Jan. 13 I unfastened the doorskin panel from the molds, laid it flat, and cut out the marked shape of the side plank. This panel becomes a pattern for the side planks. I also cut one of my white oak pieces to the right bevels for the stem, leaving it long on the ends to trim later.
Knowing the right shape for the side planks and the right bevel for the stem is the “Holy Grail” of building the boat to the intended design. If I had known those two things at the outset I could have skipped most of the preparatory mold work I spent the last month on. In just a couple of days I could easily have cut out two side planks, fastened them to the stem, bent the sides around a couple of frames, and attached them to the transom, and been ahead of where I am now. So why did the plans not include the side pattern and the stem bevel? Projecting a three dimensional plank shape onto a flat plane is just about impossible to do graphically, and in any event is only particularly helpful on a flat bottomed boat like this. A computer could do it now, but at the time the design was drawn there were no computers. Moreover, the traditional builders of these little sharpie skiffs didn’t need computers, or plans either, for that matter. They shaped their hulls by experienced eye. That know-how is extinct; so to build a clone, I had to rely on the DNA: the design plan. As for the stem bevel, I think I could have calculated it from the plans if I had ever studied solid geometry; but I didn’t.
To preserve this newfound knowledge, for what earthly purpose I can’t say, I traced the plank pattern onto a long strip of heavy building paper, made a few notes on it about bevel angles, rolled it up and tucked it away. Maybe someday someone can use it. If not, no harm.
Knowing the right shape for the side planks and the right bevel for the stem is the “Holy Grail” of building the boat to the intended design. If I had known those two things at the outset I could have skipped most of the preparatory mold work I spent the last month on. In just a couple of days I could easily have cut out two side planks, fastened them to the stem, bent the sides around a couple of frames, and attached them to the transom, and been ahead of where I am now. So why did the plans not include the side pattern and the stem bevel? Projecting a three dimensional plank shape onto a flat plane is just about impossible to do graphically, and in any event is only particularly helpful on a flat bottomed boat like this. A computer could do it now, but at the time the design was drawn there were no computers. Moreover, the traditional builders of these little sharpie skiffs didn’t need computers, or plans either, for that matter. They shaped their hulls by experienced eye. That know-how is extinct; so to build a clone, I had to rely on the DNA: the design plan. As for the stem bevel, I think I could have calculated it from the plans if I had ever studied solid geometry; but I didn’t.
To preserve this newfound knowledge, for what earthly purpose I can’t say, I traced the plank pattern onto a long strip of heavy building paper, made a few notes on it about bevel angles, rolled it up and tucked it away. Maybe someday someone can use it. If not, no harm.
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