The Hull can now be started on the good work of the Lean-to crew (of one, with my help on rare two man jobs). At the first station on the railway four major steps are taken. First,
V. The Frames are set up. These get their start by a sawyer and a helper who saw all the frame parts out of white oak milled to the siding (thickness) of the frames. A 24" bandsaw is used that has a tilting table. The table has an arm added so that the table (with a gauge for reading bevel angles), and with its brake set to high resistance, it can be adjusted to the angle called for on narrow bevel sticks tacked to the piece.
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The sawyer guides the piece past the blade at a constant speed and the beveller (the helper) constantly changes the bevel so as the blade passes a number the table is at the angle the bevel stick calls for.
There are twelve or thirteen pieces to most of the frames (the forward most and the after most frames are the exceptions). Starting with the deck beam and going down both sides we have the deck beam (in way of the house and cockpit there are two short beams called cripples), topside frames, chine knee and two gussets-one on each side, the bottom frames, and the floor timber, often just called the floor. On a boat the floor is not laid flat, nor walked on, it is set across the boat (athwartship) and on edge. What many call a floor in a house is a sole on a boat. The frames are glued and bolted together except at the chine, where the meeting ends of the two pieces are finger-jointed and the knee is nailed inside the bend and the gussets are nailed over the joint on both sides. The lower ends of both side are bolted to the floor, which is notched to sit down over the top of the apron. This completes the frames. The process goes like this:
The main tool for this job is the framing table on which all the frames are made. This is made of quarter inch steel plate shaped in a way that each piece can be clamped to it. Each frame is etched into the surface of the steel and numbered with the frame number. The top edge that holds the deck beam is made with a channel in it to hold the upper surface of the beam level with the top surface of the table. The beams all have the same crown so the channel will hold the beams for all the frames. The only difference in the beams is their length, so their position on the framing table is keyed to centerline marks. Where the cripples are needed they are bolted to the topside frames and a temporary beam (a 2 x 4) is bolted to the cripples to maintain the spread of the frame. These are taken off when the house is being attached to the deck.
The drawing above shows the finger joints at the chine joining the topside and bottom frames makes an interesting joint. The reason for its use is obvious once you see it (see above) and understand what it does. If you just butt the two pieces together there is just a little area available for glue surfaces, but finger joints increase the gluing area several time over. The tool used to make the joint is a shaper that has a vertical shaft on which a bit is placed that cuts the fingers. All the topside frame pieces are passed through the shaper with the bit at a certain height. The bottom frames require the shaper to be set so the these pieces will fit into the first pieces with the surfaces of both pieces absolutely on the same plane. Easy to do if you make the adjustments using scrap wood of the same siding as the frame.
VI. Setting Up the Frames is the next step. We already have the backbone propped solidly on the railway car ready to receive the frames. The first frame up is one of the two next to the midsection. One of the frame stations may coincide with the midsection; if so this is the first frame up, but the one chosen is the one always used. This is the critical frame in that it must be set up plumb to the waterline (and not to level) and perpendicular to the hull centerline. Doing this properly is a time consuming process, but in a production shop it only has to be done once, on the first boat built. Why? Because after this first frame up on the first boat built was in place and well braced a set of metal braces were made that are keyed to a specific location and screwed or bolted to the apron. There would be two braces, set either forward or aft of the first frame that went from the apron to well outboard on the deck beam. This prevented the top from moving fore or aft and the frame perpendicular to the centerline. From there several frames were set up in the direction opposite of the braces. These were secured to the first and succeeding frames with strips of plywood about 16" long and an inch or so wide, nailed to the outside of the upper frame just below the deck beam, securing the frame station spacing at the top of the frames. The accuracy of this phase is not real critical right now for a later procedure will set things accurately. Then another set of metal brace are set to the first frame erected in the opposite direction and the first brace removed. The rest of the frames are now set up and tied to the ones already set up with the plywood strips.
When all the frames are set up and close to their stations we are ready to set thing right. Without the aid of production shop "short cuts" the next step is to insure the midsection frame is plumb to the waterline and square to the centerline and insure the same for the rest of the frames progressing from midsection to the ends. Our hull gang had some help: a temporary outside clamp made of steel flat bar. They (one for each side at the outside clamp area and another pair for near the chine) would enwrap the boat around. Each had two tabs welded to it at each frame, one on each side of the frame to hold it tight at its designed position, each tab being welded at the angle to the flat bar that aligned them to true athwartships. These straps were drilled for nails between the tabs (one nail per pair), these nails were likely scaffold (double headed) nails so they'd be easy to remove. The ends of the flat bars attach to the stem and transom. The whole of this process positions the frames to the design and hold them for install the outside and inside clamps and the chine. But it can not be done until we finish
VII. Setting up the Transom. This requires three major parts: the transom knee, the transom frame, and the transom proper. It was interesting for me to watch from afar as Bob Mitchell fashioned his transom and put it on his Newporter with little help from me. He has several pictures of his process on his site that are worth studying. Click here to look at them. I wish I could tell you how to build it, but I have few memories about the transom even though I built a couple. That may sound strange, but remember that the Newporter was, as I call it, a "pattern and mold" built boat. All I did was take the pieces that others had cut to patterns and assemble them in the transom mold. If I had to cut everything out I would now have a better memory to help things out now, but.... The three parts are basically it, but Bob may have found things I know not of. The transom knee is that large fir piece sticking up on the extreme after end of the apron, well pictured in Bob's site. The transom frame is glued and maybe fastened on the forward face of the transom, basically around the edges with a "deck beam" to receive the deck, to provide a nailing/gluing surface for the bottom planking, the side planking, and the after deck, nicknamed by Ack as Cleopatra's Porch. The transom proper is a lamination of three layers of 3/8" plywood, the outside layer being of Philippine mahogany, the outside veneer of which is horizontally aligned ribbon grain. This, after being sanded smooth, fiberglass covered and well varnished gave a rich look to her after face. There well may have been other parts, but these will be found, if you need to replace your transom, from what you see as you tear down the old transom, for that is what was there when built, if your transom is original.
The transom goes on the apron before the frames are set up, then after the frames are set in proper place you have what looks like a boat but it won't float like a boat, because it needs, beyond a shadow of doubt, some planks and a deck, so next --
VIII. The Skin, or the Planking and Decking.
Ack designed a cruising boat, not a racer, and he knew the economy of standardization. Most designers will design each item for its intended use, considering strength and weight. The planks and decks are all of 3/4" marine grade plywood. The deck was put on first, basically because when laid down it extended beyond the outside clamp. The edges of the deck where then trimmed down flush to the clamp. Four sections of the deck were scarphed up in the Quonset hut. First the foredeck was made up. It covered from the stem to aft of the forward end of the cabin with extensions a short way aft on the side decks. Two side decks were made up that covered the cripple beams (of the side decks) back to just forward of the aft end of the cockpit. The after deck continued the decking over Cleopatra's Porch to the transom. This, too, had extensions similar to the foredeck that ran forward of the after deck over the cripples outboard of the cockpit and were attached to the side decks. These four deck sections that left the Quonset Hut for the Building Shed were installed one piece at a time until they formed a single sheet of plywood, 13 plus feet wide by over 40 feet long with a big hole for the cockpit and house.
When the side planks were put on they extended up above the deck level to become the outside layer of the three layer bulwark. The side planks are made up of four sheets of 4'x8' and one sheet of 4'x12' plywood. The two end pieces are offset a few inches to handle the shape of the sides. The bottom plank starts as four or five sheets 5'x10' plywood, scarphed together on the 10' edge. This large panel was cut into four tapered pieces that were reassembled to become the bottom plank. The Newporter is planked with only four planks, glued and nailed to the framed hull. Now she is more boat-like and would float now.
But much more is to come before launching. The plywood skin was glued and nailed to the frames every three or four inches with galvanized boat nails. (All boats were not nailed with boat nails; the last few used wire headed nails.) As the planking was put on the chines where not nailed. The reason for this is that the chines were planed to a nice rounded form. Nails in the chine would play havoc with the electric planes used to do the rounding. When the planks were laid out (drawn to full size on the planking blanks) the chine edges were given two parallel lines parallel to the edges. These were guides for the temporary fasteners (short lag screws with washers) used to clamp the planks to the chines. These were removed as soon as the glue set up, the holes for the lag screws were plugged wooden pegs which were cut off flush with the planking, and the chines were then ready to be planed to shape.
The top edge of the side planks extended well above the deck level. This extended part of the side planks became the outer layer of the bulwarks. It also became the form for adding two more layers to give the full thickness (2-1/4") of the bulwarks. The top edge was then planned to the needed height with the top edge being parallel to the water. If memory serves me well, a layer of plywood was put against the inner surface of the transom above the deck, and the top edge of the transom was planned to match both the crown of the deck and the height of the bulwarks.
IX. The House.
The decks are fiberglassed before the house is fastened in place and may have been glassed before the topsides (the part of the hull above the water) were planked.
X. Internal Structural Pieces and Exterior Trim. fiddlehead,
The drawing above shows the finger joints at the chine joining the topside and bottom frames makes an interesting joint. The reason for its use is obvious once you see it (see above) and understand what it does. If you just butt the two pieces together there is just a little area available for glue surfaces, but finger joints increase the gluing area several time over. The tool used to make the joint is a shaper that has a vertical shaft on which a bit is placed that cuts the fingers. All the topside frame pieces are passed through the shaper with the bit at a certain height. The bottom frames require the shaper to be set so the these pieces will fit into the first pieces with the surfaces of both pieces absolutely on the same plane. Easy to do if you make the adjustments using scrap wood of the same siding as the frame.
VI. Setting Up the Frames is the next step. We already have the backbone propped solidly on the railway car ready to receive the frames. The first frame up is one of the two next to the midsection. One of the frame stations may coincide with the midsection; if so this is the first frame up, but the one chosen is the one always used. This is the critical frame in that it must be set up plumb to the waterline (and not to level) and perpendicular to the hull centerline. Doing this properly is a time consuming process, but in a production shop it only has to be done once, on the first boat built. Why? Because after this first frame up on the first boat built was in place and well braced a set of metal braces were made that are keyed to a specific location and screwed or bolted to the apron. There would be two braces, set either forward or aft of the first frame that went from the apron to well outboard on the deck beam. This prevented the top from moving fore or aft and the frame perpendicular to the centerline. From there several frames were set up in the direction opposite of the braces. These were secured to the first and succeeding frames with strips of plywood about 16" long and an inch or so wide, nailed to the outside of the upper frame just below the deck beam, securing the frame station spacing at the top of the frames. The accuracy of this phase is not real critical right now for a later procedure will set things accurately. Then another set of metal brace are set to the first frame erected in the opposite direction and the first brace removed. The rest of the frames are now set up and tied to the ones already set up with the plywood strips.
When all the frames are set up and close to their stations we are ready to set thing right. Without the aid of production shop "short cuts" the next step is to insure the midsection frame is plumb to the waterline and square to the centerline and insure the same for the rest of the frames progressing from midsection to the ends. Our hull gang had some help: a temporary outside clamp made of steel flat bar. They (one for each side at the outside clamp area and another pair for near the chine) would enwrap the boat around. Each had two tabs welded to it at each frame, one on each side of the frame to hold it tight at its designed position, each tab being welded at the angle to the flat bar that aligned them to true athwartships. These straps were drilled for nails between the tabs (one nail per pair), these nails were likely scaffold (double headed) nails so they'd be easy to remove. The ends of the flat bars attach to the stem and transom. The whole of this process positions the frames to the design and hold them for install the outside and inside clamps and the chine. But it can not be done until we finish
VII. Setting up the Transom. This requires three major parts: the transom knee, the transom frame, and the transom proper. It was interesting for me to watch from afar as Bob Mitchell fashioned his transom and put it on his Newporter with little help from me. He has several pictures of his process on his site that are worth studying. Click here to look at them. I wish I could tell you how to build it, but I have few memories about the transom even though I built a couple. That may sound strange, but remember that the Newporter was, as I call it, a "pattern and mold" built boat. All I did was take the pieces that others had cut to patterns and assemble them in the transom mold. If I had to cut everything out I would now have a better memory to help things out now, but.... The three parts are basically it, but Bob may have found things I know not of. The transom knee is that large fir piece sticking up on the extreme after end of the apron, well pictured in Bob's site. The transom frame is glued and maybe fastened on the forward face of the transom, basically around the edges with a "deck beam" to receive the deck, to provide a nailing/gluing surface for the bottom planking, the side planking, and the after deck, nicknamed by Ack as Cleopatra's Porch. The transom proper is a lamination of three layers of 3/8" plywood, the outside layer being of Philippine mahogany, the outside veneer of which is horizontally aligned ribbon grain. This, after being sanded smooth, fiberglass covered and well varnished gave a rich look to her after face. There well may have been other parts, but these will be found, if you need to replace your transom, from what you see as you tear down the old transom, for that is what was there when built, if your transom is original.
The transom goes on the apron before the frames are set up, then after the frames are set in proper place you have what looks like a boat but it won't float like a boat, because it needs, beyond a shadow of doubt, some planks and a deck, so next --
VIII. The Skin, or the Planking and Decking.
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Note many of the details of construction: the lag screws in the chines, the solid blocking in the way of the chain plates, the inside and outside clamps, the sharp angle at the chines that will soon be rounded over, the fiberglass covering the bottom of the keel, the darker lead ballast keel, the frames stacked and waiting for the next hull, and of special interest: the shop made gluing clamps that go through the side plank to clamp the plank against the frames.
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The diagram above shows an oak 2 x 4 in orange, frames in brown, plywood in red. The rest are the metal parts, the crank welded to a nut which tightens against a washer (which is fastened to the plywood pad, a length of all-thread bolt or a bolt of proper length with a washer and nut. The washer can be a piece of steel plate, the nut welded to it, and the washer fastened to the 2x4.
The planking clamps are used three times in the clamping process. Once in hanging the spiling pattern (a 1/4" or 3/8" thick pattern of the plank, scarphed together like the planks and almost full size. It is an inch or so short of full size all around so it can lay on the frames without touching anything else. Its purpose is to get the full size measurements of the planks so that they will fit in place touching and fitting those places where it is to fit. There are several methods of spiling; read your favorite boatbuilding books and choose the one you like best.
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When the side planks were put on they extended up above the deck level to become the outside layer of the three layer bulwark. The side planks are made up of four sheets of 4'x8' and one sheet of 4'x12' plywood. The two end pieces are offset a few inches to handle the shape of the sides. The bottom plank starts as four or five sheets 5'x10' plywood, scarphed together on the 10' edge. This large panel was cut into four tapered pieces that were reassembled to become the bottom plank. The Newporter is planked with only four planks, glued and nailed to the framed hull. Now she is more boat-like and would float now.
But much more is to come before launching. The plywood skin was glued and nailed to the frames every three or four inches with galvanized boat nails. (All boats were not nailed with boat nails; the last few used wire headed nails.) As the planking was put on the chines where not nailed. The reason for this is that the chines were planed to a nice rounded form. Nails in the chine would play havoc with the electric planes used to do the rounding. When the planks were laid out (drawn to full size on the planking blanks) the chine edges were given two parallel lines parallel to the edges. These were guides for the temporary fasteners (short lag screws with washers) used to clamp the planks to the chines. These were removed as soon as the glue set up, the holes for the lag screws were plugged wooden pegs which were cut off flush with the planking, and the chines were then ready to be planed to shape.
The top edge of the side planks extended well above the deck level. This extended part of the side planks became the outer layer of the bulwarks. It also became the form for adding two more layers to give the full thickness (2-1/4") of the bulwarks. The top edge was then planned to the needed height with the top edge being parallel to the water. If memory serves me well, a layer of plywood was put against the inner surface of the transom above the deck, and the top edge of the transom was planned to match both the crown of the deck and the height of the bulwarks.
IX. The House.
The decks are fiberglassed before the house is fastened in place and may have been glassed before the topsides (the part of the hull above the water) were planked.
X. Internal Structural Pieces and Exterior Trim. fiddlehead,
