When an outboard motor is used the 
boat should be turned around and the 
motor mounted on what is ordinarily the 
bow. There is more bearing here to 
take care .of the additional weight over 
the end and the boat again assumes a 
natural trim without much thought on 
the part of the skipper. 
'"THERE is not space to go much into 
* the details of building the boat. 
They were usually clinker or lap 
streaked, that being the strongest light 
weight construction. The stem and 
stern (both alike) should be made from 
natural crooks \ l / 2 " thick, but can be 
made from straight grained wood in 
three pieces as indicated by the dotted 
lines. The keel is of oak \ l / 2 " by 6", 
tapered in width to the dimensions 
given in the table of offsets for ‘•rabbet” 
with an allowance of y 2 " on each side 
for the lap of the rabbet. The bottom 
side is left flat, while the top side is 
planed down so that the keel is 7 A" 
thick for 6 feet along the middle. The 
rabbet is then cut — z / 2 " wide and t 7 «" 
deep from the bottom, leaving it square 
for the time being. 
If you have never built a clinker boat, 
make a mould for each section shown, 
placing them two feet apart. The ex¬ 
perienced builder can do with only the 
alternate ones. The dimensions given in 
the table are to the outside of the plank¬ 
ing and after the forms are laid out on 
stiff paper for patterns, a quarter inch 
must be taken off all around. A notch 
should be cut in each mould to let the 
keel into its position. 
The moulds must be set up on a table 
or horse and securely fastened; square 
to a centerline, perpendicular to the 
base, parallel to each other and with 
waterlines horizontal. They should be 
well braced so that no amount of ham¬ 
mering or pulling will distort them. 
The keel and stems can then be fast¬ 
ened together, put in place on the 
moulds and the rabbet finished to proper 
bevel, after which the keel can be planed 
down to fair with the stems. 
There will be nine planks on each 
side. They are all one-quarter inch 
thick and should be made of cedar, but 
pme or cypress will do. Each plank 
should be carefully shaped to fit as they 
must not be sprung sideways, and it will 
be well, therefore, to use some cheaper 
stuff and fit a pattern from which the 
final plank can be traced. The plank 
next to the keel and the top plank (gar- 
board and sheer streak) will show about 
at the center mould and about 3" 
Page 249 
at the ends. I he other planks will show 
about 3" at the center and from 2]/ 2 " to 
2% at the ends. The garboard may be 
widened to 4" near the ends to keep the 
width of the other planks down and 
make them straighter. 
In laying out the planks, the lap must 
not be forgotten and from to y" 
allowed for it. The garboards will be 
put on first, and will require steaming 
to swing the ends into place. They will 
probably be made in two pieces and will 
be joined with a beveled lap about 2" 
long, which must be well tacked at each 
end—the heads of the tacks on the thin 
edge and clinched on the other side. 
The garboard will be fastened to the 
stems with screws about an inch apart, 
and to the keel with nails about l/ 2 " 
apart. 
After it is fastened, the width of the 
lap can be gauged with a pencil and the 
edge beveled off so that the next plank 
will fit tightly, the full width of the lap. 
The bevel will gradually change to a 
half lap joint at the ends so that the 
planks will be flush there. The inside 
of the next plank must of course be half 
lapped at the ends to fit. This change 
will be in about two feet. 
The two streaks near the turn of the 
bilge should be made of thicker stuff 
and hollowed out to fit the moulds, after 
which the outside can be planed off to 
proper thickness. 
After the garboards are on, the posi¬ 
tion of the ribs should be marked, both 
on the garboards and on a batten which 
runs along the sheer. They will be four 
inches apart. As the other planks are 
put on, the position of the ribs should 
be marked on them and then two nails 
driven and clinched in the lap between 
each pair of marks. 
After all the planks are on, turn the 
boat over, and put in the ribs. They 
are of white oak, ash, or elm iV' by A" 
and extend (except at the ends) from 
one side to the other. Bore for all the 
nails where marked at the laps and set 
the nails for each rib before putting in 
the rib. After it is steamed soft, press 
it in place, and fasten to the keel with 
two nails, then, working from the bot¬ 
tom up, drive and clinch the plank 
nails. 
The sheer is finished with a rubbing 
streak outside and a gunwale strip in¬ 
side. These are both alike, rV by 1" 
at the middle and by yy at the ends. 
Ihey are put on together, the fastening 
running through rubbing streak, plank, 
rib, and gunwale strip. Two rivets at 
the ends go clear through from one rub¬ 
bing strip to the other, and a little block 
called a breast hook, is fitted into the 
angle to tie the two sides and the stem 
together. 
The seat riser is t 7 8 by 1 and extends 
only far enough for all the seats to rest 
on it. 
These boats were invariably decked 
at the ends, and usually with alternate 
strips of different woods, such' as pine 
and cherry, or birch and walnut, about 
H" by y 2 \ The wales are covered by 
a ,^ r *P wide and a little coaming 
Va" thick is bent around inside project¬ 
ing about 1". 
IF the boat is to be used much with 
A sails, the end decks should be about 
a toot longer than shown and the sides 
can well be decked for a width of four 
to six inches before the coaming is put 
on. 
The oarlocks were usually of the out- 
(Continued on page 277) 
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v, flip 
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