Build a Boat from Wood
How to Build a Boat using wood, one of the most beautiful and satisfying of materials for the DIY, backyard, builder to use.
If you want to build a boat from wood the first thing to consider are the various construction methods.
Next consider where you are going to do the building.
If you are planning to build her in your back yard, will you have enough room to work on her?
Will you be able to get her out when she is finished?
Might your neighbours object when that that fifty-foot super yacht towers above the fence?
There are still a few boat yards were self-builders can rent enough hard standing to build a boat but they are becoming rare.
These days it is a sad fact that most yards and marinas prefer shiny white plastic
Wherever
you plan to build make sure you don’t fall
foul of the dreaded insurance wallahs and the health and safety
bureaucrats.
Unfortunately you will also have to consider the cost.
Building from scratch while cheaper than having a boat built by professionals is not a cheap option.
Finding
somewhere to work on your own boat, without bureaucratic interference,
is becoming increasingly difficult.
You might be able to reduce the
cost by using reclaimed timber.
However, it is false economy to build a boat from substandard
materials.
Apart from the hassle of having to replace stuff later, you might be
putting
your life and the life of your crews in danger.
On
the up side you will be able
to
spread much of the cost out over the
length
of the project.
But buying in bulk will save money,
- If you can afford it.
- and have somewhere suitable to store the materials.
Unless you are a naval architect you must have suitable plans.
Don’t even start to build a boat without, you can however use the 'Diagonal
Scale'
to copy dimentions from
a photograph or
illustration.
There are innumerable
designers willing to sell you plans and many free
ones to
be found online.
But before buying try to have a look at a finished version.
You may find that what looks pretty in a line drawing looks hideous in reality and vice versa.
Carvel Planking
Carvel
Planking is
the traditional
method where planks are affixed edge to edge on to an underlying
framework.
The frame determines the
hull
shape.
It consists of the keel
and the stem and
stern posts, with a ‘ribcage’ of vertical frames.
Horizontal ribbands are
used to hold the
frames in place until planks are fitted. Planks, butting up against
each other
are fastened to the frames, using nails,
screws, or
rivets.
The hull is then
caulked,
usually with cotton, or
oakum and a caulking compound
which seals the seams. It is easier to repair than some of the other
construction methods.
Lapstrake or Clinker Planking.
Lapstrake/Clinker is the method of wooden boat building where the planks overlap rather than butting each other.
While an underlying back bone is needed, the framing can be done after the planking and ribbands may not be needed.
The planks are fastened with rivets, clench nailsor glue where they overlap, resulting in a hull of considerable strength.
The tight fit between planks is traditionally sufficient to keep it watertight however, sealants and even glue can be used to build a boat.
Plywood is increasingly being used to create beautifully strong lapstrake hulls.
The usual method is to use epoxy to bond the plywood planks.
This can result in a superb low maintenance wooden boat.
Repairs are not as simple as on carvel hulls due to the planks overlapping and because the fit of the planks is more critical.
Strip Planking.
Strip Planking is basically carvel but using narrow strips of wood instead of planks.
Nowadays the strips are normally glued together with epoxy, though they can be nailed.
The backbone and frames can be built up from laminations with inner and outer stems to simplify construction.
The strips are usually bought ready machined with a concave grove on the top and convex on the bottom or with a tongue and groove.
Not easy to repair due to the strips being fastened together.
73 page, step by step instructions for building the Redwood Canoe using modern strip planking techniques and materials
Everything you need to know from building to launching, yours to download (pdf) for
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New patches may have to be scarfed into or laminated on to the existing boat hull.
Build a Boat by Stitching and Gluing.
Warning
Epoxy Resins contain Bisphenol A.
Before using epoxies you should consider the flood of new scientific evidence on adverse effects of BPA.
Builders of wooden boats
have been stitching
planks
together since time immemorial.
But it is since the
development of epoxy
resins that the method has become so
successful
for
the self
builder.
The usual practice
was to stitch the panels together using
wire but many builders now use plastic cable ties.
A word of warning on
epoxies.
Make sure you are not
allergic to
them.
Many years ago I was considering a large stitch and glue/epoxy project.
Fortunately, I decided to
try a small version
first, that was when I discovered that I was allergic to extended
exposure to
epoxies.
I did persevere and build
the dinghy because I
had bought the materials.
She turned out extremely
well but if I had
plunged straight into that larger project I would have had problems.
There are a multitude of
designs and plans
available for stitch and glue building.
Everything from simple pram
dinghies to sea
going cruisers have been successfully built this way.
The advantage for the home builder is that lofting, setting up and framing are minimal, making them much faster and easier to build.
It is always best to use good quality marine grade plywood and it does need to be properly sealed with epoxy.
It is normal for these boats to be sheathed with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin.
Plywood repairs are relatively easy.
Damaged areas can be cut back and new plywood scarfed in using epoxy.
Plywood on Frame.
Before stitch and glue
method to build a boat became popular, plywood
boats were often made
by constructing a framework which was then sheathed with plywood.
The plywood would be affixed to the frames using a variety of methods
such as
glue, screws and even nails, nowadays it is normal to use epoxy.
The normal design shape is hard chine, either flat or ‘V’ bottomed.
As with stitch and glue, it is always best to build a boat from good
quality
marine grade plywood and it does need to be properly sealed with epoxy.
Usually these also
are sheathed with fiberglass cloth and epoxy
resin.
Repairs are relatively easy
Damaged areas can be cut back and new plywood scarfed or butted in
using
epoxy.
Have
a look at the
Project Boats being built by Andrew in Tasmania and Eddie in Ireland.
Cold Molding.
Cold molding is
fairly uncommon way to
build a boat theses days.
Basically it is a method
where a minimum of
two layers of thin plywood or veneer are laminated on top of each
other.
The layers running in
different directions
usually at 45 degrees to each other, the most common being double
diagonal.
This does produce a
strong monoque boat
structure.
However this method does
require an
underlying structure on which to lay the strips.
The usual method is to
construct a mold first
or lay the strips on a strip planked former.
The extra work involved
in making the mold
makes it an unattractive self build option.
Repairs are not easy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It is easy in the world to live
after the
world's opinion, it is easy in solitude to live after your own; but the
great
man is he who, in the midst of the world, keeps with perfect sweetness
the
independence of solitude."
(Ralph
Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882)
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160 page, step by step instructions for building Crescent using modern plywood building techniques and materials.
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88 page, step by step instructions for building Pod using modern plywood building techniques and materials
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92 page, step by step instructions for building the Sea Midge, pram dinghy, using modern plywood building techniques and materials.
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129 page, step by step instructions for building Eager Eve using modern plywood building techniques and materials
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110 page, step by step instructions for building the Sea Skiff using modern plywood building techniques and materials.
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94 page, step by step instructions for building the "Float a Home" shanty boat using modern plywood building techniques and materials.
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133 page, step by step instructions for building the Sea Rover using modern plywood building techniques and materials.
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I am perfectly aware that the majority of Wooden Boat aficionados are sensible folk.
However, I need to point out that I am an amateur wooden boat enthusiast simply writing in order to try to help other amateur wooden boat enthusiasts.
And while I take every care to ensure that the information in DIY Wood Boat.com is correct, anyone acting on the information on this website does so at their own risk.