Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/794

 766

��Popular Science Monthly

��work of setting up the hull may begin. First nail the sideboards to the beveled scarf or rabbet in the stem, by a double row of nails. Galvanized cut boat- nails should be used, and a hole must first be bored before the nail is driven home. This must likewise be done in

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fastening all parts together — otherwise splitting is likely to spoil the work.

Now place mold A, 5 feetfrom the stem (see deck plan Fig. i), and after bending the sideboards around it, secure firmly in position, by tacking a batten across the sideboards at top and bottom. In doing this, merely drive the nails partly in, so that they may be easily removed later on. Place mold B, 3 ft. from mold A, fasten and set up mold C in the indicated position. Owing to the some- what abrupt bend of the sides at this point on to the stern, a rope strap may be twisted around the sideboards like a tour- niquet, to force the sideboards tightly up against and at right angles with the molds. K] Clamps may, of course, be used, if at hand.

The transom is now placed between the sideboards — outside flush with edges of sideboards — and fastened in place by nailing the sides to it.

The floor-stringers are now to be nailed along the inside bottom edge of each sideboard. To make the stringers follow the bend near the stern, make several slight saw-cuts across, so that the stringer may be sprung to follow the curve of the sides.

We are now ready to put in the oak ribs, and these must be nailed solidly to the sideboards. Space the ribs about 18 ins. apart, and nail with galvanized boat-nails, through the sideboards. Clench the ends on the inside of the rib. The hull is now ready for the flooring. Turn the hull upside down, and if the

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��sideboards and stringers are not perfectly straight across the edges, plane off until the flooring fits well when laid across the bottom. This detail is an important one, for if a tight joint is not made here, the boat is likely to leak. The floor- boards are now laid across and nailed solidly to the edge of both stringers and sideboards. Begin at the bow and finish at the stern, letting the last floor- board extend beyond the transom about yi in. and neatly round off the edge.

To prevent any possibility of leakage, it is a good plan to lay a strand Or two of candle-wicking along the edge, before nailing the flooring in place. The floor boards must be planed so that the edges

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��are perfectly square and' smooth, that each may fit the other as tightly as possible. If this is done, and cedar or white pine lumber free from knots or defects is used, the bottom will quickly swell water-tight. Calking is never satisfactory in flat-bottomed boats, for it is almost impossible to keep it from falling out of the seams. It is unneces- sary if the flooring is laid as directed.

After the bottom is on, nail the J/g by 6-in. strip of Georgia pine (do not use North Carolina pine, which is an inferior wood), in the center of the out- side. This forms the outside keel or shoe and should run from stem to stern. Fasten by nailing from the outside, and clench the nails on the inside, setting in the heads well below the surface. This should also be done throughout the boat, so that putty may be filled in to make a good finish.

The boat may now be turned right side up and the seats and seat-risings put in. The risings are simply % by % in. strips, screwed to the ribs the seats resting upon them.

The molds may now be remov^ed.

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