The development of Wooden Boat Building techniques led to the opening up of the world as never before. Whilst boats made of materials such as bark and reeds or animal hides stretched over lightweight frames, had been used since prehistoric times, it was not until mankind learnt to use timber, in a form other than the simple hollowed out log; that travel by water became more than a local excursion.

Much experimentation over many centuries, with materials and methods of both construction and propulsion, led to wooden boats growing in size to become mighty ships, this led to world wide systematic exploration, which was followed by trade and conquest. By the time wooden boats and ships were replaced by the modern examples constructed of iron and steel; or aluminium or fibreglass the whole world had been discovered, mapped and irretrievably linked together.

The crowning glory of the wooden boat age was the “Great Republic” the largest commercial wooden sailing vessel ever built. The three and four masted super sailors; “clipper” ships like the cutty sark; which plied the seas transporting tea and wool and grain, were mostly composite vessels made of timber over steel frames and can’t really be called wooden boats. Their reign over the seas lasted but a few years before they too were gone and with them the many of the traditional wooden boat building skills.

Today wooden boat building exists mainly in a few traditional areas still building small fishing or transportation vessels (mostly in third world countries) and to the world of pleasure boating. Sail and motor boats of all sizes, as well as dingys, dorys and other forms are still being constructed by craftsmen and a now growing band of enthusiasts.

Wooden Boat Building associations and clubs are springing up all over the world and schools dedicated to teaching what were mainly traditionally handed down crafts are found throughout England Europe and North America. Dedicated volunteers are signing on to restoration or replica projects and more and more individuals are committing themselves to building wooden boats.

There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the finished product, of sometimes months or even years of work, reach fruition by firstly surviving its launching and then proving itself seaworthy.

What are you going to do this winter, watch reruns on TV, worry about the midriff bulge or get out into your garage or workshop and get to work building a beautiful wooden boat. Then when spring arrives you can look forward to spending some time on the water, fishing, sailing, motoring about; whatever the project you undertake seeing it come to fruition will be a wonderful reward for some fulfilling winter work.

Timber is just the most wonderful material to work with it is buoyant, cheap, widely available and easily worked and the satisfaction of creating something from a natural traditional living material cannot exaggerated; even if the method and tools you may chose to use are modern, just working with wood takes you back to much simpler times when skill and craftsmanship were greatly admired. Wooden Boat Building plans and step by step instuctions are readily available, what are you waiting for, get started.

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Methods of Wooden Boat Building

For a Wooden Boat to be successful it needs to be built of timbers joined in such a way that they provided a hollow interior with a water proof outside shell. Either the method of joining the timbers and/or an internal framework must provide structural integrity. The structural integrity must be able to resist both static forces (i.e. the boat must be self supporting both longitudinally and in cross section when at rest) and also must be able to resist the enormous dynamic forces of wave and wind on the hull, superstructure and any rigging.

The following methods of Wooden Boat Building use differing techniques and hull designs to achieve the desired results.

Clinker or Lap Strake Built Boats.

The Clinker or Lap Strake built boat is the type of construction used most beautifully by the Vikings when building their longships. It is an excellent lightweight method of boat building, a method which is most often used today in dinghies and small craft.

In this method the boat is built from longitudinal planks with the bottom edge of one plank overlapping the top edge of the one below. The planks are joined at the overlap with rivets, clenched nails or glue. The overlapping of the planks provides for excellent stiffness and means that internal framing can be kept to a minimum, which creates a light sturdy boat. The method often allows for the hull to be built first and the strengthening internal frame to be fitted afterwards.

Modern Plywood construction of clinker or lap strake hulls often uses resilient, flexible, easily worked marine grade plywood with epoxy being used to bond the planks. The epoxy provides bonding, filling and protection all at once, allowing the speedy building of a vessel which has the beauty and strength of wood and a superb low maintenance finish.

It was not unusual for older clinker boats built of natural timber to need “soaking” in order for the timber joints to swell and so become water tight. This has been eliminated with the use of modern epoxy bonding.

As the size of a Lap Strake boat increases, the thickness of the planking required and the size and weight of the internal bracing grows to an extent that the Carvel Built boat provides a far more efficient use of timber and better structural integrity.

Carvel Built Boats

A Carvel built boat is one in which the internal structural frame of the boat is created first and then the planking is attached. The planking consists of longitudinal timbers which are fitted and attached to the preformed timber frame. They are joined edge to edge, with no overlap (butt joined). The joint between the planks is sealed by caulking or by a specially designed timber fillet inserted in a groove in the edge of the planks.

This is the method which was and still is the most common form of building larger wooden boats and commercial ships. The frame of the boat and timbers required for construction can become quite massive as the size of the vessel increases.

Plywood on Frame

The introduction of Waterproof plywood has seen the development of “ply on frame” and then later even “frameless plywood” boats being designed and successfully produced.  These methods are ideally suited to the amateur or novice builder because they allow for a quick and relatively easy build taking full advantage of modern cheap power tools.

The frame of the boat may be constructed of timbers or may be cut out of plywood sheets, which provides a form of internal bulkhead. The use modern epoxy glues which give waterproof joins which are often much stronger than the timber itself also speeds the building process.

Stitched Plywood

The stich and glue building method where the plywood joints are held together by either wire or plastic ties and the joint is covered with fibreglass and epoxy is a popular modern building method. This has lead to the design of plywood boats which are frameless, relying on the integrity of the bonded hull to provide structural strength.  This means an extremely lightweight hull can be designed.

Cold Moulding

Cold moulding is another modern method taking advantage of the superb characteristics of modern epoxy bonding materials. In this techniques a minimum of two layers of thin strips of timber (usually plywood or veneer are laminated on top of each other. The layers run in different directions, usually in a diagonal pattern. Often insulation is bonded between two outer layers and an additional inner layer. This method requires a preformed mould on which to build the boat and this extra work usually precludes the amateur builder. The method does however produce beautifully lightweight hulls which are very strong.  Often vacuum forming is used to provide an extra fine finish and ensure the close bonding of the timbers. 

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A small Wooden Model Boat being built

A Build Your Own Boat at home Wooden Boat Building Project

A Professional Wooden Boat Building Yard at work

What ever the size of your dream Wooden Boat Building is alive and well

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The first is the fact that wood has the highest Quality Coefficient for boat building. What does that mean? It means that for a given size a properly built wooden boat will be the strongest for any given weight. When comes to resisting the stress place on hulls by the pounding of waves and water, tests have shown that wood is nearly twice as resistant to these stress’s as the other materials.

Wood also has the best thermal and acoustic properties of any boat building material. You don’t find condensation running down the inside of your wooden boat nor do you have to listen to drumming caused by the slap of waves on the hull.

Wood also has no galvanic corrosion problems.

And of course nothing is as pleasing to the eye as beautifully finished timber; notice that the best builders in all the other materials still use timber in their interior fit-outs.

Given that wood is also buoyant, relatively cheap, and widely available and easily worked and is particularly suited for small boats (up to about 6 meters in length) it is no wonder that Wooden Boat Building is especially popular with amateur builders. Timber can be worked with the simplest of tools; most of the work can be done with only cheap hand tools. The natural bending characteristics of wood mean that pleasing smooth, symmetrical lines can obtained without special moulds or bending equipment.

Other natural characteristics of wood such as its durability and resilience make it ideal for boatbuilding. If properly maintained and protected from the elements and marine or freshwater organisms a wooden boat will last a lifetime.

The question might be asked if wood is so good a boat building material why are there so many fiber-glass and aluminum boats around. The answer probably comes down to the ability to mass produce such boats. When the cost of labor is taken into account a wooden boat can be much more expensive. An aluminum or even steel boat can be made quickly out of stamped or prefabricated sections assembled on a jig and welded together and a fiberglass boat is built in a mould with a combination of woven and chopped glass-fibre being encased in plastic like resin.

That is not to say that these techniques and materials are inferior for boat building (the vast majority of new boats are built from one of these materials and cost alone is not the only reason) but they are more suited to production line methods than to one off efforts.For the amateur builder the cost of specially made moulds (for fiber-glass) and welding equipment, special templates or jigs and specialist skill (aluminum welding) quickly push the advantage towards wood as the building material of choice for the one off home builder.

You can join the many thousands of people engaged in Wooden Boat Building, taking advantage of the ready availability of wood in most parts of the world.

Next time I’ll explore some of the many different methods of Wooden Boat Building.

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Wooden Boat Building involving a wooden ski boat restoration.

My third experience in Wooden Boat Building was being involved in the restoration of work on some friends 1950’s inboard powered wooden ski-boat.

When I was about 17 years old the family of some very close friends, purchase a second hand wooden ski-boat and so began what was a long term involvement with the maintenance and “restoration” of this wooden boat.

She be would now be classed as a classic wooden boat, built about 1950, she was about 18 to 20 ft long with cross-bench seating for 3 up front and room for skis and maybe three more people down the back . The boat was to be the home of many a pleasure filled day on and in the local river.

Water skiing and surfing seemed to go together, quick surf in the morning when the offshore breeze stood the face of the waves up and then, when the incoming sea breeze knocked them down late in the morning, it was off to the river for some serious skiing.

But first there were a few things which needed attention. The paint job was only one of them, a few plywood panels needed replacement and the engine (V8 ford) was due for an overhaul as was the associated running gear of gearbox/clutch, shaft and prop.

The engine came out and was left in the capable hands of the apprentice mechanic of the family whilst the rest of the work was tackled. I didn’t really get to do too much since the boat was situated about ten miles from where I lived, but I certainly saw the work involved and whenever I was around the boatshed somehow got involved.

There was lots of scraping of paint, although this time it was high gloss varnish not paint, so the finish required was far more exacting, than simply whacking a coat of off white marine enamel on the little dingy. So there was lots of careful scraping and lots of careful sanding back, lots of dusting and then lovingly applying a coat of varnish, more sanding, dusting and yet another coat of varnish. This seemed to take forever; we had wait between coats and be extra careful that we didn’t damage the still soft varnish while we worked on the other things that needed doing.

The timber rub strips along the flank and topsides were removed and replaced, and as mentioned a few of the ply-wood panels (topside and on the bottom) were also replaced. The fuel tanks, which were side mounted, were removed, cleaned out, inspected and repainted; and after the protective padding had been replaced they were reinstalled. All the fuel lines, and electrical cables were removed and renewed or replaced

The engine bearers were reinforced in a couple of places, the prop-shaft pulled out and the bronze stuffing box rebuilt and replaced and the complete  steering cable and associated runners and pullies removed, inspected and refitted. (Why are those sorts of things always fitted upside down in the most awkward places? There were no single cable steering systems in those days or if there were they were way out of our price range.)

After a couple of months the hull was finished and for a mixed crew with little Wooden Boat Building experience we had done a great job.  Now the engine was ready for refitting, this work was tackled and completed rapidly, over a single weekend as I recall. There was great excitement as a hose was fitted to the engine’s water intake and the engine fired up for the first time since the rebuild. The sweet sound of the ford v8 chugging away was music to our ears. It was a sound that changed to a mighty roar when the throttle was opened up to pull three or sometimes four adventurous skiers out of the water at once.

We learnt to ski, used the boat for racing in the local water sports carnival; tried jumping the ski-ramp left behind after the carnival (with very mixed success) and spent many a long happy, hot, summer’s day just mucking about on the river. The sound of skis sliding over absolutely glassy water late in the long summer evening is still a very treasured memory.

The experience of restoring an already built wooden boat led to my next Wooden Boat Building experience.

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Some Wooden Boat Building ventures begun by people who started their project with little or no conception of what they were undertaking; and who through sheer determination and bull headedness managed to finish; do end up producing a work of art, but more often the venture ends in tears and frustration.

So I advise that very careful reflective consideration before you begin is a must.

I gave you the ten most important things I think you should consider before you begin any boat building project. Here

Today I want to tell you of a story in an article by Bill Schanen (in sailingmagazine.net) that you can read here

http://www.sailingmagazine.net/columns/full-and-by/755-love-a-wood-boat-at-your-periltheyre-heartbreakers

This story shows that even highly skilled professional boat builders can get things wrong.

For a Wooden Boat less than three years old,

• built by professional builders,
• in a well respected yard;
• of what should have been the finest materials,
• and built to the highest professional standards;
• of a well tried design;

to begin to crack up meant that something had to be wrong, very wrong.

The writer doesn’t really know what was the cause of the boat’s demise but the suggestion is made that poorly seasoned oak frames may have been the cause.

Whatever the cause, the tale is cautionary one for those of you who; having answered the first 10 questions;have decided to proceed.

Now you must begin to put into action the grand idea to build your own boat.

Read this story and maybe just ponder how much do you know and where will you get the extra knowledge required?

Wooden Boat Building is not for the faint hearted nor for those unwilling to learn.

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