Planking creeps upward and it's time to install the upper stringers scarfed and steam-bent to shape earlier. It was a relatively simple matter to push them into place, but to get them to sit down firmly on the ribs required a clamp on almost every rib. It was sensible to fit the stringers at this point in the planking to allow easy access for the clamps. If you leave the stringers until after the planking is finished (which was often done) you need to get inventive about forcing the stingers into position, and this generally requires plenty of manpower as well. I had primed the back of the stringer and the landing on the ribs prior to final installation. In the photos you can see that the Port stringer is fastened off with 8g x 3 1/2" copper nails and 5/8" roves. The nails came courtesy of Ross Gardiner, sailing legend on Sydney Harbour whose father and uncle had stockpiled a lot of 3 1/2" nails for the trawler they were planning to build in the late 1930's, but War intervened and the boat was never built. The Starboard stringer is clamped in position ready for drilling and fastening off. I'm already preparing the 12th round of Huon Pine planking and will steam bend them around the hull shortly. You might notice that up forward the planking has entered the area that will be visible above the forward bunks so I have started to varnish here rather than paint. The new stringers will get the same treatment, varnished forward and painted aft.
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AuthorIan Smith, Boatbuilder (ret'd) Archives
January 2024
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