the .frames. either side to hf fitted with shelves, etc., to meet the require-
Cockpit Hatch and Coaming ments of the owner.
Coaming' to be of oak 1V2 inches thick, cut with a rabbet Companionway Steps
on the upper edge for hatch as per plans, after end of coam- To be of oak or cypress, shaped as per plans and fitted with
ing to be securely fastened to the beam, forward end to be chocks for feet, also hooks and eyes for upper end, steps are
cut with a waterway as per plans and to be securely fastened to be removable to admit of starting engine.

35
 Fittings, Etc. inch stroke^ weight complete not to exceed 350 pounds. All
To comprise: — One small yacht closet properly set and accessories for eflgine, such as piping, fittings, gasolene tanks
plumbed, one 12x16 inch enameled iron sink properly plumbed, of 20 gallons' capacity each, shaft, propeller, stuffing-box,
one Khotal or Primus two burner galvanized iron frame, two wiring, coil, magneto, etc., to be furnished complete.
round frame open port lights 6 inches diameter for toilet
Painting, Finishing, Etc.
room, four 8-inch round frame fixed lights and two 7-inch
ditto for galley and cabin. All interior hardware, such as Entire interior of hull to receive one coat of priming paint
catches, hinges, bolts, etc., to be of brass or bronze. Brass before being ceiled, exterior of hull to be finished smooth,
or bronze stem band, bronze rudder, bronze shoe, brass rud- and carefully sandpapered and given one coat of priming
der port and stuffing-box, galvanized irorr quadrant, gal- paint and three coats of pure white lead paint to tiic Vvater-
vanized steel tiller rope, galvanized iron wheel leads for tiller line, underbody to receive two coats of copper or Anti-Foul-
rope, brass and wood steering wheel, one pair of polished ing paint. All exterior bright work to be treated to one coat
brass bow chocks, one pair polished brass quarter chocks, of filler and three coats of Spar Composition. House deck
brass padlock and hasp, etc. Scuppers in cockpit deck to be and all parts covered with <anvas are to be treated to one
of lead pipe Ij4-inch diameter. coat of canvas filler and two coats of U. S. Deck paint. In-
Motor, Etc. terior bright work to be treated to one coat of, filler and two
To be a double cylinder 2 stroke engine, 4 inch bore, 4j4 coats of Cabinoleum or LX.L. varnish.

36
 OUTBOARD PROFILE AND DECK PLAK

How to Build a Single Step Hydroplane

By George F. Crouch

racing results of the season of the past year have ried to a where light men were chosen for the
point
THE shown clearly
come to stay.
that the hydroplane type of boat has
—
Every important race referring, of
crew. doubt this was the correct thing to do with
No
the hulls used, but the latest models show that fairly
—
course, to the speed boat classes was won by some type of heavy construction and a medium weight racing motor
"hydro." Weather conditions had much less effect on can be used with almost equally good results as far
their speed than we had been led to expect and, taken
; as speed is concerned, and much better results when
as a whole, I believe that they were better performers in endurance and reliability are considered.
rough weather than the displacement boats of equal length The little boat, which subject of this article,
is the
type. The hull
and less speed. is of this lat-est medium weight is not

Riding in a good "hydro" is a joy which can be found extremely light but the construction is such that it is

in no other sport. The little boats are so "alive," they unusually stiff and rig'd. As may be noticed, the
cross
respond so quickly, turn in almost their own length and floors,' the keel and the two fore and aft stringers
form
flutter over the surface of the water in a delightful way. a
strong truss even without the planking and the fore and
A displacement boat seems dead' after one has become aft
edge stringers.
accustomed to the hydro. One misses the "pat-pat-pat" The hull is of the single step type, the step being formed
of the hydro as it glides over the ripples and one misses its by putting a metal plane on the hull after it has been
stiffness. The displacement racer seems to heel down on completely planked. It is not necessary to explain the
her beam ends as if she were never coming back while manifold advantages of an applied metal plane as any
the hydro keeps moving along on an even keel. one interested in hydroplanes knows them. With re-
The progress of the last gard to the hull construc-
year in hydroplane design tion it is not an easy
is a surprise to all who matter to show a boat
have closely followed the which will be easily built
course of development. At
GENERAL DIMENSIONS OF HYDROPLANE
and yet possess all the
Length, overall 19 feet 4 inches
first it was thought that rigidity and
Beam, extreme out- strength,
the hydroplane must be (at planksheer, that the boat
side Yi round) 4 lightness
niarveloHsly light and 8J4 turned out by the profes-
Beam, extreme (at chine) 4
every' effort was made to sional builder will show.
cut down weight; hulls Depth of"
hull (forward)
"
2
The general scheme which
(amidship) 2
were pared to the limit, " " I have used is that of
(aft) 2
rriotors of the lightest pos- having no bent or steamed
Draft of hull (at rest) 11.
sible types were chosen, Draft (at rest, with 18-inch wheel) 2 frames whatsoever. The
5
and in some cases this moulds, instead of being
weight reduction was car- made of rough material.

37
 are to be of selected spruce, nicely finished and put to-
gether as shown on the drawmgs of the molds or frames.
These molds stay m the hull and take the place of the
ordinary system of framin? so care must be used in
getting them out and m finishmg them. In fact, through-
out the whole construction anything put on the work
stays there in the completed hull. There are no molds to
rip out after the boat is planked, no ribbands to be used
m "fairing up" and then taken off again.
Although the construction is fairly simple, it is a much
more difficult boat to build than the Water-Bug, the plans
and building instructions of which were published in
Motor Boat for January 10 and 25, 1911, and I, there-
fore recommend that boat for those who have never had
any boat-building experience rather than for them to at-
tempt this new one The troubles which the beginner
would find in building to this new design are riot so much
—
in the hull itself although the planking of concave "veed"
—
bottom means work as in the motor and drive installa-
tion I have counted on using a gear drive to the pro-

peller shaft as this gives a good shaft angle and allows the

motor to be placed well aft. This motor position is of

utmost importance in a boat designed to carry a fairly
heavy motor. Since motors differ so widely in power,
size and weight, I cannot give definite measurements for
the driving gear and motor beds, so the builder must
use his ingenuity and experience in following out in
detail what I can only indicate in a general way
The motors which may be used in this hull range in
power from 40-hp. to 120-hp. I would not advise using
much less than 40-hp. and the weight of such a motor
should be not over 600 pounds. The speed to be ex-
pected with such an equipment is 28 to 30 miles an
hour, while with a 120-hp. motor weighing about 1,000
pounds the speed should be about 40 miles an hour. Any
motor between these two should give proportionate re-
sults. Of course you would not use a 40-hp motor weigh-
ing 1,000 pounds for the weight should be in proportion
to the power If a motor too heavy for the power is
used, the boat will not "get up" but will plough along
at canal boat speed The motors should be of fairly high
speed capable of turning somewhere between 900 and 1,500
r p.m., and the driving gear can be proportioned to suit

IV the motor chosen so that the propeller will turn 1,500 to

1,600 r.p.m.
I will not stop to tell you how to choose a place to
build the boat nor what tools you will need, as I assume
that you have some knowledge of boat building and know
that small boats are always built under cover, that a
hammer is used to drive nails, and so on.
The first step toward the actual construction of the
boat is to get out the^keel, stem, transom and the knees for
connecting them together. The plan of the keel and the
keel sections gives full information as to size and form
of the keel. If possible, the keel should be in one length
and the best material to use is white oak, although yellow
pine might be used as a substitute in case it is impossible
to secure oak. Between molds No. 3 and No. 7 the
keel has considerable bend in it, and it will be neces-

38
39
sary to take the stiffness out of it by steaming in a sides being 3 inches wide and % of an inch thick, the
bottom cross floors are 1 inch thick in way of the
long steam box or by pouring boiling water upon it until
the required bend can be given to it. If you cannot se- motor and gear drive, and are J4 of an inch at the
cure a piece of oak long enough to make the keel in one ends of the boat. The pieces should be cut to shape
piece, two pieces may be used and
the joint between and then riveted together as shown, using corner pieces
them stiffened by an oak butt strap about 2 feet long, of oak yi inch thick. The molds which have deck beams
thoroughly riveted to each part of the keel. may have these cut and fitted at the same time as tlie
The stern is a piece of white oak shaped as shown on other parts of the molds. The molds on which beams
the detail plan. The rabbet should be roughly cut to are not required must be held across the top by a tem-
form, as should that of the keel, leaving the finishing porary cross piece in order to keep them from spreading
touches to be given after the frames have been set up and or squeezing together. Do not cut any notches in the
the boat is ready for planking. The knee joining the molds for the fore and aft ribbands, that covers up^the
stem to the keel is sided 1^ inches, the same as the stem seams between the planks until after the frame is set
and may be made of hackmatack or even of straight up, but the notches to take the keel, the chine and the
grained oak, in which the oak should, of course, run clamp should be cut as shown on the. drawings. When set-
diagonally between the stem and the keel. Note the ling up the molds be careful, to get them spaced just
stopwater where the keel joins the stern. as shown on the plans, or else you will find that there
The transom should be made ready next. It is of ^- will be trouble in getting the proper bevel on the molds
inch mahogany or oak shaped as shown in the transom after the plank edge battens have been run in.
detail. It is too deep to be made in one piece, so the After the various parts have been prepared as de-
I am not going into
separate parts must be joined together and then stiffened scribed, they should be "set up."
by vertical pieces of oak as shown. Do not cut the any great detail with regard to "setting up" the molds
round at the top of the transom down to the line, but as the drawings show clearly the relation of the parts
leave that until the deck is on. to each other. The boat may be built upside down or
In getting out the molds or frames, which is the next right side up equally well. Some builders' will prefer
operation, you will find it a good plan to make full sized the first method and others the second. Whichever you
drawings of these molds on heavy paper or on a clean use, be sure that all parts are securely fastened and that
board before you start in. These full sized drawings the molds are all parallel and square across the center
will allow you to compare the shape of the pieces you line. If you set the molds in an inverted position, which
are making with the required shape and to check the is probably the easier method for the amateur, the keel

completed mold after you have riveted it together. This should be kneed to the transom as shown, and fit into
drawing should be made for both sides of the mold the notches cut in the molds to receive it, and should
from the dimensions given on the mold or frame de- then be bolted to the knee at the stern. Make sure that
tails. These dimensions on this drawing are given to the bend in the keel does not force any of the molds
the inside of the plaftking. out of position. The chine piece of 1 inch by 1 inch
The molds themselves are of spruce, the pieces up the yellow pine or spruce should then be run fore and aft

Oy^/^j^^r 7yf^z.£- 1
 WL ze'i//>

WL Z0 1//O

W.l. /tU/o-

.//'
«"

rz-ayrs-a/rf //au/y A^^. /

/^^aU /^. ^ Af^uU M> S

DETAIL OF HOLDS

41
 -i'-i>f>
-M.c. ze Ufi

v-V/A WL iO' 1//B

-W.L /Z" 1/^

I
's ^ "^

DETAIL OF MOLDS

the fore erd of the keel. These pieces should be fastened

to the sides of the keel by long rivets or by long brass
screws. At the transom the chine is fastened by knees
similar to ttiose used to secure the clamp
-w. L. za" I//0 The edges of the molds have been cut off square
to the side of the molds, and if you take a long batten
and bend it along the molds at the sides or the bottom,
you will find that the batten touches only one edge of
the mold and that the 'molds must be trimmed at an
-W.I.. Z'O" Up
angle or level before a long batten will bear evenly
on all the molds anywhere on the surface/ which is
to be planked. This iDeveling is the next operation and
is done most easily by using a spoke shave cutting down to
-Wi. / 2" U/> the proper angle by trial with a batten or long thin
straight piece of wood. One of the pieces of spruce J4
inch by 1 inch, which you will use later to run under the
edges of the planks, will do very nicely for this work.
After the molds have been beveled this batten should
bend smoothly anywhere over the molds and should
touch the full width of the mold edge.
It will be noticed that where the chine is run in
/Y^>it/yM. s the notches that the bottom of the chine does not ex-
actly carry out the line of the mold on the two for-
ward frames, but should do so on the other molds. The
in the notches at the corners of the molds and should bottom of the chine should be planed to carry out the
be connected to the tfansom by knees and to each side form given by the molds, and, of course, the outside
of the keel at the fore end by oak blocks as shown in of the chine should be flush with the sides of the molds.
the sketch. The clamp is next run in by the same method, The material for the battens, which are run fore and
the size and material being the same as for the chine. aft to cover the seams of the planking should next be
If the notches for the clamp, the chine and the keel prepared. For this you will need 16 pieces, each 20 feet
have been cut square to the edges of the molds you long, of clear, straight-grained spruce 1 inch wide and
will notice that the clamp, chine and keel will not fit Yi, inch thick. As may be seen on the midship section,
evenly into these notches but will bear on one edge of the bottom planking consists of five planks on each side
the molds as shown in the sketch particularly on the
;
of the keel and the side planking of five planks above
molds in the fore part of the boat. The notches must the chine. On the bottom, therefore, four of these bat-
be trimmed down to the line shown in the sketcJi so tens are required on each side of the keel and these
that the clamp, chine and keel bear evenly on the molds should be spaced so that they divide the bottom at
and are then fastened in place by long brass screws or frame No. 4 into 5 equal parts. I believe you will find
it a simpler job to run these bottom battens about
by long copper rivets if you so desire. The screws for parallel
fastening the chine and clamp should be about 2 inches to the center line of the keel, as shown in the sketch. The
long and those for the keel about 4 inches. The clamps batterns should be held in the desired position by wire
on each side of the boat should be connected to each nails through them into the molds, and after marks have
other and to the stern by a "breast hook," and should been made where the edges of the battens cross the
be kneed to the transom. The fore end of the chine is molds they should be taken off and notches cut to
connected to the keel at the fore end by a triangular receive the battens. Care should be taken to"' have the
inside edges of the battens bear snugly against the bot-
piece of oak which is shown in detail on the drawing of

42
 SKETCH SHOWING HOW BATTENS TO TAKE EDGES OF FLANH ABE ETTN ALONG BOTTOM OF BOAT

torn of the notches, and to have the battens fair and

smooth for the whole length.
Where the bottom battens meet the chine they should
be fastened to it by a couple of screws or rivets, as
shown in the detail sketch. At the stern these battens
are let into the frame which is fastened to the fore
side of the transom and fastened to it by a screw through
the end of the batten.
The battens for the sides should be run in and notched
into the molds in exactly the same fashion ;they should
be spaced to divide the side into five planks of about
equal width, and should be fair and smooth throughout
their length and should be flush with the molds, con-
nect the pairs on the opposite sides of the boat where
they come together at the stern by a breast hook and let
them into the frame on the transom just as you did the
bottom battens.
These battens, both along the bottom and the sides,
should be fastened to the molds by 2-inch brass screws
with the heads well countersunk into the battens.
When this is finished you will have a good idea of the
form of the boat and will doubtless find it different from
anything you have seen before. She is flat forward and
flat aft with a fairly sharp section right amidships. The
flat sections at the ends are so designed to give her a

big lifting power. When running at full speed she really

breaks the water with the sharp V-ed section of her
forward plane, and this sharp section will make her
easier and faster in rough water than she would be with
a flat plane.
After trimming up the rabbet in the keel and stern,
which may be done by laying a J|-inch thick strip along
the battens and fitting it into the rabbet on the keel
and stern, the boat is ready for planking. The material
of the planking as called for on the midship section, is
^ inch mahogany, but clear white cedar or white pine
could be used equally well. Mahogany is more ex-
pensive but it is also much stronger and will take a bet-
ter finish than the other woods. It is also somewhat
heavier but the difference in weight is much more ap-
parent when the wood is dry than it is after the boat has
been in the water for some time.
Start planking the bottom first and fit the garboards
into the rabbet in the keel and have the other edge come
on the center of the first batten. In order to do this
you will have to take a spiling, using a thin board clamped
or lightly nailed in place and marking off the points
on it after the fashion which has been explained again
and again in Motor Boat. Owing to the curvature of the
hollow V-ed sections you will doubtless find it necessary
to make the garboard and the next plank somewhat
thicker and then work this hollow into the planks with a
plane. The planks should be fastened to the keels and
to the battens with copper nails riveted over burrs and
fastened to the mold and stern by screws. Set the heads of
the rivets and screws flush with the outside of the plank
as the plank is too light to allow any
countersinking and
plugging without weakening the fastening unduly.
The fore end of the garboard should be carried on out
a little beyond the outside of the chine, and at the after
DETAILS OF KEEL, STEM, CHINE AND KNEES,
end the garboard should butt against the flat of the tran-
SHOWING THEIH CONNECTION AT BOW
som. The same is true of all' the other bottom planks.
After the garboard has been fitted, and fastened in place,
the next plank should be cut to the proper shape, and so
on, each plank being cut from a spiling taken similarly to

43
 ' ""'^ ^^^ ^^^
?ulfdfeT;e^??h?IiS°afthf /""
up against the
^°'^
flat ai2 \
T'
^"''' ^"'^ ^'^o^ld butt

"^"^ ° P^'"^
D ank h J 1. 'h'^kly that part of the
'^' edge batten with wh^e
S'^or a Je^v thi„?.Tr'

SraiTtt^ hf f^^^^ be^iUrbout tt^

"^'' " '^'°" ^^^'^'' "'^^
the'^^t^K/'the'jiatLT^
^""1 the
oui^fje'edee ofiCrSf J'''rf°'^-P'l'^'y P^^""^^-^'
'^"^^ and fair with the
ou s de line n/ttt
^^ ''^'"^'
Pv"*" ""^'l'' '?
3^ the side
tVnHJrJ : planks are to be ex-

Section iV-s 8
'"
irlmsmJl^t^l P"l°"' ?«ingthe planks to shape

stated IhnviTi, 7?"- ^^'"^^-"^ 1^°"°™ plank, as

^edionN^dl s^?af ?h:- boTiXri^ei^l tc%td ^L^ie^^^ f/
"IfrihThl.T'^ ^^
the'cEi^e^dgeTatteS a^n'd da^p!
has been planked, smooth up the endre
=n^!
surface,
'h^h"'
first
going over all rivet heads with a file to 7et
them flush wuh
the wood,
using emery cloth to brS
^° a°smooth'sur'
facT'^Thls 'smooth'"' "°°^ '"/"^^^'
as much of T"^.
"P
'S°^
^^^ """°^t
importance,
is*^ due
sunace
surface friction.
fraction T/''^"'^" °K? hydroplane
After smoothing
to
up, mve the hull j.
good coat of wood filler, allow if to
Section N^? sandpaper again
of varmsh or bottom
dvTard and then
Then give the bottom a
thorough
paint, whichever you desfre
would be wise to use at least I
S
two, or better three coas
of varnish or of bottom
paint, but since this prelfminarv
coat IS given '

merely to allow us to put on the brass

plane and since the parts of the hull that
are not cov
ered by the plane can be
finished and painted "a ter It
woud be a ted:ous and perhaps
for the drying of these unnecessary delay to wa
successive coats
You are now ready to put on the brass
made of hard sheet brass, about plane. This is
one-sixteen h of an
inch thick The total length of the
plane is 4 feet 5
'^^ P'^"^ 's ^hown on the
Ztl- ^^^
board profile, P""*''^" °\
extending from the fore side of frame No
in
'

6 to the after side of frame

No. 4. The appearance of the
step formed by the plane is shown in'^a
sketch As
-1* may be seen, oak wedges, 2 inches deep at the step are
spaced about 5/. inches apart.
Section N^6 The bottoms of^these
wedges are straight Imes, and taper out to
the fore side of frame No. 6. nothing at
The wede-e at the k^^i T=
Section N^ I made the full width of the bottom of
not be possible to get one sheet of the'^Lel, for itti
brass of the width re-
quired. The two pieces of which the
plane must be com-
posed come together down the middle line of this
middle
wedge and must be very thoroughly secured to this wedge
with brass screws, spaced not over an
inch apart The
wedges are fastened to the floors of frames Nos 4 and 5
by long brass screws, put in from the
outside, and be-
tween the frame screws are
put down from the inside of
the plank into the
wedges. After the wedges are all on
fair up the surface defined
by the wedges by bending a
thin strip of wood over
them, and noting whether it
Section N^S lies smoothly over all the strips. Plane up the bottoms
of the wedges until
you can do this. The brass plates are
next secured in pace. At the fore
Secfion N^O edge they are screwed
through the plank into the floor on frame No. 6 using
KEEL SEOTIOirS lyi-mch brass screws spaced as shown in the sketch

44
 You are now ready to tuin the hull over and put on
the deck. The beams are shown on the molds, which
a circle having a certain
give the curvature as part of
radius. These circular arcs can be easily drawn in by
a wire nail into one
taking a long strip of wood, driving
end of it, measuring off the required radius from this
nail, and drilling a small
hole through which you may
put the point of a pencil,
then use this just as you would
Ult^'fleff- a compass to draw the arc. The top of the clamp and
the top of the upper side plank should be cut to carry
out the curve shown by the beams. The general scheme
of deck construction is exactly that of the planking,
but
the material is somewhat lighter, and is of the size shown
on the midship section.
The length of cockpit shown will do very nicely for a
40 or 50-h.p. motor, but, of course, if you intend to install
a large motor, you will have to carry the cockpit one
frame farther forward. This is something that you can
readily determine for yourself,
and depends on the motor
chosen. Put in the spruce stringer to which the cockpit
coaming is to be fastened, making it 1 inch by Wi inches,
and running it in the notches inside of the upright parts
of the frames. Run this stringer only between the beams
at fore and after ends of the cockpit. Screw this stringer
to each mold, and between each mold and the consecutive
one put in two short blocks, filling the space between the
clamp and this stringer. Then using
a long one-eighth-
inch rivet, make a thorough fastening at these points be-
tween the stringer and the clamp. At the fore end of the
cockpit, pine cornerpieces
about 2 inches thick
should be cut out, to take the curve of the
(kM-Kf^ cockpit. If you are experienced, you could of
MIDSHIP SECTION ^' ' 'f
•
course change the fore end of the cockpit to the
more fashionable flared V type of coaming.
Do not let the fore edge of the plane into the plank, Fair up the upper edge of the cockpit stringer to
as this would cause weakness at this point. Simply file the lines indicated by the beam in the clamp, and then
it down at a bevel; it will make very little resistance, arrange edge battens of spruce 1 inch wide and
half an
run
as at extreme high speeds the boat will practically inch thick, to eo under the edges of the deck plank, as
on the plane itself and not on the forward part of the shown on am-.dship section. This deck is shown in fairl>
planking. The planes must be fastened to each of the wide pieces, only one-fourth of an inch thick, and shoulc
wedges by brass screws, spaced about three inches apart be easily applied if the battens are spaced about as showr
All screwheads should, of
along the line of the wedge. have on the amidship sections, and are run fore and aft, practi
course be flush. Particular care must be taken to cally parallel to the center line of. the boat.
Notches foi
the fastening at the forward edge of the plane very
carefully done, for if it
were possible for the wat-er to
force its way under this plane, it would soon rip
it off.

The after part of the plane at the step is left entirely

open. When at rest,
water may flow into the -space be-
of
tween the outside of the planking and the upper side
it will
the plane, but as soon as the boat is under way,
drain out. If you wish to make a very fancy job,
set

the screw heads a little bit below the level of the brass,

and then put a drop of solder over the heads. Next

file

this solder down flush, but there is no great

need of doing
this, if the slots in the screw heads are all placed in a
a great hin-
fore and aft line, and the solder would be
at
drance should you wish to remove the plane to get
the hull underneath. The plane should be finished by
either a fine emery cloth or
being polished by emery,
emery flour.

n
n

HALF SECTION, FOBWARD

FACE OF TEANSOM

SECTION AT AFT END OF STEP LOOKING

FOEWAHD

45
 z. *
T^
%t$r':^ "

y^ ^/r^SS SKETCH SHOWING

HOW NOTCHES
IN MOLDS ARE SKETCH SHOWING CONNECTION OF
FASIENINe AT FOBE EDGE OF TRIMMED TO - SEAM BATTEN TO CHINE OR
PLANE TAKE C«INE AND
CLAMP CLAMP

the battens should be cut after the method uSed for the to the floors by long rivets running clear through the
edge battens of the plank. The deck plank should be stringers and through the floors. The heavier bed
fastened with screws and rivets similar to the method used stringers are notched over the floors and are also riveted
on the planking. Carry the planking to the outside of the to them, but extend only the length required by tTie motor
side plank. Then trim it off smoothly and fairly with the and reverse gear.
side, covering the joipt with a 1-inch haff round of The transmission gear to drive the propeller shaft is a
mahogany. A
deck built after this fashion is light, thing concerning which it is almost impossible*- to give
strong and tight, but is not- as handsome as the canvas definite detailed dimensions, unless the motor is kno\yn,
deck, or the deck laid in narrew pieces'. its power known, in order to estimate the stresses which
The coaming is of oak or mahogany, J^ of an inch the gear must withstand. The gear should be made by
th'ck. If prine or cedar is used for p'lank -and deck, oak an experienced machinist of the very highest class, one '

might be used for the coaming, but it w6uld, of course, accustomed to high grade automobile construction will
be impossible to use oak on a mahogany planked boat. know about what is required, as this transmission is
The coaming should be 434 inches above the deck at the similar in general principle and in thg degree of skill
fore end, 3J^ inches at the aft 'end. The detail of- fitting required in its manufacture to that used on cars. The
the coaming is extremely simple, and space prohibits case should be of aluminum, about one-fourth of an
going into it in this article. inch thick, for a 50-hp. motor and about 5/16 of an inch
Slatted floors, about y% of an inch thick, are shown on thick for a 100-hp. motor. Lugs should be cast at the
the plan. It is advisable to make these floors so that sides to carry the gear on a foundation built to receive it.
they may be removed in sections, as in this way you will This foundation, although it need not be extremely long,
be able to get at the bottom of the boat without ripping should be very substantial, is all the thrust of the pro-
up the floor. The steering wheel of the simple drum peller comes upon it, and besides that it is under con-
type is shown placed on a thwart, an arrangement which siderable twist, due to the propeller and motor torque.
gave unusually good satisfaction in Water Bug and is The casing should have both, the front and back all in
reproduced here. If the motor is exceptionally long, it one casting, as a much more accurate machine job can
niay perhaps be necessary to dispense with this thwart be obtained, than when one of the faces is made as a
and use a vertical post with a horizontal steering wheel cover plate and bolted up against the rest of the casting.
In getting in the shaft line, fhe approximate position If made as Suggested, a cover plate at the top serves to
of the shaft hole is readily seen from the drawing. Bore introduce the gears, through which the shafts are slipped
a comparatively small hole at about the position shown, afterward. The drawing- shows clearly the type of trans-
putting on a small btock on the keel to start the hole mission gear, advised. It is, of course, of the ball-bearing
through the shaft at the bevel. Then from a point at the type, using annular ball-bearings of liberal size. The
proper distance below the transom, as indicated on the propeller shaft is fitted with a ball-thrust bearing for
drawing, pass a wire through this hole to the point both reverse and ahead motion. In the, gear shown, tjie
shown on the mold as indicated, stretching the wire very upper gear on the motor shaft has 37 t-eeth of six pitch ;

tight. Then cut out around this hole, until it is large the lower gear has 36 teeth of 6 pitch. This geat is suit-
enough to clear the propeller shaft that you intend to able for about a 60-hp. motor. The gears have IJ^-inch
use. The shaft line shown on the plans will take an face, and the sbaCts are about 13/16 inches in diameter.
18-inch or 19-inch propeller. If you intend to use only The gears are held on the shafts by parallel feather
a 16-inch propeller, it is advisable to decrease the shaft keys. The casing is of aluminum, Yn, of an inch thick.
line from the bottom of the boat at the transom by about It should be nOted that a filling plug for oil is placed at
an inch. Use your common sense in making these allow- the top of the casing, a drain plug at the bottom, and an
ances, as it is impossible to design a hydroplane to carry oil levelplug at the side. For the larger powers it would
any old size of motor, and have everything work out be advisable to use gears of 5 pitch instead of 6 pitch, and
to certain fixed dimensions. The motor bed is formed always make the number of teeth on the two gears so
by fore and aft spruce stringers, set on the floor inside that they are numbers that are prime to each other. If
of two 3-inch by li^-Jnch spruce stringers; the lighter you do this, then every tooth on one gear will eventually
stringers run the full length of the boat, and are fastened come into every space, in turn, on the other gear, so
that wear will be evenly distributed. The gears wear
. ^ce^e/Zcj-Ji^iA 32. :T/rot//a/er in and run more quietly after having been in use for a
time, than they do when new. If the gears have a num-
ber of teeth, such that they are divisible by the same
factor, for instance, 48 teeth on one and 32 teeth on
the other, both being divisible by 16, this distribution of
wear' is not accomplished the gears wear unevenly, and
'ar/ber rvr?
/?. ;
ya/ber
become noisy. The gear material, the- shafts and in fact
o,^ -^'/^/Z'. every part of this transmission must be of the very highest
/=i.^^//e/ ATev^ quality. Special alloy steel should be used for the gear
blanks, and after being accurately cut, they should be
b^^-^^^ l it ] hardened. In designing the case for the gears, be sure
.

METHOD OF SECURING PROPELLER TO SHAFT to leave ample clearance all around the gears, in order

46
to prevent your transmission from actiiig as a gear in under the deck. Sketches sho;y how the propeller
pump. wheel may be applied to the shaft, either using a straight
A is shown between the motor and the
universal joint bore through the propeller, with a small shoulder at the
This should be of ample size and is quite safe fore end of the hub, and securing the wheel by a key
gear.
in this position, as it takes no thrust and is .run at a and taper pin, or by using a tapered bore and nuts at the
comparatively small angle. Of course it could be elimi- fore and aft ends of the propeller hub. The straight
nated, provided bevel gears at the proper angle were shaft and taper pin is much simpler, but it is much
used in the transmission instead of spur gears, but bevel more difficult to remove a propeller than when the tapered
gears are mucTi more expensive, are much more difficult bore and nuts are used. The water intake should be
to fit properly, and are apt to run noisily. Then, in ad- carried near the garboard", a little forward of the step,
dition, the universal joint provides for a certain amount going down through the brass plane. An alternative
of flexibility between the motor and transmission, which arrangement would be to have the water intake project
is very useful in hydroplane construction. just a little below the plane coming down throtigh the
The strut and rudder present no unusual features, ex- hull, just aft of the step.
cept that the rudder
is hung at the bottom of the strut For those who desireto work out their own construc-
and at the top of the transom. The sizes are indicated tion, using perhaps a lighter, simpler scheme, the line
it the joints. The strut is bolted through the back of drawing and offset table are given. If a big, heavy motor
the transom, one bolt at the back of the large palm going is to be used, the arrangement will work out better if the

through the knee between the transom and keel. The motor is placed aft and the crew forward of the motor,
bottom of the palm is wide, and has two bolts, the centers an arrangement which possesses many advantages; but
of which are about six inches apart, and go through the in working out such an arrangement, it is necessary to
transom into an oak chock about 10 iiiches long and 2 know the definite motor weight, and should -any of the
in.ches deep by 2^4 inches in a fore and aft direction. readers desire to use this arrangement, I shall be glad
These bolts should be about ^of an. inch in diameter, to advise them where the center of the motor weight
and should be of bronze. The nuts should be at the out- should be placed if they will furnish the necessary data
side, so that the strut may be removed, without crawling regarding the motor sizes and actual motor weight.

/y/7/r<r c/rs£- or /ri'^'^/yvv^

.fthi,. gTa - -r^^- -^- - -^TJP

J<-r^*« ^4^ifUfA yf-^y^^-^

TRANSMISSION OEAB AMB CASINO FOS 6U-HP.H0T0B AT 1500 S.P.H.

47
 How To Build "Sunfish
99

By C. G. Davis

have told how to build short, big-bodied motor-

WE boats where all styJe has been eliminated in order
to give the biggest, roomiest boats for their size
with no regard particularly for any set style, but now
boat's keel must be 28 feet long and good for every inch,
not a 28-foot pjece with a foot of the end bad.
For the stem you want either an oak or a hackmatack
knee, square or a trifle out square in its crook, 3 inches
in SunAsh we are going to give instructions for building thick, without any skewgee or twist to it, with one arm
a good-looking day craiser. By day cruiser we mean a 5 feet long, the other 3 feet, and thick enough in the
boat that has deck room enough to enable one to move throat to allow your stem being cut from it. It is safer
about, a big cockpit, a cabin top at a convenient height to wait until you have drawn out the shape of your stem
to sit upon and enjoy the breeze, and yet with cabin space and made a J^-inch wooden pattern of it. By trying this
enough for two or even three to sleep if they want to go pattern on the knee as you are selecting it, you can see
cruising. But she is not like a raised deck cruiser a — if it is
large enough or not.
house inside Thereone thmg particularly needed m building any
is
With such a boat as Sunfish one can run up to a float boat and thatis a clear head. Stop and think out your
ahd she is not so high-sided that you will need a side work and don't believe the time spent in planning and
ladder to get ashore; you can easily jump or step from laying out the work carefully is lost. It's all simple
Sunfish onto an ordinary float. Such a boat does not enough if you don't and get all con-
try to go too fast
chase all over the creek at her moorings, but will ride fused. In laying out the stem, as an example, the outline
head-on at anchor, and though some may call her a bit of it is simple enough, but to tell how to bevel it ofif looks
old-fashioned, if she suits the purpose better than a raised puzzling to the novice at first. Look at the plan showing
decked boat why not have her so. Both bow and stern the waterline's shape. As each waterline ends forward
lines can be handled easily en such a boat. at the stem it comes in at a different angle. If you have
—
Her model is just a clean, easy lined hull nothmg ex- laid the boat's lines down full size on the floor vou can,
traordinary, no startling features to attract attention, but with a bevel square, set that instrument or tool to that
a good sensible hull, plain and useful, yet of rather grace- bevel and cut the stem until it fits. Each waterline from
ful proportions. On a length of 32 feet overall she is the deck down gets sharper and sharper. By spacing off
29 feet 10 inches long on the waterline, 8 feet beam, these waterlines on your wood you can cut at each until
dnd draws 2 feet i inch of water. She has about 2 feet you have it beveled to just what the lines call for. Don't
freeboard at the lowest point, about the middle of her bring the edge of the stem to a feather edge, but have it
cockpit; 2 feet 7 inches at the center of her stern, and about ^ of an inch wide to take a metal stem band.
with the spray boards on her forward deck is 4 feet 3 The rabbet for the ends of the planking can be cut the
inches above the water at the stem. She will float a total same way by the use of the bevel or by taking a little
weight of 5,400 pounds at the waterline as drawn, her piece of yi-'mch pine board about a foot long and 3 inches
center of buoyancy there being just 6 inches aft of mold wide and cutting a notch so half of one edge is inch ^
No. 5, or i6 feet 6 inches from the edge of the stem. She wider than the other half. This J^-inch projection rep-
will swing a 20-inch propeller, and with a 10 to 15-hp. resents the thickness of the planking. Chisel out the rab-
motor she will make a good 8 or 9 miles an hour. She bet until this template fits on the face of the stern and
will prove an easy boat to steer on a straight course, and the notched part fits snug in the rabbet. Another way is
yet will be prompt to answer her helm in turning. to wait until the molds are all set up and then bend a
Nobody builds a boat nowadays as they used to. Lum- batten around them and cut the rabbet so the end of -this
ber can now be ordered at the lumber yard or saw mill batten fits true in the rabbet. The only objection to this
in the sizes desired, and you don't have to hew and chop is that it is more difficult to work in that position, standing
them out by hand, so the tools needed are mostly just a upright, than it is wh«-e you can lay the stem flat on a
carpenter's outfft. I dofi't mean by that just a hammer floor or over a pair on wooden horses and sit on it and
and a saw, but such a kit as every carpenter is supposed chisel cut the rabbet.
to have. Such tools as the oldtime broad "axe and whip The after deadwood can be made either in one piece or
saw are not required. built up of smaller ones. _ If cut from one piece, which is
You can order a stick for the keel and get it already more desirable, it takes a piece of 4-inch wood 18 inches
— —
dressed as they term planed lumber to the size desired, wide and 6 feet 8 inches long. If built up of several pieces
but let me warn you right now, if you do order it dressed the upper part can be made from a 4 foot piece of 4-inch
be sure to mark it down in big letters that you want the by 6-inch oak, and the shaft log from a 2-foot piece of
keel to be 3 inches by 4 inches after it is dressed. Other- 4-inch by 6-inch oak, and the deadwood below it from a
wise you will get a stick that was 3 by 4 in the rough, and 4-foot piece of 4-inch by 6-inch oak. The three must be
it will be 2% by 3^ when you get it. The stick for this jointed to a perfect seam where they meet and bolted to-

49
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50
gether with rods of j4-inch diameter galvanized iron or pieces with the shaft hole gouged half out of each. That
is the way they are often built where there is a long
copper. You can buy this rod iron in 12 to 14-foot lengths
and also the clinch rings that go over the ends where you deadwood to go through- and in attempting to bore which
rivet them up, hut be sure to get wrought-iron clinch the auger will often run off to one side or the other. Here
rings and not the brittle cast-iron ones.
the hole is only 22 inches long in the wood, a very .easy
In some localities it may be difficult to obtain a knee job to bore.
large enough to cut th6 stem from it. If so, it can be As you work out each piece, scratch center marks and
built up in two pieces justas the after deadwood, using a be sure that you set these marks all, true when, after
straight piece of oak 5 feet long, a foot wide and 3 inches painting the two faces that come together, you rivet the
thick for the stem proper and back of it a small knee stem and deadwood to the keel. Countersink the bolt-
,

about 2 feet long oil its arms, as showii in the acCbnipany- heads on the underside of the keel far enough to get a
ing sketches. wooden plug dipped in white lead over them and so leave
'
It is tobe supposed that a man who undertakes to build a flush, smooth job on the outside.
Sunfish has had some experience in the use of wood-work- With the keel, stem and deadwood all together we have
ing tools, and that he will know enough to be able to the backbone of the boat ready to set up and as the fair-
bore a bolt hole without choking his auger and in joint- ness of the boat depends on her being held rigidly to the
ing up the deadwoods will square up the edges always desired shape while in the course of construction, be care-
from the face side so that when the various pieces come to ful to get the shores, or short posts of wood that are
be bolted together they will set true and level one on top to hold her keel, true to the measurements given above
of the other and not be canted or staggered out of the —
the floor and don't trust to the floor's being true stretch
;.

vertical. Such A, B, C principles a man is presumed to a chalk line very tight and measure up again to see that
know when he tackles the building of this boat. The all is right before you set the keel up on them.

short sternpost is fitted dovetail to the after end of the Set all the shores to a chalk line snapped down -on the
shaft log so that the lag screws that are to hold the stern board floor if you are building her in a shed; if out in
bearing will have crossgrained wood to hold to instead the weather, first where each shore is to come shovel
of end grain. away the loose top soil and sink a "deadman" just as a
The bore of the shaft hole is so short that there should railroad tie is begged in the ground, tamp it down solid
be no difficulty experienced in getting it through a solid and then set your shores up on these. It is a great handi-
log and so do away with the seam along the line of the cap to have to build out of doors. In a shed or shop you
shaft that would be there if the log were made up of two can run the braces to hold the head of the' stem plumb

7^d/e of Off^efs
for /-ke /<3y/np doci^n of ^he /frpes of
"S€/A/FfS^"
1^

.1
 ^ktii A'CS

^h& Anee if stem t L ifie

/s made,
from a
9traii)ht stick

3'-o- jJ^efch j/iouis c/eaa^oi/ood/ a// cu/' oott

Uppey of
one piece o^ oak Lowsr 5kstc/i jhows
hoou // may loe bo<i/t up o/' jei/era I
stmat/er pieces £Jo/tea/ fac^ether

This particular job is one of the hardest in thfe whole

construction of Sunfish. Anyone who can figure out this
transom and make a neat job need have no fear of any
Other part of the worlt. Apply the bevels as you take the ends and once in a while the ends can be left out by
them, is the keynote. using a shorter batten amidships.
The curve to the transom should be bent in it first. Where there is a short curve in the frames, put the
Steam the boards well in a steam box and then clamp battens closely together, and where they are flatter spread
them over a mold built for that purpose with about an the battens. Use square-headed coach or lag screws, turn-
inch more curve than you want; it will always straighten ing them in with a monkey wrench after first drilling a
back a little, so put more curve in than you need. hole so they will not split the wood and put a flat-iron
Another way to build this transom is to bend about a washer under the head of each one so that you can pull
Yn or %-inch transom and level the edges so that the the ribbands up wood to wood without having the bolt-
plank ends go right past, flat-footed on its edges, then trim head bury itself in the ribband.
off these projecting plank ends to receive a J/2-inch oak She will begin to look very much like a boat when you
or mahogany facing-piece and bend and fit in this tran- get her this far along, and by standing off a way you
som, fastening it with screws, plugged, to the inner rough can see just what her shape is going to look like. If, in
transom. Be careful to set the transom up perfectly level putting on the ribbands, the molds do not seem to be fair,
when you bolt or rivet it to the knee that holds it to the don't go and cut one mold to let the ribband in so it will
deadwood. touch the next, until you have carefully looked along the
When this is shored securely, and it is usually held by batten and tried your measurements. It may be all that
two stout timbers spread out like a pair of legs to the is needed is to plane down the ribband a little, reduce it

floor to hold it up and forward at the same time, you are in size, or taper one end, and it may then bend in and
ready to bend around the ribbands. still show
a fair, easy curve.
First run the sheer ribband —
about a 2-inch square strip Nodesigner would think of trying to bend all the curves
—
of clear spruce in one length if you can get it if not,
; that make up a set of lines for a boat with one kind of a
join two pieces together by nailing a piece outside and batten. They have many differently proportioned battens,
lapping over the two ends where they. butt. Don't at- some like your ribbands, all one size throughout their

fempt to scarph and rivet the two pieces of a batten to- length; some larger in the middle than they are at each
gether Sometimes another batten is bent outside of the end; some large at one end and gradually diminishing
first at the deck edge, as that is a very important part of all the way to the other end. So graduate your battens,
the boat to keep absolutely fair and true. At intervals if they are too stubborn, and don't blame the designer.
of about 6 inches run other ribbands fore and aft from In the next number we shall start in and frame up the
bow to stern. They will, of csurse, be close together at hull and proceed to plank her.

54
 How To Build "Sunfish"
By C. G. Davis
Part II

knocked work last issue with the molds and the face of the frame. Don't nail through the side of the

WE ribbands
off
all inplace ready for framing up Sunfish.
Before you proceed to frame her, see that all the
frame from the inside of the boat into the ribband, for
you will scar the sides of the frames.
seams that cross the rabbet hue are fitted with what are By bending frames in hot this way you twist them with
called "stop-waters." With a half inch bitt bore so that a monkey wrench so they lay flat ready to receive the
it cuts half*out of each side of the seam and drive in a planking without beveling them.
white pme dowel so that any water attempting to flow up The heels of the frames should be cut so that they butt
this seam and cause a leak will swell up this pine dowel flat together at the center of the keel and have a slice taken
and prevent the water from going through off the under corner so that instead of the square corner
You need steam and a steam box to bend the frames, of of the frame touching the top of the keel they will fit flat
which there are forty pairs, each frame being about 7 feet on top of it out to the edge where the rabbet is beveled
long and 1J/2 by Ij4 mches. though there is an advantage off to receive the edge of the garboard.
in having them square, say V/z inches, in that as you grab Drill a hole down through the frame and drive a 2-inch
the hot frame from the sleam box you can bend it on either galvanized boat nail through into the keel at the heel ot
of the four faces, whichever shows the most likely way to each frame. Then take some lyS^-mzh oak boards 4 inches
stand the strain. I have specified them deeper than they wide. Lay them on edge over the top of the keel and mark
are wide for this reason The grain of the frame should out the shape by running a pencil along the outside of the
be bent so that the plank fastenings go through the layers frames, marking this angle on the board. Then saw out
of wood and not through between the layers of the grain this shape, or, clamping the board in a vise, rip it off with
wedging apart, as it were, the layers of wood. If they are a draw knife and true it up with a plane. Fit the floors for-
sawed out so that ih^ grain would be across when cut on ward of amidships forward of the frames, and those aft
the narrow face you could never make a mistake in get- aft of the frames. You can then bevel this floor off so
ting the grain right whichever one of the two narrow faces that it gives an additional surface to which to nail the
you bent against the ribbands planking.
Many people like to bend the frames "on the flat'' be- Rivet each floor to its frame with three round wire cop-
cause they are easier to bend that way but for the good of per nails riveted over burrs on each side. Keep the
the boat they should be bent on edge, as that is the way upper edges of all these floors in a true line so that the
they have to resist the strains keelson will not require much cutting and fitting when
An odd pair of gloves will be found very useful in^ hand- you run it fore and aft over them.
ling the hot frames You need a number of 6 or 8-inch Away up in the ends where the frames make a sharp 'V,
screw clamps and some one to hand you the frames from use wider boards to cut the floors out of and shape them
the steam-box Put the heel or lower end of the frame down on the top or take an oak knee, slabbed up into
on the keel, your knee in the middle of the frame, and i^-inch thickness, and get floors with a natural crook to
bend it just as if you were bending a bow to string it — them.
bend it gently but steadily into place, and if you have a The keelson, a 3-inch square yellow pine stick. 24 feet
helper, which would be advisable, let him start to clamp long, is theji bent down on top of these cross floors and
the frame to the lower ribbands as you bend it down held securely in place exactly over the keel until you bore
against them and follow on up to the turn of the bilge. holes with a long 3^-inch auger bitt through keelson, floor
If the frames are not steamed enough they will break, and and about 3 inches into the keel. Measure the exact lengths
if they are of poor quality they'll break anyway Rock elm with a sliver of wood and cut corresponding lengths of
makes a line frame as it bends with very little breakage ^-inch galvanized iron rod for drift bolts. Tap a slight
and is strong besides. head on one end by clamping it in a vise and using a ball
Space off along on the keel and ribbands where the — —
pene hammer a machinist's riveting hammer to spread
frames are to go and mark with chalk so when you are the metal. Then put a galvanized riveting ring over the
working fast with a hot framfe you can see just where each end of it and drive the bolt home. One of these at each
should go to have them evenly spaced. Hold the heads of floor will hold her backbone solid as a rock, and if the keel-
the frames well in to give the round, tumble-home curve at son ends lap onto the deadwoods forward and aft and are
the deck. They are liable to straighten back, anyway, as bolted fast there the whole forms a very rigid truss.
they cool off The molds have to be removed to get in this keelson and
When they have cooled you can nail them to the rib- the other long fore-and-aft stringers, but as you knock
bands and remove the screw clamp to use elsewhere. Put them out after unscrewing the fastenings into the battens
the nails in slanting through the edge of the ribband into put up temoorary braces to the ceiling to replace those that

55
56
 held the molds, and nail cross braces to hold the frame
apart to its proper width at each mold space.
Measure carefully just where the top edge of the 6 x iJ/$-
inch yellow pine clamp is to come, which is the thickness
of the deck %-inch and the depth of the frame i>4-inch
below the deck edge 2% inches in all. This clamp is the
;

binder that holds the top ends of all the frames true into
line. Although it is 6 inches deep in the middle, it should
be tapered to about 4 inches in depth at the ends, and if
you have a power planer handy, its thickness might be
reduced to i]4 or lyi inch at the ends to help it bend, for
it makes a
pretty stubborn piece to handle. Steam it well
before you try to bend it in place and you can then
edge
set it up or down, as you will find you have to, due to the
tumble-home of the topsides, which point the ends down.
It takes two pieces 32 feet
long to get out these clamps, or
one piece of 4 x 6-inch stuff ripped in two.
There are two brlge clamps oh each side of 3 x 6-inch
yellow pine, and though they may be a foot or so shorter,
it would
pay to order them all the same length, 32 feet, as
the saw-mill would probably have to rip them all out of one
big piece of yellow pine to get the length.
Use ^-inch galvanized carriage bolts to pull the clamp
and bilge stringers snug to the frames at every other frame
and then, when you bend the shelf in against the clamp,
put a through bolt at every other frame clean through the
whole lot, frame, clamp and shelf. This will give a stiff,
rigid^ deck edge that will resist any bangs she may get
alongside a dock.
Cut the forward ends of these clamps and stringers so
that they butt flat up against the stern and transom.
Frame .the deck before you start in to plank her up and
it will be easier to work. The deck
beams. are all cut round-
ing with a "crown" or curve of 5 inches in 7 feet. Saw
the deck beams out. Don't bend them. Bent ones have a
way of flattening down again and there are not very many
of them. Cut a wide thin board so that it forms a "she"'
pattern of this curve, and by trying this pattern at inter-
vals along her deck you can make sure of getting all the
short beams along the cabin space set true to
the,curve.
The deck beams are ^
x i>4-inch with an esAra heavy
ono at the forward end of the cabin and at the after end
of ti.c cockpit where the deck ends. These beams should
be about ij^ by 2 or 2j4 inches. Nail each of these deck
beams fast to the clamp with a long, galvanized iron wire
nail and under the inboard ends of them run a
piece of
spruce 3 inches deep by 2 inches thick fore and aft and
s> nail them fast to it.

Gocarefully over the frames with a batten before you

start to plank and see that all the frames are true. Shave
off a little here and there wherever a frame presents a hard
edge, and when you are sure the frame is all true, start
and plank her up.
about 500 square feet of J^-inch cedar boards
It will take
to do this. Buy "dressed" —
as planed-up lumber is called —
and insist on good, clear lumber. You can't expect to get
cedar without knots, but shun all sap, which is the bluish
§\ cast found near the edges inside the bark. Knots are solid
but the sap turns to a soft punk that is apt t^ produce
leaks. All small knots that show a black ring around them
should be reamed out after the boat is planked and wooden
plugs dipped in shellac driven in and sawed off flush.
There is no royal road to planking up a boat. I have
had many people ask me if they can't make one pattern,
l\ and get a mill to saw them all out for them, th'at will plank
up the whole boat. You cannot do this. Every plank re-
quires a different shape, though the one pattern will, of
course, do for both sides.
Take a "spiling," as boat builders call it, for the top
strake. For this you want some very thin planks about —
six in all —
14 to 16 feet long, say 6 to 8 inches wide, and
about ^-inch thick. Tack this spiling board lightly to the
frame as nearly as it will.,go without being forced side-

57
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68
ways and into tke place where the topstrake is to fit. If it Have the plank squeezed up good and hard to the
touches the sheer line at about mold number three it will frames with screw clamps, putting a chip under the foot of
be several inches too low at the ends. This board will give it so that it will not bruise the surface of the plank and

rivet the plank on. Where the clamps will not permit riv-
you the curve as far as amidships, aft tack another one the
same way, and where the two lap amidships tack thein to- eting use flat-head brass screws "fj4 or 2 inch, No. 10.
gether. Then, get a pair of carpenter's dividers. Set them Scrape a little coarse brown washing soap onto the threads
to span the greatest space between the sheer line and this and the screws will turn in easier. Or if you can't affotd
spiling board
— screw the dividers so as to hold the'ir legs screws use galvanized iron boat nails.
apart
— and from the sheer line at about every other frame Use your spiling board again to find the shape of the top
prick off on this spiling board this distance; then by care- edge of the next two boards and in this way put on about
fullv removing these boards and laying them out flat on three strakes of top planking.
the plank, you are going to cut the topstrake out, if you As the top plank is a sort of binder, many prefer to make
can prick this distance back onto it and get the curve to that board of quartered oak or of yellow pine. Yellow pine
cut the top edge so that when bent around the-frames it is good and you easily can get that kind of wood in lengths-

will fit true along the sheer line. The lower edge of this long enough to make it all in one piece.
plank is then marked out by bending a long thin batten so Then spile. in the same manner for the shape., of >the gar-

>ec T/ot, cy/ y^o/^ A/°' <^-

-Z'*l" Maho<fanY

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Vi'ook Ccamlnf
/Oak Omrttr /feani/

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Ha// Ifouid

Pine tlamf^

P/anh'/tf
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'yel pine

^3n ye.f./><o<. kcdaon

i%-oak-f=n>ars
^3%^" oak k<cl

thatit makes a fair curve, leaving the board where it fits along the keel. Cut your thin spiling
plank about 4 inches
wide amidships and tapered to about 2^ inches forward boards so that they fit roiighly to the shape at the ends and
and 2 inches aft. get out the garboards. They, too, should be of oak or yel-
In putting this top strake on, have two braces. In one low pine, but insteaid of being wider in the middle than at
have a bitt to bore for the wooden plug, about a ^-inch the ends, they are just the reverse. The idea is to fill up
auger bitt if your s^^-inch copper wire nail heads will go the surface with the top strakes and the garboards so that
into that sized hole without tearing the wood; if not use the remaining space to plank up will be more like a barrel
a 7/16 inch, or *ven a J^-inch bitt. 'lii. the other brace and take boards -more of an even shape and size. If you
—
have a gimlet bitt a breast drill with a small bitt works cannot do this with the garbQard alone, put one or two
faster and easier and is more generally used by boat build- more strakes above it, the first and second broad strakes
ers— some shops having an electric drill that goes through as they are called,
making them, about 6 incites wide and
the wood as if it were cheese, and is a great time-saver. tapered so that the rest of the space can be divided equally
Follow through with this smaller bitt, boring a hole into both at middle and ends.
which the copper nail squeezes tightly To keep the intermediate 'planks of uniform size and to

59
 give-fair planking lines, get out the rest of the planks by Plug fasten planksheer, using galvanized iron wire nails.
using a "planking scale." This is nothing but a thin slat The deck is laid in strips of white pine 3 inches wide
of wood, thin enough to bend easily, around the frames so and J^-inch thick. Do not try to make it
scaled off that you can measure how wide each absolutely tight,
plank must at the joints, but run a thin shaving off the upper half of
be at any frame to fill up the space between the one edge to leave an open seam on top while the bottom is
top-strakes
and broad strake already on. Say it is 48 inches at the jammed Then calk these seams and
tightly together.
"pay" them with white lead paint, the same as the planking
was treated.
Where
the tiller rope sheaves are to be, fit an oak block
under the deck between the beams and the same forward
where the hatch and the mooring post come.
If you can get your
motor, now is the time to build the
bed for it and line it up through the shaft
hole, fitting on
the stern bearing outside and the inside
stuffing box. Cut
saddles to hold the gasolene tanks
securely in the bottom
of the boat. Pipe your exhaust out
through the stern and
then lay the cabin and cockpit floor beams and floors.
The cabin floor boards can be 6 inches or so in width, but
lay the cockpit floor in 4-inch strips just as the deck 'was
put down.
Square up the inner edge of the deck around both cabin
and cockpit, and around on the cockpit floor
directly under
this edge fit a rabbeted white
pine sill piece to set the lower
ends of the tongue and groove chamfered
staving into.
Let the upper ends stick up high enough above the deck
to form the shape of coaming shown in the
plans.
The cabin sides, ij^ inches thick, are landed flat on the
deck after smoothing off and putting them where if is to
set. If you cannot get one wide board, build it
up in three
strips with upright ribs inside to hold them rigid. Drift
bolt the cabin through from underneath.
nearest frame to amidships and we want the plank 4 inches The cabin beams are J^xiJ^-inch with a crown of 6
wide. It will therefore take twelve such planks to fill that inches in 6 feet notched into the cabin sides and nailed.
space. Bend the batten with one end against the edge of Over them is laid a ^-inch wooden deck, and after this is
the broad strake around the frame and mark where the given a coat of paint, a thin piece of canvas is stretched
edge of the last upper strake comes. Mark that "4." tightly over it and tacked over the edges with copper or
Then do the same at Mold No. i. There twelve planks galvanized tacks, which are all hidden under an oak half-
would make each one only 3 inches wide. Bend the batten round molding.
here and mark it "3." Divide the distance between 3 and The after bulkhead is staved up and down in the same
stock as the cockpit staving. The outer thickness of the
4 on the batten or plank scale into eight equal parts to rep-
resent eighths of an inch. By bending this planking scale cockpit coaming is then fitted up against the after end of
at any frame this will show you how wide the plank should the cabin sides, its after end shaped down in a curve to the
be at that frame. deck, and an oak cap rail fitted .over the two.
You cannot expect to have the planks all in one length After the deck. is all planed, sandpapered and varnished,
from end to end but will find that you have to make them one coat, fit the low thumb rail, around the' edge of it, plug
of two pieces. Make the joint, or "butt" as it is technically fastening it with galvanized boat nails to the planksheer,
and put on the oak half round moldings at the deck edge.
termed, midway between the frames and rivet the ends to
an oak butt block about an inch thick and wider than the Sandpaper the hull outside, putty all the seams and holes,
and give it a prime coat of paint. When this dries scratch
plank so that its edges hook behind the plank above and
below it. The last plank, called the "shutter," must be in the waterlijie or paint line if you want her to show a'

spiled for on both edges and must be fitted very carefully. boot-top, and give another coat of white paint above water
and copper paint below.
Plugs can be purchased to fill the holes over the nail-
heads- after you have riveted up the copper nails that hold The stem band 'you can make out of a strip of narrow
half-round brass, the skeg, rudder and quadrant can be
the planks on. Dip each plug into either glue or thick
•

white lead paint and tap them lightly into the holes, snip- bought, and a rudder port made by screwing a stout piece
of brass pipe, just large enough to take the ij^-inch diam-
ping them off flush with the plank with a big chisel, only
learn to snip them so that the grain of the plug doesn't go eter bronze rudder stock into the hole through the over-
in and make a hole. hang and sawing it off flush with the deck, or about ^-inch
With a plane jack down the seams a little and then with above it.

a roll of spun wicking, a calking iron and a mallet, calk Theflagpole sockets, windows in the house and stern
each seam. Drive the cotton in so that it is at least an seat are fittings that anyone who has gone thus far will
need no instructions for. There is the steering wheel and
eighth of an inch back from the edge and smear it with a
hiixture of thin white lead applied with a seam-brush— a sheaves, hatch in the cabin top and cabin doors to finish,
and the interior we leave for every man to fit up as his
sirfgle row oi bristles set in a wooden handle.
The planksheers can be bent after steaming well around fancy dictates. By extending the transoms forward 3 feet
under the deck, there is transom accommodations for two
stout cleats nailed to the floor and fitted when cold, or they
can be sawed out in sections and scarphed together. people to sleep to port and one on the starboard side wel'
clear of the-companionway.
To make the mold to bend it, simply drop a plumb line
down from the deck edge at intervals and nail the cleats to Editor's —
Note. Detailed Instructions for Planking, Calking, Paint-
these spots. This way saves a lot of unnecessary measure- ing, Laying Canvas on the Cabin Top, Building a Motor Bed, etc., will
be found in Motobhoat Handbook, Volumes I and II. Readers who
ments. Before the planksheer is fastened down toe-nail in wish to build SunAsh will find the Handbook a practical aid in the
work. Those who do not own copies of the Handbooks, may obtain
a row of blocks between the beams half under the plank- them by sending a dollar and a half, which is the price for both vol-
sheer and half projecting to land the ends of the deck on. umes, postpaid.

60
 HOW ' MOLLYHAWK " WILL APPEAR AFLOAT

How to Build "Mollyhawk"

Part I

By C. G. Davis

MOLLYHAWK is not a bird of beauty, therefore New York's lower bay, or the style of boats that navigate
A the name is appropriate in this case, but beauty is
not always the most desirable element in a boat, and
out of 'Frisco Harbor, and go out into the ocean fishing,
and the conditions such boats have to contend with are
if our Molly hati'k shows the staying qualities, the sea- what this boat is designed for. Another condition she is
worthiness and lasting qualities of that homely sea fowl adapted for is where a man wants a boat to take long
so familiar to deep water sailors as to be part of their cruises and live for months aboard his boat. He can live
everyday life, she'll be as good a boat as any man who on such a boat as this in comfort, and be able to walk
loves the life on the water will care to own. when he gets ashore without having to get the kinks out
She is a boat that will go through stormy weather as of his legs, or feeling the ground heave and pitch under
a motorboat should go, easily and dry, not floundering him.
about in the surface water This desirable quality has Don't start to build Mollyhawk unless you have first
been obtained by making her more of a boat, a deeper triedyour hand at some smaller craft. Not but' what you
boat and a heavier constructed boat, than the ordinary —
might succeed that is a matter of individual ability —
28-foot craft. but what I mean is that
Mollyhawk not a primer, it's
is

She looks, in profile, somewhat like a small edition of one step higher, is a second-grade reader so to speak,
a steamship — her stern will stand the slopping of seas a little more difficult and much more of a boat.
without the jar felt ini flat-sterned boats, and her bow is I have laid out all the work, and the plans herewith

high enough to take care of any comber she may be put published show how the work is to be done, but it's
to. Her deckhouses look a little peculiar, due to the up to you to open your tool chest, go see the lumber
long, narrow skylight, which, while
it looks odd in a dealer, and prepare to use your muscles. You who want
side view, does not show up at all badly in the real boat, to keep your waistband girth down can leave off
your
and its advantages are twofold. It gives full headroom dumb-bell exercises and your walks the contortions you
;

in a boat that would otherwise be all out of proportion, will go through in building a boat are the best kind of
if the cabin itself were carried up that high, and in Sum- exercises to keep a man healthy and strong.
mertime makes a nice cool cabin by the ventilation pos- Build her under cover, if you can, inside a barn or
sible with such a cabin construction. In the flat paper shed. If this is not available, and I never was so
lucky
plan you see the full height, but in the real boat the
_
myself, do as I did, set up some posts and from these run
perspective sets back, and it appears considerably lower
it rafters up against the side of your house, and roof over
Mollyhawk is 28 feet long, has 8 feet beam, and draws and board in with novelty siding.
2 feet 6 inches of water, with a good, heavy displacement, The first step in the real work of construction con-
9,920 pounds. This heavy displacement is intentional, sists in getting out the molds. These molds are wooden
as a study of the lines will show. She is big below water, patterns, as it were, that show the boat's shape at the
and it will require some concrete ballast to bring her various stations marked in our plans, i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
down to her designed waterline. as the weight of her and 8. No 8 could be dispensed with, but, on account of
hull engine and fittings will hardly equal 9,920 pounds; the boat being rounded up so quickly at the stern, I have
more likely they will be about 7,000 pounds, leaving about shown it. and it will pay you to go to the trouble to make
2,900 pounds of ballast. it, you being an amateur. These molds are thrown away
If you have been out in a light displacement boat in when the boat is completed, and for that reason are gen-
heavy weather, you know how they throw you about, erally made of some very cheap wood about one inch
and, when I say heavy weather, I don't mean a Summer thick. Their shapes can be laid out from the meas-
thunder squall on an inland lake, where it's all spray urements given at six-inch intervals in our plans on
and no sea. but take the fleet of boats that go out down Plate 2. When these are all ready, lay them aside

61
 as

62
63
and start on
the oak keel and the backbone of the half-inch galvanized iron rods — they generally come in
boat. Thevarious members which constitute the back- standard lengths of about 12 to 14 feet— about four
bone are all shown and identified in Plate 3. Nearly all the pounds
of half-inch rivet rings, and a long
ship auger, also half-
members here shown are to be of oak. Sometimes the inch, he will find the problem to be greatly simplified.
knees, such as the transom knee, stem knee, etc., are Carefully set the various pieces of wood one on top of
made of hackmatack. Either wood will do, but by all the other, tacking them lightly with wire
nails, then bore
means make your keel, shaft log and fore foot of good, the various holes where you want bolts; with a hack saw
sound, clear white oak. The keel is the first and largest cut the iron rods into the proper
lengths for bolts to go
stick in the boat. It is, as shown in Plate ^, 22 feet
lyi through these holes. Then clamp these bolts^ in a vise,
inches long, 4 inches thick and 6 inches deep. Don't make and with a riveting hammer head up, as it is called;
the mistake so often made by amateurs of ordermg a 4x6 that is, burr over one end so it makes a head on the end
of your lumber dealer, and then, when he asks if of the iron.
you Slip one of the rivet rings over this, and
want it rough or dressed lumber, tell him- you want the drive It through the hole from underneath, where
you
should previously have bored a hole in about one inch,
large enough to take the riveting ring, and, if you can-
not get an auger large enough, cut it out with a
gouge.
This IS to countersink the rings so that they will show
flush with the wood or so a wooden
plug can be put in
to fill the hole. A bit of tallow rubbed on the iron bolt
before you start to drive it will save a good
many blows
of your top maul, as the light sledge hammers are called,
when you come to drive these bolts through the auger
holes. They should be just long enough to stick
up about
a half inch above the inside edge of the wood. Then,
with somebody holding a heavy sledge hammer or other
heavy weight against the bolt on the under side, slip a
rivet ring over the bolt and proceed to head up the inner
end It is rather difficult to tell an amateur
just when
he has headed the bolt up tight enough. An experienced
man could tell by the sound of the blow on the bolt. The
only wav I can explain to you to tell when it is suf-
ficiently drawn up is to tell you to keep tapping the bolt
and burring it over until the rivet ring begins to sink into
the wood. The deadwood bolts need not necessarily go
clear through They can simply be driven through the
keel and into this deadwood, a distance of about 6 inches,
BODY PLAN of 'MOLLYHAWK' forming what are called blind bolts. If all these bolts
flOUI^S are dmwri lo ifts/t^c of plank were put in exactly parallel to each other, ycTli can read-
ily see that it would be an easy matter for the wood to
wood dressed, for, if you do, you will probably get about a draw away again, but, on the other hand, if the bolts are
3^-inch stick for your keel, and, while this at first at angles, staggered, as boat-builders call it,
different
thought might not seem to make any difference, you will the wood firmly locked and cannot get away
is

find it, as well as the rabbet line, has ail been

figured Before you put the various pieces of wood together,
out for a 4-inch stick of wood, and this would all be paint their surfaces with a good thick coat of white lead
changed with the thinner size. There is very litfle cut- paint, any color will do. Shipyards always have a great
ting to be done on the keel in this particular kind of a many screw clamps of various lengths, and it would be
boat. The general run of boats that are built nowadays well for you to provide yourself with them, as you find
use a flat plank for a keel and bend it up aft, so that you need them for this job, as, for instance, in pulling
It comes right up to the transom, but this is no these deadwoods together you will find screw clamps a
light run-
about. We want weight, strength and rigidity in this very great help Of course, an ingenious mechanic can
boat, and for that reason have gone back to the regular overcome it by making a dog, that is, cut a notch in a
old ship style of construction The deadwood and shaft- piece of oak a little larger than the span of the wood to
log shou'd next be cut to the various shapes shown in be bolted together, and wedging them together by insert-
the plans, and, by being made in two pieces, the shaft- ing a wooden wedge between the upper part of this dog
hole can be planed or gouged half cut of each, instead of and the top of the deadwood. and driving the wedge in
being bored with an auger, or, if you prefer, the dead- solid, but dogs will have to be put on each side of the
wood can be in one piece and bored, but ninety-nine out deadwood to prevent tipping to one side This will
of a hundred amateurs would find great difficulty in get- saueeze the wood together about as tight as it could be
ting an auger large enough to bore a two-inch hole. The
drawn with a screw clamp, and you are then ready to
stern timber has more shaping to it than any other piece rivet.
of wood in the boat, and, if the amateur could make a This backbone is generally laid on its side while being
wooden pattern of this and have it sawed out at the saw bolted together, and, while it is still in this position, it
mill where he ordered his lumber, it would save him con- is a good time 10 cut your rabbet. Either lay it out flat
siderable cutting. If not, he will have to line it up and on the floor, being careful not to strain any of the joints,
saw and chop. or, better yet. lay it over wooden horses, which always
The forward end of the keel i^ built iu,p with a four- come in handy around a boat shop, and which it will
inch fore foot, which takes a stick of timber 6 feet 3 pay you to take the time to make before you start. This
inches long and 9 inches wide, a stem which is 6 feet raises your work off the ground at a convenient height,
6 inches long, 4 inches thick and 9 inches wide. These and keeps you from almost breaking your back by try-
are all shaped and held together by the four-inch hack- ing to sit on the ground and hammer But if you're
matack knee to which each is riveted. The bolting to- going to cut your rabbet af this stage of the game you
gether of this deadwood is generally a sticker for the will have to be very particular about getting just the
atn.ateur, but if he will provide himself with two or three proper be\ek at which to apply a little sample of your

64
t'-r/x

'

Ylt* .^ jjMi,_9 'iu^'cu^paj/i,' .*

 when you cut the notch formmg the rabbet, and transom itself, later Get it out to the shape shown out
would hardly advise doing so unless you want to go to
flanking of ij4-inch oak which has previously been steamed and
the trouble of laying down all the boat's lines just as a bent so it has four inches round to its face. This tran-
regular boat-builder does. If you do this, you know ex- som can hardly be gotten out of one piece of oak, as it
is over two feet wide.
actly the;> bevel at which each waterline intersects the It would be more desirable if you
stem forward and the deadwood aft, and this gives you could do so, if you cannot, bend the pieces of oak over
the bevel at which to apply your pieces of planking. But the mold which gives them the four-inch bend, and then
following the manner in which we are building this boat dowel their edges together with wooden dowels; mark
you had better leave this rabbet line until after the molds the shape of the face as shown, but, when you cut it out,
are in shape, when you will be sure of making no mis- do not cut within two inches of the lower edge. The
take, as you can bend battens around these molds and reason for this you will soon see when you bolt this
then cut your rabbet line so the end of the batten makes transom fast to the little hackmatack knee, which holds
a perfect fit. it to the stern timber. If yw do cut it away you will
It would be well a coat of lead colored
to give the keel then see, owing to the bevel at which the ribbands go
paint, to prevent the wood drying and checking or crack- around the No. 8 mold, you will have to cut away still
ing, as the keel will probably be set up several weeks more on the transom to make the ribbands fit flat against
or
months before it is closed in with planking, and all this it. By having previously left this wood standing, you can
time the wood is exposed to the action of the suri and now do your cutting so the ribbands will finish fair with
wind. Set the keel up so its lower edge is about two the desired edge.
feet off -the ground, or eighteen inches at least. If you While you are putting up the molds, let the lumber
get it any closer to the ground than this, you will experi- yard be getting out for you sixteen strips of yellow pine,
ence great difficulty in putting on the lower planking. 2x2, about 30 to 32 feet long, in one piece if possible.
The angle at which the keel is to be set up is shown in If not, they will have to be spliCed out of shorter stufif.
Plate No. 2. It is slightly higher at the forward end You will find that most of these you can bend around,
than it is aft. If you are building this boat in a shed, starting at the rabbet on the stem, following the sheerline
where you can shore the fore and aft ends of this dead- for the npper one' around the molds to the transom.
wood to the rafters overhead, ypu will find it will be There may be a few, however, where the two-inch stringer
much easier to work around your boat than if .the shores will be too stubborn to bend around the quick curve at
have to be braced up from the floor or ground upon which the stern; if so, plane them down, until they can be bent
you are working. You will always be stumbling over around, but don't make them too easy; they want to be
them, and'^when you come to set the molds up at the just as stiff as they can possibly be put around, because
various distances also shown on Plate No. 3, shore them they have to hold the frames when you come to steam
overhead for the same reason, if it is possible. If you bend them and make them take the proper bend, and,
have to shore them to the ground, dig down far enough if these battens are not very stiff, the
frames, when you
so that you will be sure the ground you shore them to come to bend them, will pull the battens out of line, and
will not shift, as the least shifting out of line of these make an unfair surface to your boat's side. It vyill re-
molds will throw everything unfair, and cause you a quire aboctt six of these battens on each side of your boat,
great deal of annoyance after. Brace them in a fore and, at the turn of the bilge from amidships aft, you may
and aft direction as well as sideways, for you have to even have to ptit in another ribband, so as to make the
put considerable strain on these molds when you bend frames take a true bend, and not straighten out from
your ribbands, and later when you bend the frames over ribband to ribband when you come to bend them. Fasten
the ribbands. these ribbands at each mold with a good stout lag screw,
Another point to be remembered in setting up your say 4 inches by %, inch, turned in good and;strong with
molds is to put them so the after face of the forward a monkey wrench. You can form a very good idea of
molds and the forward face of the after molds come the shape of your boat by this time, as her shape will be
just at the mold station marked on the keel. The rea- very clearly outlined by all these fore and aft ribbands.
son for this is the bevelling away from the amidships Most amateurs feel very much elated when they arrive at
towards each end. The shape you want ft the shape of this point, but all this is superstructure, and is all to be
the face that is even with the mark on your keel. They torn away as the real boat progresses, which is the case
are the working faces, and. when you run the ribbands, from this point oh, for you are now ready to begin' and
bevel of? the molds 50 the ribbands will fit fl'ush with this bend in the real timbers of the boat.
edge. The transom will have to be made, as it would be The frames are to be i^ inches square, spaced ten
foolish to make a temporary mold of the shape of the inches apart, so, while you are waiting for the clear, sound
transom, and then to have to make a new one, the real white oak to come from the mill, for it will pay you to

P!ate.3.

/l^ww ^/tie various pieces that, ulien allare Mted fofether, form the backbone of //>e boats frame 'onet the location for the tvnoas mou/t/e.

66
order all this from the lumber yard, cut up and dressed cession. These clamps should not be removed tor five or
to lyi inches in 8
to 12-foot lengths, take a thin batten ten minutes. At the end of that time, after nailing them
of pine, about a quarter of an inch thick and inch or inch off with -about two-inch wire nails, driven diagonally
and a half wide, space off ten-inch intervals along your through the ribbands into the frames, these clamps may all
keel, and from these bend the batten up around the in- be removed and used farther along on the hull. Very
side of the ribbands, and mark with pencil this location. little difficulty will be experienced in bending the frames
When you come to bend in the hot timbers, you can bend from the bow clear back to about section No. 5. From
them right along these pencil marks. This will insure there back you have to be a little more careful on account
the frames being evenly spaced, and not all standing of the reverse bend in the heels of the frames, and the
zigzag. Of course, you can straighten the timbers up bend at the bilge becoming more sudden. There is a
after they are cold, but along in the ends it will save way of easing this part of the operation, and that is to
a whole lot of trouble, on account of the excessive bevels split the fran^e down as far as where the quick bend
there if you don't have to shift them. To soften your comes. This allows the inner half to slide on the outer
timbers so as to make them pliable enough to bend in half, and yet, when the plank fastenings are put through,
around the ribbands, you will have to build a steam box. they rivet the two securely together again. Personally
This subject is one which has been fully explained before I would not recommend this kind of constpuction.
in'Motor Boat, and along with many other subjects that After the frames are all in, sawed oak floors of two-
will enlighten one in building this boat may be obtained inch oak are fitted alongside the heels of each pair of
by getting copies of Motorboat Handbook, Vols. I and II. frames, riveted to them, and securely bolted to the keel
It takes generally about half an hour to properly soften the with about ij4-inch iron. The shapes of these are very
frames. Cut the heel of the timber roughly, so that it easily determined by laying 'a thin pine board across the
fits flat against the keel as you bend it in. Two can work top of the keel -and against the frames where the floor
to far better advantage than one at this job. A ij^-inch is to fit, and marking the shape of the outer side of these

timber, even when saturated with steam, is a pretty stub- frames with lead pencil on this board. With a few cuts
born piece of wood to bend, anc^ a day's work at this will of a draw knife you can cut this thin pine pattern and
tire any man. Let one man get inside the boat to work, use that as a templet to mark out the shape of the desired
the other handing him the hot timbers from the steam floor. If you could only build a boat as easily as you
box, then, as he bears down with his feet to crimp the can tell how to do it, we could build about one a day,
frame down into its place against the battens, pulling the but when the amateur tackles this job of fitting in two-
head of the frame inboard at the same time, his friend on inch oak floors, unless he has a band saw handy to help
fhe- ontside can follow along, starting at. the keel and him, he will do very well if he fits in from four to six of
clamp the frames to each one of the ribbands in suc- these floors alone in a day.

07
 How to Build "Mollyhawk"
Part II

By C. G. Davis
the heels of the frames are all secured by the plane and dress off their tops so the deck lies perfectly
WHEN 2-inch oak floors to the keel and deadwood, get
out the fore and aft clamps from 2 by 4 inch
true on them you will not be striking the plane on a nail-
head. All these main deck beams should be marked out
yellow pine stock. There are eight of these in all, the from a pine templet made with a crown or curve of 3^
upper two beihg short ones. Be very particular in putting inches in 8 feet. Do not, above all things, try to lay a flat
in the main deck clamp, as the deck line wi.l show unfair deck as many amateurs attempt to do. There is nothing
if this is not done, and no one wants a boat with a wavy, shipshape or "boaty" in a flat deck and there is a very
snake-like sheer. No matter how carefully a man may good reason why it should be crowned.. That reason is, to
design the boat or how accurately measurements may be make it shed water.
taken, it is always up to the man who builds the boat to see There are about four corners that should be reinforced
that the lines run fair and true, and this can only be done by fitting and bolting in oak or hackmatack hanging knees
by sighting along the side of the boat standing at one end ; about Ij4 to i^ inches thick. This means eight knees.
while another man, with a hammer, taps the clamp up or They should be located one each side where the forward
down to take the kinks out of it. It is all a question of ac- beam of the after deck comes, one each side of the
curacy of a man's e3'e in being able to spot these uneven- after end of the main cabin, one each side of the after
esses. raised deck and one fastened at each end of the deck beam
The two lower clamps are the same size as the upper that goes clear across alongside the forward end of the
ones, if you want to you can reduce them in width and cabin. Rivet these to the beams with at least two J^-inch
thickness toward each end. This is generally done by the bolts to each arm of the knee. These may save a whole lot
careful professional builder, but nine out of ten amateurs, of straining when your boat takes a side bump against
not having machinery at hand, seldom go to the trouble a dock and they are well worth the time it takes to put
of planing down these two-by-fours. them in. For'the same reason large knees are fitted in the
Diagonals Numbers i and 2 in the body plan of Molly- corners where the transom joins the side planking and a
hawk show about the position for these two lower clamps. breast hook is put up in the bow.
If run in about this line they will practically lie flat pn the As you cannot lay any more beams until you have laid
face of the timber or will be so nearly so that they can the two little pieces of side deck and put up the cabin sides
easily be, screwed down with screw-clamps, and will not which carry those beams, they can be left and the more
require previous shaping. All these clamps are to be interesting work of planking up the hull taken up.
bolted to their frames with 4-inch by 5-16 inch carriage Planking up a boat may seem simple and to some it
bolts. The head of the bolt should be let in flush with the turns out to be such a job, but if one has never considered
face of the frame and a washer put under the nut on the this subject carefully and examined other boats so that
inside. This washer will permit your turning the nut up he has a fair idea of the way in which it is done, he will
good and hard, drawing frame and clamp tightly together. find himself working into all kinds of difficulties. Old sub-
Do not put all the bolts along in the center of the clamp scribers to Motor Boat will have some understanding of
but stagger them so that one will be near one edge, the this subject from the practical articles printed. Those
next near the other and so on, alternating them. In the who have not read these articles will be able to secure
end you may have to favor one side more than the other them all in compact form in the Motorboat Handbook.
to pull the twist out of the clamp. Not only is the subject of planking explained therein,
Before these clamps can be put in it will be necessary but the bending of frames, deck construction and many
to remove the niolds, but be sure and tie the boat up from other valuable articles both on boat construction and the
side to side with some good stout stay laths before you do u^e and the care of the boat after she is built.'
so. Otherwise the hull may sprawl, as boatbuilders term Briefly stated, the process of planking may be compared
spreading. to the construction of a barrel. As the barrel staves are
At this stage of the game most amateurs are in a great made wide in the middle and narrow at the ends, so is the
haste to start the planking of their boat. They want to see yacht planking w!der amidships. Just how wide each
it grow, but they will get ahead far faster if they will leave plank shall be you have to determine by bending a thin
the planking alone until they have the entire deck frame Ijatten around one of the midship frames and dividing it
complete. They will find it much easier to do this part up into such widths as your stock of planking will permit.
of the work. Everything is so much more accessible and For instance, if most of your cedar planking which the
there is a better light to work by than will be the case lumber yard has delivered to you will only allow you to
when the hull is all shut in. get out a plank five inches wide in the middle without
As we have designed this boat there are no very long leaving bark on the edge, do not lay your boat for six
deck beams, the longest being the three across the stern. All inch plankihg. This distance, measured on the batten jn
the others are short on account of the midship skylight, inches, divided by five,, will show you how many planks
.but- it would be well to get out three or four long ones, your boat will require. How wide these planks will be
long enough to go across the entire boat, to hold the super- forward or aft at any other frame can be determined the
structure in shape while you are fitting the shorter beams, same way, by dividing the length along the frame to be
and then -saw them off later. planked into the number of planks that are being put on
As all these deck beams are exposed when the boat is amidships, which would probably give you something like
completed, see that they are nicely smoothed up and, if you 2^- or 3 inches.
want a still fancier job, champher the lower edges before The top strake, or "sheer strake" as it is called, and two
you put them in. Fit the deck beams in alongside of the or three more below it and then the garboard or plank
head of the frames and fasten their outer ends to the which goes next to the keel are generally fitted in first and
clamp ON which they rest with 3'/^-inch heavy galvanized then the space between is divided up as previously de-
iron nails, with the heads sunk in so that when you come to scribed. To find the shape of the garboard requires what

68
H
i-l
o

<
i-l

o
<
 is called In other words, it r€quires the spoil-
"spiling."
ing of one plank which is generally a thin pine or cedar
board about ^of an inch thick. This thin board is used
as a pattern cut roughly by eye so as -to fit
along the keel,
and then, with a pair of compasses, set so as to span the
greatest interval between the edge of the rabbet and the
edge of this pattern, proceed to prick off a line of spots
along the pattern, keeping one point of the compasses at
the edge of the rabbet. I5y laying this pattern out flat on
the one inch cedar board from .which you are going to
cut your garboard, and pricking these distances back you
can readily see that you get a line of spots the same
shape as the rabbet against which the edge of this plank
f;<s
must fit. This "spiling" process is repeated for almost
every plank. The only ones that will not require it are
the few on the flat of the side of the boat just under
the "sheer strake."
You will hard'y be able to get these planks all out of
one length. Not many boats nowadays are built that way,
but where you do have to use two, make the seam where
the two ends meet come midway between two frames and
then rivet their ends to an oak block fitted snugly between
the frames about half an inch wider on each side than
the planking, so that the plank above atid below will lap
half an inch over this butt block. Common sense alone
will tell any man not to make all these butts in his
plank-
ing come in a line in one spot between the. same two
frames, but to shift the butts as far apart as possible, using
the long length of a plank forward in one case and aft in
the next, so that at least two planks come between butts
made in the same frame space.
There are few places in this boat where the round of the
side is so pronounced as to
require hollowing and rounding
the inside and outside of a plank so as to make it fit
against
the frame. Aft, on the quick round on the counter, and in
the few planks that end in the hollow of the after frames
this may be necessary. Never rivet a plank fast to the
frame until its inner edge makes a perfect joint on the
face of the frame. I know what you will be tempted to do.
I have seen it done time and
again, but those who did it
always regretted doing so. That is to chisel off the face
of the frame into a series of flats so that a flat plank will
fit where it should be rounded. The result is the boat
shows a series of ridges or if enough is planed off to
make the plank show a smooth rounded surface the plank
will be reduced to only about ^ or ^2 inch in thickness,
and as this' is just where the fastening goes it is where
the plank should have its full strength.
To fasten the planking to the frames use 25^-inch cop-
per nails rivetted over copper burrs, and to make a good
job first bore a hole so the heads of the nails will sink in
or be counter siink about half an inch. These holes, after
the nails are rivetted up, are to be filled with cedar or
white,
pine plugs dipped in white lead and tapped in over the
nail heads, so that when the planking is
finally smoothed
off all will show a clean wooden surface and she will not
look like a spotted pig, as she will if the nail heads are
left flush. This is only done in very light rowboats or
racing boats where the thickness of planking will not
permit of countersinking; there the nail heads are
smoothed off with a file, but MoUyhawk is not a racing
shell.

Along the garboard seams, in the ends of the planks

and such places as under a
clamp where it is impossible to
rivet up a copper nail use 2j4-inch galvanized iron boat
nails, but bore for them just the same. Do not try to
clout them in with a hammer for if you do
you may spoil
a plank that has taken you considerable time to
shape,
due to the nail buckling over in the hard oak and splitting
the plank.
When all the planking is on, calk each seam carefully
with boat cotton spun out and rolled to suit the size of the
seam and paint each seam with a thin white lead paint.

70
This will stick the cotton in and hold it while you proceed edge is even with the outside of the planking. From
with the rest of the work and makes the putty stick when there in the deck is laid in narrow strips. The forward
you come to putty and paint the outside. and after ends of this decking are nailed to oak cleats
Before laying the deck, while the hull is all open, is a fastened to the side of the after end of the house and the
good time to put in your engine bed, line up and connect forward end of the after deck.
your shaft and install the motor. Make a templet for your From the end of the raised deck the main cabin is made
gasolene tank and until that arrives fit in all the necessary of two built-up sides consisting of a top and bottom rail
floor beams both for cockpit and cabin floors. All can be with vertical stiles mortised and tennoned into them, form-
fastened down with the exception of the forward cockpit ing the windows as shown in the plans. These sides are
floor beams. These will have to be left until the tank is fastened to the deck by rods of five-sixteenths iron go-
in, so build a platform and sides to securely brace this ing through the lower rail thr.ough the deck and the
ts^nk in its proper place. end of the oak deck beams. By making these sides of
The floor beams for cockpit floor and cabin floor need I -inch stock you will have wood enough to dovetail the
not be dressed stock; that is, they can be left unplaned as ends of the short cabin beams into them. Here, also, it
they are entirely out of sight, the cabin floor, of course, is customary to run one or two beams clear across from

being laid absolately level but the forward and after cock-
; side to side to held the sides accurately in position until
pit floors which are exposed to the weather would, be all the others are in place, the deck laid and the sides of
better off for a slight crown so the water will drain- to the skylight erected. Then, when the boat is secured
either side where lead pipe scuppers are to be fitted down by the skylight beams 'going across, these can be sawed
and out through the outer planking so the rainwater will out and their ends, as well as all the other beams,
run overboard. covered by a 3-inch by J^-inch finishing strip or, if you
The main cabin floor can be made of wide stock, that is, do not object to the ends of the beams showing, you can
boards 6 or 8 inches wide, nailed down wJth the exception round ofif the ends of the beams with a chisel and let
of a loose trap down the center. These will permit get- them show._ '

ting into the bilge of the boat if occasion should require The construction of the cabin skylight is just the same
your cleaning out the lirnbers, or to clean out the bottom as the cabin sides, although, of course, it is longer. The
when you lay her up. The two cockpit floors should be beams are dovetailed into the sides just as the cabin-
only 2 to 4 inch strips, the narrower they are the more house beams were, the deck laid in strips of white pine
yachty is the appearance. These decks should be caulked, about 4 inches wide by %-inch thick and the whole cov-
payed and puttied and a rabbeted oak sill set in white lead ered with canvas, just as the main deck was when it was
and nailed down forming a sort of frame to receive the laid, the canvas being held at the edges by a row of cop-
lower end of the cockpit staving. It takes a little extra per tacks and the ragged edge of the canvas covered by
work to get this rabbeted sill out and most amateurs, in- a half-round oak molding.
stead of doing so. will be tempted simply to nail a cleat on You have probably seen boats whose cabin-houses were
deck and then nail staving against this cleat; but the latter defaced by dirty black stains running down from under
is very apt to leak, vvhile the former insures an absolutely this molding. If you will shellac the inside of the half-
watertight job, and if j'ou have ever Iain in a bunk and round molding before you put it on you will not have
felt the cold drip from a leaky deck you will know what this difficulty.
this means. Take time and do it right now. You can- The after end of the cabin, the forward and after
not change it later without a great deal of trouble and ex- cockpits, are to be built of ^-ihch tongued and grooved
pense. cypress staving about 2J/2 inches wide bradded to the sill-
The layingof the side decks is slightly dififerent. An pieces and edge of the deck. Do not drive your brad^
oak edge-piece (sailorscall it the "covering board") about
straight in. Put them in on a slant and they will pull
4 inches wide, the same thickness as .the deck, which the staving and hold it much tighter. Punch the nail-
should be about one inch thick, is to be fitted so its outer heads in and finish the holes with a bit of putty.

71

k
 How to Build "Mollyhawk"
Part III

By C. G. Davis

capable of building Mollyhawk's hull knows sink bored in the chock or deck plate, whatever the fittmg
enough to lay a quarter-inch tongue and groove cabin
ANYONE may be. Sometimes a hole for the screw is bored vertical,
floor, and to build the seats and bulkheads either of while the face of the deck plate is slightly beveling. The
one wide board set on edge or by fir§t building a spruce result is that one sharp corner of this screw-head sticks
frame and staving up the front with- cypress or yellow out like a knife, and will cut you when you polish the
pine tongue and groove staving, in narrow widths. brass, and on which strings of cotton waste generally;
Boards two to three inches wide with their edges cham- cling, looking anything but pretty. Use a metal countei''
phered so that when they come together they make a sink in your brace and bitt and ream out the holes until
"V" shape seam is just as good and far cheaper to build the screw heads just fit flush with the surface of. the
than a transopi front all formed of panels or other forms metal. Do not leave the heads standing up, and, on the
of expensive joiner work. All such ginger bfead work, other hand, do not let them sink an eighth of an inch or
while it rriakes, a boat look a little more stylish is no bet- so below the surface of the metal. In that case you should
ter than a plain pine board painted or a tongue and groove use a screw with a larger head to fill up the hole, for
staving as we have suggested, and you can refinish the such holes form puddles for the dirty brass polish or
latter with one half the trouble and expense of a fancy water.
"

paneled transom. The advantage of the "V" seam formed There is one little point in the construction of Molly-
by the champhered edge is that it hides any slight un- hazvk that I wish to draw your attention to particularly,
evenesses in the thickness of the seam vvhere the two and that js the knee on the after quarter, just above the
boards come together, which is not the cas'e where the half round moulding. This is called a quarter badge, and
it is just such little
boards are square edged and, especially, if it is painted fittings as this that set off your boat
white. But as to just how you finish the interior of your and add- to her shippy appearance. Do not try to make-
boat, whether you use expensive joiner work or the plain this out of half-rinch wood and plaster it on, for it will

cheap kind does not in any way affect the serviceability of not stand. It is not like putting interior trim in a house,
Mollyhamk. It is a matter of personal taste and entirely but get it out of one thick oak or, hackmatack knee, as
up to you to say just how much money you care. to spend shown in the accompanying sketch, in which you will see
on it. You can use cypress at about 5 cents 'a foot or that the knee itself is about two inches larger than what
use bird's eye maple or Circassian walnut at about 30 shows on the outside. By making the knee about two
cents a foot. The same- thing applies to the hardware and a half inches thick you can cut a rabbitt in it and
below decks. Some owners will use the ordinary lac- fasten the. ends of the planking to it, leaving the little
quered' iron door-knobs and locks and drawer-pulls. quarter badge extending out about a quarter of an inch
Others will use glass ones, and others solid brasis ones, beyond the planking and yet it will be solid enough not
the latter are far preferable, but when you buy them to curl or crack in the weather.. While we are
talking
make sure that you are getting solid brass and not iron about knees just consider the. two little sketches here
•simply dipped in brass, as much of the boat hardware shown. Most people do hot think the mere outline of a
now sold is made. You will find, in a couple of years, knee has anything to do with a boat's looks, but in this
the rust will strike thfocigh and your boat hardware will they are wrong. Just as quickly as a house architect
be anything but a thing of beauty. Especially is this true wou'd notice a house built without eaves, so can a man
of the deck fittings, such as flagpole sockets, chocks and used to water and ships spot a clumsy, amateurish shaped
other deck plates, although my choice for such fittings knee as shown in the upper figure. Such a knee, while
would be galvanized iron in preference to brass. They it might be useful and
appropriate in building a chair
are just as strong, if anything, stronger than brass, will or a table,«will make Mollyhawk\\ook clumsy if it is used
not look so shoddy as brass does when it becomes tarn- at the after end of her cabin or the forward end of the
ished, and if for any reason the galvanizing does get little raised deck aft, the turtle deck, as
you might call it,
nicked you can retouch it with a bit of aluminum paint where on either side a knee- is shown which fills up what ,
'

and make it look as if it had just come from the Store. would otherwise be a very awkward looking square corner.
Let me call your attention to one apj^arently insignificant Make the lower arm of the knee longer'than the upright
point about fastening on your deck plates and that is to end and of some such curve as I have here shown.
see that- the screw heads fit perfectly into the ccm,nter- Another little detail to which I want to call your at-

THE HOLDS IN PLACE

72
tention, and which applies not only to Mollyhawk but to same so they will come underneath the deck wherever
all boats, is the quarter bitts aft and heavy mooring bitt there is to be a deck fitting fastened above. Do not trust
forward. This forward one should go down and be to the deck. Soft white pine will never hold the screws,
mortised into the forward deadwood, although many peo- nor is it a good practice to put a cleat on deck so that only
ple only use a short bitt and key it fast on the under side one screw comes into a deck beam, and you trust to that
to an oak block" which fits from deckbeam to deckbeam. one good fastening to hold.
This, to of thinking, brings too much strain on a
my way The finishing off of the boat after she is all planked
yacht's deck for the main mooring bitt forward. Such a and decked most important if you want a good looking
is

boat. The trouble with most amateurs is that by the time

they get this far they are so anxious to get their boat
afloat that they do not take the time to properly nlane off,
sandpaper and otherwise prepare the wood to properly re-
ceive the paint. Do not shirk this part of the work. Keep
at the planing off of the seams and planking until all
humps and hollows have disappeared and the plank, any-
way you bend a small batten around its surface, shows ab-
solutely fair. When it has been planed as true as is pos-
sible, start in with coarse sandpaper, folded over a block
of wood and scrub the plank crossway to the grain until
every plane mark is obliterated. Then, with finer sand-
paper, rub it fore and aft, cutting O'Ut the marks of the
heavier paper. Then, and not until then, is your boat-
ready for paint. In a boat where wooden plugs have been
fitted over her planking you can go still farther by taking
a bucket of hot water and a big sponge and sponging over
the entire ptenking from deck to keel on both sides.
Your boat has to be wet sometime, and the wood and the
plugs have to swell. This sponging process makes the
wood go through it's swelling before she gets overboard
and shows particularly in the case of the plugs, which,
owing to the wood having been slightly compressed when
driven in with a hammer, is more apt to expand than the
planking, and you can go around your boat as soon as the
wood has dried with a chisel and shave off dozens of plugs
that have swelled out a sixteenth of an inch or so beyond
the surface of the wood. You can imagine what this
would have done had you first painted your boat. For
this reason many experienced boatmen never attempt to
PUTTING ON THE RIBBANDS finishup a brand new boat as soon as she is built. They
launch her and use her a month or so, then haul her out
and allow her to thoroughly dry and then put her through
style of construction is all right for the small quarter bitts
the finishing process of sandpaper and two or three good
aft, but I would not advise its use forward. How many
coats of paint, for, by that time, the wood has come and
people have ever considered the reason why the edges all it will, due to swelling and
of the bitts were champhered ofif the way they are on gone any little straining
the boat may do until she gets swelled up tight and
ships? Very, few, I'll guarantee. But when I explain
the reasons for it by means of the diagrams, A. B. C. D.
solid has been done. Now, when she is finished, she will
last for years, only requiring the surface of the paint. to be
and E. a blind man can see the point. I have seen bitts'
rounded ofif into all manner of fancy shapes, the man replaced where it wears cw,t.
For those who do not understand just how the line-up
who did it evidently thinking that the idea of champhering
to which the copper is to be painted, for in Mollyhawk we
a bitt was to make a fancy piece of furniture out of it.
The real reason is this The head of a bitt, as shown
:
nttJeck beam
in figure A, is there to make rope fast to, and, naturally,
the strongest part of this bitt is right at the deck. The
higher up you go the more leverage the anchor cable
has to break it. For that reason the champher is cut at
DoTjot pulo cltitnsy
such an angle as will make the cable ride down, and ride \ooKinq knee like tnis
is the nautical word for slide, close to the deck. If you on MOLLYHAWK.-
ever go to sea on an old sailing ship, where nearly every-
one of the many ropes has to be coiled down over belaying
The QOiarrerbadqe \ha\ shows
pins, you would soon notice that on a belaying pin, df the afberend of>10LLYH/\WK5'
shaped like Figure B, you can lay fake after fake over upper plank\T7q is a Ijoo inch oak AqMcetul knee will
such a pin and they will pile up clear to the top withc«,t Vnee rabbeted so part of it extends add cJ whole lot' .to Vic
sliding off, as shown in Figure B. While with one shaped out
are
W
beyond the plank uStncYi appearance
fdsl^ened lb
it.'
like C, when you get near the top the upper fakes of rope
will begin to slide uo over the top, as in Figure E, and
you cannot coil nearly as much rope over such a pin. I show what is called a boot-top, that is, several inches of
have seen an old, deep water mate go along a ship's bul- the copper paint shows above water when she is
afloat,
warks, and every pin he found patterned after that shown a few words on this subject may be of assistance. With
in C he'd heave away to leeward with a deep sea blessing the boat set absolutely plumb, tack a
straight edged
on the heffd of the man who made it. board across the bows at the height you want the
boot-top
A precaution to be taken when you are building the forward, and' another across the stern the height the
deck frame of your boat is to fit inch and a half oak boot-top is to be raised there. Between these two, just so
blocks, snug between the deck beams and nailed to the it clears the side of the hull
amidships, allow a fish cord to

73
sag until it gives
you the proper height amidships, which, plied on top of a fine coat of lead. One thing we do
as you will notice, is lower than at either end. Then, know, and that is that the bottom should be kept com-
with a long spirit level or a batten of wood and a short pletely covered, with some copper paint and, not allowed
one, you can go along this line at intervals of every foot to chafe to the bare wood.
or so and mark spots on the planking to correspond with
the height of this line. Then tack a batten, carefully sight-
ing along it as you do so, to See that there are lio lunfair
kinks in it, and with a race knife or the point of a brad
awl cut or scratch a light groove along in the planking.
Many a man before you has made the mistake of simply
marking this with a lead pencil, which the first coat of
paint has obliterated, for even a scratch, in time, becomes
lost to sight through being-filled up with the paint. It is
a good practice to always keep this mark visible by re-
scratching it occasionally, for nothing looks worse on a
boat, as you yourself may have noticed, than a crooked
wave-like line, where the two paints meet.
While it does not matter, if the boat is to be used in w«ii« "•'«)'
fresh water, whether the bottom be painted with a copper
Mow short deck bilhs
compound or not, it does make a great deal of difference are keyed fas^ cinder
if she is to be used in salt water where the torredo works the deckTo&amt
such havoc in boat's planking by eating innumerable
holes in it. Copper paint is the only thing that will keep The am
finish of Mollyhawk I going to leave entirely
this destructive little worm away and for that reason a to those who build her. I do not know 'of any business
great many people believe that copper paint should be put' that has so m^ny conflicting opinions as that of painting
right onto the bare wood so that the Copper can soak into a boat. Of course, I have my own views on the subject,
but I can take you to another yachtsman who has had
equal experience and he may advocate an entirely different
manner of painting the boat. Some want a white painted
top side. Others stoiitly condemn it and say any color
Hole for screw) Screw put Screw Vie<jd 5creiv head. but white should be used. Some want varnished decks.
Txjl bored dt- t>ie. in riqbt: vo\ cour\\er5unk coMntersMTik Some would not have a varnished deck. Some will swear
too deep
nc]U ancjle deep enoucjh by one brand of varnish and some by another, all the re-
sult of personal experience on- their part and more than
the pores of the wood, but as it is the liquid that really likely the different opinions have been the result of ac-
goes into the wood, depositing the copper on the outside cident more than anything else.
of the planking, it is very doubtful whether this method So, paint Mollyhawk any color you like; you'll do it to
has any virtue in it or not, or whether the copper be ap- suit yourself, anyhow —you've a right to; she's yours.

74
 How to Build the "Beaver"
[ A 23- Foot Cabin Cruiser. A Big,Roomy, Safe and Seaworthy Little Craft. Just
What the Boys Want
BY C. G. DAVIS

The "Beaver" As She Will Appear Afloat

you how to build a 23-foot cabin cruiser? Also on the starboard side a completely equipped galley
in at this part of the boat, where the heat and
TELL
Surely
but it
I will; that's the easiest part of the business,
is up to you amateurs to do the real hard part
is iitted
smoke from it can best escape out the companionway,
of the work, the cutting out, fitting and fastening. and not heat Op the cabin. The engine can be gotten at,
And yet while it is hard work, it is one of the most enjoy- and yet is completely out of the way, just its flywheel
able kinds of labor. You see the ship which is to be your protruding a few inches into the cabin to enable one to
future home grow by your own toil and labor. There's start the engine. Two cylindrical tanks, one for water
some satisfaction in building a boat that one is to use for and one for gasolene, are fitted in chocks and securely
his own, which is lacking when one builds as a business lashed under the cockpit sides, where they are least apt
and never expects to see how the boat, over which he has to affect the trim of the boat, as their weight decreases,
toiled for weeks, behaves herself when in a sea. and at the same time are spread apart to assist the boat in
To those men who have years of experience on the swing'ing with a slow, easy recovery in a sea way
water, the Beaver will appeal with all her good points. What the Beaver will look like when completed is
Those who are newcomers to the pleasures of motorboat- shown in the sketch and accompanying plan showing the
ing and who make their criticisms with no actual experi- deck view and appearance above the waterline. The
ence to back them, may say she is too wide or too high, resemblance to a roomy Cape Cod catboat is noticeable,
or too something else, but these men I ask: "Have you and is intentional, as that type, when converted into a
ever been aboard of a converted Cape Cod catboat?" If motorboat, has proven itself a most satisfactory cruiser ;

not, you have no right to criticize this plan. Don't but with the similarity in bottom the parallel ends:
imagine that, because you have had a sail on a narrow Beaver is a typical motorboat from there up, yet one that
motorboat and enjoyed it, the enjoyment could not be lias elbow room seldom found even in motorboats much
magnified by a trip on such a boat as Beaver. She has larger than 23 feet. It is queer that with the hundreds

every requisite of a comfortable little cruiser for two or of examples before us of converted sailboats' hulls, and
«ven four men or boys to go off for weeks at a time and the speed, weatherliness and comfort thus attained, no
live in comfort. Her beam gives room to move a step or one has attempted to design boa. along these lines.
two sidewise, and one is not confined to a narrow foot But let's get busy, for the plans speak for themselves,
well such as ordinary small craft have between their and anv one who wants to build does not need convincing
transoms. Some may say her beam will make her a poor that she will be a good boat too many of Motor Boat's
;

sea .boat, but any day Beaver cannot go out no boat of subscribers have been waiting for such a craft, as the
her length will care to go. many letters received testify
Every man imagines his own boat is laid out better If you have a shop, shed or barn where you can build
below decks than any other boat he ever saw, but let him your boat under cover, so much the better if not, and you
;

look over Beaver and see if he can get any more room have to build her out in the weather, be sure and shovel
than has been put into this 23-foot boat Every inch of off the loose top soil and get your keel blocks firmly
her has been utilized, from the coat room up in the bows planted on hard ground, so they vvill not settle under
to the ice-box and lazarette under the after deck. Two the boat as she accumulates weight.
comfortable seven-foot transoms, two feet wide, afford The keel is a straight piece of oak 22 feet 1 1 inches
permanent beds in the cabin, while out in the cockpit finished length, 3 inches thick by 4 inches deep. Pick
two more may be made up with curtains buttoned down out a straight, clear-grained piece, as free from large
to the sides of the awning, and berths made up on the knots as possible. If you order this stock for your keal
long cocknit seats. A toilet room fitted with every con- at a mill, order it dressed, as it is termed. It will only
venience is shown, but this, of course, an owner can dis- take the mill a few moments to run it through a power
pense with if he does not care for it. We have shown it planer, and then you will have a good, smooth stick. If"
to prove that it is possible to get such a room in the boat. not, you will have to scrub it off with a plane, and this is

76
<
a.
or
UJ

76
 considerable work. Then cut it to the shape as shown in
the drawing, which as you will notice is very little work
indeed, and we have purposely made it so. In fact,
everything about the boat has purposely been made simple
and easy for amateurs to build. The rabbet, for instance,
instead of being a dug-out rabbet, as it would be with
a log keel, in this boat amounts merely to a chamfering
of the top edge. The angle at which this chamfer is to
be cut is explained in the accompanying sketches, Figs, i
and 2, on page 14, and is found by taking a piece of wood
the same thickness as your planking and butting it against
the too corner of the keel at the anele the molds make
where they fit on the keel.
First cut notches opposite each mold; then with a bat-
ten draw connecting lines and cut the rabbet from one
spot to another, continuously, but do not try to finish it
where it runs into the stem and where the deadwaods lap
onto the stern. Leave the rabbet uncut there until you
have the deadwoods bolted on. Then, with a batten, draw
the line in far across the stem and cut the rabbet. It
would be well in all cases to paint the various parts of
the keel as you get them out with a thin coat of lead
paint, to prevent their checking as they dry out, which
they are bound to do unless your wood is already per-
fectly seasoned.
Now, get out the stem. This also is of oak, and re-
quires a piece of wood 6 feet 6 inches long, 3 inches
thick and 10 inches wide at its widest part, tapered to 6
by 3 at the top. Smooth off the stem the same as you did
your keel on both sides, but remember one point, and that
is always to v/ork all the deadwOods, stem, etc., from one

side only; that is, if you are squaring up from the star-
board side of the stem, keel and deadwoods. in squaring
the edges, always apply your square to this face, making
everything square to it. If you try your square first on
one side and then on the other, you may find uneven-
nesses of the pieces of wood that will throw the square
off
Get the lower end of the stem so that it fits, notching

<
-J
Q-

o
OQ

77
78
over the end of the keel as you can very often make
shown in the plan, and then use of carriage bolts, but
lay out the lines marked here you need galvanized
rabbet line arid bearding rod iron. Any firm that
line. Between these two sells boat hardware carrie?
this in stock in all sizes
you are to chisel out the
notch termed the rabbet, from J4-'nch up to i inch
into which the ends of all or more in diameter. For
the planking are to fit. You this boat you will require
will notice that these two two rods of about Ji-inch
lines are narrowed together iron and about two dozen
at the top and spread apart Fia-s r/a-? clinch rings for the same.
considerably at the bottom. F/^ctre.
8 shoov^ /hA ^ee/ hraceef To the f/^^or, /^/i^ure. 9 Bore your holes as shown
The reason for this is the J/tow3 hocu nruc/t eas/er/th fo work arot/rid a b^af in the plan where the bolts
the n//ie/i fhc braces ca/? /be puf u/^ /o f/ie beams Oi^enhe/xl. are to go, measure the ex-
planking approaches
stem at a much sharper act length with a little thin
angle near the bottom, the piece of wood, and get the
same thickness of plank requires a broader surface fore bolts just the right length to reach from one edge of
and aft. The planking in this boat is three-quarters of an wood to the other, allowing the heads on the outside to
inch thick and this rabbet and bearding line has been countersink to a depth of about ^ to i inch, and this
for this thickness of wood, and you countersink should be bored with about J^-inch bitt.
figured on our plans
will find, if you take a small piece of j4-inch wood as a These holes, we might here say, are afterward to be
when chisel out filled with wooden plugs which
templet, you
the rabbet and apply it at the you can also buy* at a boat
different bevels at which the hardware store. Hold the
different waterlines approach bolts in a vise and rivet up
the stem, that you will require one end so you form quite a
Kee/
just the widths shown on the good-sized head on it, and
Stem for the rabbet. Figs. 3, while doing this you will no-
4 and 5 illustrate what will ^ntic/j/jz/^s. tice the quality of the iron
happen if you do not get this you are using, and it should
rabbet cut just right. In be such that as you form the
the plank is shown as head, it will not flake off and
Fig. 3
it properly fits into the rabbet. fly in pieces, but will stand
The outside of the plank turning over and forming a
finishes flush with A, which is good, strong ridge.
the rabbet line, the inside fin- Paint the adjoining faces of
ishing flush at the spot B,
•
the stem and knee with a
/2>ni/an^
line.
representing the bearding good, thick mixture of white
If you do not hold the little lead paint just before you bolt
templet of the planj^ing at the them together. Then drive
right angle. Figs. 4 and 5
show The ra^be/^ a/ond^ or? f/?e Aee/ /j or?A- the bolts in from the outside,
what will happen. In Fig. 4
the templet has not been ap-
^ beye/ cu/ ^o ^/7e ^/i^mc/i p/a/ik put a clinch ring over the in-
ner and rivet them up
end,
plied at enough of an angle, i!^///
///' ^(^6/are a/ //?£ d:^//'/er£'/7f
firmly,having some one hold
and in Fig. 5 the angle is too on against the outer end with
acute, and you will notice the
a/^g/so /^ i^J7/c/? //" m^e/i //7e /res/. a good heavy weight, such as
e<dge of the plank does not fit rom/ara me a/tif/?/c C/a/^a /^(Pr& //<?/'- the pene end of a top maul
m flush with the surface of the
//?^/- ^^/^j^/^j- ^^/-^ ^^/yj^^^/ In regular boat shops they
wood. This same principle ap- / ^ / have a five or ten-pound block
plies aft, of course, as well as of iron with a hole drilled in
forward, where you get
the it, into which a stub end of an

rabbet line across the dead-

FIG -3. iron bolt is put, which they
wood shaft log and stern tim- hold against the bolts, but
ber. Be sure that the after this, of course, amateurs
side of the stem is cut perfectly would hardly have at hand.
square with the working face, There is one bolt, the forward
and then get out a stem knee, one in the keel, that does not
as shown in the drawing, and go all the way through. This
see also that. the edges of this is called a driftbolt. Bore for
are perfectly square. If they F/S-^ this the same as you did the
are not, when you come to other, but be careful the bitt
rivet the stem and keel to- you use does not bore a hole
gether to this knee, they will so large that the bolt will slip
not be in a perfect line, but in too loosely. If anything, it
will stand decidedly crooked should be i/16-inch smaller
and twisted. than the drift bolt, so that, as
Owing to the different you drive it in it will hold and
lengths of bolts needed in the draw the wood tightly to-
keel and deadwoods, carriage
bolts are very seldom used.
F/as gether.
The after end of the back-
When you come to bolt the bone of this boat is composed
clamps and frames together. of several pieces of wood, and.

79
owing to difficulties many amateurs
have in borine their shaft holes, we List of lumber needed to construct BEJWER
have shown that style of construc- NO. OP lENen mem iAnJOO THICK.
tion in which the shaft log is built JTEM PIfCES n n\in
n£tfflK/<i T?tn/II?KS
I IN. rr. I IN.

up of two pieces of wood, with one- Keel one. 2M. nnk dressedf
half the shaft hole gouged out of nak
Qtem_ one, tSL /a
each piece, and the two held to- De^^woad^ one m. oak
gether by iron dowels. Get these 5haff Lo(^ one. oak
two pieces out first, and the piece of 5 ten7 Hne€ one tiackmatiie 3' arms .i^/jars
deadwood that is to go under them, stern Kn(f& one tia^Amalhc,- 3/^uaK&
Ouartef Kioees tu/o harJcmatoe. 2' arnfS
as per plan, and then bolt them to- nijtsf/^are.

gether, riveting up the bolts on the

BreastJiooK . one. ln_sauaft:<-
'

.y^ouMi one 12. sprues un p/aue/^

inside of the shaft hole, but be sure sonjce
fVUi /•A
they are countersunk well below the
shafthole, so as not to interfere with Transom
fUJO
one.
M
za
Lk
IV^
jpn/ee.
oak. dr/>sj^d
the sleeve when you come to put it F/onrs four m lA oak
oak
through the shaft hole. Then bolt Deck I3e>.am5 fan 10 !k
the stern timber to the upper piece Cnckp/t
•J<o, fleams nine. tk spruce
of the shaft log, and the up and one 10 .oaf:
down sternpost which binds the ends Fra/n&S j/y /O /•A oak t^resseij

of these deadwood 5/x tik oak

pieces together. cedar dr^sse^
PJank/y?c U003f. ft.
Be very careful that the holes for cedar
(^ahifl dick /20s^.
ft
your dowels which extend in a row Cni/arina tinarti ^ree. m. oak
either side of the shaft hole in the
shaft logs are perfectly in line, so
Off-er %
ibfffC k p/ne 70 ft
C'oc/<pft' f/oor twafi/e. iP- 'A
when you set one piece of wood on Cahw. J/y m. 'A. t^a^ or/jni/tial_
f/oor
the other, they will drive tightly 3 ead^
iA//(/7
to iioirer
COS_}f^_ftL2
together. The two shaft logs in U/&ann,
inij jfnp
fiJ'O Hl etiT}
this boat, owing to the deadwood Mo/j/^
rkf. tm/o m //« ai>k /i/t/fraund
nr .spruce dresse^t
being only 3 inches wide, are made C/ampr, four IM. pn
of heavier stuff, 4 inches, beveled C/amp fujo m yg/.

oak
off outside of the rabbet line, so A^/>nn'n^
l3/ff- one
down with the 3-inch B/tf:s fujn oak
they face one. oak
stuff.
TF/jMur one nak
When the deadwood is all bolted Ci'jamjni
2^ three ^ ftd. nak
oak
together, drift bolts and all, get out C/^mpa/iJibn/jgy
Posts thUO
a stern knee, as shown in the plan. T/./7/- its.. tn spruce.
To this the transom is to be riveted. ^ramfls aak
i^caf a/afj ten ^/^?r
The transom made of i^-inch
is Burks -
franll foa 'A pine
oak, the shape shown in the plans, fops iL
fni'r
tiun Sl cak
but, of course, you cannot buy a face. ft<<
piece of oak as wide as is required T ri/t/pe.
.•Sky/tahf ria. one
tA
pme
for this. So you have to join two or
ands Ji.
more boards together to get the re- ramrJ 3Z t!k ^
quired width. This requires another JU/a^
nice piece of carpenter work to face rnmoanionajfjy
up both edges so as to make a per- Deck h,7iren3 Taio rt,. oak
fect seam, and then dowel the two
together. Fig 6, on page 18, shows
one method of doing this, that is, where they are doweled much better system of shoring the keel to the rafters or
together, and Frg. 7 shows how an amateur who feels he beams overhead, which leaves the floor perfectly clear for
cannot successfully make the dowel joint, can put them a man to walk and vvork around his boat without stum-
together by nailing cleats across the inner face of them. bling over the braces. The stem and transom should be
It is generally customary to
get this much of the boat braced both sidewise and fore and aft, as considerable
all bolted
together before the keel is "set up," as it is strain is to be put upon both of them when you come to-
termed, and the manner of doing (his varies according to bend the stiff yellow pine ribbands around as you proceed
—
the conveniences or lack of them —
at the builder's dis- with the work.
posal: For instance, a man who has a shop with a good, Where these braces are nailed fast to the upper part of
level floor to work on, has many
advantages over the man the stem, called the stem head, it is customary to leave
who has to work outdoors on the ground. All the former that part of the stem larger than is needed for the fin-
has to do is to lay a pile of blocking along the floor which ished job, or to leave the stem head longer than is actu-
ally needed, and then when the planking is all on and you-
will raise his keel 14 inches at the forward end and
6>4
at the after end, as marked in the
plan. But a man who can dispense with the shores, the stem head, which at this
has to do this work outdoors will have to scrape away the part is full of nails, can be dressed down or if left longer,
loose earth and get down to hard pan before he begins to can be sawed right off and thrown away. In the case of
build up his blocking. If he doesn't, he will find that as the after end at the transom you cannot do this, so secure
the weather comes and goes, rain and dry, the blocking the braces to the inner face of the transom, where the
will settle his boat all out of line. holes will not show when you take the nails or screws,,
The manner of holding the keel firmly to the blocking whichever you have used, out of the braces.
while you put up the molds and proceed to the building of The temporary molds which are to serve as guides to
the boat is also done in various ways. Fig. 8 shows the give you the shape of the boat when framing, can be
method where these braces dre carried down to the floor made of about i-inch stuff if the boat is to b6 built with-
or to the ground, as the case may be, while Fig. 9 shows a cold fitted timbers. By this I mean timbers bent over a

80
mold and when cold beveled and fitted in around the rib- When the two sides of the mold have been cut out,
bands which run fore and aft along from one of these spread them out on the floor, one each side of a center
molds to the other, but if the boat is to be framed with shown in Fig. 10, and cleat them securely together.
line, as
hot timbers, that is, the timbers taken from the steam box The upper ends should be left about six inches longer
and bent directly in around the ribbands, it would be ad- than is actually needed in "the boat. This is done so that
visable to make these molds of at least ij^-inch or 2-inch the cross pall, as it is called, which in plain language
spruce. It does not have to be a very good quality of means the brace across the tops of them, can be bolted fast
wood, as it is all temporary work, and is of no use what- to the molds, so the lower edge comes just flush with
ever when the boat is done. what is to be the sheer line in the boat. This you will
A
great fault with many of the amateurs in attempting find later will be a considerable help to you.
to build a boat is in trying to do with too few of these Another form of checking up the boat's molds is to
molds. Some of the best boatbuilders in the country go mark where the load waterline and center line come.
to the trouble of making an individual mold for every Then you can plumb your mold when you set it up on
frame, but this, of course, is not necessary in this case. the keel by dropping a plumb bob from the center mark
1 have shown five molds, Nos. I, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and given on the cross pall to make sure the mold stands plumb,
all the dimensions necessary for determining their shape. and you can also, with a spirit level, see whether it is
Mold No. is to be set up three feet forward of the after
t; level across. You cannot be too particular in putting up
«dge of the transom and the your molds to see that all
others each four feet apart. this worlc is very carefully
Molds 4 and 5 have their done, if you do not want to
faces aft and the Molds i, 2 build a lop-sided boat, and
and 3 are to be set with their that is what you will surely
faces forward. Mold i is get if you are not very care-
set where frame 4 goes, No. ful in plumbing the molds.
2 where frame 8, No. 3 As all the strain of bending
•where frame 12, No. 4 where in the hot frames comes
frame 16, and No. 5 at frame upon these molds, you cqn
20. These frames will have readily understand that they
to be left out until the molds must be very securely braced,
are removed and then put in the same as the stem and
in their places. transom were, the overhead
An amateur could sav.e method being far preferable.
<;ohsiderable time, perhaps, They can also be braced by
by cutting the boards out of running a fairly wide plank,
which the molds are to be say, a plank 6 or 8 inches
made so as to approximate wide, down through the mid-
roughly the shape desired, dle of the boat, so one edge
and measuring off from the of this board just lines up
center line the measurements with the center mark of each
given in the mold shapes, and mold. This will help hold
<lrawing a batten through the molds in position, and at
this, but while doing so, he the same time is an excel-
.should be very careful that lent fore and aft brace for
the boards do not shift. If them.
they do, the whole mold will There are several methods
be of imperfect shape and which can be used in fram-
the boat will be unfair when Seftmcf up a mould
-
O/je man p/oi/nbs // ing the boat. Some builders
you come to build her. use one method and some
If you have a large, clean another. So, when I 5tate in
floor space, or thesame could this particular case one meth-
be provided by laying down sheets of heavy brown wrap- od of how to build this boat, and you see a boatbuilder
ping paper, it -might be well to measure off these mold doing it another way, do not imagine that he doesn't know
shapes on the floor. Then, by laying a row of nails so his business, or that I do not know mine. It is merelj' a
that their heads just came along on the line so drawn, matter of choosing which way we think will be the easiest;
the shape could be reproduced on to thin pine pattern under the circumstances. Builders, for instance, put up,
boards by laying them carefully over the nails and stamp- say, four molds which show the shape of the boat at four
ing on them. This is the way it is done in a boat shop. points, bend very light spruce or yellow pine ribbands
These thin patterns are then cut with a draw-knife and around these molds, and saw out the shape of each par-
again fitted back to the pen .il marks on the floor. When ticular frame. Others bend a lot of frames over a mold
they are found to be accurate, they are tacked together to that approximates very closely to the shape, allow these
give one side of the mold, for in boat work we only do frames to set and become cold, and then fit them one by
one side at a time and reproduce the other side by simply one, beveling them and straightening them out wherever
reversing the pattern. The molds themselves can then be necessary to give the shape, and riveting them up in pairs
cut by laying this pattern onto the heavier stock out of before they go into the hull, but when they do go in, they
which the molds are made. are perfect and complete.
In a professional boat shop, where a power-driven If I were building a boat myself, this would be the
"band-saw is at hand, the labor of getting out these molds method I should follow, but it is much more difficult, and
•does not amount to very much, but an amateur who has for that reason I am going to tell, an easier way in which
to saw them out by hand and drag them out with a draw- the amateur can perform the same work, and that is, in-
knife will think by the time he has got out his molds stead of bending light ribbands around your molds, you
alone, he has done pretty nearly enough work to build must get good, solid ones, say 2 inches square, of yellow
the boat. If a mill is handy he might take his patterns pine, long enough to reach from one end of the boat to
there and have the molds. sawed out. the other. If not in one piece, they can be reinforced

82
where the two join together by a piece 6 or 7 feet long, to If you wish to carry this doublmg up of frames a little
which they are riveted or screwed. further fore and aft, it will not hurt the boat any, but at
Bend about seven of these around the molds on each least put them as far as shown in the plan
side, then heat up in the steam box as many timbers at a When the frames are all bent, the next step is to rein-
time as is possible, take them out of the steam box while force them at the keel with sawed oak floors, i}/^ inches
still hot and bend them in at intervals of a foot inside of thick. To save considerable fitting and to simplify the
these ribbands, drawing them up to them by boatbuilders' job. in this boat we have carried each floor up so that
screw clamps. This method the top edges provide a
does away with all that dif- Itve) surface on which the
shajpeof, C^i €rs(>x>nj._ cabin floor can be laid di-
ficult beveling which the nishtd,
timbers that are fitted in rect without going to the
cold are subject to, as here trouble of fitting in an ad-
the timbers while hot ^an ditional set of floors
be twisted so that they fit Some builders, instead of
flat against the ribbands. using sawed floors as we
For this purpose, while you have shown here, take Short
are bending them, provide pieces of the same stock
yourself with a good-sized that the frames are made
monkey wrench, which will of, say, pieces 4 to 5 feet in
give you leverage enough length, steam them and
to twist most any bevel 5hou/ing hou/ fra/73om ofiapec/ ouf of three pieces 0/ bend them in righton top
a/oixf /s c^ou//ec^ /b(ferf>er anct c^efa/% of the i^ou/ii/
necessary in the most stub- of the frames, across the
born frame. The greatest keel, connecting one frame
difficulty in framing a boat with the other, and riveting
this way the liability of
is them to the frames. If
the frames to split or crack this is done, of course, ad-
in two where they are re- ditional beams have to be
quired to take a quick bend, fitted to receive the cabin
which in this boat I have flooring, which our method
attempted to dispense with, of construction dispenses
making the frames as easy with. To get the shape of
a sweep as is possible, at the each floor as you are build-
same tmie getting a well- ing it, stretch a chalk line
shaped boat. FiG-7 fore and aft from stem to
The hardest part of this deadwood at the height
^hoai'in^ houi fransom, is someHmes held
frame will be found in the shown in the plans, then
together by c/e43b <3creu/ec/ fasf /ns/'ctc. —
heads of the after timbers.
There the curve is the
take a thin say to Yi-
inch pine board about 4 —%
quickest, and it may be necessary to construct a special feet wide and 9 or 10 inches deep, lay it across the top of
mold which will give you about the curve required at that the keel, against the frame whose floor you wish to find
point, and bending the timbers over it to get that sweep. the shape of, making sure that the top edge is level, and
Then, if they will not fit in cold at the heels, re-steam with a pencil mark along the outside of each frame on
them and bend them in where needed. The novice will this board. You will find this a very quick and simple
find the subject of steaming frames gone into in detail in method of determining the shape, and with a draw-knife
the Motor Boat Handbook, Vol. I. you can cut this thin wood pattern along the pencil line
In buying your oak for the frames, ^ou do not want dry and use it to cut the shape of the floor out of the heavy
stock, but on the other hand it could be decidedly green. Ij4-inch oak. By beginning amidships, where the angle
If it is too dry —
and you will soon be able to tell if such is of the floor is flatter, you will find as you proceed forward
—
the case the frames will crack right in two. You do from frame to frame, the one pattern can be used over
not want any quarter-sawed oak; only the straightest and over again, a shaving being taken off each time as
grain boards should be used. the angle sharpens up toward the bow, and a similar
Do not attempt to use boards for frames that are full of method will enable you to get the after floors.
knots. If you do, you will find there will be considerable Nail the heel of each frame to its floor with a 3-inch
waste, as the frames will break nine times out of ten galvanized iron boat or wire nails. You may have to
where the knot distorts the grain of the wood, and you bore most of the way for these nails. If you do npt, you
will only waste time and material in attempting it. If may split the frames, which, after all the work you have
you bend in a batch of frames to-day, they will be set gone to, is anything but pleasant.
sufficiently by the morrow to enable you to take ofif the It is a good practice to double up the ribband that goes
clamps, cut the heels so they butt against each other at —
along the head of the timbers the sheer ribband as it is
the center of the keel, and then proceed' to nail them se- called —
by bending one outside of the other and lag-
curely to the keel with about 2-inch galvanized boat nails, screwing them together to the stem and stern and to each
and nair them lightly to each ribband so that you can do mold. Do not trust to merely nailing these ribbands to
away with the screw clamps, and use them in bending in a the molds, for, as sure as you do, you will meet with a
fresh batch of timbers. It would be impracticable to have catastrophe by having the ribbands spring off and get your
enough screw clamps to frame the boat at one time, and frame all unfair. The last frame in the boat, frame No.
very, few boatbuilders do so. In fact, by the time you have
—
23 for our frames in this boat are spaced a foot apart
—
bent in six or eight pairs of frames, you could then nail is to be screwed fast to the inner face of the transom, re-
them temporarily to the battens and remove the clamps to inforcing the same so that when you come to put your
use on others. planking on, you can put an alternate fastening, one in the
Along in .the way of the engine amidships, that is, be- frame and one in the transom, giving a doulsle holding
tween frames 12 and 16, bend an intermediate frame be- surface which at the ends of the boat is a very important
tween each of the regular timbers, so as to reinforce the part of the construction.
boat at this point, to withstand the vibration of her engine. When, all the floors have been gotten out and riveted to

83
the -frames, you can knock out the temporary molds which trude, and tap it a little to slightly rivet it just enough to
were first erected on the keel, so as to enable you to put keep the nut from untwisting and loosening. Do not
in the fore and aft yellow pine stringers. There are three put these bolts in a direct line. Put one, say, near the
of these on each side, one which goes along the upper top of the clamp, the next near the bottom, etc., staggering
edge of the forward timbers, forming ai ledge on which them alternately up and down.
the cabin roof beams land, another one running along at As the cabin beams are to be ij^ inches deep, be sure to
what is considered the sheer height, and another one, set the upper clamp that distance below the edge of the
known as the bilge stringer, which runs along halfway" boat, puis the thickness of the cabin top, so that when these
from the keel to the deck edge. The purpose of these beams are nailed to it, their upper surface will just come
stringers is to stififen the frame, and they should be of flush with the heads of the timbers, which, of course, are
clear yellow pine about 2 inches thick and 4 inches wide. underneath the deck. Now, to stiffen the three corners
To jnake them a little easier to bend in the ends where which this boat has, that is, the stem and the two quarters
the curve becomes quite sharp, it is customary to taper aft, knees are fitted in. In the case of the forward one,
these stringers to, say, ij4 or lyi inches thick by about which is technically termed a breast hook, many people

3 inches in depth. If you do not taper them, put the for- do not go to the trouble and expense of jjutting in a regu-
ward ends in the steam box and make them soft and lar natural growth knee, but, instead, merely fit in a three-
pliable. If you don't, you will never get them around the cornered block of oak, the thickness of the deck beams,
curve without breaking. iJ/2 or 2 inches, which is notched around the head of the
If you have been careful in bending in your timberSt first timber, or you can cut this timber off flush with the
and careful that the timbers were of the same size, all ij^ bilge clamp, and bolt the breast hook to the stem by a
inches thick, before bending them in, you will find that diagonal fastening or with a long bolt bored clear through
these clamps will fit fair Cabw ct<Kk V'4"p>77<t -Cdrj^d5i<rd from the forward side of
and true on the inner edge the stem to the after side
-of each timber. If they do of the breast knee.
not do so, shave down the A.ft, where the angle is
high timbers until they do considerably more open, a
make a perfect fit on each knee is far preferable to a
one. If you do not, the mere block of wood. Their
timbers will be pulled in arms are short. In our case
and out, forming a very ir- it only requires a 22-inch
reeular and unfair side line. knee of about 2 inches
Here is the place where you thickness. This knee is fit-
can use carriage bolts to ad- ted to the inside of the
vantage, if you want to. transom and riveted fast to
Bore from the outside, the same, spiked to the up-
countersink the heads of per edge of the deck clamp,
each one of the carriage upon which it rests, and
bolts into the frame, and set when the plank goes on,
the nut up tight on the in- 'iKoci f/oori YQi, can get a few fasten-
"^otoncf boct to be //uihed of 'incTQ nf tVip ^dVi «;frakp into
side of the clamp, cutting
/tee/ yfu'oak
off any end that may pro- i^ii' f/ow
free/y to fii>mp msH. this knee.

84
 Part II

sure to brace the frames the same as you did the use your head and good judgment in selecting the boards^
BE molds, before you remove them to put in frames in
their place, because the boat will be subjected to
you can waste a lot of cedar. There is, at best, considr
erable waste in planking a boat, about 25 per cent., gen-
considerable strain in being planked. For this same rea- erally, varying more or less as the shape of the boat ap-
son it is better to put in all the deck beams, cabin beams, proaches or departs from a round, barrel-like shape.
and even the cockpit floor beams can be fitted, but not The principle of planking a boat is, the same as the
fastened, as the latter would be in your wav when riveting construction of a barrel. The barrel staves are all shaped
up the plank fastenings. This work can be done so much, wider in the middle and narrower at the ends, only in a
easier now than after the hull is all shut in with planking. boat the ends are not all the same size as in a barrel.
The cabin beams are of oak, i inch thick by ij4 to 2 After one or two planks have been fitted onto our hull, we
inches ^eep, cut with a sweep that raises them g inches in will return to tfiis barrel principle and you will realize the
the width of 9 feet. You can either sweep this curve with similarity in construction.
a long wire or a batten about 13 feet 3 inches long, or The first, and perhaps the hardest, platlk of all to fit is
you can lay it out by taking the measurements off a the one next to the keel, called the garboard strake. The
smaller circle swept with a 9-inch radius, as shown in difficulty is principally in not knowing how, and in trying
Figure 8. The quarter of the circle is divided into four short cuts, but I can assure you that the ancient' boat-
parts, a, b, c, and the base line in four, 'd, e, f. Then, on builders have in the past centuries found and made use of
a thin (J/2-inch) pine board 9 feet long, snap a chalk line all short cuts, and so don't you try to find out any more..

//oic a tea^ moaU /s /a/d ouf from a (:/rc/e whose yaaf/as eac^a/s' f/ie crou/f? af^/?e /^eam.

for a base line, and in the middle measure up 9 inches, I know I when I built my first toat, but I had to come
did
then from the middle toward each end divide the 4}4 back to the orthodox method of "spiling."
feet into four equal parts, d, e, f, and lay off the distances Spiling for the shape of a plank consists of tacking a
a, b, c, etc., on the bevels, as found in the small circle. Do thin board, say, ^-inch thick, to the frames, so that its
the same reversed for the other side and then, by bending lower edge, in near the rabbet, along on the keel, is cut so
a batten through these spots, you get a true, curve for a that it roughly fits to the curve the ralibet takes onto the
pattern or beam mold by which to mark out your cabin stem, as shown in Figure 9; with another such board
deck beams. tacked to the after end and the two lapped and nailed to-
The beams across the after deck can be cut from the gether amidships, or one long plank, if you have it. With
same pattern, but those across the cockpit floor should be a pair of dividers set to span the greatest distance between
laid out to a very much flatter curve, one with only about this "spiling staff," as it is called, and the rabbet, prick off
2 inches round in the width of the cockpit. a series of spots to give you the curve necessary to cut the
Many amateurs, I know, will make them straight across, garboard to, so it will fit. At the ends, where there is con-
because it is easier to do so. The advantages of having siderable curve, lay your rule across at intervals of 3 or
them cur^ved a little is that they will drain off any rain 4 inches, and mark a series of lines, to give you the direc-
water quicker than one lard dead flat. tion in which the measurements are to be taken off and
Now comes the job ot planking up. This frightens measured back on. Take plenty of measurements around
many amateurs, but, as a fact, it is one of the most inter- these curves, but along amidships, where the rabbet runs
esting parts ofall, when done right and studied aJs you go in a straight line, you will not need so many. One every
on with it.Like an economical tailor, you can cut your foot or 18 inches will be enough.
planking so as to make it go a long ways or, if you don't Then carefully remove this thin pattern (the rule staff)

Thepnycess c/ JjO/Z/na co/is/s/s //? /b£/?£///ia a //^/r? i^aar^ rou^f/?// s/;a/y^d ^f//' ar?^ Me^

85
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86
 and lay it aut flat on the wide, clear cedar board you have
selected to make your garboard of, and proceed to set
these distances back with the dividers still set to the same
distance between their points. Draw a line through these
spots with the aid of a thin batten, tacked outside of the
spots, so the brad holes will not puncture the part you
are going to use, and saw out the shape of the lower edge
and plane it up smooth. The upper edge can be snapped
with a chalk and cut out that way.
line perfectly straight,
If the boat, perfectly true on each side, this same pattern
is
—
would fit both sides you might try the garboard on the
other side and see if it fits. If it does not, take another
"spiling"; that is, repeat the measuring oflf process for
the other. With screw clamps try these planks on, and
mark any imperfections in fit, and cut until they fit per-
fectly all along the rabbet line. When perfect, you can
fasten them on. For this you want two braces and bitts
or twist drills, one with a bitt to cut for a countersink so as
to let the nail head go in about 3/16-inch, so a wooden
plug can be fitted, and be sure the bitt bores a hole the size
of your plugs and not a sixteenth too large or too small,
and another bitt that will bore a snug hole for your nails.
The nails that go into the stem and deadwood should be
galvanized iron nails, about ij4 inches long, and those
that go through the frames where you can get at them to
rivet them up should be 3/16-inch copper nails 2j4 inches
long. Bore with a Dutch gimlet bitt for the fastenings
into the ends, or you may buckle the nail over in the hard
oak, and so split and spoil your plank. Above all, don't try
to hurry the work —
go carefully, and you'll get ahead
faster in the end.
You can get out another plank or two to go above the
garboard, making it a good wide plank, for when you get
up around the turn of the bilge you cannot use them so
wide.
Then with these two or three on the bottom put on
what is called the "sheer strake," the one at the deck edge.
With your thin pattern boards as a spile staff, find what
shape the top edge of this board will make by measuring
off at intervals with the dividers as before. Then make
the plank about 6 inches wide in the middle, 4 inches at
the bow, and 3 inches at the stern, sweeping in a fair line
with a batten. Where the deck clamp comes in your way".
sO you cannot rivet the fastenings, use the galvanized
iron boat nails instead.
Now you have to stop and do some figuring to see how
many planks will take to fill in the remaining space, so
it
that you will not have a patchwork job. Take a batten'
and bend it down around the outside of a frame amidships.
This distance, we will say, comes to 5 feet, and if you
decide 4 inches is as wide as you want the planking to be
there, it will require 15 planks. Don't make the common
error of wanting to do the job quickly, and try to use
planks a foot wide. Remember such a plank will shrink
and swell nearly twice as much as one 6 inches wide, and
not look well either; in fact, when you come to the turn
of the bilge you may have to reduce them to 3 inches,
putting in four planks 3 inches wide, instead of three of
them 4 inches wide.
^
Now bend the batten around the second frame from the
bow. Here you only have 2H feet, or 45 inches. Fifteen
planks in a space of 45 inches gives you a width of 3
inches for each plank at that end, and the widths aft are
found in the same way. In the same manner you could
divide the distance at each frame and find out how wide
the planks should be at every frame, but this is not
necessary.
It is not always possible to get planks to run full
length from end to end, and it is not necessary that they
should, although most amateurs with their first smattering
of knowledge on the subject imagine a well-built boat
should have no butts at all. As a matter of fact, a well-
made butt is the strongest part of the plank. Amateurs

87
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 sometimes try to cut the planks so that the two ends both Fmifii -3
land on a frame with only a width of about i]^ inches.
fiame/Z
This is dead wrong. You can't toe-nail them both to the
same frame and expect them to hold. Cut them so that
they butt midway between the frames, and then fit a
"butt block," as it is called — a piece of i-inch or 114-inch
oak plank, so jams snug between the frames, and about
it

3X-inch wider on each side than the planking, this gives a

little ledge to extend up behind the planks above and
below it, so as to steady it.
Do not let two butts come in line, one under the other.
"Break butts," as boatbuilders call it, by making the joint
in the next plank come two or three frames forward or
aft of the first one. There should be at least two planks
intervening between butts in the same fraiiie space. With
your "spile find the shape the top of the next plank
stafif,"
must be to the lower edge of the sheer strake, and with
fit

this shape marked off on a plank you are going to cut it

out of, measure the widths 4 inches amidships, 3 inches
forward and, say, 2 inches aft, whatever it may be, and
sweep in a fair curve with a batten for the lower edge of
the plank. After working three or four planks down from
the top put some more on at the bottom, working toward ,<fl'^ At
the middfe, until only one plank remains to be fitted. That
is known as the "shutter" plank, and its fitting in in ship-

yards used to be the signal for a drink from the boat-

builders. Old timers would predict all kinds of disasters
to the boat whose shutter was not "wet" to assist it in
Toing in. The boatbuilders got the "wet." You may feel
the joy that inspired this tradition when you realize that
3-9"
that plank completes the job of planking; anyway, you'll S--3' --;b
be happy and proud, too.
There used to be a great deal of mystery thrown about /2 a/7a' ^a sawe ic/^
the job of planking a boat. It does call for some skill, btit a^ca/fje J"/o/a/?i- o/j/rame 3
the foreman who laid out the planking always took good
care to conceal the manner in which he did it.
The "planking was 3 mystery in which none
e //Tta/o parts ar?^ ^J,<?n eac/r ay
scale" 0/ /-/yerg //j
e/^^rAi
were and the lucky man who could pry
to be initiated,
into and understand the system at once became a power in a/-
an^ /nZ-et/^^e^/a/ayra/rte. r^eajcfre afcjf/l' MiJsca/e
a boat shop. byptMna anf e/7i^ ffa/nst ^arboan/ ar7(/u/A^rz ///e ufx/gr-
It is laughable how instructors in boatbuilding, when 3/de o^ me rop strake ^/ass<?s jca/e read ^^^.^/'d/^.
they come to a description of this subject fall down as —
the author of one book I have in my library remarks, when
he comes to describe planking: "I have never been able
to find anyone who could explain this operation so as to
make it clear, and doubt my own ability to do so, so will
Meave you to puzzle it out for yourself."
I don't want there to be any puzzle about' it, and so I
shall tell you here what the planking scale is, and tell you
how to use it on this boat. For the scale plane upa thin
slat of wood like a lath about an inch wide and 5^-inch
thick, and as long as the distance around the frame from

i the top strake to the garboard. To use this scale, butt one
end against the top edge of the garboard or second strake,
if it is on, and tack it
lightly. Then bend the scale around
the face of the midship frame, and mark where it touches
the lower edge of the sheer strake. That is the distance to
be planked, and as we have already decided our plank
shall be 4 inches wide at this point, mark that spot 4.
Then do the same forward, where we found the planks
were to be 3 inches wide. Mark that distance as 3 the —
great mystery consists of dividing that distanc'e between
3 and 4 into eight equal parts, and so making a scale on
the slat of wood. Continue those same, divisions up the The do^eaf //fics be/q^ file tJase //ne.
scale to about 2, and you have a planking scale (Figure jhoou £f t^w'ck tnefhrpd of c/'i//^incf fhc
10). On the top strake, at the second frame, mark two as
cf/[5^nc£s f-fVfv the w/c^/^f/^ to each en^^f
the widths of all planks on that frame. To find the
width on each frame butt one end of this scale on the top c^/^fh (fh&3"aM/^ ) /f upa/fy are u/a/ife^s/.
of the plank, on the bottom and where the lower edge of the a5 <::/rauy/i ahoi/'O; /a^e ar)ysca/& u/her^/bur
top strake crosses the scaled off part of your batten or
parts are lon<:fer than the of/stance 'mhe.
planking scale you can read the width of the plank from it.
The widths so marked show how wide each plank is to be diir/i^eet a/?^
jiU//j^ /t c/oayn
unT// the/vur
.on each frame. ^a/k comes B
fhe center //r?e

89
 Another method for laying out a plank where you have of the caulking mallet how well or how badly it was being
determined the widths of the two ends and middle as we done. The seams of the plank when put on should be
did at first is to strike a half circle, Figure 1 1, with a slightly wedge-shaped, with the opening on the outside.
radius of 4 inches, the greatest width we decided for our Never fasten a plank on when the seam is wider inside
plank. Measure up square to the base line to where the than it is out. The water pressure is all from the outside,
—
curve is 3 inches high that is, the widths of the planks pushing on the cottop, and you want it to tighten as it is
—
forward and on the other side to where it is 2 inches. pushed in, ^nd not to loosen.
Divide the remaining space into any number of equal parts The cotton should be driven in about a quarter of an
and you can measure the widths at these places and lay inch beyond the surface of the plank and after painting
them out at corresponding intervals on the plank you are with thin white lead paint over the cotton and allowing
lining out on the board previous to cutting them out. This this paint to set over night, fill these seams with putty.
will give you a true, iavr sweep for the other edge of the Then smooth off the plank with a plane, sandpaper it
plank. well across the grain and after painting over each knot
The three or four short strakes of plank to form the with shellac to keep the sap in the knot from discoloring
the paint, give the hull a prime coat of paint, either red
lead or white lead mixed thin, and then two coats of what-
ever color you like.
If you want to do a nice job after you have once
smoothed her all off, previous to painting, take a bucket of
hot water and a big sponge and go all over her planking,
raised deck forward will be easy enough to any one who
can do the rest of the planking. soaking it well, and you will swell the grain and plugs,
Each plank can be riveted up as it is put on. Punch and if you then smooth her off again she will not become
so rough due to the swelling when she is afloat for a few
the nail in solid then, with one man holding a heavy
days. Full directions for striking the water line when
weight on against the head outside, another can get in-
side, put a copper "burr"
—
as the flat washers are called — painting will be found in the Motor Boat Handbook,
on the nail, punching it on with a short piece of either Vol. I.
brass or iron piping just big enough to go over the nail,
The framework for the cabin top, such as the openings for
cut it off within about I /16-inch of the washer and rivet it companionway slide and the skylight and the two hatches
on the after deck, should then be fitted, and the beams for
up. Don't hit it a couple of smashing blows, as that will
the eockpit floor fastened in place, but before these latter
only buckle the nail in the wood. Take a light hammer
with a ball pene end, like a machinist's hammer, and tap are secured, -get out your motor foundation, notch it over
it all round the edge until it curls, or "burrs" over; then
the heavy oak floors, and bolt it solidly in place.
hit it a couple of good taps in the center to expand it.
If you have your motor it is a good plan to line it up
Plane of? the uneven seams and any hard spots that now, before you box the boat in with too many bulkheads
and other things. Get a plumber to m;ike you a lead
may show on tlie planking, then go carefully all over
and test all loose looking knots, and punch them out. sleeve to go through the deadwood and flange it over at
Those with a black ring, which is a sort of bark, are the each end and tack it fast into a good white lead bed on the
loose ones. faces of the deadwood. Get out the mooring post for-
Then you want a bung reamer, a tapered, gouge-shaped ward and the two towing posts aft, of sound, dry, sea-
soned oak. Locust is better, if you can get it. Fasten the
two after ones in and brace them under the beams, but
iL=
o o o 000
leave the mooring post, after fitting it, until you have laid
the j4-inch deck and stretched the canvas tightly over it.
First lay the deck, punch the nail heads in, plane down
o o P/a/7/l:
the seams, putty all the holes, and give it a good, thick coat
o O o o 00 of paint, and then stretch the canvas as tightly as you can.
Pull it and tack it all around on the outer edge of the
deck with copper tacks, and cover this edge, after it is
-Frame
rrame -
mm 'oak duffO/oc/; painted, with a varnished half round oak molding.
After the mooring bitt is put through the hole in the

w i^ kiJ
—1^ deck turn the canvas up and tack it close around the bitt.
and the same with the skylight hatch frame screw it 'down
;

in white lead onto the canvas, and then turn the canvas up
1 A jji —— i^ <» 4^ 4i- around the inside of the hatch and tack it 'fast to prevent
leaking.
T/?e proper u/ay fo tu/f pla/Jkm^ necessary to hold the boat in some other manner
It is
when you come to finish the topsides, as the overhead
bitt, that will fit in a brace. Bore out all the black around shores are in the way, so nail a couple of short blocks on
the knot hole until it shows clear wood. Whittle pine or each side onto her plank, so the nails go into a frame and
cedar plugs and drive them into these holes good and brace up from the floor to these with shores.
tight, and then saw them off flush. The plugs that fill the The oak covering boards around the edge of the after-
nail holes should be dipped into a shallow tin can cover deck are sawed out of i-inch oak, and the deck laid of
like a lard pail cover of thick white lead paint and tapped white pine planks i inch thick and 3 inches wide. Caulk
in with a small hammer. Don't mash them in or they will and putty this deck and then plane, sandpaper and give it
swell out again like a sponge. a coat of shellac.
The caulking of the planking comes next, and that, to For the coaming quartered oak should be used, or else
my mind, is really more difficult than to plank the boat; mahogany, if you decide to finish her off in that wood.
that is, more difficult to tell the novice just how to do it, Fit the oak clock rails, as shown, forward and round off
because you can't specify how much cotton, as the ama- the head of the stem, so if you go alongside of a larger
teur seams are apt to be uneven in widths, and require a boat or up to a dock you do not have a sharp corner to
little inone place and a lot in another. You want just to cut and dig into things.
fill seam up tight and yet not jamb the planks apart. I
the The main bulkhead at the aften end of the cabin will
could tell better by sitting around and hearing the sound have to-be put up before you can put on the oak coamings

9P
/^3tA ON3

>Jl
 We have made no attempt in Beaver to make the cockpit breakdown. Sheaves set in oak chocks are bolted to the
floor a water-tight one, because the floor level is only a deck, as shown, and the tiller ropes lead outside the coam-
few inches above her load waterline, but if one prefers, he ing on the port side, then in and over her steering wheel,
could caulk it, and put lead pipe scuppers in the after cor- which is bolted to the after bulkhead between the box over
ners, but if one does this, I would advise raising the cock- her engine and the locker on the side which enables a man
pit a few inches higher than shown in the plans, so there to steer either right-handed or left-handed.
would be no danger of the water coming, back through the It is hardly necessary to go further into the details of

scupper when the boat settles by the stern when running building such a boat, as they are all of such minor impor-
hard. tance that even a boy would know enough to go ahead and
The steering gear of Beaver is made as simple as it is complete the job, and we feel we have fully explained the
possible to make it, and is all get-at-able in case of a difficult parts, where the amateur would need some help.

OF BEAVER

92
 Outboard Profile of the Nock Runabout

How to Build a 25-Foot Runabout

PART I. BY FREDERIC S. NOCK
horse-
DIMENSIONS. quired speed and not require an engine of excessive
accom-
Length over all 26 feet, 9J^ inches. power. At the same time the boat would be capable of
Length, waterline 24 feet, inches. modating some ten or more persons with perfect safety.
Breadth, extreme 5 feet, inches. The speed mentioned is not by any means the limit of
Breadth, waterline 4 feet, 5J4 inches. a 25-foot boat as 24 or more miles an hour can be ob-
feet, 11)4 inches.
Draft to Rabbet tained, but the power plant is usually something that
plays quite an important part, and you cannot very
well
seems to be quite a demand for a small run- expect to obtain such a high rate of speed with a 10 or
something a man with some knowledge
of
THERE
about, 20-hp. engine, no matter how light an engine you may
tools can build, and, when completed view his handi- procure.
work with pride. Not only is there a great deal of The boat I am going to call your attention to, and
in one of these craft, how
pleasure to be had running around try to explain to construct, is designed to carry a
but there is a certain charm and fascination in building small engine weighing between 600 and 650 pounds.
one, at least many men view it in that light. That such You can procure an engine of from 5 to 50 hp. that will
a diversion should appeal to the younger boys is rather not exceed the weight in question, and thus the power
to be expected, but as I look around and find many of question ought to suit the most exacting.
the older boys who spend the day in their office, devot- The plans show the boat without a skeg to protect
a boat in some the propeller, etc., but I have also shown the same keel
ing all their leisure moments building
barn or shed, I cease to be surprised at the demand for with a shoe and skeg for those who may prefer same.
articles on the building of small boats, even in spite of If you are looking for speed, don't use the skeg as it
the great number of plans that are illustrated and de- simply means increased wetted surface and consequently
scribed in the different magazines devoted to the sport. more resistance.
The building of boats by amateurs is by no means Many of you fully understand how to "lay down" the
confined to very small craft, as I can recall to mind four lines, but for the benefit of those who are not initiated
boats that are being built in the vicinity of Providence, into the mysteries and want to start at the beginning, 1
by amateurs at the present time, all of them being over will try and explain the operation in as simple a man-
32 feet in length. Some of them have been started
re- ner as I know how. In the first place it means the re-
cently, others were started long ago,
and some are far production of the lines full size on the floor, or what-
from being finished at the present time. With one ex- ever you draw them upon. I shall have to presume that
the you have a barn or suitable building in which you intend
ception,' the boats are being built throughout by
owners with assistance, at times, of their friends. The to build this boat; if not, and you have to rent one, select
"

exception had the frame gotten out for him and shipped a place that has a fairly smooth floor and plenty of
K. D., which means knocked down or taken apart be- light. Clear a place on the floor about 27 feet in length,,
fore being shipped. Another point which shows a de- and five or six feet in width. If the building does not
cided step in the right direction is that the boats in possess a floor or it is in poor condition, you can make
question were all designed by competent men, and are up a board large enough to draw the lines on, using
not a sample of the old rule of thumb type. spruce or hemlock boards, cleated together on the under-
The average man who wants a 22 or 25-footer is by side.
no means satisfied to consider a boat with a speed of It is advisable to work from the base line, and this you-
6 to 7 miles an hour, even though he wants a family boat. can put in near the edge of the board, make a mark
A few years ago when a man wanted plans for a family at either end, then with a chalk line stretched taut and
boat it was supposed to be something very wide and snapped, you should have a straight line through the
comfortable, that looked as though it would be impos- two points in question, but as chalk is very easily erased
sible to capsize, and, needless to say, it was usually very it is advisable to mark over this line with a pencil. Select
slow. Nowadays when a man wants a family boat of a board that is true and straight along the edge, and
25 feet in length he is quite apt to give the designer a use this for a straight edge to draw in the pencil line.
decided jolt by stating that he must have a speed of This line is the base line and all the heights given on
12 to 16 miles-, and he is pretty apt to get it. I don't the laying down tables are above the base line. Parallel
mean to infer by this that he has a boat of the length to this line and two
feet above same, strike in another
mentioned, carries a Sunday School class in the boat, and line, mark over with pencil to prevent it being easily
it

drives her at the required speed, but he can have a boat erased. This corresponds to L. W. L. (load waterline)
that with three or four persons on board can make the re- on the plan. Above this line (L. W. L.) at intervals of

93
5 inches, you can draw three more lines parallel to the Dase- see that it is a nice, fair curve; if there are any short

11 ne and
counting from the L. WL. mark them VV lines, kinks in it move the batten until it shows fair and tni^
I, 2, and 3, above, which means above the L. W. L. and then with your pencil draw in the sheerline, which
There are still two more lines to be drawn parallel to represents the height to the top of the phanksheer.
those mentioned, and they are W. line iB and W
line 2B. The next line shown on the tables is the rabbet line.
W. line iB is 3 inches below the L. W. L. and 2B is 3 You can proceed- to put in the points for this line in the
inches below iB Draw these lines in the same manner same manner as you did the points for the sheer, and
as the others, and mark them m
their proper order so when your points are all marked, spring your batten to
that you will not make any mistakes. Begin at the right same and mark the rabbet line. You will undoubtedly
hand side of the baseline and with a square draw a line find that the batten you have been using for the sheer-
perpendicular to the base line, and about 4^2 feet in line IS too strong to make the curve at the forward
height, measure i foot to the left and draw another line end of the rabbet line where the stem connects with the
parallel to the first, then at intervals of 2 feet draw 12 keel, and, therefore, in order to put this in it will be
more lines all perpendicular to the base line, and, of found necessarv to have a much lighter batten. Procure
course, parallel to each other one about 3-16x5/2 inch and if you get one about 5 feet
Begninmg with the second one from the right, mark
'

long, you can use it for the curves of the body sections.
this No. o. the next No. 2, the next No, 4, and so on In order to complete the rabbet line to the sheerline,
corresponding to the stations on the plans, and perhaps you will have to mark the distance the rabbet line is
It vvould be as well while you are putting in these from the point of measurement on the plans, and detail
lines 10draw another line between stations o and 2, and of stem. Mark each of these and continue the line to
also 22,and 24, numbering them i and 23 respectively , the sheer, taking due care to have it fair and you can-
then you will have just as many stations on the board proceed in a similar manner to put in the line representing
as is shown on the plans. Now if you will consult the the keel bottom, taking the rrieasurements from the tables.
laying down tables, you will note that the upper line of The face of the stem is a continuation of the keel bot-
the table proper gives the heights (above the base line) tom and you can get the measurements of same from
of the sheer at the different stations, mark these points on the plans, or the separate drawing of the stem. Draw this
the perpendicular lines, taking great care to have the line in the same manner as you did the rabbet line. If
right measurement. Drive a small bung head wire nail you want to put in sections 9 inches and 18 inches out,
at each point, then take a batten about %inch square you can do so. although you will not derive a great deal
and 27 feet long, one made from a good, clear, straight of benefit from same.
—
grained piece of stock yellow pine is as good as any- The next thine is the waterlines. The table shows the
—
thing as it will bend fair and true spring this batten up half breadths at the different stations, beginning with
to the nails, marking the points and keep the batten in the sheer. As the amount of space you have is limited,
position by driving nails in the board on the opposite you can use the baseline as the centerline and mark
side of the batten. Sight carefully along the edge and in the waterlines in practically the same manner as
you

LAYING DOWN TABLES FOR LINES N°2I0

AU JJimensions ai uen m Feet, /nchea, arjd E ights, and Abot/e Base Line, 8 Feet belour th* i-.V^Z:.

All Lines to outside of PlQr?K

5lalions
-= _
did the rabbet line ot.' the elevation, using the strong 9 and 18 inches out, in a line fore and aft, and used
batten where possible and the lighter batten for the short to be called bow and buttock lines. By using these lines
curves. Be sure and see that all the curves are fair and marking on same the heights at different stations, it
before you draw the line, and in doing this, while it will allow of your having a greater number of points
takes more time, it will save you lots of trouble and
worry later on.
The waterlines do not come to a point at the stem,
being 3-16 inch out from the centerline. This applies
to all the waterlines and if you will bring them to this
so when you
point, you will find the advantage of doing
start to make the stem, as each of these lines can be re-
ferred to. The body sections should next claim your at-
tention. Use either of the center stations, p. iferably No.
12, as the centerline and put in the diagonal
lines A,
B, and C, as shown on the plans. The tables show that
diagonal A intersects the perpendicular 2 feet above the
baseline and the baseline 2 feet out, therefore, you can
measure up on the centerline 2 feet and you will find that
tiie L. W. L. crosses at that point. Measure out on the base-
line 2 feet either side of the centerline and then draw a line
through the points on either side and you have diagonal A, Fig. 6. Mold, Showing Cleats and Cross Pawl.
Diagonal B intersects perpendicular 2 feet 6 inches above
baseline and baseline 3 feet 6 inches out. The point
(in the centerline will be where W. line lA crosses the
to draw your line through that which represents the body
perpendicular. Measure out 3 feet 6 inches along the section. Use the light batten, bend to the points, keeping
baseline either side of the centerline, draw a Une through
the batten in position in the same manner as you did for
the on either side and you have diagonal B.
points the rabbet and waterlines. Ascertain that it is fair and
Diagonal C intersects the perpendicular 3 feet above the
true and draw the line.
baseline and the L.W.L. 2 feet 9 inches out. The point
You must bear in mind that the lines as laid down are
of intersection with the centerline is where W. line 2B
to the outside of the planking and if you prefer to lay
crosses same, and if you mark a point on the waterline
down the body sections the molded size, or the size of
the required distance out and then draw a line through
the inside of the plank, you will have to take off 7-16
the points, you have diagonal C.
inch (the thickness of the plank) all around the inside
It is advantageous to work to the measurements on of the curve. You can please yourself whether you lay
the diagonals wherever possible for most of them cut the down the lines as shown, or draw them in to the molded
body sections at a less acute angle than the waterlines, size. If you prefer the latter method, you can do so by
especially the lower ones. Where the waterlines or any setting a pair of compasses to the required dimensions,
line intersects another at an acute there is liable
angle, 7-16 inch, set the spur leg against the inside of the
to be a chance of making a slight variation in the meas- batten and with the pencil end, draw the line 7-16 inch
urement. inside of the batten; take particular care to keep the
Referring to the tables, you will note the half breadths spacing an equal distance away from the batten the en-
as given for the sheer, and waterlines. Start with sec- tire length of the curve.
tion No. 12, mark off the points on the different water- Draw in all the body sections you require, and you
lines, then the diagonals. The height of sheer is already can proceed to finish the lines, for while you have com-
marked on the board so that all you will have to do will pleted them as far as the lines shown on the plan are
be to get the half breadth of the sheer and mark this concerned, you still lack some very important lines, such
on the point representing the height. There is still an- as the inside of the stem, the upper side of the keel,
other point required before you can draw the section and transom knee, line of shaft, etc. These you can obtain
that is the one representing the rabbet line. You al- from the construction plan and the detail drawing of
ready have the height marked on the board. Draw a the stem, transom, etc. It is also advisable to draw in
line at right angles to the centerline cutting the rabbet- the scarf of the stem and keel, also the transom knee.
line on station No. 12, and then refer to the half breadth Having completed the drawing to your satisfaction, you
plan of the keel for the width of the rabbet at this sec- can proceed to get out the molds. Hemlock, spruce, pine,
tion and mark this point. You can also draw in two lines or any such material that is not expensive is suitable.
on either side of the centerline. one 9 inches out, the If you want to make molds for each of the sections you
other 18 inches out. These lines represent the sections will require about no
feet of J^-inch stock. The prac-

Fig. 12. Stocks, with Keel, Stem, etc., Set Up on Them.

97
 tical builder not apt to space the molds every two
iS if you prefer. The heads should be well countersunk
feet apart, but would in all probability use molds Nos. and covered with wood plugs.
I, 4, 8, 12, i6, 20 and 23, setting them in their proper Draw a centerline down the face of the stem and 3-16
places. If you adopt this method, you had better use inch on either side draw lines. Fasten the stem in some
battens a trifle heavier than you would use if your molds manner as in a vise and then proceed to trim from the
were spaced 2 feet apart. rabbetline to the line 3-16 inch from the centerline of
Take some small wire nails, with large heads, lay
the head of the nails on the lines, points directed toward
the center of the body sections. These nails should be
placed at intervals of 2j^ to 3 inches, tap them with a
hammer to hold them in position and then on top of
same press one of the pieces of wood you intend to use
for a mold. When you raise the piece you will note that
there are a number of small dents made by the nail heads.
These represent the points of the curve, and if you use
your batten and draw a line through the points, you
have a reproduction of the mold. Saw to the line, fair
with a plane or spokeshave and then mark on another
piece of board a duplicate of same, and you will have
the two halves of one of the molds. You should bear
in mind that you will need some marks to go by when
setting up t^ese molds, therefore, it is advisable to draw
the L. W. L. and the sheerline on same. If you have
the use of a band or jig saw, you can save time by
fastening the first piece of wood, with the shape marked
thereon, to another piece, and saw them both out at the
same time.
Fasten the mold together, using a piece of stock about
2 inches wide for the cross pawl, and as a guide you Fig. 5. Stem, with Dimensions Marked Thereon
would do well to make the upper edge of the cross
pawls on a line with the mark representing the sheer. face. Continue to where waterline 2B crosses the stem,
Carefully measure the completed mold in order to ascer- trim both sides and this will leave the face of the stem
tain that the widths at the sheer and waterlines are cor- }i inches in width. Below the point mentioned (inter-
rect. If you cannot get stock wide eiiough to make the section of W. line 2B with face of stem) the width of
halves of each mold m one piece, you will have to join the face increases until it is about i>^ inches wide where
them, and the simplest method of doing this is to biitt the stem or knee joins the forward end of the keel.
the joints together and cleat them. (See Fig. No. 6.) Fasten the stem down to your bench so as to allow
Place the cleats well in from the edges, and nail a you to get at it handily and proceed to cut the rabbet.
piece of stock across the lower part of molds in order to
A fid is used by some builders as a template for cut-
have something to fasten them to the keel. Make all ting the rabbet to the required depth and bevel. As
the molds up, measuring each one carefully to see that the bevels on the sides of the stem of this craft are
fair with the plank to a point just below waterline
they are exactly the same dimensions as the full-size
2B you can easily see how the rabbet would require
drawing.
to be cut by trying a piece of wood of the thickness of
You may begin to think that there is a lot of unneces- the plank, 7-16 inch, and cutting in the stem until it
sary measuring, marking of lines across the molds, etc., sets flush with the side of stem at the rabbet line, and
but I can assure you that if you have a number of points,
on the same bevel as the sides of the stem forward of
it will help you check the molds when they are in posi-
the rabbet line. If you want to get this down to the fine
tion and show the least error.
point, you will have to refer to the full-size drawing of
The practical man can tell at a glance whether the
'

the boat: You will note that the plank at the sheer in-
molds are all fair, but this does not always apply to tersects the stem at a certain angle and that the intersec-
the amateur. After you have completed your molds, you tion of each of the water lines is' of a different
angle.
can proceed to get out the stem. It is to be of oak or Make a template showing these bevels and then cut out
hackmatack and if you can secure a natural crook large the rabbet at these points to correspond to the bevels
enough to make the stem and knee in one piece it is to you have taken, them trim and fair the intervening
'
your advantage to do so, otherwise you will have to spaces and you will find that your rabbet is cut correctly.
make it up of two pieces as per plans. It is not a good plan to carry your rabbet clear to the
The specifications call for the stem to be sided 2J/2 lower end of the stem or knee until it is fastened to
inches, (or, in other words, it is to be 23/2 inches from one the keel, for by finishing it afterwards you can be more
side to the other, not from the face to the after side). sure of it being fair.
It is a good plan to get out a template of the stem, and When you have finished the stem set it to one side
mark on same the rabbet line, and then after cutting the and get out the keel. Select a good piece of oak about
stem to the required shape you can mark on one side
the shape of the rabbet, reverse the template and mark
the rabbet on the opposite side. One of the simplest meth-
ods of doing this is to bore a series of holes through
the. rabbet line on the template and then with a drill or
awl reproduce these points on the stem, bend a batten
and draw a line through these points and you have the
rabbet line.
If'you make the stem up of two pieces fasten them
together with 5-16-inch bolts, heads to be riveted over
washers, or you can draw it together with nuts and bolts Fig. 8. Section Through Stem at Sheer and at L.W.L.

98
 Pig. 10. Showing Method of Constructing Curve for Beams

24 feet in length, 6 inches wide, planed to ij4 inches in the stocks to hold the boat while being constructed. For
thickness. Draw a hne through the center and then with the form of the keel you can take a piece of spruce plank
a square mark the position of the different stations. Figure 2 inches in thickness, about 10 inches wide and 25 feet
4 shows the half breadths to the rabbet of the keel at the in length. Mark on same the shape of the keel bottom,
different stations, set these off on either side of the center- and the stations, saw to th6 line, square the edge where
line, then spring a batten to the different points and draw the keel will set on same, and set this form up on posts
the line, taking care that the line cuts the points, /ou made of 2x3 or 2x4-inch. spruce.
will then have the shape of the underside of the keel and The bottom of the keel should be about 2>4 feet above
as the upperside is ^ inches wider than the rabbet line fhe floor so that in planking the boat, you will have ample
on either side, you can mark same, and cut to this line, room to work under it. Strike a line on the floor and set
using a band saw if it is available. Smooth the edges the posts to this line, at either end of the form cutting the
and then cut out the rabbet, which is ^
of an inch up. posts at such a height that the distance from the floor to
If you can get this cut on a circular saw or molding the upper edge of the form at stations Nos. 2 and 23 are
machine, it will save you time, as it is rather a tedious proportionately the same height above the floor a,s they
job chipping it out with a chisel and mallet. 'The rabbet would be above the baseline.
at the after end and well forward of station No. 12 is
Perhaps it will simplify matters for you if you make a
practically square, but it begins to have a decided bevel mark on these posts representing the baseline and measure
the nearer you get to the stem. If you want to know up from same to the top of the mold and the height at
just how much this bevel is at each of the stations you the different stations would be the same as is given in the
can mark out on the full-sized drawing the thickness of table of heights above baseline to keel bottom. Of course,
the plank next to the keel and take the bevels off same. you must make sure that the line representing the baseline
The upper edge of the keel is to be well rounded on the is i>erfectly level irrespective of the floor as you will un-
edges as per Figure 9 and in doing this it will enable doubtedly work from the Hne.
you to make the frames bend nice and fair where thev About 5 posts in all would be enough to support this
cross the 'keef. Cut the keel to the required length, shape boat. Brace them in both directions so that they will be
the after end to fit the transom knee, the forward end to perfectly rigid. (See Fig. 12.) Sight along the upper side
of mold to ascertain that it is straight and you can proceed
to get the keel ready to fasten to same. Fasten the stem
'iecrio/^ AT ^r^Tiorfi
to the keel with 5-16-inch bolts riveted over washers.
The keel can be fastened to the form with long screws
placed about 2 feet apart. Put washers under the screw
heads and this will enable you to draw the keel down to
the shape of the form without pulling the hpads into the
wood. Plumb the stem and with staylaths fasten to the
rafters in order to hold it in position, plumb the transom
knee and secure by staylaths in the same manner as the
stem. Before you proceed any further, it would be advisa-
ble to check the keel, etc., in order to ascertain whether
<Scctioai at SrAr/ev*/g the centerline is straight.
We will assume that you have Set the stem and the
transom knee plumb, so you can take 'an awl or small nail,
drive it in the centerline at the head of the stem and an-
other in the centerline at the head of the transom knee,
stretch a strong line or piano wire from one to the othe'jr,
then take your plumb bob and drop a line from same.
Fig. g. Section Through Keel at Stations No. 6 and 12
If the point of the bob intersects the centerline of the keel
at either end or in fact anywhere along the line you can
fitthe stem, and the keel is ready for setting up on the rest assured that the centerline of the keel is straight.
form. If you have laid out on the floor the centerline of the
The knee for the transom is to be of oak or hackmatack, shaft you can now transfer it to the keel and bore the
preferably the latter, as it is lighter. It is to be sided hole as it can be done more readily before the molds or
three inches and cut to shape as shown on plans-. Draw frames are in place. Having finished boring the hole
a line through the center of the after side and trim to the you can turn your attention to the finishing of the rabbet-
same bevel as the transom, and ttien on either side of the line on the lower end of the stem where it connects with
centerline ^ inch out, draw another line which will repre- the keel, and unless you have already done so, it is well to
sent the rabbet line ; on either side of the knee parallel fair the rabbetline at the forward end of the keel. The
to the face draw a line the thickness of the plank for forward sections intersect the keel at an acute angle,
transom and cut the rabbet, (see Figure 11). This knee, which diminishes as you work aft. The bevel of the
when you have finished the rabbet for the transom, can be rabbt^line at any station can be taken from the lines laid
fastened to the keel with 5-16-inch bolts riveted over down on the floor. Some builders will not finish trim-
washers. Take care that you do not get any bolts through ing the rabbet on keel until the molds are in position and
the knee where they would be likely to interfere with the use them as a guide for the bevels, but you will not save
rudder port. Before proceeding any further with the any time by adopting this method. The transom should
framework for the boat it would be as well to make up be gotten out and fastened to the knee before you set up

99
 the molds. Select a nice clear
inch thick, large
piece of white pine H then mark on the inside of both
pieces the of the
enough to make both sides. mside of the plank at this point. Now mark shape
another line
around the edge where the plank will be fastened to
same,
this line to be about
% inch in from the afterside. Cut
from the line on the forward side of these
TftANSOM f^ANK pieces to the
line on the
edge. By having the y& inch of stock at the
alter edge, you will have
olenty of material to calk to
when you calk the ends of the plank, and will not have
the inconvenience of
breaking out little pieces along the
edge as so often happens with the amateur if the edges
of the transom are
brought to a knife edge.
The frame, or check pieces, which are to be fastened
to the forward side of the
transom, should be made of
oak about 1% inches wide and
^ inches thick.
need not be in one piece and can be made They
up in sections
if you desire. See that they are trimmed to the
right
shape and the edges bevelled to the right angle so that
/9f
Uie inner side of the plank will set fair
same
The bevels can be obtained from the full-sizeagainst
Fig. II. Section Through Knee, Showing Angle drawing
takinc the angle at which the waterlines meet the by
transom,
f-asten the cheek pieces
Mark out the shape as per plan showing half ot the securely in position and then you
can fasten the two pieces of the transom
transom (Fig. 13) cut out two pieces, one for either side. plank to the
knee. Ascertain that
The dimensiotis given on the drawing are taken from the they are set in the right position,
and then measure out from the centerline of the
center of the knee, and as there is a half inch of stock keel to
some point on either side oi the transom this will
on either side of the knee where the transom ; show
plank sets you whether transom is true with the centerline of the keel
into the rabbet, you will have to take off a half inch from
When you have it in the right position, fasten well with
both of the pieces. Carefully trim and fair the edges, staylaths to prevent it from getting out of shape

Part II

DIMENSIONS. If correct, you can proceed to

Length, over all 25 feet, 9J^ inches.
put on the battens. These
can be made of either spruce or yellow
Length, waterline 24 feet, inches. pine. If the latter,
'

Breadth, extreme 5 feet, inches.

make them about i^ inches square, and long enough to
reach from the stem to the transom; if of
Breadth, waterline 4 feet, 5!4 inches. spruce, about
Draft to Rabbet feet, W^i inches. i^ inches square. Get clear stock so that they will bend
can then proceed to set fair. Start with the upper batten, which you should
up the molds, starting place
YOU •
amidship or at either end. Set all molds forward
of station No. 12, so that the forward
edges are on
so that the lower edge touches the marks
representing
the sheerline, .fasten the forward end in the rabbet of the
the marks representing the stations, and those aft of sta- stem with a screw, bend carefully around the moldfe and
tion No. 12 so that the after edges are on the lines fasten to each one until you get to t\\r last two molds, and
repre-
.senting the stations. The reason for this is occasioned by before fastening to them cut the end of the batten so that
the fact that the boat diminishes in breadth fore and aft it will fit the rabbet of the
transom; after fastening this
of the station named and the edges of the molds beirig batten you should put in the upper batten on the opposite
square would not admit of the shape of the hull being side. The battens should be spaced about 9 inches apart
the same as the design. If you placed the center of the at the largest section or station, No. 12, and about equi-
molds over the line representing the stations it would distant at the other molds, etc.
carry the forward edge of the mold forward of the sta- If, by any chance, you find that the rabbet on the stem
tions from the stem to the amidship station, and vice versa or transom is not cut to the correct bevel you should trim
from that point aft, which would increase the size. of the it fair before you fasten the batten. I should suggest

sections. You could bevel all the molds if you desired, that you put two battens close together at a point above
but in order to do this you would have to go to a lot of six inches out from the keel on either side, or else use a
batten a trifle heavier than the others on accoui of the
'

unnecessary labor.
Fasten the molds to the keel with screws, plumb the face extra strain in making the short bend in the fra les afteri
of mold and also plumb the centerline, and when you are they have crossed the keel. You will save considerable
sure that it is in the correct position fasten with stay- time when you start to bend the frames into the battens
laths to the rafters Set up all the molds in this manner, if you will mark on the keel, the upper batten, and one of

and before you put on any battens go carefully over each the battens near the turn of the bilge, the position of the
mold to avoid any possible mistake. Stretch the chalk line frames, as it will save you making a number of measure-
from end to end in a line with the L.W.L., then go care- ments.
fully over each mold to ascertain that the L.W.L. marked
The specifications call for frames 5^ x f^ inches, spaced
on same is nnt above or below the chalk line. 6 inches center to center, and to be continuous from sheer

100
to sheer from station No. 6 aft. You will need some good frames below the line representing the sheer. If the sec-
clear white oak. The butts of young trees furnish the best ond batten from the top is in the way, it can be removed
stock and they should be free from knots and straight without fear of disturbing the frames. See that the spiling
grained. batten lies flat and close to the frames, and don't try to
Unless you have a steam box you will have to make one spring it edgewise. Fasten it temporarily in position with
to steam the frames in before you can bend them in the clamps or small brads, then mEifk on- the battens at each
boat. I know of instances where the frames have been mold a line corresponding to the stations. Take your
bent to the required shape after being immersed in a compasses, set them open a trifle wider than the greatest
trough of hot water, but the making of a steam box is a distance between the edge of the spiling batten and the
simple matter and as the longest frame will not be more sheerline on the molds and at each of these places sweep
than 9 feet long, allowing for a surplus on either side, you in a segment of a circle on the batten, cutting the vertical
can get along very well with a box about 12 to 14 inches lines corresponding to the stations
square and 10 feet long. Use spruce or pine, and make Remove the spiling batten, and using same as a guide
the joints tight, either by putting in strips of flannel laid you can proceed to mark out the sheerstrake by proceeding
in white lead or calk the seams with cotton. The latter as follows : Place the spiling batten on the piece of wood
method preferable. Close up one end, and make a door
is you intend to use for the sheerstrake, leaving the upper
for the other end. It is quite immaterial how you procure edge far enough away from the edge of the board to make
the steam for the box. You can use an old iron kettle sure that you will have room enough to get the proper
or wash-boiler, or anything of that description that will be curve without going beyond the edge of the board;- take
suitable fqr boiling a quantity of water in. Pipe from your compasses and set them open to about the same dis-
the kettle or boiler to the under side of the steam box. tance as you used when marking the arcs or segments of
The steam does not want to be dry and hot, but should a circle on the spiling batten, set the spur leg on the points
be wet, and in order to obtain the best results you will where the arc crosses the straight line and draw a seg-
not need to have a great amount of heat under the boiler, ment of a circle on the board. Repeat this at each place
simply enough to keep generating steam. Put a number of you have marked, and then cut the arcs on the board with
frames in the box and steam for 10 minutes take out one
; a line carried through the straight line on the spiling bat-
of the frames and see if it bends easily if so, you can
; ten. Remove the spiling batten and take one of the bat-
start to bend in the frames, otherwise you will have to tens you used in laying down the lines, bend to the points
give them more time to get thoroughly saturated with the where the right lines cross the arcs and when you have it
steam. so that it cuts all the points draw a line through them,
You will find that the bending in of the frames is a cut the board to this line and you have the shape of the
mighty slow job unless you can get some one to help you upper edge of the sheerstrake. The shape of the lower
in handling them. Take one of the frames and start to edge is easily obtained, but you must first determine the
bend it inside of the battens. You will find that it readily width you desire to have this sheerstrake. It should not
takes the required shape, and if you have someone to help be more than 4j4 inches at the widest place, which would
you he can nail the frames to the inside of the battens as be between stations No. 12 and No. 14. I would suggest
you bend them in. The frame should be Sprung over the that you make it 4 inches wide at Station No. 12, 3 inches
keel and first fastened to the strong or double batten next at Station No. 2 and 3^ inches at Station No. 23. Mark
to the keel, and then work outward and up. Use small these widths on the board you have cut for the sheerstrake,
common wire nails to fasten the frames to the battens, measuring from the finished edge, and then, with a strong
as they will have to be taken out when you remove the batten bent to the required shape, draw a line cutting the
battens. The frames, where they cross the keel, should be points you have marked, which will produce a fair curve,
fastened with galvanized iron nails in preference to cop- saw and plane to line and you have the shape of the sheer-
per, as they are much stronger. If you prefer to use strake.
copper, get the hard nails for this part of the work, for Yoii will need a duplicate of this for the opposite side
while they will easily drive through the frame while it is and you can lay same on the board that you intend to
wet and pliable, they will not drive easily into the oak use for the other side, mark around it, and cut to shape.
keel. Take one of these strakes and proceed to set in position
I should suggest that you start putting in the frames at
preparatory to fastening, bring the upper edge to within
the largest sections, and by doing so you will have ac- half an inch of the sheerline, for, as before mentioned,
quired the knack of bending them, and gained some ex- this line represents the top of the planksheer, which is to
perience before you start the bending of the frames at the be half an inch in thickness; use your clamps to hold it in
after end where the topsides "tumble home." Frames place, fit the forward end in the rabbet of stem and fasten
forward of Station No. 6 do not cross the keel, and the with brass screws
heels of the same will have to be cut to fit properly, and The fastenings in the frames are to be copper nails and
the same thing applies to the frames in the wake of the the round wire nail would be the best. Sink the heads of
stem and knee. The heels of these frames must be well the fastening into the planking deep enough to allow for
fastened to the keel or stem. covering them with wood plugs. Put one fastening through
When you have finished putting in all the frames, you each frame at the upper and lower edges alternately ; there
can get out the she'erstrakes. If you are going to finish are more fastenings to go through the sheerstrake and
the sheerstrakesin natural wood varnished, you had bet- frames when the clamps and sill are fitted in.
ter use either oak or mahogany. The latter material is When you have fastened the sheerstrake to within about
called for in the specifications. The thickness is to be 7-16, 3 feet of the transom, you should cut the end of the plank
inch. Procure a board long enough to extend from the so that it will fit nicely into the rabbet. Take your time
stem to the transom in one piece, if possible, and if you in doing this, for if you cut it too short you will spoil the
intend to use mahogany there should be no difficulty in ob- sheerstrake. When fitted, fasten with brass screws and
taining boards of the requisite length. finish fastening the other frames. Repeat this operation
In order to get the shape of the sheerstrake you will with the sheerstrake on the opposite side, and after put-
need a staff or spiling batten, and this can be made from a ting on the burrs and riveting the fastenings you can
piece of pine, cedar or spruce about ^ inch thick, 8 inches give your attention to the garboard, such being the name
wide and long enough to extend from end to end. or you of the plank next to the keel.
can fasten two pieces together to make the required length. To obtain the shape of the garboard you will have tc
Take this spiling batten and bend around the outside of the proceed in much the same manner as you did when get

101
ting out the shape of the sheerstrake. In this case, how- through the center of the frame. The frames that cross
ever, you will work from the rabbet in keel instead of the thfekeel will not touch the center of the garboard, it simply
marks on the upper part of the molds. Agreat deal more bears in the rabbet and on the outer edge, and inasmuch
care is required to fit a garboard properly than a sheer- as there should be one fastening at each frame through
strake, as it is absolutely necessary that it should fit the the center of the garboards if they are made the width
rabbet in the keel very closely. Take your spiling batten, suggested, or wider, and it will be necessary to cut some
or if you -have some more material of about the same wedge-shaped pieces of wood to fit between the frames and
thickness use that in preference to the spiling batten, for if plank at these points before you rivet them, otherwise
you trim same to fit the rabbet as I am going to suggest, when you riveted the nails you would draw the center of
you are apt to spoil the batten. Take the spiling batten the plank out of shape. The garboard on the opposite side
or a piece of wood of about the same dimensions and bend can be fastened in position, and you should bear in mind
to the frames close to the keel; put on this batten some that the upper edge of the forward end ought to be in a
marks corresponding to the molds or other marks that you direct line across the stem from the one on the opposite
put on the keel, taking due care that the marks are at side.
right angles to the keel, then take your compass, open them Before getting 6ut or putting on any more of the lower
a trifle wider than the greatest distance from the rabbet planks, it would be well to fit the keelsons and fasten them

to the edge of the batten, and, keeping the spur leg in the in position, as you can do this so much easier at this time
corner of the rabbet, draw a series of arcs across the right than after the planking is in position; but in order to set
linesyou have drawn on the batten. When you work to- the keelsons it will be necessary to remove the molds, and
ward the forward end where the rabbet on the keel con- before you do that you had better put on three or four
nects with the rabbet on the stem, you will need to make strakes on either side below the sheerstrake. so as to bind
the right lines close together in order to get the correct the frame together, and make sure that it will not change
shape at this sharp turn. When you have got all the its shape when the molds are removed.

points properly marked remove the batten, and then, after In order to find out the widths of the strakes you must
drawing a line through the points, cut it to the required first determine how many planks you will have on either

shape and fit it to the rabbet. If there are any places that side. Start with the frame that has the greatest distance
need trimming, you can readily see where to pare, and between the edge of the garboard and the sheerstrake,
unless you have made a poor job of taking the spiling or and space out the planks on same. The widest, planks
else not trimmed the batten carefully, you will have but should be nearest the keel and the narrowest ^t the turn
very little work to make the batten fit nicely into the rab- of the bilge. If you made the garboard 6 inches wide at
bet. When properly fitted, you can mark out the shape of the frame you are measuring on, you could space off 5>4
the lower edge of the garboard on the piece of plank you inches for the next plank, then 4>4, 4j4> 4. and the balance
intend to usfe for thi's purpose. The shape of the other about 3J^ inches. Mark on the stem, around the transom,
edge is dbtained in practically the same manner as you and two intervening points the spacing of the plank, keep-
did the •tower edge of the sheerstrake. ing the widths in about the same ratio. When you have
As each builder has his own ideas regarding the width them marked" on the different frames you will be able to
of the garboard, either amidship or at the after end, and ascertain how the plank will appear when in position, and
how far up on the stem he will have the forward end, if these point^ do not seem to come in a fair line go care-
it is scarcely worth while trying to set down any rule for fully over the spacing again, find out where the error ils
this. You will not be very far astray if you make the gar- and rectify it.

board about 6 inches wide at Station No. 6, 5 inches at All the planking of the boat should be widest at the
Station No. 2, and 5 inches at ihe transom. These dimen- 'midship section, and from this point forward and aft they
sions need not be followed exactly, but should be kept in should have 'a gradual taper, and not be ^vide^ eithet for-
about the same ratio. ward or aft of the 'midship section. This does not apply
I will assume that you have learned, by this time, that to the garboard, for in some instances the shape of the
the edge of the planks, whether garboard or any other garboard is very peculiar, and if .the boat had a different
strake, should be a fair curve. When you have one of type of stem it would not apply to the planking.
the garboards cut to shape and planed fair and true on You will not need any instructions how to get out the
the edges, you can draw a duplicate of same on a piece of planks, for the marks on the frames will give yoti the
board for the garboard on the opposite side, and then you widths at the different poiftts, and you will work first from
can proceed to fasten in position the one you have al- the lower edge of the sheerstrake, taking the spiling frorn
ready fitted However, before you do so, it is necessary same, transferring it to the plank, cut to shape- then set off
to put stopwatbrs in the joints where the stem connects the widths at the proper places, draw. a line through the
with the keel. Bore a hole }i inch diameter through the points and cut the lower edge to shape. When you have
joint in the rabbet, and fill same with a soft pine plug. the plank cut to the required shape you will find that if
This will prevent the water working through the joint the edge of the plank is left square with the face that
when the garboard seam is calked also put a stopwater
;
when you set this edge up to the edge of the sheerstrake
through the joint at the after end of the keel, and transom the seam is open wider in the center than at the ends, and
knee. You will probably find it necessary to steam the you must trim the edge so as to have the seams open on
forward end of the garboard, as there is considerable twist the outside about 1-16 of an inch the entire length. Take
to it. There is no need to steam more than S or 6 feet of the bevels off the edge of the sheerstrake at intervals and
the forward end. plane the edge or the plank that is to be fastened next to
When you have it well saturated 'fit the forward end in same to correspond to these bevels or nearly, so, as the
the rabbet, taking special care to have it come in the same joints of all the planks should be tight on the inside and
position as it was when you took the spiling and fitted it. open on the outside so as to receive the calking cotton.
Tasten with brass screws, spacing them about 3^4 inches You must keep in mind the fact that all the planks wjll
apart until well around the curve at the forward end. Fas- have to be bevelled. Another thing to which I will call
ten the upper edge of the plank to the frames with copper your attention at this time is the fact that, after you have
-nails, first countersmking for the head. The fastenings in put on one or two strakes below the sheerstrake you will
the lower edge are to go through the keel above the rabbet, have to cope Or hollow the planks on the inside so that
-one fastening to go through the keel and each frame, and they will fit close to the frames, and as the specifications
one through the keel between each of the frames. When call for the planking to finish 7-16 inch in thickness, the

boring for the fasaenings, take care to have the hole planks that are coped will have to be thicker than the:

102
others. If the coping amounts to about 1-16 of an inch or on the inside. The fastenings should be alternately near
mcic, have the plank that much thicker and when you the upper and lower edge, one fastening through each
have it coped to fit set your gauge to 7-16 inch and from frame. When the bilge clamps are in position, you can
the inside of plank mark both the upper and lower edges, start planking again. Start with the plank next to the
and then bevel them from the outside of the plank to the garboard and work upwards. After fastening a plank on
gauge mark, the bevel being about I inch in length. This one side fasten the duplicate on the other side don't put
;

will materially assist you when you plane the outside of two or three planks on one side of the boat and then two
the planking, for if you jack the plank down until you are or three on the opposite side. Watch the forward and
close to the seams that are bevelled in this manner you after ends of the planks as you progress and see that you
can be reasonably sure that the plank will be an even do not gain faster on one side than the other, for if there
thickness. is anything that looks bad it is to have the wood ends on

After you have fastened four strakes on either side you one side of the stem or transom higher than the,y are on
can remove the molds. As you take each one out, fasten the other side. However, if you are careful to shape and
a brace across the upper edge from one side to the other, fit the
planks to the marks you have made on the frames
nailing them to the frames to prevent the boat spreading, you are not likely to experience this trouble.
and also secure with staylaths overhead at intervals. The last plank to be fitted in is called the shutter, and
You can now give your attention to the keelsons. These I should advise you taking a spiling for both edges of this
should be in one length. Select two nice, clear pieces of and for both sides of the boat, for if there is any variation
spruce and plane to the required thickness; measure out in the space on either side it will be necessary. Take
par-
from the center of the keel to the inside of the keelsons. ticular care to have the shutter large enough; it should
The plans show that these are to be spaced 17 inches be a good driving fit, and it will then help to tighten up
apart, therefore, you will measure out from the centerline all the planking. You will find that you cannot rivet the
half that distance,. and mark the frames at intervals. Take nails over burrs where the fastenings come in the wake
one of the pieces and set it to the marks on the inside of of the bilge clamps, and the best plan would be to fasten
the frames. It will not touch any of the frames in the the planks at such places with brass screws.
wake of Station No. 12 by several inches, but if you fasten If, for any reason, you prefer to use planks that are not
it in some manner or another, keeping it upright, you can full length you can do so. The joints should come be-
get the shape of the lower edge by taking your compasses tween the frames and be well fastened to oak butt blocks.
and marking it at intervals in much the same manner as Make the blocks the same thickness as the frames and cut
you take the spiling of the plank. Remove the piece and to the shape of the inside of the plank. The blocks should
after bending a batten to the points and drawing a line extend from frame to frame and be about 1/2 inch wider
through same, cut to shape. If you feel satisfied that you than the plank which butts on them.
can get the correct shape the first time, it would pay you The seams should be roughed down with a jack-plane
to take the trouble of marking both sides of this keelson before the boat is calked, but there is no need to try to
and thus get the bevel, and also mark the places that have plane the outside smooth until after the calking has been
to be cut out to allow it to fit over the frames. If you are done, for then it can be planed to much bfetter advantage.
not sure of your ability in this line, you had better trim If you have decided to calk the boat yourself, you can
roughly as suggested, then set it in position, fasten with now proceed with same; but I should strongly advise your
clamps or some simple method, and proceed to mark on procuring the services of an experienced man. In spite
both sides the location of the frames, setting a straight of the fact that it looks easy to do such work when you
line on either side of the frames, and the compasses will watch a calker driving in cotton, there is a great deal
be brought into play again to mark the required depth more to it than appears to the amateur. It is not simply
that the keelson is to be cut to allow it to fit over the a matter of driving in cotton; a great deal depends upon
frames. how much cotton rs required, and how hard to drive it. If
1 would suggest that you allow a depth of about 1-16 you want to finish the job yourself, and would like to do
inch more than the thickness of the frames, so that the this calking, take a small strip of fine calking cotton and
lower edge of the keelson will project below the frames, drive it into the seams, using a thin calking iron and mal-
and then when it is in position you can plane oflf the sur- let. This cotton should not be driven in the seam in a line
plus stock; and if this is done carefully the inside of the like a piece of rope, but keep catching back a loop every
plank will fit tight against the lower edge of the keelson. inch or so, and tap it in place until you have proceeded in
Both keelsons will have to be fitted in the same manner and this manner for a few feet, then go over it with the calk-
the height at the diflferent stations can be taken from the ing iron and drive it in. until it is about Yz of an inch be-
plans. When you fasten them in position, use either gal- low the surface of the plank. If you find it drives in easy
vanized iron nails or brass screws, bore through the frame use more" cotton, if too hard, less cotton. The man who
and fasten into the keelson at each alternate frame. makes a business of calking when he finishes to a certain
As the bilge clamps are easier to set in position before point leaves the end of the cotton showing and does not
the boat is planked, you might as well put them in before drive this in place until he starts to continue the calking
proceeding with the planking. of the seam, and in this manner avoids missing any places.
The specifications call for tl;e bilge clamps to be made You will have to calk the seam in the stem, and also
of spruce ^
x 3 inches. Select good, clear stock and work around' the transom. The garboard seam will probably
to the required shape. They are to be tapered to 2 inches require more cotton than any of the others, but this de-
at the ends, and this taper should be about 8 feet long at pends entirely upon how well you have done y-our work,
the forward end and about 6 feet at the after end. Plane whether the seams are large or small.
and finish them before you fasten in position. Spring The deck clamps, which are to be of spruce, J^ x 3
the center in to the frames at the same point as shown on inches amidship, tapered at the ends the same as the
the plans, and the forward end to approximately the same bilge clamps,, can now be gotten out. Select good clear
point as shown on plans, although you must be guided to stock; small fine knots are not detrimental, but avoid
a great extent by thS shape it assumes. It is not advisable any stock with large knots or short grain, as the clamps
to spring it edgewise, and it should be allowed to assume should be strong. Set the upper edge of the clamp the
such a shape that it will lie close to the frames and not proper distance (see plans) and fasten in position, using
have either of the edges standing up from same. When bolts or nails 3-32-inch diameter. The fastenings are to be
you are sure you have it in the correct position, fasten through sheerstrake, frame and clamp and to be riveted
with copper nails 3-32-inch diameter and rivet over burrs over burrs on the inside. Do not place them in a direct

103
 line; they should be staggered, being placed alternately the point B, draw the curve C a b c B. This curve will
near the upper and lower edges of the clamp. When ^ou be a segrnent of a circle, but as it only represents half of
have finished fastening the clamps you can get out the the beam, and if A
N is made equal to A B and a similar
quarter knees, fit them and fasten to the clamp and tran- construction made, then B t M will represent the curve of
som, and then get out the breast hook fit this carefully to
; the beam. When you have constructed one of these arcs
the stem and inside of the sheerstrake and fasten securely. you will find that it is a very simple matter to make the
It is a good plan to make the -breast hook high enough in others, and if you set out each beam in this manner you
the center to allow of it being worked down to the crown will find that the centerline of the forward deck is a
of the underside of the deck. straight line, and the curve of the deck fair and true.
The shelves are to be of spruce, to finish x 2^ inches, % When you have cut out the beams, fasten them to the
and you two pieces long enough to make them
will require clamps and then get out the coaming knees. Make these
without any joint; cut and plane to the prciper size, and of spruce, fasten well to the beams, etc., and trim the
then bevel the edge so as to have the upper side on the upper side so that you will have a fair curve. Trim the
same bevel as the planksheer, clamp in position and fasten inside edge of the knees so that they are plumb and cut to
through the sheerstrake. It is advisable to fasten this the same curve as the forward end of the coamiiig. Fit in
shelf through each third frame, selecting such frames as between the beams blocks for the bleat and cowl ventilator
have the fastenings through the clamp near the lower as per plans.
edges, otherwise you would in all probability get too many You can now give your attention to the pieces to make
fastenings through the heads of the frames, and thus tend the planksheer, which is the plank on the outer edge of
to weaken them. Put in a few fastenings through the the deck. The specifications call for this to be made of
',
shelf into the upper edge of the clamp; one about every mahogany J4 inch thick it is to be 4 inches in width, from
;

I
20 inches would be sufficient. the after end of the cockpit to a point about 2 feet aft
For the after deck you will require three beams ]4xi}i of the forward end of the coaming aro.und the hood, and

o p

Fig. 10 —Showing Method of Constructing Curve for Beams

inches. The camber or crown of the after-deck beams is from this pointforward it is to have a slight taper; the
2>4 inches in 4 feet. Cut the ends of the beams into the
after end should also be slightly tapered. You will have
to cut this plank to the proper shape before starting to
clamp about %
inch and fasten to same. Set in between
fasten it, and if you have been able to get out the proper
the beams a block of oak as shown on the construction
plan for the tow-post to be mortised through. Trim the shape of the different planks there is scarcely any need
quarter knees to the same crown as the deck beams and
forme to explain how to get the shape of the planksheer.
the after deck frame will be ready for the deck plank. You will not he able to get it out of one piece on account
The beams for the forward deck are .segments of cir- of the curve, and therefore I would suggest that you have
The simplest way the joint about midway bet\yeen the forward and after
cles, each one having a different radius,.
for you to get put these beams is to saw them to shape, end of the engine hood. Naturally you will have to be
for if they were bent to shape you would have to make a guided to some extent by the length and width of the stock
separate mold for each one. One method of getting the you can procure. When you have the pieces cut out for
curve of these beams is to sweep in the curve by using a the planksheer, begin to fasten at the forward end and
work aft; fasten in position the pieces across the after end
long stafT with a pencil attachment at one end, but
as this
best and of the after deck, and strike a centerline on the deck
requires a long arm to get the proper radius the
curve geometrically. beams fore and aft. This line is to be used as a guide for
simplest way is to construct the
There are several methods of constructing a segment of a laying the deck plank.
circle, that has a radius greater
than can be drawn with The specifications call for the deck plank to be made of
the usual compasses, but I will deal with one of the sim- mahogany yi inch thick and 3 inches in width. Starting
for the benefit of those who are not well versed in with the after deck, bring the edge of the first piece up to
plest
the centerline, fit the after end and fasten with brass
geometry.
We will take as ai} example the beam at, the forward screws, countersinking the heads so that the fastenings
end of the coaming; the center of the beam is 3% inches can be covered with wood plugs. Work in the plank on
above the edge of the sheerstrake, and the width of the either side, fastening them as soon as you fit them, and
boat at this point measured inside of the upper edge of before fitting the next one. Proceed in this manner until
the sheerstrake is 45 inches. Using these dimensions for the deck is covered and you can proceed in the same man-
the base and height, you can proceed to construct a curve
ner to cover the forward deck. If you are particularly
as per Fig. 10. Draw a straight line, A B, equal to half
anxious to make a very nice job of the deck, you can taper
the length of the beam, from the point draw C per-A A each piece of plank, and not carry them on a straight line,
A
B and' in length equal to the crown of as suggested. To obtain the shape of the planks if worked
pendicular to
in this manner, you would have to decide first how many
the beam, draw a line from B to C, and from the point B
draw B P perpendicular to B C; through C draw C P pieces of plank you intended to use; space them on the
A
B. Divide A B and C P
any number
into beam having the greatest length and then space the rest
parallel to
number in each, and join those of the beams for the same number of plank. It is much
of equal parts, the same
D G, E H. F I. Through B draw the same operation as I suggested for setting out the
opposite to each other as
B O A C P at O. Divide planks after you had the sheerstrake and garboard in
perpendicular to B, cutting
B O into the same number of equal parts as A B or C P position
C with each of the divisions. Then through the The under side of the plank for the forward deck will
and join
D G C J, the point b undoubtedly have to be coped to fit the round of the beams.
point C, the point a where
cuts
H c where F I cuts C L. and Calk the seams lightly with a fine thread of yacht cot-
where E cuts C K. the point

104
ton, and if the deck is to be finished bright, plane roughly than at the forward end, in order to drain off the water.
to the required shape and fill the seams with white lead Strike a line through the center of the beams, and fasten
putty, unless you prefer to use the elastic
seam composi- the deck plank to the beams. The deck planks are to be
jion or marine glue. The final finishing of the deck should of spruce or pine >4 inch thick, and whether you follow
not be considered at this stage of the game; it is far better the specifications as to width or not is immaterial, but it
to leave this until all the principal woodwork is finished. is not advisable to use very wide boards on account of the

The. engine-bed should be fitted and fastened before you

start- ft) put in the beams for the cockpit deck.
Tftc length of the bearers for the engine-bed wilFdepend
to a great extent upon the engine you intend installing,
and that will also govern the thickness of same. The spec-
ifications call for the bearers to be sided 2 inches. They
should be fitted over the frames the same as the lower edge
of the keelsons, and be well fastened to same. The height
of the upper edge of the fore and aft bearers would be de-
termined by the distance the underside of the engine-bed
where it rests on the bearers is above or below the center-
line of the crank-shaft. You will have to obtain the meas-
urement before fitting the fore and aft bearers, and should
also obtain the width that will be required between the
bearers.
To obtain the line of the center of the shaft, you should
use a piece of very hard laid fish line, or, better still, a
piece of piano wire. Set out the height on the post sup-
porting the after end of the stocks, and another point in-
side of the boat well forward of where the flywheel of
the engine will set. Fasten a piece of board to the frames
and have the upper edge a trifle higher than the center of
the line at this point^cui a nick in the edge, so that when
the wire sets in same it will be the proper height, take the
other end through the hole in the keel, and as the form
will prevent your drawing the line directly
aft to the point Fig. 13 —Transom
representing the center of the shaft, you will have to bore
through the form or you can cut part of it away, so long tendency to shrink and swell, and the greater the number
as you leave enough to support the boat properly. Bore a of seams, the less the shrinkage and swelling will be per-
hole through the center of the end-post and, pulling the ceptible.
wire through this to the required height, draw it as taut The coaming should be made of mahogany or some hard
as possible,' and you can then measure to this line, either wood. Select nice straight-grained stock; it is to be a
side of the
up or down as the case may be for the upper half-inch in thickness. If you have a good wide board
engine bearers. long enough to work from a point aft of the engine hood,
When you have them fitted and fastened, if there is clear around the forward end to the opposite side, it would
room enough between the after side of the flywheel and be advisable to use it, otherwise you can make the joint
the forward end of the crank-case to admit of using a at the forward end and secure it with a butt block on the
fit one
good-sized athwartship bearer, it is a good plan to inside. You will h^ve to use your spiling batten or some
in position and if possible to bolt through the keelsons, thin stock to get the correct shape. The width you ca^
fore and aft bearers and the athwartship bearer, as it take from the construction' plan steam the forward end,
;

makes the engine-bed more solid and tends to eliminate and bend over a form of the required shape. Fasten well
the vibration of the engine by distributing it more evenly. with brass screws from the inside to the shelf and coam-
One of these athwartship bearers at the after end of the ing knees. It would be a good plan to leave the coaming
engine is also to be recommended. a trifle higher than shown on the plan and to trim this
If you have your engine on hand, it would be advisable down to the proper height after it is fastened in position.
to set it in position and fasten to the bed and then line up A surplus of about % inch would be ample. Where the
the shaft and fit the shaft tube, otherwise ycu will have butts occur on either side of the cockpit you need not use
to leave part of the cockpit deck open until the shaft tube a butt block on the inside unless you prefer same. They
is fitted. The drawing. Fig. 14, shows the type of shaft are rather unsightly at the best. If you intend to carry
tube such as I use on my boats, but if you prefer vou can an oar on this boat you could put a butt block on the out-
purchase one of the adjustable shaft tubes that are
now side of the coaming arid fasten the oar-lock sockets to
on the market. You can put in the exhaust pipe and water same, but the best method is to make a tight butt joint and
connections and, in fact, finish all the pipine of the en-
when
then bore a hole % to 5-16-inch diameter down through
gine much more readily at this period than later on, the center of the joint and drive in a dowel. The after
you would have to take up floors, etc. ends of the coaming where they set on the deck can be fas-
Bore the hole through the transom knee and fit in the tened from the under side or from the upper side if pre-
rudder port, which is to be made of brass pipe fitted with ferred, and the heads of the fastenings covered vvith wood
a stuffing-box and lock-nut as per Fig. 20. The lower plugs. Round slightly the upper edge and shape the after
end of the port should be threaded and extend through to ends as pet- plans. A light thread of cotton should be
the under side of the keel, and fit tightly in the hole to worked in around between the coaming and the edge of
obviate any chance of a leak around same. the deck.
The cockpit beams should be placed in position and fas- The bulkheads at the forward and after end of the cock-
tened. They are to be of spruce, sided % inch, molded pit should next claim your attention. Build up a suitable
154 inches. Space them as shown on the construction frame on the deck and around the inside of the plank and
and setting short, upright cover with tongued and grooved mahogany J^ inch thick
plan, fastening the ends securely
pieces for stanchions over the keel
wherever necessary. and about 3 inches wide. It is preferable to use bevel-edge
The cockpit deck is to be I inch lower at the after end staving, to that with a bead, as it is so much easier to keep

105
106
clean and to scrape, when the latter becomes necessary. insure a tight joint, or you can take a piece of canvas
Fasten the lower ends of the staving to the frame on the about 5 to 6 inches wide, set the lower edge in white lead
deck, and to the upper frame; make sure that you keep the and fasten to the deck with copper tacks, then fasten the
line of the staving vertical and above all have good upper edge to the frames and apply, a coat of heavy white
joints, as such a bulkhead materially strengthens and stiff-
ens the boat if properly fitted. ( "Jlionj.
Where any fittings, such as auxiliary shaft for starting
engine, controls, steerer, etc., are cut through or fastened
to the bulkhead it would be well to reinforce same on
the inside with oak blocks '/i inch thick well fastened to
the staving. The bulkhead at the after end should be
staved up in the same manner as the forward one, and as
you may require to get at the steering apparatus it would
be well to cut a door in same, the lower edge to be not
less than 2 inches above the deck; if it were flush you
would find that considerable of the rainwater, and such
water as you might ship, would run down into the bilge
instead of overboard through the scuppers.
These scuppers should be made of i-inch inside diameter
lead-pipe fairly heavy stock, weighing about 4 pounds to
,

the foot should be used; set them in the after corners of

the cockpit deck, recessing the wood so that they can be
flanged over and still be flush or below the level of the
deck. The holes in the underbody where the scuppers pass
through should not be directly below those in the deck,
but lead aft two or three inches and the lower ends should
also be flanged and the wood recessed to receive the flange
so as to insure a good, smooth job. Fasten around the
flange at both ends with fine brass screws or copper tacks.
The ceiling is to be of mahogany, 5-16 inch thick, 2
inches wide, and should be made of tongued and grooved
stock with the edges bevelled, to match the bulkhead stav-

rti
Figure 19 —Skag Rudder

lead paint and set the lower piece of staving on the edge
of the canvas and fasten at every frame.
/-Wsm Frame up the helmsman's seat with spruce and cover the
forward and after sides with staving to match the bulk-
head. Cut a good-sized limbur through the staving and
frame on each side so as to allow any water that may come'
in forward of the seat to run aft, and out through the
scuppers. The gasolene tank is to be of copper,' and is to
be fitted under the seat, and when in place you can put on
the top of the seat. It is advisable to put this on in such
a manner that it can easily be removed, if at any time it
is necessary to take out the tank. Cut in flush with the
top of seat a large deck-plate directly over the filler plate
of the tank.
The seat and backboard at the after end are so plainly
shown that there is no need to do anything more than
mention that they are to be fitted and fastened. The thick-
ness is given in the specifications and the other particu-
lars can be taken from the plan.
The next most important thing is the hatches, and
frame of the hood covering the engine. For the strong-
back, you will require a piece of spruce 2x8 inches and
SJ4 feet long. Shape this as per Fig. 21, with a water-
way on either side, and hollow the under side to keep
down the weight. Fasten this at either end with a small
metal knee, so that if you want to take it out at any
time you can do so and not destroy the woodwork. Make
a form to bend the frames for the edges of the hatches
and make them of oak; after bending let them set prop-
erly before you try to fit them; and another thing that
may assist you would be to bend them with a trifle shorter
turn than you really need. You can easily straighten
Figure 18 —Balanced Rudder them a little, but it is hard to get them to bend any more
once they are set.
ing. Fasten well to the frames, the ends to butt against Make up the rest of the frame so that it fits easily in-
the staving of the bulkheads. The lower edge where it side of the coaming, and then cut out the beams, which
meets the deck should either be set into a rabbeted piece of are to be of spruce. Set the ends into the frame and
spruce that was fastened closely to tl ^ deck in order to fasten securely. When you have finished both frames.

107
set a ledge around inside of the coaming for them to rest There are a number of different ways to mark a water-
on; place the frames in position and ascertain that the line,and some of you may know a simpler method than
upi>er side is fair; if not, plane it until it is fair and true the following, but this will give' the desired results. Mark'
and then you can start to cover the frame with the plank, on the stem and the transom the height of the waterline,
which is to be of mahogany 7-16 inch thick. take tw'o straight-edge planks, a little longer than the
The
piece that fits over the strong-back is to be 6 inches width of the boat, set the upper edge so that it is level
wide, and the widths of the plank on the hatches can be with the point on the stem representing the waterline,
determined' by the stock you have on hand, but don't make fasten this piece of wood and make sure that the upper
them too wide. Either calk the seams lightly or batten edge is level, using your spirit-level to make sure repeat
;

them on the under side. Carefully smooth the top of the operation with the other piece of board at the after
the hatches and trim the outer edges fair with the coam- end, then stretch a line from the upper edge of the for-
ing. The edges are to be covered with a strip of brass ward cross-piece to the after one, draw the line very taut,
No. 14 gauge, 1 incTi wide. Cut this to the proper shape take your spirit-level and' bring it up to the line see that
;

to 'bend around the edge and fasten with countersunk- the level only just touches the line and then where the
—
head brass screws the edges of the brass should be care- upper edge of the level touches the hull make a point;
fully rounded. Fasten the hatches with brass or bronze repeat this operation at intervals all around the hull, then
hinges, the joints to be directly over the joint of the ma- take a thin batten, something about 34 x 2 inches, and
hogany centerplank and' edge of hatch. Suitable quad- bend it to the point you have made, keeping the side of
rants, or something to take the place of same, should be the batten, vertical fasten at intervals with fine wire
;

brads, and when you have it fastened, take a scriber or

some pointeQ instrument and scratch in a line along the
'^ hMIOGANY edge of the batten. When the batten is removed sight
along the line you have made, and it should be straight.
Of course, it follows the shape of the boat, but it should
be level. The idea in scribing or scratching in this line
is that it does not get obliterated with painting, etc., so

rapidly as if it was simply drawn on with a pencil, and it

is easier to draw to a painted line than to a pencil mark.
There are still a number of things for you to do
before the hull is completed. The strut is to be
SeCT/ON THffU ENGINE HATCH made and fitted, the steerer and steering ropes, the
rudder, the deck fittings, etc., to say nothing ofi
finishing the installation of the engine; but I do
e « .3
I

''III'- not see that there is any need for me to dwell upon these
=3
Scale. points any more than there is to try to explain how to
paint the boat.
Figure 21 — Hatch Over the Motor Unless" you have; good reasons for. doing otherwise, I
would' recommend that you finish the boat entirely while
fastened to the after end of the hatches to keep them open she is. on the stocks and if you have got to take her any
"when desired. great distance, build a cradle under her. This you can
After you have finished with the interior of the cock- readily do. Then block up the cradle, remove the stocks
pit and coaming you can finish planing and smoothing End lower the cradle down to the floor or else to the
the decks; set the bitt in the after deck, and you can turn height of the team if she has to be carted any distance.
your attention to the planing and smoothing of the plank- When purchasing the paint or varnish, get the best; it
ing. Finish it carefully, scrape and sandpaper, theri fasten will pay in the end. Don't hesitate to spend time finishing
in position the pieces of half-round mahogany molding, the boat properly, sandpapering down each coat before
and if you have decided to have a gilt stripe cut a cove the next is applied.
in the plank at proper height, and' then mark the water- Naturally there are many points I have not touched
line. I would suggest that you raise the line so that when upon, but I believe that all the main points have been
you have the painted line it will show about i to i^ covered', and if I have made any grave errors I ti'ust that
inches above the actual waterline. you will overlook them.

Specifications for the Construction of a

25-Foot Runabout
BY FREDERIC S. NOCK
Material and Workmanship: In carrying out these speci- bolts riveted over washers. Heads of fastenings to be
there are to be used only the best of materials and
fications, countersunk and covered with wood plugs.
workmanship. All wciod shall be sound and clear, all p.'eces Transom To be of white pine or mahogany, 5^-inch
:

to be cut fair with the grain and selected to have the grain thick, connected to the keel with an oak or hackmatack
follow the shape as closely as possible. knee, sided 3 inches and molded as per plans. To be rab-
Keel: To be of native white oak, molded ij4 inches, beted to receive the transom plank, and to be fastened with
shaped as per plans, and to be rabbeted to receive the gar- 51 16-inch diameter bolts riveted over washers, heads to be
board. The upper side is to be rounded as per detail plan. countersunk and covered with wood plugs. Cheek pieces of
Stem r To be a natural crook of oak or hackmatack, sided oak %-inch thick, 1J/2 inches wide are to be shaped and
2}^ inches, molded as per plans. To be connected to the fastened to the transom to form a back rabbet for the
keel with a 'lock scarf and fastened with 5/16-inch diameter plank which is to be well fastened with brass screws.

108
 Frames: To-be of young white oak, -j^ x 5^ inch, spaced wide and 42 inches in length fitted with suitable swash par-
-
6 inches center to center. To be steam bent to shape and titions, be carefully fitted under tTie seat. Bottom of
is to
all frames aft of Station No. 6 to extend from sheer to tank is to be iyi inches above the cockpit floor, and suitable
sheer in one piece and to have two fastenings in keel. limburs are to be cut in the frame and staving to admit of
Frames forward of Station No. 6 that do not cross the keel allowing the water to run aft under the tank. The top of
are to have the heels well fastened to the keel. seat is to be of mahogany, ^-inch thick, and fastened in
Keelsons: To be of spruce sided i inch, molded as per position with brass screws. A suitable deck-plate is to be
plans. To be spaced 8j4 inches from the center to the let in flush with the top of the seat over the filler of tank.
inside. They are to be cut over all frames, carefully fitted Bitt To be of oak or locust, 3x3 inches, to be set
:

and well fastened. through deck and blocking and well fastened on the under-
Deck Clamp: To be of spruce, Hx3 inches amidships, side by an oak or locust wedge.
tapered at ends to J^ x 2 inches. To be well fastened to the Engine Bed To be arranged to meet the requirements
:

frames, and at each alternate frame to have one fastening of the engine. The fore and kft bearers to be of oak, sided
through frame and sheerstrake. 2 inches, and to extend well beyond the foundation of en-
Bilge Clamps To be of spruce,
: %
x3 inches amidship, gine fore and aft. They are to be well fastened and bolted
tapered at ends to %x.2 inches. To be well fastened to the through keelsons. Suitable athwartship bearers to meet the
frames. requirements of the engine are to be provided, one between
Sheerstrake: To be of mahogany, 7/16-inch thick, and the flywheel and base of engine, the other one well aft, and
about 4 inches wide amidship, tapered at ends. To be well if there is room' to admit of using same, there is to be one
fastened to the frames with copper nails riveted over burrs. bolt through keelsons, fore and aft, and athwartship bearers
The fastenings through the upper edge on each third frame at either end, bolts to have nut and washers on the out-
are to go through sheer strake, frame and shelf for the side of keelsons.
length o{ the shelf. Fenders or Rubstreak : To be of mahogany i-inch, half
Planking : To
be of clear cedar or white pine to finish round, well fastened to the sheerstrakes, etc.
7/16-inch thick, to •t)e in long lengths, and where butts occur, Hatches, Etc., Over Engine Space strongback of : A
same are to be reinforced with oak backing. Fastenings to be spruce with suitable waterways on either side and worked out
copper nails riveted over burrs. Heads countersunk and on the underside as per plans to be made and well fastened
covered with wood plugs. Inside of plank to be properly to the coaming and bulkhead. The hatch frame is to be
coped to fit the frames, outside to be planed iair and true made of oak, curved part steam bent to shape and carefully
and finished smooth. Seams to be calked with yacht cotton, fitted. Finished size of section of frame ^xiJ4 inches deep.
payed with white lead and finished flush with white-lead The beams are to be of spruce sided inches, molded I %
putty. inch, sawed to crown. Ends of beams to be cut into the
Shelf: To be of spruce, Ys x25^ inches, to extend the full frame and well fastened. Hatches and strongback to be
length of the cockpit and hatch coaming as per plans. To covered 7-16 inch mahogany, in narrow strips, seams to be
be well fastened to the clamp, and at each third frame ':o battened on the underside or calked as desired. Fastenings
have one fastening through frame and sheerstrake. to be brass screws, heads countersunk and covered with
Deck Beams To be of spruce, sided
:
% inches, molded wood plugs. The edges of the hatch are to be covered with
lJ4 inches, sawed to the required camber and spaced as a brass strip, gauge No. 14 stock, i inch in width, fastened
shown on plans. Ends to be well fastened to the clamp. in position with countersunk head brass screws. Three hinges
Coaming Knees: To be of spruce, iVi inches thick, of_ bronze, 18 inches in length, 6 inches center to center of
shaped as per plans and well fastened to the shelf and beams. joints are to be used for the hatches, and there is to be a
Planksheer: To be of mahogany, V^'-inch thick, 4 inches bronze quadrant or slide for either hatch that will admit
wide in the wake of the coaming and tapered at ends. To of them being held open.
be well fastened to the deck beams, etc., with brass screws, Fittings : :
—
To comprise One shaft tube of bronze con-
heads to be countersunk and covered with wood plugs. structed as per detail plans with stuffing-box and locknut,
Deck Plank To be of mahogany, J^-inch thick, laid in
:
flange to be carefully fitted to the keel and well fastened
strips 3 inches wide and well fastened to the beams with with brass screws. Bronze rudder, with cast manganese
brass screws, heads to be countersunk and covered with wood bronze stock, and hard rolled Tobin bronze plate 3-16 inch
plugs. All seams to be calked with yacht cotton and filled thick, brass rudder -port with stuffing-box and locknut, gal-
with elastic seam cement or white-lead putty, as desired. vanized iron quadrant or sliding tiller, galvanized steel or
Coaming •
To be of mahogany, Yz-mch thick, steam bent Phosphor bronze tiller rope 14 i"eh diameter, galvanized
to shape at forward end, and to be well fastened to the shelf iron or bronze sheave leads of not less than 3 inches diam-
and coaming knees. eter for tiller rope. One adjustable auto steerer with
Cockpit Deck Beams: To be of spruce, sided % inches, wood rim wheel 12 inches diameter, one 12-inch bronze
molded iJ4 inches, spaced 12 inches. Ends of beams to be cleat, one 4-inch cowl ventilator, two 6-inch brass com-
_

well fastened to the frames and clamp and supported where bination chocks, twfo 5-inch brass quarter chocks, two
necessary on spruce stanchions ?ixiJ4 inches, set over the bronze flush flagpole sockets, one 24-ounce copper tank of
center of keel. about 30 gallons' capacity with suitable swash partitions,
Cockpit Deck Plank : To be of clear spruce or white bronze filler, vent plate and supply connection. One 6-inch
pine 5^-inch thick, laid in narrow strip.s, to be fastened with diameter deck plate over stuffing-box, one suitable deck
galvanized nails or brass screws. To be either tongued and plate over tank filler, three bronze hinges for hatches, two
grooved or calked seams as desired. Deck to be made water- quadrants or slides for hatches, brass stem band, two flag-
tight and to drain aft through lead scuppers i-inch inside poles, one yacht ensign, one private sig^nal or yacht club
diameter. pennant, one pair of side lights, and one bow light, either
Bulkheads: The bulkhead at the after end of the engine galvanized iron or brass as desired. One 25-pound fold-
compartment is to be framed up and covered with mahogany ing anchor, 100 feet 9-16-inch diameter Manila warp, one
strips l^-inch > thick, 3-inch face tongued and grooved. 6-inch diameter ship's bell, two Manila fast lines 30 feet
Wherever the fittings pass through the bulkhead, same is to in length, two canvas fenders 4 inches diameter, 16 inches
be reinforced with blocks on the inside. The bulkhead at long, and one bronze head boat hook with 7-foot handle.
the forward end of the afterdeck is to be framed up and Painting, Finishing, Etc.: The entire interior of the
covered with }i x3-inch mahogany the same as the forward hull to receive one coat of priming paint before being ceiled.
bulkhead, and a suitable trap is to be cut in same to admit The topsides to be primed and to receive three coats of
of access to the steering gear, etc. pure white lead paint, each coat to be well rubbed down
Ceiling: The inside of the frames above the cockpit floor before the second coat is applied. The underbody to be
are to be covered with mahogany staving, S/i6-inch thick, primed and treated to two coats of bronze or anti-fouling
2-inch face, ceiling to extend from the upperside of the deck paint rubbed down smooth. All exterior bright work to be
to the underside of the clamp and to be well fastened to the well filled and finished with three coats of best spar com-
frames with small finishing nails. position, each coat to be well rubbed down before the next
Stern Seat and Lazy Back : To be of mahogany J^-inch coat is applied. The interior of the engine space to re-
thick, shaped and fitted "as per plans. ceive two coats of white lead paint, light slate color. The
Helmsman's Seat: To be frarned up as per plans and staved cockpit deck to be treated to two coats of deck paint of
on the forward and afterside with mahogany ^-inch thick, an approved shade. Cove and name to be sized and gilded
3-inch face. Acopper gasolene tank 12 inches deep, 15 inches with gold leaf.

109
110
 How to Build a "Dead-Rise" Boat
By A. M. KEYS

response to many recent inquiries regarding the con- pleted boat. Then cut these out and make your moulds.
struction of a dead-rise boat similar to the one described Any rough stuff for them, as they will be
will suffice
IN knocked out and thrown away in due time. After they
in The Motor Boat of July 25th, and in the belief that
there are many who would have such a craft and
like to are complete, notch them out at gunwale and corners, l>^
who have sufficient mechanical it, I have
ability to build inches by 4 inches, to take the shelf and chine, as shown
the
endeavored in this article to show a simple and practical by dotted lines in Figure 3. This figure represents
method of construction. The boat shown in the drawings moulds set up, with keel, stem and stern in place, and
is a 30-footer, but can be built with equal ease in any size ready for chine and shelf.
desired. We are now ready to build the boat, and to that end
First, decide on the of boat you desire; say, for
size we will follow the advice of the King of Wonderland:
instance, one of 24 feet over all. Then procure a block of "Begin at the beginning, go to the end and then stop."
soft pine which will measure lyi inches for every foot of This is how Strike a line on the floor of your shop with
:

length of the complete boat, or 36 inches long in this case, a chalked line, slightly longer than your boat is to be, and
and 4^/2 inches wide by 3 inches in depth. This may be right over which the keel is to be
laid. Mark this in
either a solid block or three i-inch boards tacked one to deeply with pencil and lay out at right-angles the places
the other. The latter method is best, since the edges of the moulds will occupy. On these cross lines, nail down
the boards will offer a straight-edge to cut by and
^o pieces of 3x4 inch wood. Rough stuff will do, but put
measure from, the advantage of which will be made clear. them down strongly. Then to these set up the moulds on
After making sure that your block is perfectly square legs as showft in Figure 3. Get the heights from your
and smoothed on all four surfaces, if it is a solid block board as shown in Figure i, and brace them strongly, as
rule it lengthwise into i-inch divisions. Also divide it they must carry the entire weight of the boat. Be sure
into six equal parts by ruling it all the way round every they are plumb, up and down, as w€ll as at exact right-
six inches. Then, on one side, draw in the sheer-plan, or angles with the keel. It is well to nail a strip along each
side-efevation as shown in Figure i. On the side which side of the bottom, from end to end, to make sure they do
is to be your deck, draw your half-breadth plan. (Figure not slip during construction. Then set up an upright in
2.) Make sure, of course, that the inside of your lialf- front of where your stem will come and also one aft of
breadth plan is the opposite side from the one on which your stern, right in the centre.
you have drawn your sheer plan. In order to get fair, For your keel you will need a piece of oak nearly as
sweeping curves make a straight-edge of soft, dear pine, long as your over all length, and at least 2x6 inches.
^-inch square, and long^ enough to reach from end to Taper this off to 2 by 3 inches for about 6 feet back; a
end of your block. Dot off the heights of your gunwale at straight cut will do. For the stern, you will require
all the stations and drive pins in at these points. Push your enough i-inch oak (or 1J/2 inch if you are going to build
straight-edge up against the pins, and if the curve is fair, a larger boat than 24 feet long) to make it. Don't use
rule it in. If not, move any pin up or down until the line ploughed or grooved stuff, but make good, smooth seams,
makes a fair curve. This is of greater importance than and screw backing pieces on it (not less than three).
the exact measurements. Decide upon the depth of your Don't have a seam run out right at your corners. For
side in the same way, making it about I inch high for the stem a 3-inch oak plank is required. Get the length
every 12 inches in length, and the ends slightly less, as from your model, and the wider your plank is, the greater
in the drawings. curve can be given to the stem. This curve is largely a
Now, having gotten these lines to where they please you; matter of taste, but as this boat is rather angular anyway,
you are ready to cut. First, cut away the block to the a well curved stem and high crowned deck will add much
line of your keel then bevel off from that to the bottom
; to her appearance. In getting out your keel, if you have
of your sides, and you will find that these angles will take to splice to get the length, let the splice come as Tar for-
care of themselves if your rule will lie fair from bottom ward as possible, and back it up with a piece of the same
to keel at any point. Next, cut your shear, or top of side. stuff, not less than four feet long and bolted through and
Then, having replaced any lines you have cut away, cut through. Add stay pieces up and down every three feet
your out-board profile, making your angles more acute at to stiffen the sides,and back the joints with oak blocks
the ends than in the middle, and again replace the lines. riveted through the stay pieces should be jogged over
;

The block has now only one straight edge, which will be chine and shelf. Taper off the face -of your stem and cut
the center line of your boat, fore and aft. Now, lay it the rabbet for the plank ends before setting it up. The
down on a piece of heavy paper or on a smooth board of keel, for about 18 inches aft of the stem, will also need
the original size of the block and draw its profile all rabbeting. Let it run off gradually at about that point.
around, also drawing in the stations. You will need this The exact angle of the rabbet doesn't matter, as you can
to get the heights at which your moulds are to be set from doctor it later, when you come to plank.
the floor, its .we are going to build this boat up-side-down, Now set up the stem and brace it fromthe upright
in which position you can get at her best and use
your already mentioned, and from which you also measure the
muscles to .advantage. rake of the stem. "Line it up carefully with the after
Saw theblock into 6-inch sections, where you have upright. Do this carefullv. as it will ruin the looks of
drawn in If the cuts are carefully made,
your stations. the job if it plumb. Then saw off the bottoms of your
isn't
right on the line all round, you will find each cut gives moulds to the width of your keel (6 inches) and brace
you the shape of half your mould for that station. As the keel from above firmly down on your moulds, and
we have made ij/ inches to the foot, every %
inch of your also toe in a screw from underneath on each mould into
block will equal i inch of your completed mould. Take the keel. Then get out your stem-knee (see Figure 3)
off these lines on a piece of heavy building paper, measur- and bolt or screw it to both keel and stem. Set up your
ing with great care, as a small error in taking off from stern in the same manner, getting the rake from the after
the block will be just eight times as great in the com- upright and sawing off your keel so that the face of the

111
stern is outside of it. YoU can make a pattern for your We are now ready to saw ofi^the legs of the mould and
stern knee after this is done, of any light stuff, and make to turn' her over with the moulds still in place. Build a
the knee of 3-inch oak. Bolt it through the keel and strong locrker across the middle, at
about the height yoji
screw through the stern. intend your seat to come. This will not only provide a
You can now get out your sides, of i-inoh pine, or, if roomy and useful locker, but also will greatly stiffen your
boat. The forward ends of both your chine pieces and
you can get it, use California red-wood, which is free from with triangular blocks
knots and comes, in long lengths. If you have made your shelf should be fastened together
of oak or breast-hooks of natural growth and your stem
sides flare about as in Figure 4, you will find that your
secured to both. Fasten them aft to the stern with oak
sides will fit the moulds so neatly as to require little cut-
cleats in the same manner. This, however, is best done
ting at the top, though they will need some at the bottom Fit your deck beams
before you commence to plank.
as that is put up. However, you will find it easy to get
at and you can do it quite as well after it is on as before. (1x3 inches will be strong enough) one inch below your
sides and spring in a 3-inch plank-sheer all along fore
For the "bottom, use ipi inch stuff, beveling the first plank
off (inside) to an inch thickness where it takes the
and aft.
rabbet. Your first few planks will run nearly up and The moulds can now be taken out and a wide king-plank
of oak fitted down the centre of your forward deck, and
down, but by making them a little narrower at the bottom the rest planked in with pine. Thus far, nothing in the
than at the sides, you can soon get^ them raking aft.
boat has required steaming, and if you have no steam-box
Bevel off keel and chine till the plank lies fair and
and fasten with galvanized nails or screws. After the you cannot bend your combing. But you can fit one quite
as good, if not so shapely, by cutting your forward deck
bottom is all planked, plane off the ridge which
in a V shape and fitting your combing board to it, jogging
the plank ends have forrtjed forward, and in fact, all
it out to go over your plank-sheer and springing your
along, if you have beveled your keel so much that the
combing cold on the sides of plank-sheer to butt up against
plank ends have met. You will find, by the time you get the forward V. This calls for a nice fitting in the centre,
this far, that you will not need to cut so much bevel unless
but it can be done,and if finished with a breasthook inside
you want to. Your skeg and your shaft-log will set it will look right and be right.
better if you have, left your keel bare for 3 inches in the
centre. Make a pattern for the skeg of light stuff and
A word about caulking. These boats are generally made
without any, and if your joints are carefully made you
fit it carefully, getting the rough ineasurement from your
will not need any. Don't be alarmed, even if you can see
sheer plan. Your shaft-log will have to be a piece of
the daylight through her before she is launched. Fill
3-inch oak, and after you have gotten it out and drawn a
line on, it at the angle of your shaft, you will do well to your seams with a putty of white lead, to which you have
added whiting, worked up to the proper stiffness with a
take it to a saw-mill, if not too inconvenient. To bore The boat will swell up tight, all right. If
a hole three feet long, straight through a 3-inch plank putty-knife.
isno easy job. If, however, you must do it yourself, get you do need caulking, however, hire a professional to do
it, as proper caulking is a trade by itself,
and many a
what is known as a barefoot auger, as pone other will
run as straight for that distance, and fasten with lag good boat has been ruined by too much caulking.
Fore and, aft bearers 8 to 10 feet long should be laid for
screws through keel.
the engine. Oak pieces about 2x3 inches will be suf-
After you have your skeg in place, run your false keel, ficiently strong. Over these your bed-pieces should be
Ij^x2 inches, laid flat, clear to the stem, which should jogged. You will have to be governed by the height of
have been left long enough for it to butt against. After your fly-wheel for these, but if you have managed to get
this, a half-round strap or bang-iron should cover the stem this far safely, you can be trusted to proceed unaided.
and extend four or five feet back on the keel. Your rudder If your work has been done carefully, you will find
and propeller guard can best be procured from a dealer that you have a strong, able boat that can go out in any
in marine hardware and should be of galvanized iron, as, reasonable weather and which can hold her own with any
in fact, should be every nail and screw in the boat. boat of her size and power.

112
How to Build A Stern Wheeler
BY C. G. DAVIS

i
1
114
 The sides will not fii flat they wUl only touch on one
; ia practically the same as cotton batting, only it. is strung
edge of the transom ends, so cut them to the bevel that out into long strings and is of slightly cheaper quality. ^
will make a perfect fit before you nail them fast and al- If you cannot buy calking cotton take ordinary cotton
ways remember in boat work to make the seams so that the and string it out and roll it into a cord between th'e palm
outer edges are open a trifle more than the inner edges. of your hand and your knee. After this has been driven
If it were a box you would try to make the outer edges into the seams mix up some thin white lead pair^t and paint
invisible, but in boat work this is reversed for the reason each seam to hold the cotton in. When this paint is dry
putty the seams, paint the bottom with two gqod coats of
red lead paint and nail on the flat keel and chine, or edge
pieces to take the wear and tear off the bottom planks,
when the boat lays aground or slides up on a gravel bed.
The chine pieces are shown 6 inches wide, but they can
be any width, and as three inches will bend around easier
some will no doubt use them that width.
When the construction has progressed this far knock the
7h^ lopsided boat is cjh^t mosf umateurs produce in braces out from under the boat and turn it right side up,
fheir Haste to ^et ttie boat done You mt£?M. belter t<3l<e a ttffe
.

morv time and trouble and see ttiaf allis sifaareand trc/e. settmg it on logs to raise it off the ground anJ so as to
preserve the proper sweep the bottom is intended to have.
that putty has to be put in, so that as the wood swells Then cut the upper plank to its proper shape and when two
it will squeeze up and be watertight. Some seams will of these are ready, one for each side, rivet or nail in the
require cotton being tucked in before the putty is applied, upright posts of 2-inch by 2-inch oak at the various places
where the seams are open a little, and so long as the shown bv the measurements in the drawing. Be sure to
seams are slightly wedge-shaped, even if the two edges are see that these are all standinp^ plumb before you nail
apart on the inside, the cotton will be jammed in and get them in.

tighter and tighter the more it is pushed from tl outside, As most of these boats will be built for use on fresh
while, if the seam be the other way, the pressure pushes the water rivers and lakes, it is not necessary to use galvanized
cotton through and a leaky boat is the result. iron nails or copper rivets as is necessary on salt water, but
When these side planks are fastened at each end and plain iron nails will do as Jong as they are kept painted.
while the sides are held irLtrue shape, nail a strip of oak, Punch each nailhead in about an eighth of an inch below
i>4-inch thick and 2 inches deep, so it comes just flush the surface of the plank and then fill the hole with putty.
with the edge of the side planks to give a better nailing The jogs cut in the top edge of the top olank on the

/7<t-/ The iides of ttie txjil ore tx/ilf up qf tuo piinlo- /he shape c/ f/?e bolfono
one IS ihoun aboteThecun/erniMei it SS/tSinslon^ /fis 12 ins w/at.

ytsoiR?irt piaifixa cnasuaya eut/ff /'it'^iuff: u/^/ie s/t/ei an tjpst£/e j/ou/n.

 IME F/oor Lerel
-yjidep/anki^r,hasiiMn bent araun^ /^£ /nou/Ois to ^eep /he ^ii/ts
' '
aparf fhe uar/oi/s w/c/Ms ai ^'yen
'

,„
/norei^^aus cfra,v,r,^.„uii
/,ii:
aai/om/?/a/7/cc cross cvays
/nprey/aas^n3Minif.nai/onf/ie6offomp/ani:c po/nr /f
a/ays po/nf /r and
ana na'i/
na// on f/?e
Y^e /tee/p/ank and /U/o
ru/o u/earina
J/itft furn /ler '/<pnr j/aa
Aee/p/ank u/earin^ sfr/ps.
r/^M jii/e up
up as ihown
^noa/n aboi^e fasMn
aio^e, /as uphi^M oak pipsrs am/ i):ni/ Sip
jn /vnri/jhr n^il'
fen //? r^/^fA- >5^/y>i^*^>y
;^ /,/^«/* ^« a.-!
n/anHs on ^^ ^/i^wn
r-i,^,..^

be /e/fA/uareon
na// kne£s

into the harder wood last, will hold stronger than if and many men will be tempted to use flat ones, but if
nailed from above into the soft planking. this is done the side suppcfts should be carried uo higher,
If the boat leaks at all, and to keep your feet dry from so as to give more headroom under the roof.
any rain water that may be in the boat, a flooring can Nail the ends of the beams to the oak bands and be
be laid crossways resting on these three stringers and careful first to bore a hole for the nail or you may split
the chine battens at the edges of the, sides. To strengthen the beam and make a shaky roof.
the corner forward where the stem joins the bottom, as Over these beams lay a thin roof of J^-inch or J/2-inch
that gets all the ramming up against the shore in making
tongued and grooved pine, with the smooth, side down
landings, cut a 2-inch thick knee and nail it securely to paint the top and then stretch wide thin cloth, such as
both batten and inside edge of the stem.
sheeting, over it tacked fast around the edges and laps
Afalse stem is then fitted to the real stem. The ends of and then give that two or three thin coats of paint. Cover
the side planks and face of real stem can be trued up with the ed^-es of the cloth where it is turned over and tacked
a sharp plane, so that the false stem makes a perfect joint into the edge of the pine top, with a half round oak mould-
— to insure water tightness calk the seams where the sides ing about 94 of an inch wide.
and stem meet and paint them. The false stem can be It will add to the appearance of the roof if you also
pointed off sharp for about one foot up from the bottom. screw or brad on a ^-inch half round oak moulding even
It should be left square from there up, so two small oak -with the lower edge of the bands. A similar effect is pro-
knees can be bolted to it to steady the 3-inch by 3-inch duced on the top edge of the side planks of the' boat by
deck beam that sets on top of the false stem and against
nailing on a cap about M-inch thick if it is neatly rounded
the real stem's face. over on both the inside and outside edges. This cap wiU
Three other beams shpuld then be notched into the be wider because it has to span from the side planks over
top of the side planks, as shown in the plans, to carry the to and cover up the upper edges of the vertical staving
platform deck forward, which is really the front porch, as in the cockpit.
it were, the place where everybody enters the boat. The This staving and all the bulkheads can be of the same
platform itself, of about %-inch stuff, is then laid fore kind of wood, about 3^-inch pine, in narrow widths, with
and aft over these beams. its edges tongued and grooved.

The second frame from the bow is to be left sticking up An enclosed toilet room is shown built in at the after
through the deck to form a "hitching post." end. The space opposite may be used as a sort of galley,
To build the roof top, first get out the bands that run where simple meals can be cooked on an oil stove.
around the top ends of the upright posts. These should be An arrangement of leats is shown which an owner
of quarter sawed oak about Yz to ^-inch thick, 4 inches may change to suit his own ideas. My idea is to leave
the forward cockpit nractically clear of everything so
deep over the forward cockpit and increased to 7 inches in
chairs can be used for seats as they are more comfortable
depth around the after cabin part. The bands across the
ends are the same depth and will have to be sawed to and allow of a change of position when desired.
shape out of wide planks to get the arch shape, which not Two partial bulkheads separate the engine-room, which
is aft from the forward part of the boat, and, besides
only sheds the water as a roof should, but in appearance
is far better than flat beams. The beams which go across providing a space to carry the gasolene tanks, cylindrical
from side to side are 3 inches in depth by Ij4 inches steel or copper boiler shaped ones, and also water coolers,
it serves to somewhat deaden th°
thick, of oak, and have an arch up of 4 inches. It takes <
engine noises.
considerably more wood to cut out these curved beams

116

.*!^
 ^j^^c^g^i^^^^pt
eft ^^

Part II

installation is simple enough with room to

motor should be fitted with grease cups on top, and be careful
THEtwo around oak
get
of
and
all

3-inch beds
at the motor, which is set en top
that are nailed to the floors
to see that the axle bearings are perfectly level so the
wheel will not be lop-sided.
and braced at each end, particularly at the fljrwheel end, Various other means are sometimes employed for driv-
by two oak knees, which distribute the strain and mate- ing the paddle wheel. Some use a sprocket-wheel set-off
rially steady the motor against rocking, and yet they need on one end of the axle, with a sprocket chain connection to
not come so far above the floor as to be stumbling blocks a smaller wheel on the end of the motor shaft with the
for people passing by it. motor set so it extends crossways in the boat. This is a
The axle of the sternwheel is high enough to enable you very simple method of transmitting the power, but its
to set the motor on a level base, but before you set the objections are the difficulty experienced in taking up the
motor make your paddle wheel and all its gear, and from
this you can get the proper height to set your motor.
W70
6iear, '

9reas^Ccp^
To carry the paddle wheels bolt a yellow pine beam 2 -GreaxCi/p
inches by 6 inches, 7 feet long, against the inner face of
iVheeJ
^«» /Ix/e
the frames, through a hole chiseled through the transom,
so they extend out back of the transom 3 feet Their outer
ends can be lightened up a little by tapering them to a
depth of 4 inches at the after end. Rivet on a block . Wheel »!

slightly wedge-shaped so that its inner face stands fore

and aft. This gives a broader landing for the bearings
of the paddle wheel shaft. Another stout bearer of yel-
low pine 8 inches deep by 3 inches thick is mortised /Irranc^ement of bearirx^s for <3)c/e of /he
through the transom in the center, so it lands right on top ^fern i<jheef ark^f erk^f of
of the floor of the boat and to which it is nailed. It is
shaff
tapered down in height as it goes forward until it is the slack of the chain which soon becomes loose, .and the fact
same depth as the 2 by 2 inch keelson in the center at the that the chain, if it breaks, goes to the bottom of the river
after end of the engine. It also tapers up on the after end and leaves the boat helpless. With the chain transmission
until it is only 3 inches by 3 inches. This bearer carries the wheel is made in one piece and the paddles are much
the shaft bearings where the worm wheel works into a larger, and for that reason cause more vibration than the
gear wheel keyed to the paddle wheel shaft or axle. method we have shown. Here the paddle wheel is made
This worm and gear wheel you will have to buy, and in two parts, with the transmission gear in a straight line
it should be a 4 to I gear: that is, for four revolutions of back of the motor. The middle of the wheel axle being
the shaft from the motor the axle of the paddle wheel will supported at the level gear and both ends, makes a
turn over once. This, at 300 revolutions and 25 per cent, steadier running wheel and, what is of far more" import-
slip, will give a speed of about 8 miles an hour. ance to the smoothness of the boat's running, is the fact
(The outer end of the motgr shaft will turn in two bear- that the wheel by being in two sections with the paddles
ings bolted to the outer end of the central beam, one just set one slightly in advance of the other the shock of the
in front of and one just back of the worm gear, with ball paddle hitting the water is only half as severe as it would
bearing washers between to reduce the friction caused by be with one wide paddle board clear across, and its action
the thrust that will come upon these bearings when going always having one or two paddles submerged all the time.
ahead or backing. The bearings for the axle of the wheel This is an important feature of sternwheel propulsion.

U7
for if one bucket is just comingout and another just enter- can be made re-

ing, the load on the engine is at that moment very light, movable all in
and then heavy the next minute as the bucket goes under, one piece or in

producing a jerky effect on the motor and gears. sections to enable

Another point to be observed in sternwheel propulsion you to get at the
is to have the paddle wheel as large as possible, so that paddle wheel and
as the paddles come down into the water the boards, or rudders when-
buckets as some call them, will not come down so as to ever any adjust-
slap the* water with a shock, but will dip in as near edge- ment may be nec-
wise as possible. essary there, and
The wheel in this particular boat is 3-feet 6-inches in yet it will be
diameter, there being eight arms bolted at the center to tight enough to
a circular iron plate 10 or 12 inches in diameter about keep out any wa-
j4-inch thick, with a heavy hub that fits on the 2-inch ter that may
axle, and to which it is fastened by means of an iron key splash up against
driven into a slot cut half out of the axle and half out of it. Phn of rudders for
the hub. The arms may be braced out near the buckets The paddle ^tern Wheeler
by means of an iron hoop bolted to each arm or by oak wheel is kept
braces jammed between each arm. back from the
Both wheels may be exactly alike, but when you cut the hull for ".the rea-
keyways to hold them on the axle cut one so it sets the son that the wheel
works much more
efficiently if it is

just on the crest

of the stern Teoo styles ofrcidder
wave, which will
han(fer-5
-
a strdp and
be about where
we have located
,
^crecoeye.3
it at the speed she will usually make.

The buckets or paddles should be of hardwood, 21 inches

long by 6 inches wide and from Y% to ^^ of an inch thick,
fastened to the paddle wheel arms by two 5-16-inch car-
riage bolts into each arm. They should be made as inter-
changeable as possible, and one or two -extra padclles al-
ft comparison bef^caeen a 3b"<3nd<3 2^"diamel-er ways carried on board to replace aiiy that may be smashed
paddle u/heeU both to dip W
shows ro hoco wach
i^hee) by coming in contact, with a piece of driftwood. * If all
beH-eradi/antcXfe the bcfcl<ef on the /ar^'er the holes are bored tHe, same distance apart a new paddle
hih the water- /ess s/ap and wore push. already bored.for the ^ bolts can be substituted in .a few
moments.
paddles or buckets about 6 inches in advance
of those on The steering gear consists of two oak rudders 13' inches
the other wheel. long by 12 inches deep, with their after ends cut so as to
As paddle wheels throw considerable water, they are clear the paddle wheels, hinged to the oak transom, so
often partly covered by a shield to keep it from flying they drop 3 inches below the bottom and set in 10 inches
about. This, in our case, is taken care of by building up from the sides so that they will not project beyond the
the after end of the boat with a staved up partition that sides when turned around to an angle of 45 degrees.
The rudders are hinged
by means of two eye bolts
bolted th-rough the transom,
as shown on
the plans, and
tvvo eyebolts or iron straps,
about I inch wide and y%-
inch thick bolted to the sides
of the rudders, and bent
.

aroutid their forward 'edge

so as to form loops, with an
iron bolt about J^-inch in
diameter '
dropped through'

them. The upper eye or

loop in the rudder, coming
just under the eye in the '

stern, prevents the rudder

lifting, and the lower eye,
being just above the one in
the stern, prevents the rud-
der dropping. This is as
simple and yet as effective a
style of rudder hanging as
you can get.
after edge of
By linking the
both rudders together with a
flat iron bar 4 feet long, ij^
inches wide and about 3-32
of an inch thick the wheel
ropes .which lead forward

118
 over pulleys or sheaves can be shackled into holes drilled can be had free from gnats and mosquitoes, and the for-
through the outer ends of this bar, and then lead forward ward part protected by curtains tacked to the roof band
to the steering wheel on the lefthand side, so a person can and arranged to roll up when not needed or dropped to
siton the short seat built just forward of the partition and keep off the hot sun.
steer in comfort. « Such a boat will afford a lot of pleasure to a man and
wire netting screens around the after end of 'his family on waters where an ordinary motorboat could
By fitting
the boat between the roof stanchions, sleeping quarters not go at all.

119
Motorboat Handbook
VOLUME I.

(NOW IN THE FOURTH EDITION)

A Reference book for the Expert, a Text book
for the Novice; a work that should be kept on
board every motorboat for constant reference. It
is helpful when you buy or build a boat and ever
afterwards. This book is a necessity to the man
who owns or expects to own a motorboat. Written
so that the novice cam understand.
Motorboat Handbook
VOLUME II.

This volume is a companion work with Volume

I, described on the preceding page.
It is fully as

valuable, and nearly everyone who had read Volume

I ordered a copy of this second volume as soon as

it was announced. It is printed and bound in

uniform style, and these two volumes contain all
the information that a boat owner can desire.
Motor Boat Handbook
Vol. Ill

Fully Illustrated — For Motorboat Owners

TABLE OF CONTENTS
How the Shape of the Hull Affects the
Strength of a Boat
Keels, Stems and Sterns
Frames, Floors and Stringers
Planking, Decks and Interior Work
Fastenings Used in Motorboat Construction
Paints and Their Use

Flexibility in Boats

Bilge Pumps for Motorboats

What Makes a Dry Sea Boat?

How to Make a Scale for Any Boat Design
How to Weigh a Racing Boat

Racing Buoys
Riding to a Sea Drag
Overhauling a Two-Cycle Motor
Overhauling a Four-Cycle Motor
Some Exhaust Installations I Have Met
Valves and Valve Timing

Simple Motor Wiring

Something About Electric Lighting Outfits
The Motor's Electrical Equipment

Price, One Dollar, X?.v^'ht.

THE MOTOR BOAT PUBLISHING CO.

110-112 WEST 40th STREET -
NEW YORK

122
THE MARINE MOTOR tt.'v^l.n'lTvl

By A. E, POTTER
THE ONLY COMPLETE 900K ON MARINE MOTORS

Table of Contents
Chapter I. —Principles and Types. Chapter IV. —Ignition.
Primary Batteries and Their Care Secondary —
CHAPTER II.— Construction. Batteries or Accumulators and Their Care —
—
Proportions— Compression — Crank Case or Pri-
Battery Connections Mechanical Electric Gen-
—
erators Magnetos — —
Dynamos Switches Tim- —
mary Compression — Piston Displacement— Bal- —
ers Distributors —
Spark or Induction Coils —
ancing Motors —Wrist Pin offset with Crank
—
Jump Spark Coils Master Vibrators and Con-
Shaft— Slow Speed Two-Stroke-Cycle— Medium
—
densers Plug Spark Coils— Magnetic Spark
— — —
Speed Two-Stroke-Cycle— High Speed Two-
Air Gaps Double Ignition
Plugs
Synchronism, Speed and Direction
Ignition
Single —
Stroke-Cycle—Two-Port Motors, Enclosed Spark Battery Systems.
Crank Case— Two-Port Motors, Open Crank
Case — Three-Port Motors, Enclosed Crank Chapter V. — Carburetion,
Case—Three-Port Motors, Open Crank Case —
Combined Two- and Three-Port Motors— Posi- —
Chapter VI. Lubrication.
tive Two-Stroke Inlet Valves— Four-Stroke- —
Lubricants Graphite as a Lubricant —Testing
Cycle Slow Speed Motors— Four-Stroke-Cycle and Selection of Lubricants.
—
Medium Speed Motors Four-Stroke-Cycle
„
—
High Speed Motors Reversing and Air Start- Chapter VII. — Selection of Motors.
ing Motors —
Self-Starting Marine Motors — Flexibility — Second Hand Motors —
Double-Acting Marine Motors —
Automobile
Speed
Tables.
Motors for Motorboats and Marine Motors for
—
Automobiles Kerosene, Producer Gas and Fuel Chapter VIII. —Installation.
Oil Motors. Twin-Screw Installation— Final Inspection.

Chapter III. —Motor Parts and Functions. Chapter IX. — Operation,

Two-Stroke-Cycle Cylinders —
Four-Stroke-Cy-
Cautions.
—
cle Cylinders Two-Stroke-Cycle Ports Two- — —Troubles and Cares.
—
Stroke-Cycle Cylinder Heads Four-Stroke-Cy- Chapter X.
cle Cylinder Heads —
Pistons Two- and Four- Refusal to Start — Missing Explosions—Sluggish
— — Operation — Uneven Running— Gradual Slowing
Stroke-Cycle Piston Rings Connecting Rods
— — — Down — Running in Cold Weather— S u d d e n
Crank Shafts Fly-Wheels Wrist and Crank Stopping— Cause and Remedy for Noisy Mo-
—
Pins Crank and Cam Shaft Gears Cam Shafts — tors — Electrolysis and Corrosion — Adjusting
— —
Motor Valves Rotary and Sleeve Valves — Carbureter s— Blowing Back Through Car-
—
Valve Springs Valve Location Valve Stem — bureter.
—
Guides Valve Operation Inlet —
Manifolds — —Testing and Efficiency.
—
Exhaust Manifolds Priming and Relief Cocks Chapter XI.
— —
Bearings Eccentrics and Eccentric Straps — Testing the Compression, Cylinder and Crank
— —
—
Water Pumps and Location Check Valves for Case Fuel Consumption Tests Consumption
—
of Fuel Efficiency of Marine Motors ^Mean —
—
Marine Motors MuiBers and Muffling Re- — —
Effective Pressure Causes of Poor Efficiency.
—
verse Gears and Clutches Bilge Pumps Air —
Pumps —
Motor Governors —
Mechanical and —
Chapter XII. Care and Repair.
—
Rear Starters Propeller Shafts and Shaft —
Winter Care Overhauling the Motor Dis- —
—
Couplings Stuffing Boxes and Stern Bearings —
sembling Re-Assembling Emergency —
Repair
— Propellers. Kits.

FITTING OUT TIME IS HERE. THIS BOOK WILL HELP YOU OUT

Vrice ^1.00, "Postpaid Anytvher*

MOTOR BOAT PUBLISHING CO.. 110 West 40th Street. N.Y. City

123
 CANADA

MfiANY
4
Follow these Charts for your ScASTtCTOM ;,

Summer's Cruise— nut i< •

These Motor Boat Charts cover some of the most pic-

turesque Waterways of North America, and will lead you
through marvelously beautiful country. They are carefully
iMocnit
drawn, giving details that make navigation simple and easy.

Chart Ko. 1. —The Upper Hudion River, the Canal> and Chart No. 6. — Ottawa River from Ste. Anne to
Inland Lakes of the Sute of New York.
Grenville.
Okart No. 2. — Lake Champlain.
Chart No. 7. — Ottawa River from Grenville
—
Obart No. 2-a. Lake George, with information how to to Ottawa.
Miter and leave the lake. —
Chart No, 8. Ottawa, Ont., to Smith's Falls, Ont., vis
Oliart No. 8. —The
Richelieu River, from Rousei Point, Rideau River and Rideau Canal.
Lake Champlain, to St. Johns, P. Q. Chart No. — Smith's
9. Falls to Kingston, including the iv*^

Cbart No. 4. —St Johns, P. Q., to Serel, oa the St.

Rideau Lakes.
—The Eastern
Lawrence, via the Chambly Canal and Richelieu River. Chart No. 10. End of Lake Ontario, show-
ing the course across the lake from Kingston to Oswego, also
Chart No. 6. —The St. Lawrence River, from Sorel to the entrance to the St. Lawrence River, the Harbors of
Montreal. Kingston, Sacketts Harbor and Oswego.

CSAIO'B A B C OF THE HIVEK ST. LAWXENOE, a complete guide to this famous Siver, Including the Wonderful
Thousand Island Segrlon.

Price, $1.00 each; or the entire set for $8.00

Any six charts for $5.00
ORDER BY NlAffiER POSTAGE PREPAID ANYWHERE

THE MOTOR BOAT PUBLISHING CO., 110 West 40th Street, NEW YORK ik:
124
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