Building a Wooden Boat - Sea Dreams - Yolaseadreamhobbies.yolasite.com/resources/Building a Wooden Boat... · Building a Wooden Boat Preface My dream of building a wooden boat began

Credits

Many thanks to David Beede who designed the original Summer Breeze boat and also to Duckworks Magazine who both allowed me to

use some of their drawings, pictures and other information for this book.

A couple other builders who gave me permission to use their pictures are Kevin Falvey and Dan Lyke from the WoodenBoat Forum.

Also, thanks to the many people online who posted pictures, videos, and other information about this design as well as the many kind

people on the WoodenBoat Forum who offered advice and inspiration as I built my first wooden boat.

Thanks to Gayle Brantuk from Glen-L Marine Designs for permission to include their glossary of boat building & boating terms in this book.

David Beede's site : http://www.simplicityboats.com

David Beede's Homepage : http://www.davidbeede.com

DuckWorks Magazine : http://www.duckworksmagazine.com

Kevin Falvey's Blog : http://www.boatsandboatinggear.blogspot.com/

Dan Lyke's site : http://www.flutterby.net/Main_Page

Glen-L Marine Designs : http://www.glen-l.com/

All pictures not credited are my own.

www.Glen-L.com logo

http://www.simplicityboats.com/

http://www.glen-l.com/

http://www.flutterby.net/Main_Page

http://www.boatsandboatinggear.blogspot.com/

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/

http://www.davidbeede.com/

Table of ContentsPreface........................................iThe Inspiration.........................iiiThe Parts....................................1

Sides .....................................1Stem .....................................1Frame ...................................1Transom ...............................1Chine Logs ...........................1Gunwales .............................1Inwales .................................2Bottom .................................2Keel ......................................2Skeg .....................................2Breasthook ...........................2Quarter knees .......................3Rudder blade ........................3Rudder head .........................3Tiller ....................................3Rudder hardware ..................3Leeboard ..............................3Mast partner .........................4Mast step ..............................4Mast ....................................5Yard ......................................5Sprit boom ...........................5Snotter ..................................5Sail........................................6Seat.......................................6

Sides..........................................9Stem.........................................11Frame.......................................17The Transom............................23Assembling the sides, stem, frame and transom...................28Chine Logs..............................31Gunwales.................................33Inwales....................................34Bottom.....................................36Keel and Skeg..........................42

Breasthook...............................49Quarter knees...........................52Rudder Blade...........................53Rudder head.............................55Tiller........................................57Rudder hardware.....................58Leeboard..................................61Mast partner.............................63Mast step.................................66Mast.........................................67Spars........................................68Sail...........................................69Seat..........................................73Boat Speak...............................74Nominal Vs. Actual Lumber Dimensions..............................97Decimal Equivalents...............99

April 11, 2013

This is the second proof copy of this book.

There are sure to be some spelling and grammar mistakes.

It should, however, contain enough information to build this boat.

I have tried to include as much information as possible about this particular design of boat in order to make it easier for other builders to

use while building their own version of this boat.

In building my first boat, I found it difficult to locate all of the dimensions needed to make this boat and got my information from

several online sources and made up my own where I couldn't find what I needed.

I make no claims that this is the exact plans that David Beede created but, I did end up with a usable boat in the end.

As this is written, I have built the basic boat and have not yet added the parts to make it into a sail boat.

You may use or share this book with others as you like as long as you give credit to the people who allowed me to use their information and

pictures.

Building a Wooden Boat

Preface

My dream of building a wooden boat began after reading a book by Robert Manry called Tinkerbelle. In his book, Robert buys an old wooden sailboat then repairs and modifies it into a miniature cabin cruiser and then he goes on to sail it across the Atlantic Ocean. Like many who read adventure stories, I began dreaming about sailing around a local lake in a similar boat. After finding an article with plans for a similar boat in the August 1967 edition of Mechanix Illustrated, I began studying the plans. Unfortunately, these plans were not complete enough for someone with my limited boat building skills. I had never built a boat before and don't understand all the processes of building a boat. That led to a search for other plans. Looking for the simplest boat, I came across many plans for one-sheet boats built using just one sheet of plywood. Although these boats looked easy enough and cheap enough to build, they just were not what I was looking for. More searching came up with a design by David Beede called Summer Breeze. This one was designed for a contest from DuckWorks Magazine using two sheets of plywood and various other pieces of common lumber. These plans were available for free and it looked like many people have built copies of this design. After much time spent studying the plans and articles online, I began by redesigning it to use the materials I had or could get easily and cheaply. I had decided to use cheap underlayment plywood available at the local building supply store, which I had been repeatedly warned against using to build a boat out of and then shortened the sides to avoid so much splicing together of bits of plywood to get all the parts out of the limited materials. Sure, I could have just built it as the plans showed but I figured that a few inches shorter boat was worth the savings in time and effort of fitting all the little pieces together with glue, epoxy or other methods.

This book describes my adventures with building a wooden boat with no formal training. I have included my own drawings showing how I designed the parts as well as pictures as the boat comes together. This is obviously not the correct method to build a boat, but, it is how I did

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it. I have also used some rather crude methods when I didn't have the right tools or materials. That is one benefit of starting out with a smaller and cheaper design for your first try at boat building. You would never risk improvising on materials if you had a lot of time and money invested in your boat. Feel free to use the best materials you can afford but be aware that, especially if this is your first build, you will most likely make mistakes. If you decide to use or copy my methods, you are on your own. This will not get you a perfect boat that will last for generations and can be considered as practice in preparation for the time you might decide to build a better boat. It does make a good project to get you started in boat building without spending a lot of money or time.

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The InspirationThe original idea for this boat was found as free plans online.

Summer Breeze was designed by David Beede and won DuckWorks Magazine's 2001 amateur boat design competition. The contest was to build any boat you can imagine from the following parts:

(2) 4' x 8' sheets of 1/4" (or less) plywood

(2) 10 foot 1 x 12's

(2) 8 foot 2 x 4's

(2) 10 foot x 1-1/2" diameter wood poles

(2) 8' x 10' polytarps

(2) 50' lengths of 1/4" nylon rope

Unlimited glue, fasteners, paint, and duct tape

And, a small outboard or trolling motor may be specified.

Not building it for the contest, I have tried to simplify the building process at the expense of using more materials than were specified by the contest rules. Basically, I used what I had or could easily get. If you are not concerned with building a boat that will last for many years, your choice of building materials and methods becomes both cheaper and more available. With care, this boat can provide much enjoyment. Both in building it as well as in using it. Along the way, you will gain valuable experience that can be useful when you move on to more advanced boat building projects. Mistakes you make while building your first boat will be less costly when you choose a simple design for your first try. While this design is not the smallest or even the easiest boat you could choose for your first attempt, it will likely result in a boat that you can be proud to say, “I built it myself.”

Even if you mess it up and fail completely, at least you won't be out very much money.

Don't allow your lack of special skills or proper “marine grade”

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materials stop you from even trying to build your own boat. Be careful and don't take dangerous chances while building or using your boat but, don't let anyone convince you that you can't do it. Try it, you might just surprise yourself.

iv

Dan Lyke's picture


The Parts

Sides

The sides are cut from the first sheet of plywood. To get the length needed from a standard 4'x8' sheet of plywood, the sides need to be spliced together. This can be done with butt blocks or by scarfing the pieces together.

Stem

This is the front piece of the boat that connects the two sides together. Also called a cutwater.

Frame

This boat design only uses one frame section to help hold the sides at the desired width and shape.

Transom

The transom is the back of the boat. This is where the rudder assembly is attached.

Chine Logs

These can be either internal or external pieces that will help fasten the bottom to the sides. Depending on your building methods, these may or may not be needed. For the stitch and glue method, these are replaced by fillets of thickened epoxy and fiberglass tape.

Gunwales

These are strips along the outside, top edge of the sides. They help

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strengthen and shape the sides of the boat as well as protect the top edge of the thin plywood sides.

Inwales

These are the same as the gunwales except they are on the inside, top edge of the sides. They are often held away from the inner side by spacers. This is done to allow water to more easily be dumped out of a small boat. It also gives the boat a nice look and can even be used to tie things onto to keep them in the boat.

Bottom

The bottom of the boat is made from the second sheet of plywood. To get the length needed, two triangle shaped pieces are cut from the full sheet and joined, using butt blocks, to the front of the remaining sheet.

Keel

The keel is glued and screwed along the center of the outside bottom. It helps to strengthen the bottom and supports the skeg.

Skeg

The skeg is a sternward (towards the rear of the boat) extension of the keel used to increase the directional stability of the boat.

Breasthook

The breasthook is a roughly triangular horizontal piece directly behind the stem of the boat between the sides or inwales. Used to strengthen the boat. Often they are curved in a decorative shape to save weight. They also provide a hand hold when carrying the boat.

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Quarter knees

The quarter knees are curvy, L-shaped pieces of wood that reinforce the side-to-transom joint. They can be made as simple triangles or rounded and curved to make them nicer looking.

Rudder blade

The rudder blade is the vertical blade of the rudder that is attached to the rudder head to steer the vessel.

Rudder head

The rudder head is the upper part of the rudder that is attached to the transom with pintles and gudgeons or other hinges to move the rudder blade and steer the vessel. It also, on this boat, allows the rudder blade to pivot upwards if it hits something.

Tiller

The tiller is the handle that is attached to the rudder head to allow you to steer the vessel from your seat.

Rudder hardware

The rudder hardware holds the rudder assembly to the transom and allows it to hinge right and left. Usually this is done with a couple pintles and gudgeons but, on simple, home-built boats like this one, it can be another hinging mechanism.

Leeboard

The leeboard is a foil placed on the side of a sailboat to keep the boat from being pushed sideways by wind or waves. It functions similar to

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a centerboard or daggerboard except that it doesn't require a hole in the hull of the boat, which might leak, and it doesn't take up interior space. The leeboard is not common in commercially built boats since many people consider them inelegant and awkward. It is common in many home-built boats to simplify construction.

Mast partner

The mast partner supports the mast near the upper part of the boat sides.

Mast step

The mast step holds the base of the mast in position at the floor of the boat.

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Edited picture from David Beede's simplicityboats.com site


Mast The mast is a tall, vertical spar that supports the sail.

Yard

The yard is the spar at the head of a lug sail.

Sprit boom

The sprit boom is used near the bottom (foot) of the sail instead of a normal boom. It is slanted down from the mast to the clew of the sail. The advantage on this small boat is that it is higher on the mast reducing the chance of being hit by the boom and is lighter. One note from the Duckworks article on this design: Because of the limited materials specified for the contest, if you used chine logs, there wasn't enough materials to build this sprit boom so, David Beede stated that the sail can be used “loose footed”. Since I'm not building it for the contest, I can just use a bit more wood and keep this item.

Snotter

The snotter tensions the sprit boom.

5

from DuckWorks Magazine


Sail

This boat uses what is called a lug sail. It was designed to be made from a simple tarp. According to Wikipedia, the lugsail is an evolved version of the classical square sail. In both rigs, the upper side of the sail is attached to a spar, the yard, which is hoisted up the mast by a rope known as the halyard. The lower side of the sail is held in place by a separate set of ropes, the sheet and tack downhaul.

The main difference between the lugsail and square sail is the location of the yard in relation to the mast. A square sail is lifted with the halyard in the middle of the yard, lifting the sail so it lies evenly on either side of the mast. In the lugger, the halyard is attached much closer to one end or the other of the yard, and when lifted the majority of the sail will lie fore or aft of the mast. Since the luff of the sail is shorter than the leech, the after end of the yard is peaked up by the combination of the upward force of the halyard and the downward force of the tack downhaul. This allows the mast to be shorter than the sail, the peaked yard making up the difference in height.

There are three sorts of lugsail: the standing lug, in which the yard remains on one side of the mast and the tack is set close to the mast, the balance lug (also called balanced lug), which resembles the standing lug, but sets a boom, which continues as far forward of the mast as the leading edge of the yard. The dipping lug lacks a boom and has the top yard dipped around the mast while changing course across the wind so that the sail draws away from the mast on each tack.

One advantage of this type of sail is that the mast doesn't have to be as tall since the yard extends the height of the sail.

Seat

The seat is used while rowing this boat. Many builders have substituted a milk crate or other removable seat to avoid taking up space in the boat. The location of the seat should be set to balance the boat while rowing. It can change depending on whether you are alone or have someone else with you. For this reason, a movable seat can

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help to keep the balance right. Fixed seats in small boats are sometimes built as a sealed air chamber, often with a removable hatch, which provides floatation as well as dry storage space. Foam floatation could also be fastened underneath the seat to provide some buoyancy in case of capsize.

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SidesThe original plans for the sides uses all of the first sheet of plywood. The few extra pieces in this sheet have been designed to be used for other parts of the boat making the only waste basically just the sawdust.

That is a great use of material but it also means that you must cut right on the lines (splitting the kerf) to insure all parts of the sides are the same height. Another “problem” with this design is that the length of the bottom requires just a little more than the second sheet provides so the piece marked as “Bow Butt Block” is used to add a couple strips on the front of the bottom covering.

For my first build of this design, I cut the sides as close to right on the lines as I could using a saber or jig saw. I first cut out the “Bow Side” pieces and then cut the remaining piece to the indicated 90” length. I then used a table saw and divided the cut off butt block pieces into two equal pieces. Then, I cut the piece for the “Aft Sides” in half

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From David Beede's simplicityboats.com website


lengthwise and marked out the cut lines on one piece. Next, I clamped the two pieces together and cut them to shape at once to insure they matched. I also sanded the point where the long taper meets the straight part to get rid of the sharp bend that would otherwise be needed on the bottom sheet (which it wouldn't be able to do). I left the angled cut for the transom long on my first attempt but ended up cutting it out on the lines anyway. I now realized that if I would have straightened up the angle some, it probably would have made my transom tall enough to match the height of the sides. As it turned out, my transom turned out just a bit too short.

To eliminate adding filler pieces on the bottom, I cut an extra 3” off the length of the sides. The side pieces were glued to length using butt blocks but, if you were to use scarf joints instead, that would also shorten the length so no extra would need cut off the length to avoid the bottom filler pieces. A 12 to 1 scarf would shorten the length 3” and an 8 to 1 scarf would shorten them by 2” which should still work.

To clamp the sides for gluing the butt blocks, I used a scrap of wood on edge to keep the pressure even across the piece. I also used a couple pieces of freezer paper to keep the glue from sticking to my clamping boards.

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StemThe original design for the stem stated that it could be made from solid stock or, to use the least amount of materials, it could be made from a 1 x 2 inch piece that is sawed and glued back together to give a 41° angled stem.

I decided to go with a method that David used on his prototype build. This one was made using a 2x4 board with angled grooves cut on a table saw to hold the bow sides with a fancy profile cut into it. On his prototype he used a 27° setting. I went with the 20-1/2° angle (or as close as I could) on my build. It did make fitting the chine logs and gunwales more difficult but I liked the looks of it.

To make my stem, I cut a 2x4 board to around 2' long and set the table saw to 20-1/2° and run the piece through the saw, flipping it around to cut both edges. Then I reset the fence and cut the slots to width. This took several cuts to get the width right and actually took a few “practice” pieces to get the right depth and width.

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from David Beede's simplicityboats.com website


My pattern for the shape needed a little adjusting to get the bottom angle cut shaped right to allow for the bottom thickness and the thickness of the keel.

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With the sides cut out, it was fairly easy to mark out the right length and the needed angle and size of the cutout.

If you don't want to make the one piece stem like I did, Kevin Falvey made his like the original plans called for.

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Kevin Falvey's picture



You can see he added another piece onto the front of the stem. Note that it was left long to be cut to length latter.

This part was machined from VG doug fir, ¾" x 1". Its glued, and screwed onto the boat with 1-1/2" silicon bronze flathead, square-drive, wood screws.

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FrameThe original plans called for laying out the frame on some large paper or other surface and using that to build the frame pieces to the right size and angle.

From David Beede's site, here is his drawing for the half frame dimensions.

And his full frame drawing with a brace at the top to support it while you build.

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from David Beede's simplicityboats.com site



For the gusset, he used 1/4” plywood glued and screwed between the horizontal and vertical parts of the frame like this.

To make his gusset, he provided this drawing. Note that the original gussets were cut from the second sheet of plywood. Skip ahead to the chapter on the bottom if you use this method to see where to cut them from that sheet.

Checking the dimensions with an online triangle calculator, I discovered that the dimensions were not exact. This is not critical anyway and doesn't need to be exact but according to my calculations, the 9.5” dimension should be 9.584” which is closer to 9-37/64” (9.578”) to give a 106° angle.

Another thing you might want to do with your frame is to add limber holes to allow water to move freely from one side of the frame to the other and make bailing any water out easier. I left my frame without and limber holes since David also stated on his site, “I feel they are

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optional in this small a boat since a boat this size is often turned over to empty, or bailed and sponged.”

Another optional but nice feature to add to the frame is to make the gussets curved instead of just triangles like this picture from Kevin Falvey.

You can also see that he included limber holes in his boat. He glued pieces of PVC pipe into the half-hole to protect the exposed grain inside the limber from water intrusion. If nothing else, you should paint or seal these holes before you glue on the bottom since it would be hard to seal these holes after the boat is assembled.

On this zoomed-in picture, you can see that Dan Lyke also curved the gussets on his boat.

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Dan Lyke's picture


Instead of building my frame like the plans showed, I drew it up with a CAD program and made mine with the lumber I already had. The original was supposed to be 3/4” thick x 1-1/2” wide boards. I had some 2” wide boards so that is what I used.

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The height of my frame was shortened to allow around 1-1/2” at the upper edge to fit the inwales. You can build your frame however you want to fit your particular boat. Leave the legs long and cut the length as you get further along with your build.

You can see, I made my frame different than the plans. If I build this design again, I would probably do it a little bit different but this way also works. It just takes a slight bit more space in the boat and adds some extra weight. I was impatient and tried to do things as quick and simple as I could but, with a little extra time and effort, a fancier looking frame could have been made. You can also see from my picture, I didn't include any limber holes or notches for inner chine logs. I went with external chine logs on my boat. Keep in mind how you intend to build your boat and how the parts will fit together and make any changes you need to.

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The Transom

The next piece I built was the transom of the boat. This is another part where I strayed from the original plans. This was actually a mistake in my numbers caused from trying to get my free plans from the various online sources. The plans I drew up were only off by 1/2” on the bottom dimension so I feel they should still work. When I realized the mistake, I had already marked and cut my plywood.

The original drawing from David Beede's site is here.

In addition to this piece, he specified a crown piece attached to the top of the transom that was cut from a piece of one of the 1x12's.

I ran into a problem here since the nominal size of a standard 1x12 is only 11-1/4” instead of his 11-5/8” dimension. The dimension for the crown piece was not given (that I could find) so I made up my own plans and used a piece of 3/4” plywood instead of the 1x12.

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My drawing for the transom was drawn with the wrong bottom dimension but that was how I made mine and it still worked out ok.

NOTE: The 13° angle was not quite right on my build. It still worked but probably should have been closer to 15 or 16° on my boat. The changes I made might have caused that or the position of my frame might have been off. I also found that the height was a little bit short but this could have probably been fixed by adjusting the angle of the cut on the rear of the sides.

To make this part, I found a piece of scrap 3/4” plywood and marked out the lines from my plan. Then I nailed in a couple small nails at the upper corners and bent a yardstick to draw in the radius for the crown. I also marked that side as “inside” since the sides will be cut at 13° angles to match the bend of the sides. That will leave the full width on the inside of the boat and the angled, slightly narrower part on the outside so you might want to choose the side of the plywood or other board you use to put the best side either inside or outside depending on how you intend to finish your boat. You should also mark the center of the transom on the part. This will help when assembling the boat as well as when you install the keel, the skeg, and the rudder assembly.

To make the cuts, I used a circular saw. In order to get the 13° angles (which I now think should have been 15 or 16°) cut along the sides, I

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first made an angle gage using a miter saw and a scrap of wood to set the circular saw's blade to that angle.

With the blade set on the saw, I then cut the two sides making sure the angles both went the same way. This just meant cutting one side from bottom to top and the opposite side from top to bottom.

After the two sides were cut at the correct angle, I readjusted the saw blade back to 90° and carefully cut the crown radius. Set the blade

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depth just a bit more than the thickness of the wood and make the cut following the line. You can stay slightly to the waste side of the line and sand it to final shape. This cut is basically just for looks and it won't make much difference if you don't get it exactly to your marks. Just make it look nice enough for your own tastes and you should be fine. It could also be left flat if you don't want to cut the radius. You could always glue on a strip to make up any needed height if it ends up shorter than it should have been.

The height of my drawing should leave a little bit extra that you will need to hand plane or otherwise shape to fit when you go to assemble the bottom of the boat.

Here is my transom just cut from the plywood. As you can see, the crown is not much of a curve and the circular saw was able to follow the curve quite well.

Since my plywood was a used piece that I found, I had to fill a couple nail holes in it. Then I gave it a quick sanding and gave the outside surface a coat of paint. I left the inside unpainted since I want to paint the inside a different color. I also made sure not to paint the edges that will get glued or the bottom which will get planed to match the bottom angle and then glued.

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I ended up painting the outside of my boat with this same siding, fence and barn paint. It gave it a rather flat red color but that was what I already had and this was a low budget first build. It should be possible to paint the finished boat with a nicer looking paint if I ever decide to.

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Assembling the sides, stem, frame and transom

With these parts made, you can begin a trial assembly of the parts to make your pile of wood look more like a boat. Drywall screws with small 1/4” blocks can be used for this trial fitting before you glue up anything which makes disassembling it easier in case there are any problems.

First, attach the stem to one of the bow ends and then line the sides of the frame up with the marks on the sides to make a big “H” shape using the drywall screws with 1/4” plywood pads.

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Next, using a “Spanish windless” – loop of rope with a stick twisting it to tighten it, a truckers hitch, or even a nylon tie down strap, bring the bow sides together and screw the other side of the stem.

Now, attach one end of the transom to one side end with drywall screws.

Now just pull the sides in to meet the transom and attach it with some more drywall screws.

Now, to check it for alignment, stretch a string from the center of the bow to the center of the transom and make sure the line passes through the center mark on the frame. If it doesn't, adjust it by bumping it around until they all line up.

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from David Beede's simplicityboats.com

site




Here's my boat partway through the test fitting. With my one-piece stem and one side glued, the other side slipped into the slot and held itself.

The transom should have been screwed on temporarily but I ended up gluing and nailing mine on later. Had I done things right, I think I could have adjusted the angle of the transom and made my transom fit full height. As it turned out, mine was a little bit short. Oh well, maybe next time.

This is a good point to test the fit of the bottom sheet to check it for fit. You can adjust the position of the transom if your bottom sheet is not quite long enough since it is only dry screwed on. On my boat, since I shortened the sides by 3”, the length was not a problem. Once you are convinced that everything will line up and fit, you can disassemble the parts and reassemble them with glue this time. Before the glue dries, you should check it one more time to make sure the center lines all match.

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Chine LogsTo make the chine logs, you first need to decide whether to make them internal or external. The external chine logs are easier to build since you can saw off the excess after they are installed but the internal ones give the outside of the boat a smoother look. If you decide to build this boat using the stitch-and-glue method, the chine logs are not needed.

I made mine with the external style. The original plans called for splitting one strip of wood (5/8” x 1-1/2”) in half at an 18° angle to get the most out of the material. I planned to build mine that way but ended up setting the fence of the table saw wrong. That meant that I ended up using an extra 12 foot long strip and had more waste. I should have found a scrap of wood to test the setup with before cutting the actual part.

Installing the chine logs required more clamps than I had so I used a lot of improvised PVC clamps. It is recommended to install both sides at one time to avoid any twisting of the boat that might result from doing one side at a time but I barely had enough clamps to do one side at a time. I tried cutting the front of the chine log to match the fancy stem piece but ended up getting it close and trying to fill it in with some more glue. That didn't work that good but it should work out in the end. Paint and putty can hide a lot of mistakes. I spread PL Premium construction adhesive on the chine log and clamped it, starting at the front, using “real” clamps as well as the PVC clamps to hold it in place while the glue dried. Before adding any glue, I dry clamped the piece on to test the fit and see where the best place for my limited supply of “real” clamps should go. This showed that the 18° degree angle was not quite right, at least on my boat. To make up for this, I left the chine log sticking out past the bottom of the side to allow me to hand plane it before I attach the bottom of the boat. It looks like 11° would have been closer but it was too late by then to change it. Next time I would try to measure the angle using a straight bar or board across the bottom of the boat and an adjustable bevel gage. As it turns out, with a sharp hand plane, it wasn't too hard to fix since I left the chine logs extended out enough to account for the

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needed adjustment. Had I not done that, it would have required cutting the sides down and that would have also meant that the bottom of the frame would have needed cut down also. Another option is to just leave the chine logs square and extended past the bottom then hand-plane the angle as needed. This might have actually been better since the angle can change on different sections of the boat. Since my chine logs were just pine strips cut from a 2x6 board, they planed pretty easily with a sharp hand plane. It did still take some time but wasn't hard work.

Since I didn't build my boat using internal chine logs, I will just refer you to David Beede's site at :

http://www.simplicityboats.com/summerbreezetemp.html

for that information.

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Gunwales

The gunwales are pretty easy parts to make. I made mine from 5/8” thick x 1-1/2” wide strips cut from a long 2x6 board. The front side was cut to an angle to match the stem and then glued and clamped up. Instead of using more PL Premium, I went with Titebond II glue for the gunwales. Once the glue was dry, I cut the extra off the transom side with a hand saw.

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InwalesThis is another part that I skipped while building my first boat. You need to plan ahead and make your breasthook and quarter knees to match your style of inwales. You can choose to make the inwales flat against the inner sides of the boat or you can make spacers to hold the inwales away from the sides. This is more work but can really make the boat look nice.

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Dan Lyke's picture

from David Beede's simplicity.com site


BottomThe bottom of the boat is made from the second sheet of plywood. Mark a center line lengthwise on the ply sheet at 24”. Also a center line width wise at 48”. (This is where the center frame falls.)

Draw the 12” x 32” triangles on the corners of the ply sheet, then cut, and set aside.

Draw and cut out the frame gussets and breast hook from the other corners as shown in the drawing if you are following the original plans. I decided to use thicker solid wood for these parts on my boat so those sections were not needed although the frame gussets may have been better made from the plywood as shown above.

Rip a 3” strip off both sides - one will make the lengthwise butt block for gluing the bow section of the back. The other will be laminated into a backup plate for the leeboard. Again, I skipped this step on my boat since I had extra pieces left from my first sheet due to cutting 3” off the length of the sides.

Now glue the triangles to the end of the ply per the drawing and instructions below.

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from David Beede's simplictyboats.com site


Next, I cut the left-over material to the needed length of the front triangles.

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Then I layed the pieces out on the boat and traced the inside and outside lines on them to show me where the butt blocks should go.

First, I glued the two triangles together with plastic under the pieces using a clamp on the front and a couple weights on the back section. Note that I used a piece of freezer paper to keep from gluing the clamp to the butt block. Also note that I had to brace the rear weight to keep the butt block from sliding out of position while the glue dried.

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Next, after the glue dried on that part, I glued up the front triangle to the rear bottom section being sure that it was centered. I used the same method of clamping this part using the cast iron weights.

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Again, note the use of freezer paper to keep any squeeze out from sticking anywhere it wasn't wanted.

Once the parts of the bottom were glued up and dry, I spread PL Premium on the chine logs and attached the bottom using a lot of clamps, both “real” clamps as well as homemade PVC clamps. I also used a lot of regular steel ring nails to insure it stayed in place. I know that bronze ring nails would have been better or even stainless steel or silicon bronze screws but I used what I already had knowing that the nails will rust and stain the bottom eventually. Since this is my first attempt at building a boat, I'm not too worried about the lifespan of this one. I just wanted to get it built and try it out. Next time I'll probably spend the extra time and money to do it better.

Notice that I used the weights to apply pressure to the bottom of the frame as it dried and also that I didn't cut the front triangle to shape yet. Once it was dry, I cut the front close to the chines and then hand-

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planed and sanded the whole thing to finished shape. At the transom I also cut it a little closer to the finished size since it extended a bit further than I cared to plane off by hand. Then I sanded a slight radius on the bottom and planed and sanded a radius on the chine logs and the gunwale before giving it the first coat of paint.

I left the area where the keel will go unpainted but wanted to get the first coat of several layers of paint on the boat. Mainly I did this just to see what it would look like but also to speed up my build to the point where I could test it out. I don't plan on putting any epoxy or fiberglass on this boat so the paint will be the only waterproofing and protection it has so it will get several coats of paint and will probably need repainted often as it gets scratched up from use.

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Keel and SkegThe keel is needed to strengthen the flat bottom of the boat and keep it from flexing. The original plans call for it to be made from a 3/4” thick by 2-1/2” wide board if your skeg will be 3/4” thick or 2-1/4” if you use the two pieces of 1/4” plywood laminated together from the leftover parts from the first sheet of plywood. Whatever it takes to make the strips on either side of the skeg 3/4” wide. The width isn't real critical. Just make the slot to fit your choice of skeg thickness.

I made some changes in how I make the keel of my boat for better or worse. To avoid cutting the slot for the skeg, I made my keel in several sections.

Refer to David Beede's site at : http://www.simplicityboats.com/summerbreezetemp.html

for the original directions.

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http://www.simplicityboats.com/summerbreezetemp.html


The front section was just a strip of wood 3/4” thick by 1-1/2” wide to match the width of my stem. It extended back to the point where the 36” long skeg would fit.

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To make the skeg, I found a piece of solid wood to use and held it in place and marked out the rear of the skeg and the height of the keel on the board. The original plans called for using two pieces of leftover plywood laminated together from the first sheet but I went with solid wood instead.

To mark the back angle, I held a scrap of wood against the transom and drew the angled line on my skeg.

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To make cutting that angle easier using a miter saw, I measured the angle on my drawn-out skeg board. You can see that I changed the height of the skeg. I had originally drawn it at 4-1/2” at the highest point but lowered it to only 4”. The original was supposed to be 3-1/2” high but I wanted to make mine larger to try to increase the directional stability since I wasn't trying to use the leftover pieces of plywood from the cut-out sides.

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Then, after finding out that the keel was meant to be full length in order to strengthen the floor of the boat, I made the rear sections with a cut-out notch to fit against the skeg and extended forward just past the frame of the boat. These sections were glued and screwed in place as seen here. The size of your cut-out will depend on the thickness of the skeg you use if you decide to build it this way. Looking back, it would have been just as easy to cut the slot like the original plans used. The only difference is that your keel would have had to be longer but you could always scarf a couple shorter pieces together to get the length if needed.

After some filling and sanding, it didn't look too bad.

For the filler, I tried an experiment. Try this at your own risk. What I did was mix regular baking flour with Titebond II wood glue and put it in a plastic bag. I cut the corner off the bottom of the bag and squeezed the filler out along the seams then smoothed it out into a fillet.

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With the filler dry and everything sanded, I went ahead and finished painting the bottom with it's first coat of paint.

This was starting to look a lot more like a boat so, after another coat or two of paint on the bottom and sides, I painted the inside.

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In this picture, you can see that I already had the breasthook done and, once the paint was dry enough, I couldn't wait any longer and took it to a local pond for a quick test. It floated and didn't leak. It's not complete yet but it's a boat now !!!

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BreasthookOn my first build of this boat, I debated on building this part like many I had seen on other boats that looked real nice with laminated pieces and fancy curves but I decided to go for a more simple triangle shape for this one.

Here is my original drawing. Keep in mind that your dimensions may be different on your particular boat so making a cardboard pattern would be a good idea to insure it fits.

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I simplified my plan even more and eliminated the curve since I may not even use inwales on this boat. This is my first boat and I didn't want to get too fancy with the design since I'm not really sure how long this boat will last and, more important, I'm impatient to get it done. You can get as fancy as you like with this part on your own boat.

I glued the breasthook on using PL Premium construction adhesive.

Small nails or screws might have been a good idea to really strengthen it up but I used glue alone on mine although I am a bit cautious about lifting the boat by this piece now. I used some clamps to force it into position while the glue dried. The side edges were hand-planed to match the angle of the sides so it fit pretty tight by itself. Notice the pieces of freezer paper to make sure any glue squeeze out didn't stick to the clamps.

After the glue dried, I sanded the top surface to smooth the wood and level the excess glue. PL Premium doesn't sand real well since it is kind of rubbery but it worked good enough for my tastes.

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Here is a picture of the semi-finished front of my boat. With a little paint I don't think it turned out bad.

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Quarter kneesI went with simple triangle quarter knees on my boat. I marked out 6” from the rear corners on both the gunwales and the transom and held a board at these marks. Then I just traced the inside lines and cut out the triangles. To get the angles to match, I used a bevel gage and a combination of a compound miter saw and a hand-plane then finally an orbital sander. Once the fit was good enough, I glued and clamped them in place. A couple screws or nails would have eliminated the need for the clamps but I'm trying mine with glue alone. I used Titebond II but PL Premium would fill better if your fit isn't tight enough.

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Rudder BladeTo come up with dimensions for the rudder parts of my boat, I used the drawings from David Beede's site.

Here's a zoomed-in drawing from his site:

From that drawing I came up with my own with more dimensions shown.

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Cutting out and sanding it to shape I ended up with this.

The hole for the pivot bolt was not drilled yet in this picture. It will probably need either lead weights added or a bungee cord or spring to hold it down and keep it from floating.

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Rudder headI ended up making more changes to the plans when I made this part. I didn't want to make so many fancy cuts and didn't think it would make any difference other than in appearance.

From the original plans I came up with this drawing.

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Eliminating the difficult looking cut I ended up with this instead.

After assembling the pieces and adding a stop on the rudder head, I got this.

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TillerI have not tested this part to make sure the length is right. You will want it to be long enough to steer the boat while sitting in a position that balances your boat.

Here is what I made for my first try. I may to need to change the length some so I didn't get too fancy with my tiller.

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Rudder hardwareTo hold the rudder blade to the rudder head, you can use stainless steel bolts, washers, and nuts. The tiller can be attached the same way.

To hold the rudder assembly to the transom of your boat, there are many options.

You could buy special hardware made for this purpose. You could also fabricate your own if you have access to the right tools and materials.

The pintle attaches to the rudder head and the gudgeon attaches to the transom. Two of each will be needed. The pin is fixed solid in the pintle and slides into the gudgeon allowing the rudder to move left and right to steer the boat. One pin should be longer than the other one and the long one usually goes on the lower on which makes installing the rudder while on the water easier.

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This idea for rudder hardware was found on the pdracer.com website. It was an idea from Ken Salvage and used a peice of 1/8" x 1" aluminum that was bent and a length of 1/2” diameter tubing. 2X2 wood was used to connect it to the rudder and he also put the same 1/8” x 1” aluminum on the tops of the 2x2's to strengthen them and keep the holes for the pivot rod from wearing out.

Dan Lyke used a pretty easy looking setup on his rudder.

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edited Dan Lyke's picture


From a message on the WoodenBoats Forum, Dan stated:

The rudder gudgeon is done with some blocks of some exotic hardwood I got from the scrap pile at a high end deck place, it's too open-grained for Ipe or Massaranduba, and too dark for Teak, so I'm not sure what it is. For pintles we just took some bolts, which means the "hinge pins" have threads on 'em. We bought some brass plates at the hardware store to back up the screws holding on the gudgeon, since the transom is just 1/4" ply.

Make the hinged portion of the rudder a little larger than we did.

If your transom has a large angle to it, make that lower gudgeon stick out further to give yourself a more vertical rudder axis. Part of my complaint about the small size of our rudder is that when you get further to one side or another it's lifting more than turning.

Our first pass at a tiller put us too far aft. Boat planed fairly easily, but the gunwales at the back end were a little too close to the water when speedboats went by. Longer tiller put us further forward, floated level, much more stable and clear of the waves.

This is probably the idea I will use if/when I install this part on my boat.

Check out http://www.pdracer.com/rudder/ for other ideas for homemade hardware for mounting your rudder.

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http://www.pdracer.com/rudder/


Leeboard

This is a slightly different shape than what David Beede shows on his site. Here is a picture showing his roughed out leeboard.

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To mount the leeboard on your boat, you can use a long stainless steel bolt with big fender washers and either a lock nut or two nuts to keep it from coming loose.

It is mounted on the starboard (right) side of the boat with the pivot bolt at 82” back from the bow (front) of the boat.

The original plans provide a piece of plywood from the bottom sheet to be used as a leeboard backing plate which should be glued up as three laminations thick to support the leeboard on the side of the boat.

Spacer blocks on the outside may be needed to clear the gunwale and outer chine log if you used one and also to hold the leeboard in more of a straight up and down position instead of angled like the sides.

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Mast partnerI have not made the sailing parts of my boat as I write this up. The size of the mast partner will depend on your particular boat as well as what shape your mast is.

Here are a couple drawings I came up with for ideas on building this part.

This first one is using a single, wide board.

The slot is drawn for a simple 1-1/2” x 2-3/4” section of the mast which extends 18” from the bottom. From that point, it is to taper to 1-1/2” diameter at the top. The length of the mast is 10' (120”).

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Another idea I had used several narrower boards instead of one wide one.

The position of the mast partner places the center of the mast at 50” back from the bow of the boat as shown here.

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From David Beede's simplicityboats.com site


This next picture shows Dan Lyke's boat with a round mast.

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Dan Lyke's picture


Mast stepThe mast step will also depend on your choice of mast. The original design from the contest uses 4-3/4” squares cut from the extra material from the bottom sheet of plywood.

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edited picture from David Beede's simplicityboats.com site



MastThe mast can be made in many ways. It should be 10' long. Some people who have built this boat used aluminum pipe and others have used laminated wood to build it.

Going from my design for the mast partner, it should be 1-1/2” x 2-3/4” at the base and it starts tapering at 18” from the base to a final diameter of 1-1/2” at the top.

A 3/8” or 1/2” diameter hole is drilled in the top for the halyard.

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SparsThe spars (the yard and sprit boom) can be made from 10' long pieces of 2x2's which are actually 1-1/2” square. Round the corners to cut down on sail abrasion. The sprit boom can be made the same way except it should be tapered to 1” square (with rounded corners) from about 40” from each end. Use the clearest wood you can find to avoid knots which weaken the parts.

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SailThe original sail was made from a 9'x12' tarp but, for the Duckworks contest, it was redesigned to be pieced together from an 8'x10' tarp.

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edited picture from David Beede's simplicityboats.com site


Refer to this link for detailed directions for building the sail:

http://www.simplicityboats.com/summerbreeze12.htm

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From David Beede's simplicityboats.com site


Here is David's original sail design which was built out of a 9' x 12' tarp. (Possibly a 10' x 12' tarp)

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Here is the one for the contest made from the specified 8' x 10' tarp.

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Seat

The seat is another item on this boat that I decided not to include in my boat. I didn't want to give up all the open space. On David Beede's prototype build of this boat, he didn't want a permanent seat either. Instead, he stated that he usually sits on a stack of cushions.

If you add a seat, it should be cut to fit your particular boat. It can be about 9” to 12” high or make it to fit your battery if you will be using a trolling motor.

The position should be somewhere just forward of 79” from the bow. The exact distance should be found by trial. Whatever distance balances your boat best when you are sitting in rowing position. Keep in mind that any passengers will change the balance so you may want to build a movable seat with a separate position for when you have a passenger. It can be notched around the frame where needed.

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Boat SpeakGlossary of Boatbuilding

& Boating Terms

copied from http://www.glen-l.com/resources/glossary.html

Terms we use to describe our designs. This glossary was originally published in our WebLetters. If you have any suggestions for additions, or corrections, please email: [email protected]

The following was recommended by a customer as a source of definitions for traditional sea terms. Transcribed by Christopher Morrison, December 1997 "Dictionary of Sea Terms". 1841/1851 - From "The Seaman's Friend: Containing a Treatise on Practical Seamanship, with Plates; A Dictionary of Sea Terms; Customs and Usages of the Merchant Service; Laws Relating to the Practical Duties of Master and Mariners.

by R. H. Dana, Jr. author of "Two Years Before the Mast". The Sixth Edition, Revised and Corrected, Boston: Thomas Groom & Co., 1851.

Nautical Terms and Phrases... Their Meaning and Origin Naval History Center

A

AFT Toward the stern.

AIR-DRIED LUMBER Lumber or other wood products that have been either dried by exposure to natural atmospheric conditions outdoors or in an unheated shed. Wood that is dried to equilibrium with the surrounding atmosphere. Moisture content of air-dried wood fiber depends on relative humidity, temperature, and length of drying period. Also referred to as air seasoned and contrasts with kiln-dried (KD) lumber.

AMINE BLUSH Most epoxies used in boatbuilding have "amine"-based hardeners. After the epoxy is cured there will usually be a noticeable oily residue on the surface called amine blush. The amount of amine blush can vary considerably, from almost unnoticeable to very oily. This difference is the result of differences in temperature and humidity. The amine blush can affect the bond of subsequent coats of epoxy or paints and should be removed. Although a variety of solvents have been used to remove amine blush, in the shop we use denatured

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http://www.history.navy.mil/trivia/trivia03.htm

http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~morris3/DanaSFLex.html

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.glen-l.com/resources/glossary.html


alcohol (shellac thinner), lacquer thinner or acetone. Amine blush can be sanded off, but will require a lot of sandpaper as the paper tends to clog quickly.

ANTI-TRIP CHINE A flared out aft section of the side/bottom of the boat. The purpose is to prevent the hard chine of the boat catching a wake or small wave on a sharp turn.

ASPECT RATIO The relationship between the height of a sail and its breadth. i.e. A sail with a height of 30' and a breadth of 20' has an aspect ratio of 3:2.

ATHWARTSHIP(S) Across the boat.

B

BACKSTAY A wire-rope from the top of the mast leading aft to prevent the mast from bending forward.

BALLAST Weight carried low in a boat to increase stability. The lower, the greater the benefit. Ballast can be lead, iron, concrete, etc., depending on the space available. Some boats require lead (a more expensive material) because the space available will not allow sufficient lighter material to achieve the required ballast weight.

BATTENS Thin semi-rigid strips of wood or synthetic material inserted into pockets in the sail in order to maintain the shape of the sail. Interior longitudinal reinforcements in a boat hull. Most often located on either side of the keel, running as far forward as possible. Battens are also used to reinforce the sides of some hulls.

BEAM Width, generally the widest point on the hull, but beam could be given at any point in the hull. "The beam at the transom, at frame number three." The beam is sometimes given as though the hull were a rectangle. "The James Cook: a 27' x 8' trailerable cruising sailboat."

BLOCK A wood, metal, or synthetic casing containing one or more pulleys or sheaves.

BIMINI Sun shade. A bimini provides protection from the sun. It is commonly made from fabric mounted on a collapsible frame.

BOARD FOOT A lumber measurement. One board foot = 1" X 12" X 12". A piece of lumber 2" X 12" X 12" = 2 board feet. When width and thickness are specified,

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lumber may be called out as linear feet, i.e., 1" X 6" X 24 linear feet. Linear feet is used when the the lumber will be cut into various lengths, as opposed to a piece 1" X 6" x 24' which would be a single piece of wood.

BOBSTAY A chain, wire-rope, or rod supporting a bowsprit or boomkin against upward pull.

BOLTROPE Rope sewn along one or more edges of a sail to strengthen it and take some of the stress of the cloth when it is stretched tightly.

BOOKMATCH A term in veneering, where successive pieces of veneer from a flitch are arranged side by side. A properly done bookmatch will resemble a mirror image of the opposite side.

BOOM The pivoting horizontal "pole" attached to the aft side of the mast to control the foot of the sail.

BOOMKIN A spar projecting from the stern to which is attached a backstay or sheet.

BOOT TOP A panted line, just above the waterline.

BOTTOM SHAPE As it affects performance in a planing boat. Maximum speed will be achieved when the bottom of the boat that forms the planing surface is flat. When the planing surface is a vee, the boat will have a softer ride but less potential speed, and will take longer to come up on a plane. A "flat bottom" makes a better "drag" boat, a deep vee will be a better rough water boat.

BOW (as in bow-wow, not bow tie) The front of the boat. "I am going to stand in the bow so I can watch the porpoises".

BOWSPRIT A tapered pole extending forward of the bow of a sailboat to which the forestay fastens. The purpose being to increase the amount of sail area without raising the center of effort.

BREASTHOOK A knee which mounts atop the stem, to which the sheers attach.

BRIGHT WORK A term used to describe wood that is finished natural, using varnish or other clear coating.

BROADSEAM A seam in a sail, in which the edges of neighboring panels are cut in a convex curve, so that when sewn together the panels force fullness into the sail.

BULBOUS FOREFOOT A convex entry at the keel/stem junction (as opposed to a sharp vee) incorporated to soften the ride. When used in conjunction with a reverse curve

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at the chine, it usually makes sheet materials impractical requiring other planking methods in the forward section.

BULKHEAD A vertical, athwartship partition, most often serving as a set-up member or frame.

BULWARK An extension of the planking above the deck to form a rail.

BURGEE A triangular shaped flag denoting the yacht club to which the owner belongs.

BUTT Buttock. Used for developing the lines of a boat. Used only for lofting the lines to full size; not required when patterns are supplied.

C

CAMBER Athwartship curve of the vessel's deck or cabin top. Curve. Sail term: The fore and aft curvature of a sail in relation to its chord.

CAT RIG See SAILBOAT RIGS.

CARLING A longitudinal structural member at the cockpit perimeter supporting the inboard side of the side deck. (See COAMING)

CARVEL PLANKING Solid wood planks, butted together, fastened to the frames, with a flexible caulking between the planks. Should not be fiberglassed.

CATAMARAN A vessel with two parallel hulls.

CAVITATION Essentially, to suck air. This term is primarily used in conjunction with propellers and rudders. When cavitating, the propeller will speed up, but power is lost; the rudder may lose steering action. Cavitation most often occurs when turning. Both result from a loss of a constant solid water flow. Power catamarans usually require deflectors when a single motor is used, to direct a flow of water to the propeller. Webster's Dictionary: "the formation of partial vacuums in a flowing liquid as a result of a separation of its parts". i.e. aeration of the liquid.

CENTERBOARD A pivoting "keel" that retracts into a case inside a sailboat. Used to prevent leeway.

CENTERBOARD LIFT A line or cable for raising and lowering the centerboard on a sailboat.

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CENTER OF EFFORT (CE)(Sail) The fore and aft and up and down point on a sail at which the pressure of the wind is concentrated. The geometric center of the sail. The higher CE, the more leverage the wind has to heel the boat. When there is more than one sail, CE's will be given on the drawing for each sail plus a combined CE. On a triangle, the CE is the point at which the lines bisecting each angle cross. The location of the CE fore and aft, affects the way the boat turns into the wind. (See LEE and WEATHER HELM)

CENTER OF LATERAL RESISTANCE (CLR) The geometric center or pivot point of the underwater hull profile.

CHAINPLATE A metal strap to which shrouds or fittings are attached.

CHECKING (in wood) Longitudinal separation of the fibers in wood that do not go through the whole cross section. Checks result from tension stresses during the drying process.

CHINE (Chine log) The junction of the side and bottom planking or the member backing this junction. DOUBLE CHINE - Having an additional planking junction between the chine and the sheer, giving the hull a more rounded look. HARD CHINE- Having a distinct bottom/side planking junction as opposed to a rounded curve. MULTI-CHINE - Having one or more additional planking junctions between the chine and the sheer.

CLEW The lower, aft corner of a fore-and-aft sail, where the leech meets the foot.

CHORD A straight line between the luff and leech of a sail.

CLINKER - See PLANKING METHODS-WOOD: Clinker CLIPPER BOW

A bow where the stem has a forward curve and sides have a lot of flair. Also called a schooner bow.

COCKPIT "In small decked vessels, a sunken space toward the stern used by the helmsman." ...Webster's New World Dictionary. More commonly, in a boat, this refers to the outside working or seating area below the sheer. Bow riders have a forward cockpit. On a center console, the inside area could be called a cockpit, but this term is more often used to define a more limited area.

CROSSCUT Sails in which the panels of cloth run perpendicular to the leech.

CLUB-FOOTED JIB A jib with a boom or "club" on the foot of the sail.

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COAMING A non-structural longitudinal member at the cockpit perimeter; a decorative piece fastened to the carling, usually protruding above the side deck to prevent water from entering the cockpit.

CRINGLE A metal ring or grommet around a hole in the sail for reinforcement.

CRUISER (Power boat) A boat with certain minimum appurtenances for living afloat. These are sleeping accommodations, cooking facilities, a toilet, some lounging space, and fuel and water tanks. The terms sedan, express, and day are loose categories meant to place emphasis on certain capabilities. A sedan cruiser has more glass and more lounging area,express is faster, and a day cruiser has minimal accommodations and usually only practical for limited overnight stays.

CUNNINGHAM A line device or cringle located several inches above the tack of the sail; used with a downhaul to control the tension along the luff and hence the shape of the sail. Primarily used in competition craft.

CUTTER RIG See SAILBOAT RIGS.

D

DAGGERBOARD A blade shaped centerboard that is lifted out of a case when raised. Usually only suitable for small boats.

DEAD-RISE Looking at the hull in cross section, the angle the bottom rises from a horizontal.

DEEP VEE A hard chine power boat having a 15 degree or more angle deadrise at the transom.

DISPLACEMENT HULL A hull that will not exceed a fixed speed which increases with the length of the hull. Additional power will only allow a hull to maintain hull speed against a head wind or under load. (See PLANING HULL)

DORY The traditional dory is a small, flat-bottomed fishing boat with high flaring sides, and considerable sheer. The commercial fishing dories of New England were stacked on a larger boat and transported to the Grand Banks where they were off-loaded with a fisherman, and later retrieved. The boats were noted for their sea worthiness. The term “dory” appears to have come from an Indian term for a dugout. Over the years the dory has evolved to encompass

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various types of boats, usually characterized by flat bottoms and flaring sides. Some of the “improvements” of previous models have made them hard to recognize as dories. The “Pacific Dory” has a flat bottom, flaring sides, a wide transom and is capable of planing. The following designs are classified as dories: DORY, LUCKY PIERRE, BIG/LITTLE/WEE HUNK, HUNKY DORY, and ALPHA 2.

DOUBLE HEADSAIL RIG Two sails forward of the mast as in a cutter.

DAVITS Curved uprights projecting over the side of larger boats for suspending, or raising and lowering a smaller boat.

DRAFT The depth of water a boat can travel over without hitting the bottom.

DRY ROT A fungous decay causing seasoned lumber to become brittle and crumble to powder. Dry rot needs extended periods of moisture (fresh water), oxygen, and dry rot spores to thrive.

EF

FAIRING The process of beveling the stem, chine, sheers, keel, and frames so that the planking will have flat surfaces to glue and fasten to. A “fair” hull is one with no dips or bumps in the longitudinal lines of the hull. Fairness is checked by sighting down the longitudinal lines. (See BOATBUILDING METHODS/Plywood for more information.)

FIDDLE A frame or railing on a boat's table to keep dishes, etc. from falling off in rough weather. Fiddles are frequently left open at the corners for drainage.

FILL The thread that runs across sail cloth from edge to edge.

FILLET/FILLETING A fillet is a cove shape made with putty on an inside corner. The term is most often used in reference to Stitch-N-Glue boat building. A fillet is made with activated epoxy resin, thickened with various fillers, to a putty consistency. The putty is "globbed" into place and smoothed with a rounded tool. (See Boatbuilding Methods: Stitch-N-Glue.)

FLOOR TIMBER A scab that joins two-part bottom frames at the centerline.

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FLITCH A log sawn on two or more sides from which veneer is sliced.

F.O.B. This is a shipping term, not a boat term. It means “freight on board”, or that the shipper will put the freight on a truck, but the consignee pays shipping charges.

FOOT The lowest edge of a sail.

F.P. "Forward perpendicular". This is an naval architecture term. It will usually be seen on the #2 plan sheet, where the various stations are shown. This represents the end of the stem, or the last station from the transom.

FORETRIANGLE The area forward of the forward mast in which sails can be set. A sail that fills that area.

FRAMES Athartship members (ribs) of the hull framework. Frames can be divided into two categories: sawn or bent frames. Sawn frames are assembled from separate pieces, either lapped or gusseted together to form the station contour. Bent frames are bent around a form or into a hull using one or more layers of solid wood. No Glen-L designs use bent frames. Frames can be lapped with a piece of plywood filling the interior frame space to form a bulkhead.

SHAFT HORSEPOWER (SHP) FREEBOARD

The distance from the water to the sheer.

G

GAFF RIG See SAILBOAT RIGS.

GARVEY HULL A hard chine hull in which the chines do not join on the stem centerline. (See PLAY PEN design)

GARBOARD The plank adjoining the keel. Also called garboard strake. Garboard drain plugs are installed in the at the lowest point along the garboard.

GEL COAT A semi-thixotropic, air-inhibited, usually pigmented resin that is applied to a waxed mold surface over which subsequent fiberglass layup is made. When the piece is removed from the mold, the gel coat becomes the outside finish.

GENOA A large, low cut, jib that overlaps the mast.

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GOOSENECK A fitting used to attach the boom to the mast and which permits the boom to pivot. Also, the body part between the head and the body of a goose; most often used for making gravy.

GUDGEONS AND PINTLES Hardware used to connect an "outboard" rudder to the back of the boat. The pintle has a pin (male part), The gudgeon accepts the pintle (female part). There are different styles, sometimes with the pintle on the rudder, sometimes on the transom.

GUNKHOLING Cruising in shoal water or overnighting in small coves.

GUNWALE (GUNNEL) Originally applied to the bulkheads that supported a ship's guns; the upper edge of the side of a boat. Is frequently used interchangeably with SHEER.

GUSSET A scab that joins the side and bottom frame members at the chine.

H

HALYARD A line used to raise and lower the sails. External halyards are located outside the mast; internal halyards pass through the inside of a hollow mast.

HANK A metal or nylon clip used to hold the luff of a headsail or staysail to the forestay.

HARDWOOD A description applied to woods from deciduous broad-leafed trees (Angiosperms). The term has no reference to the actual hardness of the wood. Hardwoods have traditionally been used in making such products as furniture, strip flooring, interior trim, boats, cutting boards, novelties, etc. Wood used in making these products is typically in the form of relatively small and defect-free pieces which are subsequently glued together; it is also generally more costly than wood from softwood species. Because of these factors, hardwood lumber is manufactured to non-standardized length and width dimensions which will minimize trim waste. For the same reasons, such lumber is measured relatively accurately, with rounding of measurements in small increments.

HARPIN A sheer sawn to shape as opposed to being bent to shape around the frames. The harpin may be only a portion of the sheer (usually the forward section) or the complete sheer. Glen-L supplies a pattern or dimensions for the harpin.

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HEAD (Re: Sail) The top edge of a four sided sail or the top corner of a triangular sail.

HEARTWOOD The wood making up the center part of the tree, beneath the sapwood. Cells of heartwood no longer participate in the life processes of the tree. Heartwood may contain phenolic compounds, gums, resins, and other materials that usually make it darker and more decay resistant than sapwood.

HOOK (re. boat bottom) This is one of two conditions in the bottom of a planing boat that can lead to performance problems. When the boat is rightside-up, the bottom curves up from the transom; is "dished" forward of the transom. This "hook" will drive the bow down, reducing performance. Can also lead to the bow "bobbing" up and down. The aft section of the hull, seen in profile, should be straight. See ROCKER

HOUND A wraparound mast fitting used to secure the forestay and other fittings to the mast on a jibhead rig.

HOUSE Apart from the obvious meaning, this is a term applied to the cabin on a boat.

I

I/O (Inboard/outboard) A propulsion system that uses an inboard motor, mounted at the transom, with a propeller assembly, similar to the bottom of an outboard, mounted on the outside of the transom, bolting to the motor with the transom sandwiched between. Also called a stern drive. In most designs it can be used optionally to a v-drive, or jet drive.

IN-LINE INBOARD ENGINES A centrally mounted inboard, with the prop shaft usually coming directly off the engine or transmission; in-line with the engine.

J

JIB A triangular sail forward of the forward mast, usually attached to the forestay.

JIBHEAD RIG In a jibhead rig, the forestay does not attach to the masthead, but at a point lower on the mast where the top of the jib meets the mast.

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K

KEEL The junction of the bottom planking along the centerline of the boat or the inside member backing this junction aft of the stem. The term also refers to an outer longitudinal appendage on the centerline. The purpose of this member is to keep the wind from blowing the boat sideways from its forward course. The keel also serves to protect the prop on a power boat.

KERF The cut made by a saw blade. FIXED KEEL - Usually associated with a sailboat, this is simply a non-retractable keel. A fixed keel trailerable boat requires a special trailer and special launch facilities.

KETCH RIG See SAILBOAT RIGS.

KILN In lumber drying, a kiln is a room or building where temperature, moisture, and the amount of air circulating are controlled to dry wood.

KILN DRIED (KD) Freshly cut green lumber may be sold green or first dried in a kiln to accelerate removal of the moisture in the wood. Drying wood in a kiln is an art to ensure that the wood dries evenly to retain its strength and aesthetic properties. Different species dry at different rates. Kiln dried lumber commands a higher price than green or air dried lumber.

KNEE A brace or reinforcement between two joining planes. On our boat designs, knees are used to reinforce the junction between the bottom and the transom, between the sides and transom.

KNOT SPEED CONVERSION To convert to miles per hour, use the following formula: speed in mph = speed in knots divided by .87.

L

LAPSTRAKE - See PLANKING METHODS-WOOD: Clinker LATEEN RIG

See SAILBOAT RIGS. LAUNCH

A large, open motorboat. LEAD

The distance between the CLR and the CE of a vessel. (Pronounced "leed".)

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LEATHERS Pieces of leather that are stitched and/or tacked around an oar to protect it where it rides in the oar lock. They usually have a stop or "button" to keep the oar from sliding out of the oar lock when left unattended. The button can be a thin strip of leather or knotted twine that is tacked and/or glued in place on top of the leather at the handle end of the oar.

LEEBOARD These are paddle-shaped boards installed on the outside of the gunwale on each side of a sailboat. The board on the "lee" side is lowered to prevent leeway. Single leeboards are used as a way of converting a non-sailing boat to sail without the necessity of cutting holes in the hull or installing permanent outside keels.

LEECH The aft most or back edge of a sail.

LEE HELM A condition in which the tiller must be held toward the downwind side of a sailing vessel in order to maintain course. An undesirable condition for safety and hydrodynamic reasons. (See WEATHER HELM)

LEEWARD On a hull, the side away from the direction of the wind; the protected side. In the days of sailing ship warfare, you wanted your opponent in your lee (to leeward) which took his wind and gave you the advantage.

LEEWAY To drift from course in the direction of the wind.

LIFT STRAKES Longitudinal members running fore and aft on the outside bottom of the hull. The purpose is to stabilize and create lift on a deep vee hull when under power.

LIMBER A hole or channel that allows water to drain to the lowest point in the hull. Limbers can be through frames, usually at the keel or other longitudinal, can also be cut through longitudinals.

LOFTING Lofting is the process of drawing the hull lines full size from the designer’s scale drawings. The intersections of the contours of various horizontal and vertical sections are measured from an imaginary “base line” using an architect’s scale. These junctions are then laid out, point by point, in their full size. Because it is difficult to take accurate dimensions from a small drawing, it is necessary to adjust these lines to assure that they are “fair”. A listing of these points is called a table of offsets. It takes a lot of space to loft. This, along with the difficulty, makes it a daunting task and a real drag to those builders who just want to get at the “wood”. All GLEN-L designs have full size patterns... no lofting required.

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LONGITUDINALS Those hull framing members that run the length of the boat (i.e. chine, keel, sheer, battens).

LUFF The front or leading edge of a sail.

LUMBER Lumber is simply solid wood that has been sawn to a particular size. Traditionally produced from very large diameter logs, lumber is now often made from logs as small as 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) in diameter. A variety of equipment is used to produce lumber. Newer mills that process softwood logs combine scanners, computers to calculate optimum sawing sequences, and high speed, thin-kerf saws designed to obtain maximum lumber yield. The newest "lumber" products are not lumber at all in the traditional sense, but composite products created from veneers, thin flakes, or other materials such as plastic. Such products have more uniform strength properties than solid-sawn wood and can be made to large sizes even when using small trees as raw material. Lumber is always measured, bought, and sold based on nominal, rather than actual, sizes. Measurements are affected by moisture content and, in the case of hardwoods, by whether boards are surfaced or unsurfaced.

M

MASTHEAD RIG The forestay attaches to the masthead.

MILL CHIPS After debarking and before a sawmill cuts lumber, it saws off the outer four slabs to reduce the log to a square or rectangular shape. The slabs are mostly the sapwood portion of the log and may be resawn to save low quality boards (Pallet boards), or the slabs are sent to the chipper. Most chippers pass their chips over a two-deck vibrating screen to separate the "overs," "accepts" and "fines." The "overs" are re-circulated through the chipper again and the "fines and sawdust" are blown into their own pile. The chip "accepts" are blown into a pile for processing into wood products.

MIZZEN A sail aft of the aft mast on a multi-masted boat.

MOISTURE CONTENT Weight of the water within a piece of lumber measured as a percentage of the weight of the dry wood. Typical moisture content for kiln dried construction lumber is 15%. Wood absorbs or gives off moisture depending on the ambient moisture in the air. The percentage of wood that is not moisture is referred to as "dry solids," that is, dried construction lumber would be 85% dry solids.

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Product standards for lumber manufactured in the United States are developed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Commerce and administered by the American Lumber Standards Committee (ALSC). Members of the ALSC are representatives of various softwood lumber trade associations. As specified in the ALSC American Softwood Lumber Standard, softwood lumber is sold as "dry" if at a moisture content of 19% or less. Most hardwoods manufactured in the United States are produced to standards developed by the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA). No single moisture content, however, is specified for hardwoods because the uses are more specialized. The moisture content must be specified by the buyer and agreed to by the seller; a 10% moisture content specification is common.

MONOCOQUE A structure in which the outer covering (planking) carries all or a major part of the stresses.

MONOHEDRON From the Greek word hedron (a geometrical figure having any number of planes). The theoretical ideal shape for planing over the water surface is one of constant (mono) section. Thus monohedron describes a hull that has a running surface of constant section; in practice the sections may not be exactly the same.

MOTORSAILER A combination of sailboat and motorboat; a compromise, neither the ideal sailboat or powerboat.

MOTOR WELL When an outboard motor is mounted on the transom, a motor well is a box-like structure in front of the motor that catches water that may wash over the outboard cut-out and allows it to drain over the transom and not into the boat. When a motor is mounted in front of the transom, motor well refers to a box-like structure that surrounds a hole in the bottom of the boat. The well usually allows the motor to tilt up, frequently through a cut-out in the transom. This type of motor well allows the handling of nets or fishing lines over the transom without having to work around the motor.

NO

OAR LOCKS (ROWLOCK A device for holding an oar in place when rowing or steering. The majority of commercially available oar locks consist of a "socket" and a "horn". The horn can be U-shaped or round. In the past various other systems of holding the oar have been used. See THOLE.

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OFFSETS Measurements supplied by a designer for the builder in order to lay down the lines of the hull. Glen-L patterns eliminate the need for a table of offsets.

OUTHAUL The line used to pull a sail toward the end of the boom, or the grommet at the corner of the sail to which that line attaches.

P

P & S Port and starboard (both sides). The port is the left side of a boat looking forward, starboard on the right.

PAINTER A line made fast to the bow of a small boat. This rope has nothing to do with painting but is used to "snare" a cleat on shore or alongside another boat. The French word "pantiere" means a noose.

PEAK The upper aft corner of a gaff-headed sail.

PENANT A pointed flag.

"PINKIE" Sometimes applied to a sharp sterned skiff, but more properly to a stern projection of the gunwales to a sharp point above a narrow transom, originally to carry a coat of arms or other decoration.

PITCH Plunging forward, the rising and falling of the bow and stern of a boat; a fore and aft motion as opposed to roll.

PITCH (Propeller) The angle at which a propeller cuts through the water. Pitch is measured as the distance a propeller would move forward with a single rotation, if there was no resistance. In our Inboard Hardware catalog a propeller might be described as a 12 x 15 x lh x 1, 3-blade propeller. (12" dia., 15" pitch, left hand rotation, 1" shaft)

PLANING HULL A hull that lifts and skims the surface of the water causing the stern wake to break clean from the transom. In practical terms, a planing hull has a speed potential limited only by weight and power. (See DISPLACEMENT HULL)

PLANKING METHODS-WOOD CARVEL - The planks are laid close together on their edges, attached to the ribs to form a smooth exterior. CLINKER - The edges of the planks are overlapped to form an irregular exterior, much like siding on a house. Also called lapstrake. SHEET PLYWOOD is the simplest wood planking method.

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STITCH-N-GLUE is a simplified sheet plywood method which eliminates the use of stems and chines, thus avoiding the "fairing" required in conventional plywood construction. DOUBLE (MULTI-) DIAGONAL planking is more involved; used when compound shapes are incorporated into the hull (i.e.“bulbous forefoot”, “reverse curve”, “round bilge”). Uses strips of plywood or solid wood veneers laid over the hull in layers of opposite diagonals, glued together, most often with epoxy. COLD-MOLDED is a term that can be used interchangeably with above. STRIP utilizes thin strips of wood, edge glued together. One method uses the wood as a “core” with fiberglass on both sides (see STRIPPER, GLEN-L 11 designs). The more common method uses strips fitted, glued, and fastened on edge with optional fiberglass on the outside only (See WHITEHALL, HARBOR MASTER, AMIGO designs).

PLYWOOD Sheets of wood consisting of three or more sheets of wood glued and bonded by heat and pressure with the grain of each sheet running perpendicular to adjacent layers.

PRAM A dinghy with a transom at the bow and stern.

PRISMATIC COEFFICIENT The ratio the hull displacement bears to the displacement of a shape which is the same length as the waterline length of the boat and has the same constant cross-sectional area as the greatest cross-sectional area the hull.

Q

QUARTERING SEAS Waves coming toward the aft corner (quarter) of a boat.

QUARTER-SAWN A method of cutting lumber where the annual rings are relatively perpendicular to the face of the board. Quarter-sawn lumber tends to be more dimensionally stable than other forms of lumber, such as plain-sawn.

R

RABBET A carpentry term. A cut or groove along or near the edge of a piece of wood that allows another piece to fit into it to form a joint. A dado.

RAKE The fore or aft angle of the mast from perpendicular.

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REEVE To thread a line through a block, fairlead or hole of any kind.

RESORCINOL GLUE An adhesive made from resorcinol resin and formaldehyde.

REVERSE CURVE A concave curve in the bottom at the chine. The usual purpose is to deflect spray.

RIGHTING MOMENT A measure of the tendency of a sailboat to return to upright when heeled. It is a product of the distance between the centers of gravity and buoyancy and the total weight of the boat. A measure of stability.

ROCKER (re. boat bottom) This is one of two conditions in the bottom of a planing boat that can lead to performance problems. When the boat is rightside-up, the bottom curves up toward the transom. This will lead to "porpoising". A similar effect will result from "rounding" the trailing bottom edge at the transom. In the extreme and/or at high speed, this can be dangerous. The cause is usually caused by allowing the transom to drop during construction. The aft section of the hull, seen in profile, should be straight. See HOOK

ROLL Side to side motion on a boat as opposed to pitch, the fore and aft movement.

ROTARY-CUT VENEER Veneer cut in a lathe which rotates a log chucked in the center against a knife. This method of peeling is used to produce decorative veneers and is a common method of manufacturing veneers for plywood.

ROWLOCK See OAR LOCKS and THOLE.

RUDDER Device that steers the boat.

RUNNING RIGGING Sheets, halyards, topping lifts, etc. by which the sails are raised, trimmed or controlled.

S

SAE The Society of Automotive Engineers is a professional organization and standards body for the engineering of powered vehicles of all kinds - cars, trucks, boats, aircraft and more. The most familiar to the average American consumer are its standards for measuring automobile power in units of horsepower (SAE Net Horsepower).

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SAIL, PARTS OF: ROACH - The part of the sail that extends beyond the straight line between the head and the clew. Roach is sometimes also applied to the foot. STARCUT - Sails in which the panels of cloth radiate from all corners, along the warp. TABLING - The folded hem sewn to the edges of a sail to reinforce them. TACK - The lower, forward corner of a sail. VERTICAL CUT - Sails in which the panels of cloth run vertically or parallel to the luff. WARP - The threads that run lengthwise in a woven sailcloth across the fill threads.

SAIL, SOCK-TYPE A sail with a longitudinal sleeve sewn into the luff edge. This "sock" is meant to slide over the mast. This type of sail is used on a free-standing mast and is held on the mast with a downhaul line or is attached to the gooseneck. (See the EIGHT BALL, DINKY, and FOAMEE.)

SAILBOAT RIGS: CAT RIG - Having a single mast and a single sail. CUTTER RIG - One mast, one sail aft of mast, two or more forward. Similar to a sloop except that there are at least two triangular sails forward of the mast. The mast is stepped farther aft than a sloop, creating a larger foretriangle. Because of the large area, multiple, smaller sails, are easier to handle than one large sail. The rig allows more versatility than a single large sail but is less powerful in light airs. GAFF RIG - Has a lower boom and an upper "mast" or boom that attaches to the mainmast. The sail is a quadrangle. This is an older style rig currently used to give a boat a traditional look. Does not come to windward as well as "modern" rigs, requires more hardware, including separate halyards, one for the main and one for the upper boom. Generally less efficient for top performance, but does have less windage aloft when sail is reduced. JIBHEAD RIG - In a jibhead rig the forestay does not attach to the masthead but at a point lower on the mast where the top of the jib meets the mast. KETCH RIG Two masts, three sails. The ketch is very similar to the yawl. Both rigs have a main, foretriangle, and a mizzen. The ketch generally has its mizzenmast (aft mast) farther forward than a yawl allowing for a larger mizzen. There are various definitions of what constitutes the difference between the two rigs: That a ketch's mizzen must be at least 2/3 of her main, that a yawl's mizzenmast is less than half the height of her mainmast. At the extremes, these rigs are easy to distinguish but there is a mid "gray" area where identification is open to interpretation. LATEEN RIG - One mast, one sail, two booms. (See BUCKBOARD design) SCHOONER RIG - Two or more masts, rigged fore and aft. SLOOP RIG One mast, two sails. Has a main aft of the mast and a triangular sail (jib) forward of the mast, usually attached to the forestay. A sloop is more

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maneuverable than a cat rig, and more versatile for reducing sail in a blow. SPRIT RIG - A sprit is a boom that extends upward from the mast to the topmost corner of a quadrangle sail. A sprit rig allows more sail area on a short mast. (See SNEAKBOX design)

SAPWOOD The new wood in a tree that lies between the bark and the Heartwood. Sapwood is usually lighter in color and becomes heartwood as the tree ages. In a growing tree, sapwood contains living cells and reserve materials such as starch. Under most conditions the sapwood is paler in color and more susceptible to decay than heartwood.

SANDWICH CORE A “one-off” fiberglass construction method that uses an inner core that is temporarily fastened to a form, covered with fiberglass laminates, removed from the form, and fiberglass laminates applied to the inside. See Building Methods/Fiberglass.

SAWN FRAMES Frames can be divided into two categories: sawn or bent frames. Sawn frames are assembled from separate pieces, either lapped or gusseted together to form the station contour. Bent frames are bent around a form or into a hull using one or more layers of solid wood.

SCANTLINGS The dimensions of a building material, especially the width and thickness of a timber. The dimensions of the structural parts of a vessel.

SCHOONER RIG See SAILBOAT RIGS.

SHAFT HORSEPOWER (SHP) A theoretical measurement of horsepower at the propeller. If the BRAKE HORSEPOWER is known (normally the rated horsepower), multiply by .7 for the approximate constant SHP.

SHARPIE "Sharp"-bowed, flat bottomed skiff. A term usually applied to flat bottomed sailing skiffs over 20' in length. All types of rigs were traditionally used.

SHEER (Sheer clamp) The junction of the side and deck or the member backing this junction. A boat with a "lot of sheer" is higher at the bow and stern than the center when viewed in profile; with little sheer, the sheer arc will be closer to a straight line (a hog sheer).

SHOAL Shallow

SHP - See SHAFT HORSEPOWER SHROUDS

The stays that support the mast at the sides.

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SKEG A longitudinal appendage on a boat, on the outside, at the centerline, providing directional stability and/or protection for the prop and rudder.

SLOOP RIG See SAILBOAT RIGS.

SOFTWOODS Generally lumber from a conifer such as pine or cedar. The name softwood does not refer to the density of the wood. There are some hardwoods, such as Balsa, which are softer than some softwoods, like Southern Yellow Pine.

SOLE Cabin or cockpit floor.

SPAR Same as mast; usually applied to aluminum masts.

SPEED-LENGTH RATIO A formula used to compare potential speeds of displacement or semi-displacement hulls; not used for full planing hulls. Few hulls reach their theoretical speed-length ratio. Formula: Speed in knots=1.34 x square root of the waterline length.

SPILING A method of fitting longitudinal planking junctions.

SPINNAKER A large triangular racing sail located forward of the jib, attached to the mast and a spinnaker pole (boom). The sail is used when running with the wind. The spinnaker pole allows the foot of the sail to be held open to catch more wind. There are variations of the spinnaker that do not use a pole.

SPLIT (in wood) Separation of the fibers in a piece of wood from face to face.

SPONSON A projection or addition to the side or bottom of the boat to help stabilize or provide lift. (See the TINY TITAN, SUPER SPARTAN, and PICKLEFORK.)

SPRIT RIG See SAILBOAT RIGS.

STATION One of a series of equally spaced transverse "slices" of the hull, as shown in the lines drawing of the plans. When building a boat, there may or may not be frames or bulkheads at all or any of the stations. Also referred to as section.

STEM The junction of the planking at the forward end of a typical hull. The member to which the planking attaches at this junction.

STRAKES A single line of planking extending from bow to stern.

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STRIP PLANKING A planking method that uses strips of wood installed longitudinally and edge-glued and fastened together. Planks most often are made with "bead" and "cove" edges (somewhat like male and female "ball and socket") to eliminate fitting the plank edges.

STRONGBACK A longitudinal batten along the decking centerline.

T

TABLE OF OFFSETS - See Offsets TABERNACLE

The housing on a sailboat deck that supports the heel of the mainmast, with a hinged fitting so that the mast can pivot and be lowered easily when passing under bridges and high tension wires. Pivoting mast step.

TABLOID CRUISER A small cruiser.

THOLE One of a pair of wood or metal pins set vertically in the gunwale of a boat that serve as oar locks.

TILLER A bar or handle for turning a boat rudder. The tiller for an external rudder on small sailboats is most often operated by hand. Tillers for underwater rudders are usually short and are operated by some sort of mechanical device (steering wheel).

TOPPING LIFT An adjustable line from the mast to support the aft end of the boom and to support in when the mainsail is lowered or is being reefed.

TRANSOM The member forming the aft (stern) end of the boat.

TUMBLEHOME The top is closer to the centerline than the bottom. Can be applied to the hull or cabin.

UV

VEE BOTTOM Not flat athwartships. In a flat bottom boat (SISSY DO), the chines meet the keel at the bottom of the stem. In a vee bottom boat, the keel fastens to the bottom of the stem and chines at a point above this junction, the higher, the

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more the vee. A “flat bottom” ski boat has a vee bottom, the bottom is flat at the transom. (See DEEP VEE, BOTTOM SHAPE)

V-DRIVE A gear box that reverses the direction of the drive train to allow the use of a standard prop shaft and prop with a rear mounted motor. See drawing below.

VENEER Thin sheet of wood sliced, sawed, or rotary-cut from a log or a flitch. Rotary-cut Veneer - Veneer cut in a lathe which rotates a log or bolt, chucked in the center, against a knife. Sawed Veneer - Veneer produced by sawing. Sliced Veneer - Veneer that is sliced off a log, bolt, or flitch with a knife.

W

WANE A lumber defect referring to the absence of wood or the presence of bark along an edge or corner.

WARP Any variation from a true and plane surface. It includes bow, cup and twist and is often caused by irregular seasoning.

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from Glen-l.com site


WATERLINE LENGTH-Significance: One of the factors used to determine the speed potential of a displacement boat. The longer, the greater the speed potential. The overall length is irrelevant; overhangs fore and aft do not increase “hull speed” potential.

WEATHER HELM A condition in which the tiller must be held toward the windward side of a sailing vessel in order to maintain course. A slight amount (3 to 7 degrees) is desirable. (See LEE HELM)

WINDWARD Toward the direction from which the wind is coming. The windward side of a hull receives the force of the wind. The leeward side is the "calm& or protected side.

WIND SPEED: Near gale: Wind speed of 28 to 33 knots. Gale: Wind speed of 34 to 40 knots. Strong gale: Wind speed of 41 to 47 knots. Storm: Wind speeds of 48 to 55 knots. Greater wind speeds: Stay home.

WORLD CRUISING SAILBOAT - See CRUISING

XY

YARN Fibers that are twisted together to form a rope.

YAW A vessel which will not hold a steady course, but swings from side to side of it, is said to yaw.

Z

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When you buy dimensional lumber at your local building center, the actual sizes of the boards are different than the nominal size. The

drying process and planing both reduce the actual size of the finished boards you buy. Keep this in mind when you purchase the

lumber for your boat or other building projects.

Nominal Vs. Actual Lumber Dimensions

Nominal Actual Actual Metric

1” x 2” 3/4” x 1-1/2” 19 x 38 mm

1” x 3” 3/4” x 2-1/2” 19 x 64 mm

1” x 4” 3/4” x 3-1/2” 19 x 89 mm

1” x 5” 3/4” x 4-1/2” 19 x 114 mm

1” x 6” 3/4” x 5-1/2” 19 x 140 mm

1” x 7” 3/4” x 6-1/4” 19 x 159 mm

1” x 8” 3/4” x 7-1/4” 19 x 184 mm

1” x 10” 3/4” x 9-1/4” 19 x 235 mm

1” x 12” 3/4” x 11-1/4” 19 x 286 mm

1-1/4” x 4” 1” x 3-1/2” 25 x 89 mm

1-1/4” x 6” 1” x 5-1/2” 25 x 140 mm

1-1/4” x 8” 1” x 7-1/4” 25 x 184 mm

1-1/4” x 10” 1” x 9-1/4” 25 x 235 mm

1-1/4” x 12” 1” x 11-1/4” 25 x 286 mm

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Nominal Vs. Actual Lumber Dimensions

1-1/2” x 4” 1-1/4” x 3-1/2” 32 x 89 mm

1-1/2” x 6” 1-1/4” x 5-1/2” 32 x 140 mm

1-1/2” x 8” 1-1/4” x 7-1/4” 32 x 184 mm

1-1/2” x 10” 1-1/4” x 9-1/4” 32 x 235 mm

2” x 4” 1-1/2” x 3-1/2” 38 x 89 mm

2” x 6” 1-1/2” x 5-1/2” 38 x 140 mm

2” x 8” 1-1/2” x 7-1/4” 38 x 184 mm

2” x 10” 1-1/2” x 9-1/4” 38 x 235 mm

2” x 12” 1-1/2” x 11-1/4” 38 x 286 mm

3” x 6” 2-1/2” x 5-1/2” 64 x 140 mm

4” x 4” 3-1/2” x 3-1/2” 89 x 89 mm

4” x 6” 3-1/2” x 5-1/2” 89 x 140 mm

6” x 6” 5-1/2” x 5-1/2” 140 x 140 mm

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Decimal Equivalents

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Building a Wooden Boat - Sea Dreams - Yolaseadreamhobbies.yolasite.com/resources/Building a Wooden Boat... · Building a Wooden Boat Preface My dream of building a wooden boat began